From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney
Hello and happy summer!
This report has news for you: the Hospital Board is exploring ‘front-loading’ long-term care project costs, an Evans Bay aquaculture report was made public, plus a refresher on Siting Permits for construction on Quadra Island. Many thanks to all who’ve reached out since I declared my intent to run for re-election, I appreciate the positive encouragement.
The SRD Board unanimously passed a resolution that Cortes residents will vote on whether to fund the island’s youth and senior organizations at the upcoming October 17, 2026 election.
Regional Director Mark Vonesh explained, “There was a little bit of a rush because I realized that, in order to get this onto the referendum—which I think is the fairest way to consult with the community—it needs to go through a process. It goes to the board, a draft bylaw is created, the draft bylaw is reviewed, and then it goes to the Inspector of Municipalities for approval. That comes back to the referendum at the election. The time period for this one was tight. It basically had to happen in the month that I introduced it, but the beauty of it is that we’ve got four months to talk about it.”
“I’m going to be holding a public meeting in the Fall, before the election, so we can come together and talk about it, and so I can share information that I have about the services. We’ll also make it available online, so it’s really accessible for people.”
Continue reading Cortes Island: Coming Referendum On Funding Youth and Senior Services
By Nora O’Malley, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Campbell River, B.C. – More overdose response services are coming to Campbell River and the surrounding area.
For 2026–27, Health Canada approved roughly $1.14 million in funding for a new Mobile Outreach Program, which partners the City of Campbell River (the City) and Lookout Housing and Health Society.
“The City remains deeply concerned about the tragic loss of life due to toxic drugs. These losses profoundly affect families, friends and colleagues across the community. This is why, when we noted the call for proposals for the Emergency Treatment Fund from Health Canada in the fall of 2025, we decided to submit an application under very tight timelines,” said Jeff Ford, the City’s director of community safety.
Continue reading Campbell River expands overdose response services with $1.14M investment from feds
At the May 27 SRD Board Meeting, Mayor Kermit Dahl of Campbell River accused Regional Directors Mark Vonesch, Robyn Mawhinney and Gerald Whalley of bullying Regional Director John Rice:
“For example, when Director Rice was outvoted on a development in Area D by three electoral area Directors who wanted to show him, ‘Stay in line or else we’ll show you.’ They could stop him from succeeding in moving Area D forward.”
This is not the first time Campbell River Directors have made this allegation.
Continue reading Allegations that Rural Directors Bullied Area D; Who bullied who?Mark Vonesch was removed from his position as Vice-Chair of the SRD through a non-confidence vote, and Campbell River Director Susan Sinnott was elected in his place.
The voting followed what is becoming a familiar pattern: the five Campbell River Directors and their allies voted to remove Vonesch, while the Directors from Gold River, Tahsis, and Electoral Areas A, B, and C supported him.
The vote was preceded by a roughly two-hour in-camera session, after which Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl addressed the public meeting.
Continue reading Mark Vonesch Removed; Susan Sinnott New Vice-Chair of the SRD
