Regarding Bill 44 Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023

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Preserving and protecting over 450 islands and surrounding waters in the Salish Sea 
Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola  Galiano Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
 
 
 
1-500 Lower Ganges Road, Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 2N8 
Telephone  (250) 537-9114    Fax  (250) 537-9116 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver (604) 660-2421.                         
Elsewhere in BC 1-800-663-7867 
Email  ssiinfo@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Web  www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
August 20, 2024        File No: 11-5770-30-10  
 
Via e-mail: HOUS.minister@gov.bc.ca  
 
The Honourable Ravi Kahlon 
Minister of Housing 
Room 248 Parliament Buildings 
Victoria, BC  V8V1X4 
 
Re:  Bill 44 Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023  
 
Dear Minister Kahlon, 
Thank you for your response of January 8, 2024 to the Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee’s (LTC) 
November 2023 request for inclusion in the Housing Statutes Amendment Act. While we are 
disappointed that you were unable to accommodate our request, we value your ministry’s 
consideration of the mandate of the Islands Trust. However, we will point out that only local trust 
committees, like Salt Spring Island, are exempt from small-scale multi-unit housing requirements.  
Island municipalities within the Islands Trust, like Bowen Island, are not exempt.  We also appreciate 
your recognition of the distinct housing challenges Salt Spring Island is experiencing, in particular 
workforce housing. 
The LTC’s work to introduce additional accessory dwelling units (ADUs) has been significantly delayed as 
we await further input from First Nations prior to adoption.  Our most successful action to date has 
been deferring enforcement activities on unlawful dwellings, which has facilitated access to irregular or 
unpermitted housing forms, but also increased risks of  putting more people in vulnerable living 
situations.   
There may also be unintended consequences because of the decision to not include Islands Trust local 
trust areas in Bill 44.  Islands like Salt Spring are becoming the last strongholds for the single-family 
home.  This may only exasperate housing unaffordability. 
Even though we are frustrated with our limited progress to address the housing crisis, we are pleased to 
share that we are in the early stages of a targeted update to Salt Spring Island’s Official Community Plan 
and Land Use Bylaw with a goal to increase housing options and housing equity on the island in ways 
that integrate: 
 The interests of Indigenous Governing Bodies with treaty and territorial interests in the Salt 
Spring Island Local Trust Area; 
 Ecosystem integrity and connectivity; and 
 Climate change resiliency 
 

Preserving and protecting over 450 islands and surrounding waters in the Salish Sea 
Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola  Galiano Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
 
This ongoing project includes infrastructure as

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