Tag Archives: Gabriola Island

Housing

RIEP Presentation: Affordable Housing Across The Islands

One of the 2025 RIEP Virtual Forum presentations was a panel discussion of how the affordable housing societies were faring on six rural islands. There were a lot of common themes running throughout their stories: difficulties obtaining funding through BC Housing, CMHC and other organizations whose requirements are drawn up for urban rather than rural areas; the cost of building on remote islands; relationships with regional districts and Islands Trust; and water issues. The moderator was Mike Hoebel from the  Galiano Affordable Living Initiative Society (GALI).

Mike Hoebel: “The lack of affordable housing is truly a crisis in our communities and housing policy was a major item for discussion back at the RIEP 2023 In-Person Forum Gabriola. Today we’re going to hear from a number of people about housing related initiatives underway in their communities.”

Continue reading RIEP Presentation: Affordable Housing Across The Islands →
Community, Development

This Week: 2025 Rural Islands Economic Partnership Virtual Forum

The 2025 Rural Islands Economic Partnership (RIEP) Virtual Forum is coming up on Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7. Two of the organizers, Francine Carlin and Kate Maddigan are my guests today.

“ It’s going to be a jam packed two half days, 9:15 AM to 12:30 PM.  Our virtual events are really unique because we all live on islands or remote coastal communities and don’t have the opportunity to get together as a collaborative regional grouping. So it’s important to have these virtual events that bring together people from all across the coast and the islands, up from North Island as far as Alert Bay, to Sooke and beyond. So we have a pretty broad reach and this year it’s really important, particularly with the events in the world around economic  issues that relate to  our local  economic and social wellbeing,” explained Francine Carlin, Chair of the Rural Islands Economic Partnership. 

Continue reading This Week: 2025 Rural Islands Economic Partnership Virtual Forum →
Cost of Climate Change

Loss of Electricity and CityWest Internet During Recent Storm

Close to 400,000 BC Hydro customers, primarily on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, lost power during the recent windstorms. Gusts of up to 159 km/h were reported on November 19, the first night of the storm.  By 4 PM on Friday, November 22, all but about 5,000 customers on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands were back online. Parts of Cortes and Quadra Islands were among the last areas to be restored. 

BC Hydro identifies extreme storms like this with climate change and, in their 2023 Climate Change Accountability Report, states:

Continue reading Loss of Electricity and CityWest Internet During Recent Storm →
Business, Food, Rivers & Oceans

The Next Chapter: Wild Things Seafood

There was a familiar face behind the Wild Things Seafood booth at Manson’s Friday Market last week. In addition to being our former Regional Director, Noba Anderson’s family has a connection to Cortes Island that stretches back to 1978. So Cortes Currents asked Noba about the new business she is undertaking with Peter Schmidt.

Continue reading The Next Chapter: Wild Things Seafood →
Transportation

Folk U: The Transportation Forum

Tune in on June 14 for this special pre-recorded episode of FolkU Radio. This week featured the May Transportation Forum, hosted over Zoom and presented by the Cortes Housing Society, CCEDA, and representatives from Quadra and the outer islands. This forum featured guest panelists from Denman, Gabriola, Bowen and more! Join us in chatting about passenger transportation options, and about how they could be applied to Cortes and Quadra.

Continue reading Folk U: The Transportation Forum →