Trust Council Quarterly Meeting Addendum

Extracted text (beginning)

EXECUTIVE6.
6.2Discussion / Decision Items
Interpretation of Islands Trust Act Section 3:6.2.3
Islands Trust Object - Briefing
6.2.3.1
2 - 21
Date:
Location:
Pages
5:00 PM - WEDNESDAY @ 11:30 AM
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
  
 
 
 
  Islands Trust Council
Quarterly Meeting Agenda Addendum
September 24 - 26, 2024
Vancouver Island Conference Centre - Dodd Narrows Rooms A/B 
101 Gordon Street, Nanaimo BC
6.2.3 Supporting Materials
For information. 

From: KEES LANGEREIS <> 
Sent: Thursday, May 2, 2024 1:14 PM 
To: Executive Admin 
Cc: MUNI Minister 
Subject: Islands Trust-concerns about section 3 
Attachments: Former Trustees - Concerns About Sec. 3.pdf 
 
To the Executive Committee of the Islands Trust. 
Sending on behalf of the signatories to the letter. 
Please find attached a letter from 34 former Islands Trust trustees.  We respectively 
request that it be included on the June 2024 Trust Council meeting agenda for 
consideration.  
Thank you. 
Sincerely, 
 
Kees Langereis 
Gabriola Island 
 
2

May 2, 2024 
 
To Execu0ve Commi5ee and Trust Council of the Islands Trust 
As former Islands Trust trustees from various islands in the Trust Area, we are writing 
to inform you of our concerns regarding Trust Council’s intention to broaden the 
meaning of the words 'unique amenities' in Section 3 of the Islands Trust Act (the 
Object). The spirit and intent of those words seem unmistakable in light of the 1986 
Ministry of Municipal Affairs/Islands Trust "Position Paper; The Object of the Islands 
Trust: Renewing the Consensus", that specified a combination of many natural factors. 
Following an in-camera meeting on September 26, 2023, it was reported that Trust 
Council had come to a "consensus" on how Section 3 of the Act that created the Islands 
Trust would (not 'should') be interpreted. What those conclusions were and how they 
had been agreed upon was not revealed. A silence, lasting almost four months, 
followed before the "Islands Trust Council Highlights" with a link to "Trust Council's 
consensus statement" was officially released on January 18, 2024.  
It was then that the details of Trust Council’s conclusion were revealed to the general 
public. ‘Unique amenities’ were to include, “but not be limited to, housing, 
infrastructure, livelihoods, and tourism”. How and by whom these four categories were 
identified and selected for inclusion is not mentioned. 
Apart from consideration of legal opinions, we question the propriety of holding this 
discussion during an in-camera meeting. We have heard different explanations of how 
Council’s decision was arrived at - from staff, the Executive Committee, and from 
trustees. These contradictory responses are problematic and confusing. There is no 
evidence of a motion being passed by Council which would provide a record of Trust 
Council’s approval for the addition of these items under the umbrella of ‘unique 
amenities’, or how individual trustees voted. It would have been helpful knowing 
whether this "con

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