Tag Archives: SRD

CIFFA: Will Cortes Island lose its volunteer Fire Department?

The new President of the Cortes Island Fire Fighter’s Association (CIFFA) is not opposed to having a shared fire fighting service in the SRD. When he was Deputy Manager of Vancouver, Sadhu Johnston led the charge in creating a shared water fire service for the Lower Mainland.  

“We had very extensive consultations with other municipalities that needed services, that had structures along the shoreline. I personally went to those city halls, met with those fire chiefs and the city managers. We created a steering committee that got to shape the service and then we chose which boats to purchase based on that input. It was a multiple year effort and it was done really collaboratively. I think that’s the really important part.” 

In regard to the current SRD initiative, he said, “Perhaps what’s missing right now is just being able to all be on the same page about what kind of shared services are needed.” 

Continue reading CIFFA: Will Cortes Island lose its volunteer Fire Department?

Cortes Island Fire Department: Two Opposing Risk Assessments

Two assessments of the Cortes Island Fire Department were released last week. 

Shaun Koopman, Protective Services Coordinator for the Strathcona Regional District (SRD), emailed,“While both reports covered operational aspects, the SRD’s audit was more focused on the governance model. The concerns expressed in the consultant’s report specifically pertained to the liability exposure that the Regional District incurs from the current governance model.”

Cortes Island’s Interim Fire Chief, Eli McKenty, describes them differently. 

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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. 

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Fuel mitigation around the Cortes Recycling Centre

 “When you talk about fuel, most people think about fuel for a vehicle or fuel for something like that, but fuel for a forest fire  is wood on the ground or standing wood? The idea  is to reduce the fuel load to reduce the severity of a fire. As it approaches that location, the fire will slow down and most likely drop to the ground because we’ve opened up the canopy. The danger trees have been removed and the debris on the ground’s been removed. So it would be a lot easier for firefighters to make a stand,” explained Tor Ellingsen of Reef Point Falling.

He was talking about the recently completed Cortes Island Recycling Centre Wildfire Mitigation Project.

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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?