Category Archives: Housing

SRD Looking into developing two Provincial lots on Quadra Island

Strathcona 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 Island

How will Campbell River’s next Council address homelessness? 

2026 is a municipal election year and some people hope Campbell River residents will use this opportunity to elect a city council that will help alleviate the homeless situation.

“We have an opportunity as a community to come together and actually create solutions with the support of the city, because they are the only ones that have the capacity to be able to do the longevity of some of these projects, but they need us. They need the nonprofits, they need the grassroots, they need citizens and residents to help them and to buy into those solutions in ways where we create a much more inclusive, safe, welcoming community for everybody, not just for some,” explained Sue Moen, a Kwesa Place volunteer and coordinator for the Campbell River Community Action Team. 

“Many of these counsellors and new people are going to be campaigning over the next 10 months. I think that’s really important for voters and citizens to say, ‘okay, how are you going to work with others to do this?’”

Continue reading How will Campbell River’s next Council address homelessness? 

Gentrification of downtown Campbell River displaces services for the homeless

By Nora O’Malley, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Campbell River, BC – Campbell  River’s Berwick by the Sea retirement community is lit up with holiday  flair, while across the street a mural portraying the word L-O-V-E fades  on the side of boarded up building that was once a lifeline for the  homeless.

Six months ago, at the end of June 2025, Kwesa Place and Hem’?aelas  Community Kitchen were forced to close after the City of Campbell River  bought the properties for redevelopment. 

Continue reading Gentrification of downtown Campbell River displaces services for the homeless

Cortes Island Zoning Bylaw Passes

The Strathcona Regional District Board passed the Cortes Island Zoning Bylaw. 

Regional Director Mark Vonesch gave an overview of the process at the Wednesday, November 19, 2025, board meeting:

“We’re at the last stage of potentially passing the Cortes Island zoning bylaw. It’s been almost a two year process of community consultation, both online and in person. It’s gone to the Advisory Planning Commission on Cortes, and it’s gone through a public hearing at the beginning of September. We had 140 plus folks attend that hearing, which is amazing. The reason I deferred it a month was that you have 200 pages of comments on this, and I wanted to take the time to read them all and to really assess what people’s challenges and also what they like about the bylaw before making my own personal recommendation.”

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Why Some Local 2025 Homeless Counts Dropped

In 2025, the Province of British Columbia funded homeless counts in 20 communities. To virtually everyone’s surprise, the numbers were down in eight communities. Campbell River, Powell River, Comox and Parksville/Qualicum were among them. Port Alberni and Sechelt/Gibsons were not. In this morning’s broadcast, Cortes Currents looks into the reasons why, as well as some popular misconceptions and possible remedies about homelessness.

Continue reading Why Some Local 2025 Homeless Counts Dropped