Tag Archives: Quadra Island

Politics, Rivers & Oceans

Robyn Mawhinney: A Wharf Service for Area C

More than eight years have passed since Transport Canada (TC) transferred administration of three wharves to the Strathcona Regional District (SRD). Owen Bay on Sonora Island, Surge Narrows on Read Island, and Port Neville on the northern shore of the Johnstone Strait are all within Area C. The SRD was provided with $2.9 million for maintenance and upgrades that were to be completed sometime during the next decade. These upgrades have not yet occurred. Nor has a service to carry out operations and maintenance been established for Area C. Robyn Mawhinney, the new Regional Director, hopes to have this work well underway before the November 2024 deadline. 

Continue reading Robyn Mawhinney: A Wharf Service for Area C →
Rivers & Oceans

DFO Decision: Discovery Island Fish Farms remain closed

According to the Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) press release of February 18, 2022, “There are multiple stressors on wild salmon, including: climate change; habitat degradation and destruction; regulated fishing as well as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Given the state of Wild Pacific Salmon, the Government of Canada is taking a highly precautionary approach to manage Atlantic salmon aquaculture in the Discovery Islands area.”

Licenses for the 15 remaining fish farms in this region will not be reissued.

Continue reading DFO Decision: Discovery Island Fish Farms remain closed →
Clothing

Small island community Darn Tough on sock warranties

Cortes Island is a noteworthy location for the number of annual warranties claimed through the Darn Tough brand of socks, which are guaranteed for life.

Although the 2022 claims total was only 21 pairs for the island, per capita this is 24.75 times higher than the Cities of Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver combined. Cortes and Quadra Islands together added up to 43 pairs claimed under warranty in 2022, which is the same number as all of Campbell River, said Carly Murdoch in the warranty department of the Canadian distributor, Interex Industries.

Continue reading Small island community Darn Tough on sock warranties →
Housing

Good News about the drainage at Rainbow Ridge

“ If we achieve this, which I believe we’re going to do, this is a model for other communities.  We look at places like Salt Spring and even Quadra Island and places in northern BC where they have lost their lakes. The process is called eutrophication. When the lakes just become too rich in nitrogen, they become swamps. It’s not just our issue, it’s everybody’s issue and if we show a way to improve the nutrient flow into the lake while adding these extra homes, that’s a model for the whole world,” said Rex Weyler, one of the scientists monitoring Hague and Gunflint Lakes.

He was talking about the potential impacts of what would soon be called Rainbow Ridge. 

Continue reading Good News about the drainage at Rainbow Ridge →
Transportation

SRD Board: Proposed Campbell River to West Vancouver Island Transit Service

Editor’s note added Dec 22, 2025: Director Gerald Whalley recently informed Cortes Currents that the final decision on this project has not been made.

At their February 8th meeting, the SRD Board voted to continue examining the feasibility of a transit service from Campbell River to the West Coast of Vancouver Island. 

It has been a year since staff was first instructed to pursue the matter.

Senior Manager Thomas Yates explained, “We’ve got two alternatives recommended for the board’s consideration. Option A is to look at one or more of the service levels that we’ve identified in the report, and they range from everything from twice a day to once a month in terms of the frequency of service. Option B would be, of course, that we drop this whole matter and not look into it further.”

Continue reading SRD Board: Proposed Campbell River to West Vancouver Island Transit Service →