From the desk of Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney
A warm hello this frosty January.
I trust you are rejuvenated after the festive break and energized for a wonderful 2026 (I am). This report brings news about the next steps in our Official Community Plan process (there are upcoming meetings on Quadra & Read Islands) and healthcare advocacy.
Continue reading Area C Director’s Report: OCP next steps + healthcare advocacy
Over the past few years, the Quadra Island Foundation has channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy. Now, thanks to a change in their charitable status, they may be able to do a great deal more.
Marc Doll, Vice President in Charge of Communications, explained:
“We have had charitable status since our inception. The change is in the scope of that status. Previously, we were only able to work with charities within a very, very defined set of parameters. Our charitable purposes really limited us to only working with established charities on the island. We couldn’t work with individuals or societies. It handcuffed us, so even when we gave out our small neighborhood grants, we had to work with the Rec Society because we didn’t actually have the ability to funnel that money directly to people who were not registered charities.”
Continue reading Expanding Funding Opportunities for the Quadra Island FoundationStrathcona Regional District (SRD) staff will be asking the Ministry of Forests about the possibility of obtaining two provincial lots on Quadra Island for development. Three of the four Regional Directors at the Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Electoral Areas Services Committee meeting voted to proceed.
Meredith Starkey, Manager of Planning for the SRD, brought a list of 13 Federal, Provincial and Regional properties to the meeting. She explained that the report provides an overview of public land available near Quathiaski Cove and Heriot Bay on Quadra Island which could be considered for future affordable housing.
“There’s really only three sites that are currently undeveloped in a suitable size and some other conditions that make them more suitable than others. They all have constraints.”
Continue reading SRD Looking into developing two Provincial lots on Quadra IslandWith 2025 coming to a close, it seems like a good time to get an update from the Cortes Island Fire Department. Currently, there are about 38 people working out of the island’s two fire halls, with another 20 enrolled in the wildfire brigade.
Chief Eli McKenty noted, “I haven’t totalled this year’s call volume yet, but last year we had 105 calls. This year, we’re likely slightly higher at around 110.”
Continue reading 2025 at the Cortes Island Fire DepartmentA new study found that Northern Resident Killer Whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins have formed a cooperative hunting relationship to catch Chinook salmon in the Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. The dolphins utilize echolocation to locate fish at depth, but their small teeth are designed primarily to grip prey, and they cannot swallow large species like Chinook salmon whole. Instead, dolphins locate the fish, and then wait for the killer whales move in to tear them apart, scattering bits of tissue and flesh into the water.
Continue reading Where Killer Whales and Dolphins Hunt Cooperatively
