Response Letter From Minister Kahlon

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BRITISH  
COLUMBIA 
 
Office of the 
Minister of Housing 
and Municipal Affairs 
 
Website: 
www.gov.bc.ca/housing 
 
Mailing Address: 
PO Box 9074 Stn Prov Govt 
Victoria BC  V8W 9E9 
Phone: 236 478-3970 
 
Location: 
Parliament Buildings 
Victoria BC  V8V 1X4 
Email:  HMA.Minister@gov.bc.ca 
 
 
 
 
April 28, 2025            Reference: 185578 
 
Laura Patrick 
Chair, 
Islands Trust Council 
200 - 1627 Fort Street 
Victoria BC  V8R 1H8 
Email: information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
Dear Chair Laura Patrick: 
 
I am writing to acknowledge correspondence from Peter Luckham of March 4, 2025, prior 
to his resignation as Chair, in which he requested a meeting between myself and the 
members of the Islands Trust Executive Committee to discuss the request for a review of 
the Islands Trust that was sent to the former Minister of Municipal Affairs during the last 
provincial election. 
 
During this time of extraordinary change and uncertainty, our government is focusing on 
the services and choices that make an immediate and material difference while managing 
within our means. We will have to make difficult choices about the order in which we 
commit to new initiatives, like a review as sweeping as that laid out in the letter to Minister 
Kang. I am therefore not in a position to consider a review of the Islands Trust Act prior to 
the next general local elections. 
 
Land use planning to preserve and protect the Trust area and its unique amenities and 
environment is the core responsibility of the Islands Trust. This reflects the ecological 
mandate of the Trust, the toolkit deliberately supplied by government, and that island 
communities have a role to play in local environmental stewardship. It is my expectation 
that the Trust Council recognizes that this requires careful deliberation and consideration 
of perspectives to manage expectations of growth, development and local economies 
without exceeding the carrying capacity of local ecosystems and preserving unspoiled 
natural amenities. 
 
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Laura Patrick 
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Over the balance of their term of office, I will need the Trust Council to take particular care 
to ensure that engagement with the public and First Nations on the bylaws put before me 
for approval, including amendments to Official Community Plans and the Trust Policy 
Statement, are undertaken in a manner that demonstrates mutual respect and builds 
towards consensus. 
 
The established Trust Policy Statement is the current touchstone which aids in the 
interpretation of the organization’s mandate. The development of the next iteration 
requires care to result in a Policy Statement in which all involved can all have confidence. 
 
Along similar lines, before returning with another request for provincial review I will 
expect the Trust Council to ensure that it has engaged in a meaningful way with the 
agencies and governments that would be expected to participate in or be impacted by 
such a review. These inc

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