Trust Council Statement - Section 3 of Islands Trust Act

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The Islands Trust Act [RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 239, Section 3: 
The object of the trust is to preserve and protect the trust area and its unique 
amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the trust area and of 
British Columbia generally, in cooperation with municipalities, regional districts, 
improvement districts, First Nations, other persons and organizations and the 
government of British Columbia. 
 
BACKGROUND: The 2022 Governance Review emphasized that there was a deep division amongst both 
Trustees and constituents on the meaning and implementation of our “preserve and protect” mandate. 
Such division was described as a fundamental existential challenge. The current Governance Committee, 
appointed in December, 2022, decided that it was a priority to review the mandate and report back to 
Trust Council on that review. Today’s presentation summarized and clarified all previous legal opinions 
with the intention to assist the current Trust Council to find consensus on which to build our strategic 
direction. Our strategic planning policy initiatives, project priorities, and efficiency of operations and 
accountability and performance measures, will follow. 
Frequently a mandate is created by an organization but since the Islands Trust was created by Provincial 
legislation, therefore the mandate is an enacted law: it may be interpreted and such interpretation may 
be challenged, but it can only be changed by the Legislative Assembly. 
 
Over the years, as various issues have arisen, Islands Trust has asked for and received several legal 
opinions about how our mandate relates to specific situations. Islands Trust staff have collated those 
opinions, the Governance Committee has studied and discussed them, and today there has been a 
presentation and discussion by Trust Council. The legal opinions referred to were in response to specific 
questions and therefore were and are subject to solicitor-client privilege and as such needed to be 
discussed in closed meetings. 
 
This report is to make public the results of our discussions and share with our constituents how the 
current Trust Council intends to interpret our mandate, which in turn will help inform our strategic 
planning. 
 
The process of creating a strategic plan was another recommendation of the 2022 Governance Review 
and is another priority of the Governance Committee. That effort has been championed by a sub-
committee of the Financial Planning Committee which has been endorsed and encouraged by the 
Governance Committee, and will be subject to separate and future discussions.  
 
Islands Trust Council Statement 
on the Scope and Meaning of 
Section 3 of the Islands Trust
 Act (Object Clause)  
 
Approved by Islands Trust Council, September 26, 2023 
 

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CONSENSUS:  
The object of the Islands Trust is to preserve and protect three specific elements: 
a) the trust area; 
b) its unique amenities; and 
c) [its unique] environment, 
 
for the benefit of 

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