Letter Minister Wilkinson

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Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola Galiano  Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
 
200 - 1627 Fort St., Victoria, BC  V8R 1H8 
Telephone  (250) 405-5151    Fax  (250) 405-5155 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver 660-2421.  Elsewhere 
in BC 1.800.663.7867 
 
Email:  information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Web:  www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
 
December 23, 2019              File Number:  0400-20 
 
Via Email: ec.enviroinfo.ec@canada.ca 
 
Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson 
Minister of Environment and Climate Change  
200 Sacré-Coeur Boulevard 
Gatineau, Quebec 
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6 
 
Dear Minister Wilkinson: 
 
Re: Working Together to Preserve and Protect the Environment 
 
On behalf of Islands Trust Council, I would like to extend our congratulations on your re-election and your 
appointment to Minister of Environment and Climate Change. We are pleased that you have been appointed to 
this critical role given the important work that you have done in the past on the West Coast and within the Salish 
Sea area.  Your understanding of the beauty, fragility, and significance of this area to First Nations Peoples and 
to all Canadians is going to provide sensitivity and respect toward decision making in preserving and protecting 
this area.   
 
As Chair of the Islands Trust Council I can tell you that the Islands Trust was created through the provincial Islands 
Trust Act, and is a federation of special-purpose local government bodies elected by 26,000 people living within the 
Islands Trust Area and approximately 10,000 non-resident property owners. The Islands Trust Area is located within 
Coast Salish territory and is the homeland to over 28,000 Coast Salish Peoples who have called this place home 
since time immemorial. The Islands Trust mandate is to preserve and protect the unique environment and 
amenities of the Islands Trust Area through planning and regulating land use, development management, and 
education. We fulfil this role in cooperation with First Nations and other agencies, and through advocacy with 
organizations and community. The Islands Trust area covers the islands and waters of the Salish Sea between the 
British Columbia mainland and southern Vancouver Island. The area includes 13 major and more than 450 smaller 
islands covering 5,200 square kilometers – it reflects the beauty and vitality of the Salish Sea. 
 
The region is a scenic archipelago that provides habitats for an exceptional variety of species: more than 200 
types of migratory and resident birds, more than 90 species at risk (according to the Federal Species at Risk Act), 
numerous species of fish, the iconic Orca whale, migrating Gray whales and diverse intertidal life, terrestrial 
wildlife and vegetation. The significance and sensitivity of the region, and the need for protective measures was 
internationally recognized in 1973, when an International Joint Commission proposed that the islands and 
waters adjacent to the British Colu

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