Jan 18, 2021 - Public Survey about Updating Islands Trust Policy Statement Open to February 5

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Bowen, Denman, Gabriola, Galiano, Gambier, Hornby, Lasqueti, Mayne, N. Pender, Salt Spring, Saturna, S. Pender, Thetis 
 
 
January 18, 2021 – for immediate release 2021-01-IT 
 
Public Survey about Updating Islands Trust Policy Statement  
Open to February 5  
 
Lək
̓
 ʷəŋən, METULIYE/Victoria, B.C. – Islands Trust Council has released a report on its high-level policy direction for 
amending the Islands Trust Policy Statement and has launched an online survey to seek public input.  
 
The current Islands Trust Policy Statement – the document that shapes land and marine use planning in the Islands Trust 
Area – was written in 1994. Much has changed in the past 27 years, from demographics to increasing industrial use of the 
Salish Sea, to commitments made to reconciliation, and the climate emergency. Trust Council will update the Policy 
Statement to be current, to be resilient to new challenges, and to be reflective of what we have learned from you.  
 
The Policy Statement is the Islands Trust’s foundational document that sets out how the Islands Trust accomplishes its 
preserve and protect mandate. The document guides policy decisions about island landscapes and the waters 
surrounding them. It includes recommendations to other levels of government. Notably, it informs how local official 
community plans (OCPs) and land use bylaws are created – changes to this document could affect local OCPs. 
 
“In the fall of 2019, we asked members of the public to respond to three questions that would help Trust Council 
understand people’s values, concerns, and ideas for opportunities to preserve and protect the Islands Trust Area,” said 
Peter Luckham, Islands Trust Council Chair. “We were pleased to engage more than 1,000 people. The response to that 
open call for opinions and ideas was carefully reviewed and summarized in the What We Heard report, published in 
summer 2020. We have also been undertaking a parallel process of engagement with First Nations governments on the 
Policy Statement for the first time in the history of Islands Trust. Now that we’ve identified our policy directions, we 
would like to seek additional public input.”  
 
The Policy Directions report and the public survey are available at: www.islandstrust.bc.ca/islands2050. The survey will 
remain open from January 18 through February 5. 
 
Anyone who has questions about the survey or requires assistance is invited to reach out via 
islands2050@islandstrust.bc.ca or 250.405.5151. 
 
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The Islands Trust is a federation of special-purpose local government bodies representing 26,000 people living within the 
Islands Trust Area and another 10,000 non-resident property owners. The Islands Trust Area is located within Coast Salish 
 
News Release 
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 
information@islandstrust.bc.ca     www.islandstrust.bc.ca

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