Request for Affordable Housing Solutions Specific to Rural Islands in the Islands Trust Area

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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 
 
 
 
200-1627 Fort Street, Victoria BC  V8R 1H8 
Telephone  (250) 405-5151    Fax  (250) 405-5155 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver 604.660.2421.   
Elsewhere in BC 1.800.663.7867 
Email  information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Web  www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
  
November 15, 2022       File No.: 11-5770-30-10 
 
Via email: AG.Minister@gov.bc.ca  
 
The Honourable Murray Rankin  
Attorney General and Minister responsible for Housing 
PO Box 9044 Stn Prov Govt 
Victoria BC  V8W 9E2 
 
Dear Minister Rankin: 
 
Re: Request for Affordable Housing Solutions Specific to Rural Islands in the Islands Trust Area 
 
I am writing to convey the Islands Trust Council’s request that the Province of British Columbia 
explore what can be done to create housing solutions specific to rural islands in the Islands Trust 
Area, including ways to provide stable, secure, and ongoing funding. 
 
As you are aware, Islands Trust is a special-purpose government agency with a provincial mandate to 
preserve and protect the unique amenities and environment of the Islands Trust Area, in cooperation 
with others. The Islands Trust Area is located in Coast Salish Territory, between the British Columbia 
mainland and southern Vancouver Island, and encompasses 13 major islands and more than 450 
smaller islands in the Salish Sea. Covering 5,200 square kilometres, the region is home to biodiverse 
and sensitive ecosystems, one of the highest densities of species at risk in Canada, many culturally 
significant areas for First Nations and Indigenous Peoples, and vibrant communities that aspire to 
include a diverse range of community members who live sustainably and in respectful relationship 
with these lands and waters.  
 
In December 2021, Islands Trust Council declared that a Housing Equity and Workforce Shortage 
Crisis exists on many of the islands within the Islands Trust Area. In July 2021, Islands Trust Council 
voted to affirm its understanding that preservation and protection of the natural terrestrial and 
marine environment is central to the mandate of the Islands Trust and that this responsibility must 
be given special and profound consideration in all our decisions and in all we do. In March 2021, 
Trust Council affirmed its understanding that the Object (and thus the mandate) of the Trust 
contained in s.3 of the Islands Trust Act includes the concept of and protection of healthy and 
inclusive communities including (but not limited to) housing and transportation.  
 
Trust Council appreciates that the Province of BC has undertaken measures to address the 
affordability crisis, including rent increase freezes, a 10-year Homes for BC housing plan, a 
homelessness strategy, new legislation giving local trust committees and island municipalities rental 
tenure 

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