Letter to Minister Robinson re: Thank You for Meeting

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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 
 
March 13, 2018  File No.: 0420-20 
 
via email: MAH.minister@gov.bc.ca  
 
The Honourable Selina Robinson 
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing 
Parliament Buildings 
Victoria, British Columbia  V8V 1X4 
 
 
Dear Minister Robinson: 
 
Re:  Thank you for meeting 
 
On behalf of the Islands Trust Executive Committee, please accept my thanks for meeting with us on January 23, 2018. We 
enjoyed meeting with you to discuss issues of importance to the Islands Trust Council and the Trust Fund Board. It is very 
important for the Trust to have a strong relationship with you. Given the warm and engaging discussion we had we are 
confident that you will provide strong, informed leadership on behalf of the Islands Trust and our communities. 
 
As the Islands Trust Council considers the future after the Salt Spring Island incorporation vote we are discussing 
opportunities to enhance service integration between agencies providing services to the islands. We heard your message 
that it is important to create a process that allows us to listen to everyone’s perspective and identify how citizens will see 
results in the community. We want to reiterate our request to have some ministerial involvement in the post-
incorporation process. This will bring validity to our work with other agencies as we address the underlying issues that 
drove the request for incorporation. We request that you look favourably upon any reasonable grant request made by the 
Islands Trust to address post incorporation issues on Salt Spring Island. 
 
We understand we will have to moderate our ambitions in terms of advancing significant change to the Islands Trust Act. I 
feel we have your support to begin work with Ministry staff to develop an appropriate, prioritized list of amendments. 
Who do you recommend we use as a primary contact? As we explained in the meeting, changing the name of the Trust 
Fund Board to Islands Trust Conservancy Board remains our top priority for legislative change and we appreciate your 
support for this change.  
 
Finally, we share a deep concern about affordable housing. We support your work and urge you to consider making 
changes for housing options in the rural context. If the Islands Trust can support your mandate on affordable housing going 
forward, please let us know. Over the next few months you will be seeing some of the outcomes in our communities with 
respect to affordable housing OCP amendments. We hope these will meet with your approval. 
 
Once again, thank you for meeting with us. I look forward to working with you to advance the provincial mandate to 
protect t

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