Tag Archives: Renee LaBoucane

Transportation

What SRD Staff Found Out About The Cortes Airstrip

3 Comments

In response to complaints about the renovations underway at the Cortes Island airstrip, the SRD Board asked staff to “engage with Transport Canada to understand the implications on the size of planes, safety requirements, noise levels, and frequency of planes on the upgraded landing strip at 939 Raven Rd, Cortes Island.” They reported back at the board Meeting of Wednesday, June 26, but found very little that was not already known.

Continue reading What SRD Staff Found Out About The Cortes Airstrip →
Housing, Poverty

SRD applying for $150,000 poverty reduction planning grant

The high cost of housing is one of the most visible symptoms. Close to a third of the households on Cortes Island and a quarter of those on Quadra pay more than they can afford for rent or mortgages. The most visible segment of Campbell River’s house challenged population are the 130 people who do not own or rent a home, but 2021 census data shows another 3,450 residents are ‘spending 30% or more of income on shelter costs.’

According to Stats Canada, the nation’s median hourly wage was 36 cents lower in 2021 than 2020, but costs are rising. The average family of four is expected to pay $1,000 more for groceries this year.  In a recent nationwide Angus Reid poll, 45% of the respondents said they are worse off this year than at the same time last year. 

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) is applying for a $150,000 Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) grant to develop a plan for reducing poverty throughout the District.

Continue reading SRD applying for $150,000 poverty reduction planning grant →
Indigenous Nations, Politics

SRD territorial acknowledgements; Should Tla’amin be included? 

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) officially recognizes 10 First Nations within their boundaries, but the Tla’amin are not among them. 

While Mansons Landing and Marina Island are both within their traditional area, the Tla’amin First Nation ceded their claim to most of this area when they signed a treaty in 2014. They retain a small parcel on Cortes Island, and thus still possess land within the SRD.

This question was part of a larger discussion at the inaugural meeting of the SRD’s First Nations committee, on Wednesday Jan 25. 

Continue reading SRD territorial acknowledgements; Should Tla’amin be included?  →
Housing, Poverty

The Campbell River Coalition to End Homelessness Responds

(Editor’s note: While the events described in this article did not take place in the Discovery Islands, the Directors for Cortes Island and Area C both voted in the SRD Board meeting mentioned below. Also, we are part of the ‘District’ that the Campbell River and District Coalition to End Homelessness operates in.)

Last week, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board decided to step back from involving themselves in Campbell River’s emergency shelter. They were responding to a request from the Campbell River and District Coalition to End Homelessness. The Board considered two options: (A) they could give staff direction to explore what this would entail, or (B) they could inform the Coalition they are not prepared to take on the responsibility of operating homeless shelters. After 42 minutes of a somewhat confused debate that ended in a 7-7 vote, they chose option (B).   

Cortes Currents reached out to the Coalition for comment while writing up an account of the meeting, but neither Stefanie Hendrickson, the Coalition’s Coordinator, or Sue Moen, from the Salvation Army, were available until the afternoon of Monday, November 14, 2022. Both women responded by email. 

Continue reading The Campbell River Coalition to End Homelessness Responds →
Housing, Poverty

Who will look after Campbell River’s homeless population when temperatures plummet?

When temperatures plummeted to −20° last year, SRD Emergency Coordinator Shaun Koopman stepped in to make arrangements for Campbell River’s homeless population to be sheltered in the city’s community centre. The SRD intervened again last week, but at their November 9 meeting the Board decided this was a Campbell River problem.

Continue reading Who will look after Campbell River’s homeless population when temperatures plummet? →