Regional Directors Jim Abram, Brenda Leigh and Gerald Whalley would prefer to more independent of the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board. For reasons obvious to anyone who has observed the Electoral Areas Services Committee (EASC) over the past two years, Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson would rather stick with the board. A proposal that staff study the feasibility of an independent EASC Grant in Aid Service was brought forward at the May 27, 2020, SRD Board Meeting.
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Public Hearing For Rainbow Ridge Postponed Until September – Or Later
The political maneuvering began as the agenda, for the Strathcona Regional District Board’s May 27th meeting, was adopted. Regional Director Jim Abram added a “subsequent,’ which he said was way down the agenda. A number of comments, scattered throughout the video below, show that the other rural directors knew what was coming. Regional Director Brenda Leigh alluded to Abram having “something better to propose.” Cortes Island Regional Director Noba Anderson expressed disappointment that one of her colleagues “is trying to put forward a motion ahead of time to not even allow this discussion.” Two major Quadra Island projects – the proposed BC Ferries passenger service and new firehall – have also been delayed because of the Electoral Areas Services Committee’s (EASC) prearranged decision. The public hearing for Rainbow Ridge is postponed until sometime after September 7th, 2020.
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Cortes Foundation Application Denied
Over the course of the last two months, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) received funding requests from both of the community foundations operating within its area. At the April 29th Board meeting, they granted a total of $32,500 to the Campbell River Foundation – whose catchment area includes Sayward, Quadra, Cortes and the Oyster River. On May 12, the Cortes Island Foundation asked for $50,000. This prompted an intense discussion of the SRD’s relationship to community foundations at the end of which the Cortes Foundation application was denied.
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Updating The SRD Grant In Aid Policy
The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board has talked about greater transparency and accountability for more than a year. Chief Administrative Officer David Leitch says staff examined the policies of virtually every regional district in British Columbia. However when they finally unveiled their proposed policy at the March 11, 2020 board meeting, all four regional directors were opposed. The process of updating the SRD Grant-In-Aid policy has begun.
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What is going on within the SRD?
Cortes Island’s Regional Director, Noba Anderson, has been under attack throughout 2019. The first that many of us heard of this was probably in January, when one of the silliest lawsuits ever was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. I almost felt sorry for the plaintiffs’ lawyer on June 10, as he sat in court listening while the random gossip that his clients brought forward as evidence was torn apart.
He did not dispute a single argument, and in fact filed a joint submission with the defendants’ lawyer admitting there was no basis for the allegations made in his clients’ legal petition. The only excuse he offered was that his clients “were put up to it.” He did not say who was the real instigator of the legal petition; but we know that something odd has been happening within the Strathcona Regional District Board for more than a year, in addition to partisan shenanigans on Cortes Island. Are the two somehow related? What is going on within the SRD Board?
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