Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee regular meeting, June 17, 2025

[0:00:15] Voice 29: Well, good afternoon, everyone.

[0:00:17] Trustee Patrick: I'm Laura Patrick. I'm chair of the council, and I have the distinct honor of introducing Chief Palpey, Nassau First Nation.

[0:00:25] Trustee Patrick: It's

[0:00:44] Voice 32: good to see you.

[0:00:46] Voice 32: There you go.

[0:01:23] Voice 32: And

[0:01:24] Voice 39: they

[0:01:48] Voice 43: said that they come from the villages of Steyas on Pender Island and here in Salt Spring known as Wananich.

[0:02:00] Voice 43: and stay is means in the English terms to us is the place of the deep and when

[0:02:10] Voice 43: that which means if you're ever out on our property here and in our traditional

[0:02:17] Voice 43: village site here and salt spring is when that means facing sandwich you know

[0:02:24] Voice 43: Right through there, on the point there, you could see the governance of the person that you steward.

[0:03:20] Voice 43: So I'm very gracious.

[0:03:22] Voice 43: It's very gracious of you to have me here, and I'm very honored again to be here to welcome you.

[0:03:28] Voice 43: And in our cultural fashion, we sing in our ways of praying because we've been afforded prayer through talking through Christianity.

[0:03:44] Voice 43: You know, and there's actually a prayer song that alludes to that coming together with Christianity and our people because, you know, some of our people are of Christian origin.

[0:03:57] Voice 43: and it's uh known as the the shaker piece you know and through that

[0:04:02] Voice 43: so there are some pretty

[0:04:04] Voice 43: amazing songs of uh coming together but um in history what i'm about to sing is the uh the

[0:04:11] Voice 43: paddle welcome song and it's ourselves again in the culture and uh ground ourselves and bring

[0:04:19] Voice 43: ourselves in a good

[0:04:21] Voice 43: two spaces and

[0:04:22] Voice 43: you know, in our

[0:04:25] Voice 43: spiritual

[0:04:25] Voice 43: way we are as first

[0:04:29] Voice 43: people

[0:04:29] Voice 43: it grounds us in that

[0:04:32] Voice 43: responsibility and lets

[0:04:34] Voice 43: the ancestors know that we're here

[0:04:36] Voice 43: and we're doing good work

[0:04:38] Voice 43: so, you know, I'm going to

[0:04:40] Voice 43: say in English terms

[0:04:42] Voice 43: the battle welcomes

[0:04:43] Voice 43: and we used to again in history

[0:04:46] Voice 43: sing this to other nations to

[0:04:49] Voice 43: and other tribes know that we're not a threat to your church

[0:04:58] Voice 43: and to know that we're brethren and we're here in peace.

[0:05:03] Voice 43: So we would sing this song and lay down our paths

[0:05:07] Voice 43: and show the tribesmen and the nation that we're going to visit

[0:05:13] Voice 43: to know that we're not a threat.

[0:05:15] Voice 43: So, and I just want to, again, welcome us into this space today with a paddle welcome song.

[0:05:23] Voice 43: You may stand if you see fit.

[0:07:00] Voice 43: Thank you so much, and again, welcome, and have a great meeting here.

[0:07:06] Voice 43: I

[0:07:10] Trustee Patrick: want to thank you, Chief Elfie, for coming and opening our meeting in a good way to do this work this week.

[0:07:18] Trustee Patrick: Thank you again for coming.

[0:07:21] Trustee Patrick: thank you so much thank you have

[0:07:23] Voice 43: a great thing everyone i'll be in the back just observing for

[0:07:27] Voice 43: a little while before i stop thank you so much right

[0:07:47] Trustee Patrick: now i can proceed with the work in a good

[0:07:52] Trustee Patrick: way so i'd like to uh open um this meeting of trust council and the official department for

[0:08:01] Trustee Patrick: council made decisions about matters affecting the entire trust area including setting up setting

[0:08:07] Trustee Patrick: the annual budget being monitored and adopted in a meeting and creating general policies

[0:08:15] Trustee Patrick: let's make sure that we spend time to understand the issues

[0:08:28] Trustee Patrick: and we need to do our discussions and the tone of our meeting

[0:08:33] Trustee Patrick: and we must make sure

[0:08:36] Trustee Patrick: for everyone to express their views

[0:08:40] Trustee Patrick: this is also a place where our staff have the right

[0:08:44] Trustee Patrick: to show

[0:09:25] Voice 29: their emotions

[0:09:26] Voice 29: if you want to have an emotion

[0:09:28] Trustee Patrick: at islandstrust.bc.ca

[0:09:33] Trustee Patrick: if you really want to enforce that

[0:09:35] Trustee Patrick: I want to remind you of some of the roles that the executive committee are playing here at the

[0:09:41] Trustee Patrick: front table. I'm going to do my best to chair the meeting. Vice Chair Maud is going to be keeping

[0:09:47] Trustee Patrick: the speakers list to wave him down. We are going to prioritize first speakers, so if you think he's

[0:09:53] Trustee Patrick: skipping over you, it might be because you're a second speaker, and he is skipping over you until

[0:09:57] Trustee Patrick: all first speakers have an opportunity to speak. Vice Chair Peterson is working the screens to make

[0:10:04] Trustee Patrick: sure the people online are getting considered and monitored for their communications and uh vice

[0:10:10] Trustee Patrick: chair elliott is going to be running that time clock that uh i'm

[0:10:34] Voice 29: sure you are thinking of all

[0:10:36] Trustee Patrick: the troubles that are going on in the world what's happening the border frightening you know a senate

[0:10:44] Trustee Patrick: removed from a press conference in handcuffs state legislators shot and killed spread of

[0:10:50] Trustee Patrick: misinformation today is a work of trust and elective. I look around this room and up on the

[0:11:03] Trustee Patrick: screen. I'm honored to be working with each and every one of you. You stepped into this public

[0:11:10] Trustee Patrick: role to work for the good of your islands and for the people who call this home. Most of the issues

[0:11:18] Trustee Patrick: The issues that we face, they didn't just happen.

[0:11:24] Trustee Patrick: These have evolved over a great deal of time,

[0:11:27] Trustee Patrick: and many of them have severe consequences.

[0:11:32] Trustee Patrick: The island stress itself, it's a complex organization,

[0:11:35] Trustee Patrick: and it's a form of government that doesn't exist

[0:11:37] Trustee Patrick: anywhere else in the world.

[0:11:39] Trustee Patrick: You stepped into this hole because you recognized

[0:11:42] Trustee Patrick: action is needed.

[0:11:44] Trustee Patrick: This weekend, there was a hate-filled graffiti spree

[0:11:51] Trustee Patrick: in Duncan.

[0:11:55] Trustee Patrick: And I loved what Mayor Staple has said.

[0:11:58] Trustee Patrick: She said, hate is loud, love is louder.

[0:12:03] Trustee Patrick: And it's with this spirit that we're meeting today to work together.

[0:12:08] Trustee Patrick: And I look forward to this meeting this week.

[0:12:12] Trustee Patrick: I want to do a round of introductions.

[0:12:15] Trustee Patrick: And we'll start on that end with Trustee Borthwick.

[0:12:20] Trustee Patrick: So please introduce yourself, the island you come from, so that our guests know where you come from.

[0:12:25] Voice 11: My name is Sam Boyk. I'm privileged to be elected on Denman Island to stake in the Comox First Nations traditional territories.

[0:12:36] Voice 37: My name is Susan Yates. I'm elected for the Giriola Trust Area. That includes Mudge Island and Corsi Island, and it's in the Nemah Territory.

[0:12:48] Voice 13: My name is Peter Graham. I'm locally elected on Denman Island, the traditional territory of the Pentlatch, the Qualicum, and the Comox.

[0:12:58] Voice 8: Peter Lockham, elected in the Thetis Island Coast area, and of course that's Lyacton and

[0:13:05] Voice 8: every day to wake up in that beautiful place.

[0:13:30] Voice 32: I'm elected on

[0:13:37] Voice 22: Galeano and core territories of the Penelagate.

[0:13:40] Voice 22: Swill

[0:13:44] Voice 27: and Fast, elected on Nucleocum, which is Bowen Island, and Ketsam-Pow Sound, territory on the Squamish Nation, Bowen Island is.

[0:13:56] Voice 23: Toby Elliott, elected on Gabriela Island, in the name of First Nation Territory.

[0:14:21] Voice 17: Christina Evans, elected on Steyr South Pender, traditional territories of many Coast Salish peoples.

[0:14:28] Voice 17: Both.

[0:14:32] Voice 40: Alex on Hornby Island, we call it Hornby Island, and the unceded territory, it was the ceded territory that confused Comoxa, First Nations, and other Coast Salish people.

[0:14:48] Voice 19: Dag Falk, South Pender.

[0:14:50] Voice 19: Lee

[0:14:58] Voice 35: Millerton, that's the Turn Island, the traditional territory of the Sanctum peoples.

[0:15:05] Voice 7: Ben Maberly, elected on Galliano Island, traditional territory of the Penelope tribe, home and family.

[0:15:14] Voice 5: Jamie Harris, elected on Salt Spring Island. And I might add that some of my largest campaign supporters was documented with Elections BC or local First Nations.

[0:15:31] Trustee Patrick: Are we working online now? Okay, online. We'll do introductions. Going to go with Trustee Stamford.

[0:15:44] Voice 20: She's picking her daughter up at the ferry.

[0:15:46] Voice 20: All right, Trustee Stamford from Gambier. Trustee Dodds.

[0:15:50] Voice 20: I'm here. I'm on the ferry, as usual. We're just a little bit late, but I'll be there shortly.

[0:15:56] Voice 20: Janine Dodds, Main Island, Sixtak, reserve land of the Tsar'lip and home to the W̱SÁNEĆ people for

[0:16:03] Voice 20: time memorial.

[0:16:05] Voice 1: Trustee Boland?

[0:16:09] Voice 1: Hello from the ferry lineup at Schwartz Bay. I learned last night to pronounce this properly,

[0:16:17] Voice 1: I hope, so I'm trustee for Tlec'texan.

[0:16:23] Voice 1: Saturna Island.

[0:16:26] Trustee Patrick: Wonderful.

[0:16:27] Trustee Patrick: Trustee Laroni?

[0:16:31] Voice 26: Trustee Natalia Laroni with CD Island.

[0:16:34] Voice 26: All

[0:16:35] Trustee Patrick: right, welcome.

[0:16:36] Trustee Patrick: I think we got everyone.

[0:16:38] Trustee Patrick: I'd like to introduce our CAO, Ruben Broni,

[0:16:42] Trustee Patrick: to introduce the staff that are joining us today.

[0:16:45] Voice 33: Thank you, Chair, and good afternoon, Trust Council.

[0:16:48] Voice 33: I'm Ruben Broni, CAO of Islands Trust.

[0:16:51] Voice 33: We have quite a number of staff joining us today.

[0:16:54] Voice 33: a Director of Trust Area Services, Claire Frater, our Senior Indigenous Relations Advisor, Joe Elliott,

[0:17:01] Voice 33: Director of Legislative Services, David Marber.

[0:17:04] Voice 33: Online is Director of Financial Employee Services, Julia Mobs.

[0:17:09] Voice 33: Regional Planning Manager Robert Kojima is here, and he's standing in for our Director of Planning Services, who's away.

[0:17:16] Voice 33: Also with us is Regional Planning Manager for South Spring, Chris Hutton,

[0:17:19] Voice 33: our meeting administrator lisa millard and our executive coordinator alexandra truffini

[0:17:25] Voice 33: thank you all

[0:17:28] Trustee Patrick: right welcome everyone so we have an agenda before us are there any additions or

[0:17:34] Trustee Patrick: changes to the addendum uh to the to the agenda and i will note that an addendum was sent to you

[0:17:40] Trustee Patrick: earlier from alexandra so hopefully you received that are there any additions or changes seeing

[0:17:48] Trustee Patrick: Seeing none, can we agree through general consent to approve the agenda as amended with

[0:17:52] Trustee Patrick: the addendum?

[0:17:53] Trustee Patrick: Thank you so much.

[0:17:56] Trustee Patrick: So we're going to move on for the first item here.

[0:18:00] Trustee Patrick: I know it says in your due general consent of all of those items in that group, but I'm

[0:18:05] Trustee Patrick: going to first ask that we do general consent of just items 4.11 through 4.13 so that we

[0:18:15] Trustee Patrick: can allow the reports from our chairs.

[0:18:17] Trustee Patrick: chairs so can we agree for those first three three items through general consent thank

[0:18:25] Trustee Patrick: you so that we're going to move into the our various committees and we'll have reports

[0:18:32] Trustee Patrick: from each of our chairs and then we can look at agreeing to their work programs so the

[0:18:40] Trustee Patrick: The first committee that's up is the executive committee, me.

[0:18:45] Trustee Patrick: I think for all of you, I've been trying to put out the weekly reports, and I appreciate

[0:18:51] Trustee Patrick: the feedback that I've received back.

[0:18:53] Trustee Patrick: I'm open to comments, so please let me know if I can make them better, trying to make

[0:18:57] Trustee Patrick: sure you know what's happening during the week, any decisions that were made, and activities

[0:19:01] Trustee Patrick: that are going on at the executive committee.

[0:19:04] Trustee Patrick: So I think we're trying hard to be far more transparent to the work that we're doing and that driving some of the decisions back to Trust Council that belong here.

[0:19:16] Trustee Patrick: And hopefully you'll see those differences as we go forward.

[0:19:20] Trustee Patrick: And that's really all I have to report.

[0:19:23] Trustee Patrick: And we're going to wait.

[0:19:25] Trustee Patrick: I know Trustee Getty is stuck in ferry lineups and I'm making her way here.

[0:19:30] Trustee Patrick: So we'll have to give her an opportunity to report later, I believe.

[0:19:35] Trustee Patrick: and that brings us to uh chair sue ellen fast of the financial planning committee over to you

[0:19:40] Trustee Patrick: thanks

[0:19:45] Voice 27: everybody um i'm uh you can see on page 49 there our work program also known as our active

[0:19:53] Voice 27: projects list on our follow-up actions list anyway took me a while to figure out these names all meant

[0:20:00] Voice 27: the same thing when you're looking at it in this perspective i just uh hope you're going to approve

[0:20:04] Voice 27: this work plan. Our committee's working well. We've completed, this is an updated work program

[0:20:12] Voice 27: because we completed all the scheduled tasks on it. And today, later on page 92, we'll come to

[0:20:20] Voice 27: the audited financial statements. So we'll look for your approval or your questions or inquiries

[0:20:25] Voice 27: there with staff. And thanks to the staff and the auditors, got this done lickety split. And

[0:20:31] Voice 27: And our next meeting is in August.

[0:20:34] Voice 27: Before then, we will have received the pre-budget survey results, we hope.

[0:20:40] Voice 27: So that pre-budget survey is open now.

[0:20:42] Voice 27: So please encourage everybody in your islands to pitch in and let us know their views.

[0:20:47] Voice 27: Thank you.

[0:20:49] Trustee Patrick: Thank you very much.

[0:20:50] Trustee Patrick: Over for the Regional Planning Committee, the Chair, Mairead Boland.

[0:20:56] Voice 1: Hi, everybody.

[0:20:57] Voice 1: I'll leave my video off just for the moment.

[0:21:00] Voice 1: um so the next regional planning meeting is on july the 18th and we have quite a program in

[0:21:09] Voice 1: front of us i'll just reflect on what we covered recently and i'm you so first of all i'd like to

[0:21:17] Voice 1: thank laura and sam particularly for steering us so well this thus far and sam will continue to be

[0:21:25] Voice 1: be my um assistant in all these matters so it's great to have you know somebody who's familiar

[0:21:32] Voice 1: and has been through this in that position so thank you both um so at the last meeting i'll

[0:21:38] Voice 1: just go quickly through we covered bylaw compliance and enforcement uh the policy is uh has been

[0:21:45] Voice 1: forwarded as amended and now the work will be to harmonize the best practices manual with the

[0:21:53] Voice 1: policy and the new biologist patricia woodruff gave us a very interesting presentation on her

[0:22:02] Voice 1: work plans we had a verbal update on the freshwater sustainability strategy that's quite

[0:22:09] Voice 1: complex at the moment there's a lot of things rolled into it and hopefully we'll get more

[0:22:15] Voice 1: clarity over the next three or four months and of course the focus at the moment will be on the

[0:22:20] Voice 1: completing the gabriola work um the housing strategic action plan and housing toolkit

[0:22:29] Voice 1: there are amendments planned by the staff just to freshen it up um and then the tiny homes on

[0:22:37] Voice 1: wheels enablement project the final report came in and there was a very well received presentation

[0:22:44] Voice 1: presentation at the AVICC and I think it was Toby primarily who was responsible for that

[0:22:52] Voice 1: it was very well received and the whole project kind of identified some

[0:22:57] Voice 1: let's say low-hanging fruit quick wins potentially so now Vanessa Craig who's the RDN

[0:23:05] Voice 1: director and chair of rdn board she has submitted a proposed session for ubcm called tiny homes for

[0:23:18] Voice 1: rural housing and that will focus on the barriers that still exist to tiny homes and hopefully um

[0:23:29] Voice 1: some more good things will come from that and in the fall perhaps we'll try and have a webinar

[0:23:34] Voice 1: webinar the housing needs report was presented and people find it a bit disappointing it didn't

[0:23:42] Voice 1: really um it didn't really do the trick for the islands maybe in general for rural areas

[0:23:48] Voice 1: so there was a general feeling that there should be feedback provided um just to say like how could

[0:23:56] Voice 1: Could it be made better for us because, you know, the content didn't really answer questions or give us specifics?

[0:24:07] Voice 1: In reviewing for this, I was very interested.

[0:24:10] Voice 1: I looked at the survey.

[0:24:11] Voice 1: I love a good survey and I hate some of the results.

[0:24:15] Voice 1: But anyway, the priority, one of the priorities, well, the number one thing was 19% of the respondents said preservation of open spaces was number one.

[0:24:27] Voice 1: I'm not entirely sure exactly what that means.

[0:24:30] Voice 1: Maybe it means chop down all the trees to make open spaces, but I don't think so.

[0:24:35] Voice 1: But the second highest item was reduced homelessness.

[0:24:39] Voice 1: listless and I found that quite amazing that in the trust area that together with open spaces were

[0:24:49] Voice 1: it was the second highest goal aim aspiration of the people who answered the survey

[0:24:56] Voice 1: and and then the last thing I just want to mention is that we have agreed on the business cases that

[0:25:05] Voice 1: that will be prepared.

[0:25:07] Voice 1: They are, as usual, quite wide ranging.

[0:25:11] Voice 1: So there'll have to be a lot of harsh decisions made.

[0:25:15] Voice 1: And one item that'll come up in the next few months

[0:25:18] Voice 1: is the housing action, sorry, the strategic plan

[0:25:24] Voice 1: could have a little minor update

[0:25:26] Voice 1: because it doesn't really address housing very specifically.

[0:25:32] Voice 1: and so at the next meeting and then we if we agree on something we'll bring it to september

[0:25:38] Voice 1: there might be an amendment of the strategic plan to really put some meat on an item that

[0:25:44] Voice 1: addresses housing better so that's it for me thank you all right thank you very much

[0:25:52] Trustee Patrick: trust programs committee chair christine evans thank

[0:25:59] Voice 17: you and i'm just going to thank you for

[0:26:02] Voice 17: patience in advance this may be a little longer than normal for one of my reports

[0:26:07] Voice 17: on our active projects report that you see on the in the agenda package we have you'll

[0:26:14] Voice 17: likely notice that there's been some changes we have made language changes in here in order to

[0:26:20] Voice 17: marry them up with the current items that are on the strategic plan so that they have a place

[0:26:28] Voice 17: in here um also with the newly expanded trust programs committee we met multiple times in both

[0:26:37] Voice 17: regular and special meetings to continue the review of the draft trust policy amendments

[0:26:42] Voice 17: we made a lot of progress completing the remaining sections for review completing outstanding trustee

[0:26:48] Voice 17: initiated motions that had come forward both from the committee of the whole meetings as well as

[0:26:54] Voice 17: within the Trust Programme Committee meetings.

[0:26:59] Voice 17: We reviewed the edits to respond to First Nations feedback

[0:27:02] Voice 17: received by Ireland's Trust.

[0:27:04] Voice 17: And also additional work was done on completing the implementation section

[0:27:09] Voice 17: that was initiated in the Committee of the Whole meeting as well.

[0:27:14] Voice 17: At Trust Programme's Committee's request,

[0:27:17] Voice 17: staff undertook a copy-edit exercise to ensure that all changes had been captured,

[0:27:21] Voice 17: grammar issues were identified and consistency of style tone and policy

[0:27:27] Voice 17: were aligned. This was also reviewed by the committee in detail. On May

[0:27:33] Voice 17: 7th we held vice chair elections as trustee Allen needed to resign due to

[0:27:37] Voice 17: external commitments so we're definitely going to miss his voice at our meetings

[0:27:42] Voice 17: we've really appreciated having you and your opinions and positions there so

[0:27:48] Voice 17: so that's definitely going to be missed.

[0:27:50] Voice 17: So thank you.

[0:27:52] Voice 17: Trustee Peterson was nominated

[0:27:54] Voice 17: and graciously accepted the position by acclamation.

[0:27:57] Voice 17: He also accepted the duty of being Trust Program Committee's

[0:28:01] Voice 17: representative at the financial committee meetings.

[0:28:04] Voice 17: For the Secretariat Services to Coordination Groups,

[0:28:08] Voice 17: we allocated the funds,

[0:28:11] Voice 17: and that can be found in our minutes.

[0:28:13] Voice 17: There is a balance remaining,

[0:28:15] Voice 17: and that is earmarked for anticipated

[0:28:18] Voice 17: anticipated late autumn applications that we generally get in each year. With regards to the

[0:28:24] Voice 17: stewardship education program, there is a briefing that's brought forward to you later on in this

[0:28:31] Voice 17: agenda. Currently for this year, we have a number of webinars that we are going to be looking at

[0:28:41] Voice 17: pursuing. One of them is the, and I apologize in advance, I'm not as good at saying this as you are,

[0:28:48] Voice 17: the Hoyete-Lasquite Archaeology Project,

[0:28:52] Voice 17: Protecting the Shoreline,

[0:28:53] Voice 17: A Shared Responsibility,

[0:28:55] Voice 17: Rain Gardens,

[0:28:57] Voice 17: Working Towards a Fallow Deer Strategy,

[0:29:01] Voice 17: and Species at Risk on Your Property

[0:29:03] Voice 17: and How to Become a Habitat Steward.

[0:29:05] Voice 17: So there's five webinars

[0:29:07] Voice 17: that we're looking to create this year.

[0:29:11] Voice 17: And I think I'm going to leave it there.

[0:29:14] Voice 17: Thank you very much for listening.

[0:29:18] Trustee Patrick: Thank you.

[0:29:19] Trustee Patrick: you all. When Trustee Getty arrives, we'll allow her an opportunity to speak when we can fit her

[0:29:25] Trustee Patrick: into the agenda. And with that, can I get through general consent, adopt the recommendations as

[0:29:31] Trustee Patrick: presented for items 4131 through 4135? Is

[0:29:37] Trustee Patrick: that yes or no? Sorry. Trustee Evans?

[0:29:45] Voice 17: Sorry, apologies. I've got a question, and I think this has been asked before, but I'm not clear on

[0:29:49] Voice 17: the answer um on page 38 we have the islands trust council goals and i think i've asked

[0:29:57] Voice 17: before where did this come from because i don't remember

[0:30:00] Voice 17: working on it. Did this come from when we were working on the strategic plan and this was part

[0:30:05] Voice 17: of the brainstorming that we did? Because if it was part of the brainstorming, I'm not sure that

[0:30:12] Voice 17: it should necessarily be captured as this. My question is, where did this come from? I'm not

[0:30:19] Voice 17: clear. And then I may have a question.

[0:30:22] Trustee Patrick: This item was already approved through

[0:30:24] Trustee Patrick: general consent, but is

[0:30:26] Trustee Patrick: CAO Browning?

[0:30:28] Voice 33: It predates my time, and so I'll

[0:30:31] Voice 33: look to staff if anyone else has any

[0:30:33] Voice 33: history on where those goals came from.

[0:30:35] Voice 33: I think we have discussed that they could be

[0:30:37] Voice 33: updated to better align with the strategic

[0:30:38] Voice 33: plan and the five key

[0:30:41] Voice 33: initiatives under the strategic plan.

[0:30:45] Trustee Patrick: Work in progress.

[0:30:48] Trustee Patrick: To follow up?

[0:30:51] Voice 17: If this hasn't been,

[0:30:52] Voice 17: if this isn't something that's

[0:30:54] Voice 17: actually come from this committee

[0:30:56] Voice 17: as an item that's being identified as official council goals should they remain in here or should

[0:31:04] Voice 17: they be removed until they have actually had a stamp of approval from this committee these are

[0:31:10] Voice 17: these are these wound up in here at some point um and unless this committee has actually agreed

[0:31:16] Voice 17: that these are our actual goals i don't think they should be identified as this trust council's

[0:31:21] Voice 17: goals and as such they should be removed until we can do that i

[0:31:26] Trustee Patrick: hear you it's like so it's an item

[0:31:28] Trustee Patrick: we already had approved through general consent um and i i think it is intended that this should

[0:31:34] Trustee Patrick: be updated oh sorry uh vice chair elliott so

[0:31:39] Voice 23: to have these been revised since we've reviewed this

[0:31:42] Voice 23: executive committee because this set of goals looks different like it matches our current

[0:31:47] Voice 23: strategic plan these are the goals in our current strategic plan so i think we are actually on track

[0:31:54] Voice 23: from what i'm reading okay

[0:31:57] Trustee Patrick: uh just a moment i see director mob said her hand raised on

[0:32:02] Trustee Patrick: this is a different item

[0:32:03] Voice 44: thanks chair in support of my colleagues and trustee elliott that is

[0:32:07] Voice 44: correct the islands trust council goals that are identified uh in this document are meant

[0:32:13] Voice 44: to reflect the goals that are in the strategic plan um the initiatives for each committee

[0:32:18] Voice 44: committee are meant to reflect the work programs of each committee, and those work programs are

[0:32:23] Voice 44: meant to be action items that support Trust Council goals. So that's the intent of this

[0:32:28] Voice 44: document here. I believe, as Trustee Elliott says, it has been updated to reflect the newly adopted

[0:32:34] Voice 44: strategic plan goals.

[0:32:36] Trustee Patrick: There we go. So it is updated. Okay, Trustee Evans?

[0:32:41] Voice 17: Apologies. I still,

[0:32:43] Voice 17: my question still remains, when we're going through the brainstorming activity to come up

[0:32:48] Voice 17: with these goals. They were a brainstorming activity. These weren't intended to be a goal

[0:32:53] Voice 17: setting activity to be reflected as such. I don't recall that being the case. And the way that these

[0:33:00] Voice 17: are worded, it's still part of a brainstorming activity. So I think at some point we should

[0:33:09] Voice 17: look at this and clarify the language in here, because the language that's used in here

[0:33:18] Voice 17: is, I'll deal with this offline.

[0:33:21] Voice 17: CEO Ronnie?

[0:33:22] Voice 33: Yeah, thank you.

[0:33:23] Voice 33: And my thanks to Vice Chair Elliott for clarifying

[0:33:25] Voice 33: that they actually have been updated.

[0:33:27] Voice 33: And what they are is when you look back at the strategic plan,

[0:33:29] Voice 33: there's the columns goals and desired outcomes.

[0:33:32] Voice 33: And that's what you see listed here as goals.

[0:33:34] Voice 33: And so these were approved as part of the strategic plan in March.

[0:33:38] Voice 33: It's that goals and desired outcomes column within the scrap.

[0:33:42] Voice 33: All

[0:33:43] Trustee Patrick: right, so we're back through,

[0:33:45] Trustee Patrick: Can we approve through general consent the reports and items 4131 through 4135?

[0:33:51] Trustee Patrick: Thank you.

[0:33:52] Trustee Patrick: I do want to mention that there are a couple of vacancies on committees.

[0:33:55] Trustee Patrick: If you're looking for more work to do, the Financial Planning Committee does have a vacancy, as well as the Regional Planning Committee.

[0:34:02] Trustee Patrick: So over the next few days, I would really love if you're interested in putting your name forward for more work on more committees, I'd welcome it.

[0:34:11] Trustee Patrick: So please.

[0:34:12] Trustee Patrick: um now we have the um accessibility committee report from uh chair lisa gabriel thank you chair

[0:34:23] Voice 22: um the accessibility committee continues to work on our trap accessibility plan for 2025

[0:34:30] Voice 22: 2028 it outlines how the islas trust will remove and prevent barriers in areas like employment

[0:34:39] Voice 22: communications and public meetings. At our last meeting on April 15th, we were unable to reach

[0:34:46] Voice 22: quorum, but to date we did begin reviewing a draft plan. We also approved application for funds

[0:34:54] Voice 22: through the local community accessibility grant, a provincial fund offering up to $25,000

[0:35:00] Voice 22: to support initiatives identified in the accessibility plans. In addition, I want to

[0:35:08] Voice 22: To highlight a valuable training opportunity hosted by Disability Alliance BC on June 26th at 1 p.m.,

[0:35:17] Voice 22: they'll launch a new set of e-learning modules to support effective participation on accessibility committees.

[0:35:26] Voice 22: This is free modules developed with the input from the disability communities, local governments, and it's funded by the province.

[0:35:33] Voice 22: other helpful resource for the community committee members for staff or any public sector

[0:35:40] Voice 22: organization that is seeking to build capacity around accessibility engagement it's an excellent

[0:35:48] Voice 22: resource uh i signed up already um and our next meeting is scheduled for thursday july 10th

[0:35:56] Voice 22: um that's it for me all

[0:35:59] Trustee Patrick: right well thank you very much and glad we have this committee at least

[0:36:02] Trustee Patrick: sort of up and running. That's good. I just noted when I meant at the opening for introductions to

[0:36:10] Trustee Patrick: introduce one of the people in our audience today. We have the constituency coordinator

[0:36:15] Trustee Patrick: for MP Elizabeth May's office, Asia Emerson, who's sitting over here. She's going to be

[0:36:22] Trustee Patrick: here for the next few days. I encourage you to meet her and talk to her while she's here,

[0:36:27] Trustee Patrick: and welcome and I'm glad you're here.

[0:36:31] Trustee Patrick: So we have no new business, which I find great.

[0:36:36] Voice 40: Did

[0:36:36] Trustee Patrick: I skip the Conservancy Report?

[0:36:38] Trustee Patrick: I sure did.

[0:36:39] Trustee Patrick: Thank you.

[0:36:39] Trustee Patrick: So we're going to stick with Chair Capereau.

[0:36:43] Trustee Patrick: Item 4136 is the Islands Trust Conservancy Report.

[0:36:47] Voice 22: Great.

[0:36:48] Voice 22: Thank you, Chair.

[0:36:51] Voice 22: Yeah, I'd like to start with a little conservation snapshot.

[0:36:54] Voice 22: shot um the date itc has 115 protected properties across the trust area 34 nature reserves 81

[0:37:03] Voice 22: conservation covenants and 29 nap tip certificates um just some highlights from our most recent

[0:37:11] Voice 22: meeting and we had a productive discussion with the ministry of housing and municipal affairs

[0:37:16] Voice 22: about land transfers and with indigenous governing bodies the ministry met recommended that we

[0:37:23] Voice 22: We developed formal policy and included it within our five-year plan for the review.

[0:37:30] Voice 22: We also received a species at risk update connected to North Pender, a bylaw referral.

[0:37:37] Voice 22: And the board reviewed the updated raptor and heron nest EPA.

[0:37:43] Voice 22: It's mapping along with new species data that will help inform some planning later down the road.

[0:37:51] Voice 22: Trustee Patrick joined us for our last meeting where we had a planning session for our joint

[0:37:57] Voice 22: EC-ITC meeting. Trustee Elliott gave us an update on trust council and our board also sent a letter

[0:38:09] Voice 22: of thanks to the organizers of funding our future conference in Esquimalt and we expressed interest

[0:38:17] Voice 22: interest in participating in the idea of a regional conservation fund as we move forward.

[0:38:23] Voice 22: Under land protection and securement, we have continued negotiations for two new nature

[0:38:30] Voice 22: reserves on Galliano and Salt Spring, and two NAPTEP covenants on North Pender and Salt Spring

[0:38:37] Voice 22: as well. We also responded to securement inquiries from Saturna, Salt Spring, and Denman Island.

[0:38:45] Voice 22: Island. Under property management and covenant management, the 2025 monitoring program has

[0:38:53] Voice 22: been initiated. Invasive species and restoration projects were launched on four different islands.

[0:38:59] Voice 22: Habitat work is underway on Saturna, North Pender, Bowen, Salt Spring, and archaeological

[0:39:08] Voice 22: field work is now in progress on Link Island and Saturna Islands. We're also developing

[0:39:15] Voice 22: developing a new First Nations referral tracking system for management plans.

[0:39:21] Voice 22: And we've made some minor covenant amendments in Gabriola and North Pender.

[0:39:28] Voice 22: For outreach and communications, it's the 35th anniversary of the Island Conservancy.

[0:39:35] Voice 22: We've had some blogs, we post them online.

[0:39:39] Voice 22: Some Species at Risk educational materials have been shared.

[0:39:43] Voice 22: Plenty of events to celebrate new NAPDEP.

[0:39:46] Voice 22: Covenant. We also have Reflections from the Field, a campaign launched on social media.

[0:39:53] Voice 22: And of course, the spring edition of the Herring newsletter. And later today, you'll have a little

[0:40:00] Voice 22: slideshow presented by myself. Under Board Operations, our annual audit was finalized,

[0:40:10] Voice 22: approved by the Board, and it's page 146 of this agenda, as you'll see later. And our

[0:40:17] Voice 22: Our draft 2026-2029 budget is prepared, and our next meeting is July 22nd.

[0:40:24] Voice 22: Thank you.

[0:40:25] Voice 22: That's all for me.

[0:40:26] Trustee Patrick: Well, thank you.

[0:40:27] Trustee Patrick: And I really want to thank you.

[0:40:28] Trustee Patrick: You're working hard to raise the profile of the Conservancy.

[0:40:32] Trustee Patrick: I know she's offered and will be coming to many of your local trust committees to tell you what's going on and speak to your local constituents.

[0:40:40] Trustee Patrick: So thank you for the work you do.

[0:40:42] Trustee Patrick: So we're going to move on to then the correspondence.

[0:40:45] Trustee Patrick: Respondents, item 6.1 on page 60 of your agenda package, a letter from Wasanich Leadership Council.

[0:40:53] Trustee Patrick: I don't know, is anyone going to speak to this or Director Rader, can you update us on the work that's related to this or any next steps?

[0:41:05] Voice 21: Certainly, Chair. As a result of this letter, we've been tasked by the Executive Committee with setting up a meeting.

[0:41:10] Voice 21: We've heard from the Wasanich Leadership Council that perhaps late July, August might be best for them.

[0:41:15] Voice 21: so we're just awaiting a word from them on what the best meeting date would be all

[0:41:20] Trustee Patrick: right so we

[0:41:21] Trustee Patrick: don't need any direction so it's received for information questions okay the next item is

[0:41:27] Trustee Patrick: 6.2 on page 62 a reply from transport canada we'll receive this for information unless anyone

[0:41:43] Trustee Patrick: has any action okay so the next one item 6.3 on page 65 status of the herring population

[0:41:51] Trustee Patrick: spawning around denman island receive that one for information we have item 6.4 on page 67

[0:42:04] Trustee Patrick: this is a letter from the north salt spring waterworks district uh to minister kalen this

[0:42:11] Trustee Patrick: has a motion island uh the salt spring local trust committee has uh recommended that this

[0:42:18] Trustee Patrick: be added to this agenda and that trust council um support endorsement of the request i guess

[0:42:25] Trustee Patrick: no one really was prepared to talk about that i guess that's got to be me um so this i can speak

[0:42:31] Trustee Patrick: to this issue because this did come up through uh salt spring uh north salt spring water district is

[0:42:36] Trustee Patrick: an improvement district uh it has worked hard for had a moratorium for many years it has worked to

[0:42:42] Trustee Patrick: lift the moratorium um and but they have no ability to limit connections so there is a

[0:42:52] Trustee Patrick: precious number of new connections that they have identified within their system but they'd really

[0:42:59] Trustee Patrick: like to find a way to direct those new connections to the housing that we need in the community

[0:43:04] Trustee Patrick: and that's what this is essentially asking they're either asking that us as a body the

[0:43:10] Trustee Patrick: islands trust either have an ability to direct connections at improvement districts or that

[0:43:18] Trustee Patrick: improvement districts be given the authority to direct new connections uh for priorities

[0:43:26] Trustee Patrick: and communities or housing uh that we need uh

[0:43:37] Voice 19: yes uh trustee flyer oh let me um moratorium

[0:43:43] Voice 19: what's moratorium on uh

[0:43:45] Trustee Patrick: they had had moratorium on all new connections has been in place since

[0:43:49] Trustee Patrick: since 2014, I believe.

[0:43:52] Voice 19: So no new connections, but you just also said,

[0:43:55] Voice 19: if I heard you right, that there were connections approved

[0:43:58] Voice 19: and they weren't able to stop.

[0:44:00] Voice 19: They've now

[0:44:00] Trustee Patrick: lifted the moratorium,

[0:44:02] Voice 19: and

[0:44:03] Trustee Patrick: there is capacity in the system

[0:44:05] Trustee Patrick: for a number of new connections.

[0:44:12] Trustee Patrick: Sorry, I think Trustee Luckman had his hand raised first.

[0:44:17] Trustee Patrick: Trustee Luckman?

[0:44:18] Voice 8: Do you need a motion to endorse it?

[0:44:20] Voice 8: um

[0:44:21] Trustee Patrick: i think so is that what you had trustee peterson i

[0:44:25] Voice 9: was just going to point sorry i was

[0:44:28] Voice 9: just going to point out that the sentence that the direct ask is um in the letter is the bottom

[0:44:33] Voice 9: page 67 we respectfully ask the province to empower the islands trust or north salt spring

[0:44:39] Voice 9: water district the regulatory tools necessary to ensure these new water connections are allocated

[0:44:44] Voice 9: to where they are needed most in our community which speaks to the housing issues and if possible

[0:44:49] Voice 9: for bc housing to immediately prioritize any potential new projects partnerships

[0:44:53] Voice 9: uh within the ganges area so that is the that's the real pith of the ask and um and that's why

[0:44:59] Voice 9: uh the salt spring local trust committee is requesting uh trust council to uh to endorse

[0:45:05] Voice 9: this letter all

[0:45:08] Trustee Patrick: right would you like to go ahead uh trustee baston um i'd like

[0:45:15] Voice 27: to make the motion

[0:45:16] Voice 27: that would be wonderful

[0:45:18] Voice 27: I'm in support of this idea

[0:45:20] Voice 27: and I'll speak to it shortly after that

[0:45:22] Voice 27: I move that the Salt Spring

[0:45:24] Voice 27: Island Local Trust Committee

[0:45:25] Voice 27: the Trust Council

[0:45:26] Voice 27: oh look at that, I'm reading from the cover page

[0:45:30] Voice 27: I move that

[0:45:32] Voice 27: Trust Council

[0:45:34] Voice 27: recommends

[0:45:40] Voice 27: that the Trust Council support the

[0:45:42] Voice 27: endorsement of the request by

[0:45:45] Voice 27: North Salt

[0:45:46] Voice 27: Spring Waterworks District

[0:45:47] Voice 27: district letter to the province dated May 16th 2025.

[0:45:53] Trustee Patrick: before it's seconded we have someone raised

[0:45:56] Trustee Patrick: is the wording going to be good enough I'll look to stop just a second nothing

[0:46:07] Voice 27: sorry it's it's up

[0:46:09] Voice 27: on the screen now oh I think Lisa's got it over there or

[0:46:21] Trustee Patrick: letter two nope okay

[0:46:24] Voice 27: sorry um uh

[0:46:30] Voice 27: North Salt Spring Water District's letter to the province dated May 16th, 2025, so people can find it later.

[0:46:52] Voice 27: Right. Does that wording work with the staff? Director Brader?

[0:46:56] Voice 21: If the intention is to have the chair write a letter of support, you might push it to read.

[0:47:00] Voice 21: that trust council requests the chair to write a letter expressing support for or write on behalf

[0:47:07] Voice 21: of trust council expressing support

[0:47:09] Voice 27: that's that's much clearer i like that idea thank you so um can

[0:47:16] Voice 27: the wording be adjusted to request the chair to trust to write a letter on behalf of trust council

[0:47:23] Voice 27: in support or of support thank you

[0:47:29] Trustee Patrick: trustee maybelly did you have a question about the wording

[0:47:35] Trustee Patrick: or for the

[0:47:36] Voice 7: intent yeah thank you chair um so just in that the endorsement if you go back to the

[0:47:40] Voice 7: letter um wouldn't it wouldn't even want to say the salt spring islands trust not the honest

[0:47:46] Voice 7: trust as a whole i think that could be problematic the

[0:47:50] Trustee Patrick: the the reason it's here is that this is an

[0:47:52] Trustee Patrick: improvement they're looking for powers for improvement districts which we have on many

[0:47:56] Trustee Patrick: of our islands um so that's why this has come to trust council it's in relationship to improvement

[0:48:02] Trustee Patrick: improvement districts and the but

[0:48:04] Voice 7: this is coming from Salt Spring correct we haven't talked to the

[0:48:07] Voice 7: other improvement districts to see if they want this power yet well

[0:48:17] Trustee Patrick: we can we can discuss that

[0:48:18] Trustee Patrick: during the debate if that's of interest in debate okay I'm sorry director Prater as

[0:48:24] Voice 21: I understand it

[0:48:25] Voice 21: each Improvement District has its own letters patent so there can be a custom approach for

[0:48:29] Voice 21: each Improvement District so if they chose to give this power to the North Salt Spring

[0:48:34] Voice 21: spring waterworks district it wouldn't necessarily be provided to any other all

[0:48:40] Trustee Patrick: right let's get this

[0:48:42] Trustee Patrick: i think we can get the motion seconded trustee luckham do you still second the motion okay the

[0:48:48] Trustee Patrick: motion has been seconded now we can open the floor for discussion is there discussion trustee yates

[0:48:52] Trustee Patrick: schedule if

[0:48:55] Voice 37: this is approved what is our guarantee that the any new connections or

[0:49:03] Voice 37: or all new connections to the North Salt Springs Water Works

[0:49:07] Voice 37: would be for affordable housing

[0:49:10] Voice 37: and not just development in general.

[0:49:14] Trustee Patrick: But right now that is the condition is

[0:49:16] Trustee Patrick: they cannot discriminate.

[0:49:19] Trustee Patrick: It's a first come first serve or whatever housing.

[0:49:22] Trustee Patrick: So that's, they're asking for the ability to discriminate.

[0:49:26] Voice 14: Trustee Bernardo.

[0:49:28] Voice 14: Yeah, that was in the area of my question,

[0:49:33] Voice 14: which is it's, I just like to know

[0:49:35] Voice 14: what are the regulatory tools that are being asked for and i'm inferring from what i've heard so far

[0:49:41] Voice 14: it's actually to limit the release of this water available water to only uh multi-unit dwellings

[0:49:48] Voice 14: uh am i understanding that correctly i

[0:49:53] Trustee Patrick: think they've used a more broad it's for the housing

[0:49:56] Trustee Patrick: we need what the what should be able to uh you know to to prioritize for the needs of

[0:50:02] Trustee Patrick: the community basically if

[0:50:05] Voice 14: i can follow up so um it's not it's not anticipating or prescribing a

[0:50:11] Voice 14: particular outcome it's just anticipating there's a need to get away from the first come first serve

[0:50:17] Voice 14: thing correct so that the water can be allocated towards the most efficient and housing opportunities

[0:50:23] Voice 14: correct got it okay thank you um

[0:50:29] Voice 9: yeah just adding as the chair of the salt spring island local trust

[0:50:32] Voice 9: committee um the housing um the housing shortage uh here on salt spring um the long-running uh

[0:50:43] Voice 9: moratorium of new connections from north salt spring uh water districts provides uh presents

[0:50:51] Voice 9: an opportunity and and i really appreciate that the waterworks district is is pursuing um

[0:50:58] Voice 9: um this with the province um for the ability to discriminate i think one of the biggest concerns

[0:51:05] Voice 9: that i've heard is that with the first come first serve approach is that um the need in the

[0:51:14] Voice 9: community for affordable housing and for specific types of housing and densification in ganges

[0:51:19] Voice 9: um is is not well served necessarily by the first come uh model and so i've heard broad support in

[0:51:29] Voice 9: the in the salt spring community um for the ability that neither body has at this moment

[0:51:36] Voice 9: to discriminate so uh just my wholehearted support of um the needs and and of this uh

[0:51:45] Voice 9: communication from the Water Works District.

[0:51:52] Voice 5: Clearly this is something good.

[0:51:55] Voice 5: I'm a little bit confused though as to why the LTC needs the Trust Council

[0:52:00] Voice 5: to endorse this. Why is the LTC

[0:52:04] Voice 5: not the appropriate body to endorse this

[0:52:08] Voice 5: on its own?

[0:52:11] Trustee Patrick: We're the ones that passed the motion to send it here.

[0:52:14] Voice 5: I understand that, but why?

[0:52:16] Voice 5: we're

[0:52:17] Trustee Patrick: looking if it's for us it's looking for powers for the island's trust that we don't have

[0:52:21] Trustee Patrick: so okay is that it

[0:52:26] Voice 27: good go ahead trustee fast thank you um just speaking to the motion i am

[0:52:32] Voice 27: am in favor of this because i think what we need on the islands is more ways uh to manage growth

[0:52:40] Voice 27: carefully and this is one of those tools that aligns with i i think it aligns with i'm hearing

[0:52:50] Voice 27: you a funny echo, aligns with our mandate. And it also is good timing because this is the

[0:52:59] Voice 27: provincial government that is bringing a number of changes to systems in order to support affordable

[0:53:08] Voice 27: and diverse housing. So it's good timing. And for this reason, I'll be working in favor. Thank you.

[0:53:16] Voice 5: back trustee harris thank you is the wording maybe not quite correct here shouldn't it be

[0:53:23] Voice 5: something along the lines of um trust council support salt springs request for the letter to be

[0:53:30] Voice 5: um whatever the proper lingo was this

[0:53:36] Trustee Patrick: is actions of this board this board is making this request

[0:53:39] Trustee Patrick: with that i'm i think we're prepared to call the vote on the question that's up on the screen

[0:53:50] Trustee Patrick: i'm going to call all those in favor please raise your hand

[0:53:52] Trustee Patrick: 18 in favor all those opposed raise your hands that carries moving on to item 6.5

[0:54:14] Trustee Patrick: it's the bowen island municipality uh request from mayor leonard to convene a meeting on ferry

[0:54:20] Trustee Patrick: dependent communities on page 69 i want to welcome my trustee getty right welcome and trustee dodds

[0:54:35] Trustee Patrick: welcome okay uh vice chair peterson

[0:54:38] Voice 9: um i appreciate the uh the mayor's um sentiment here

[0:54:47] Voice 9: and and i i agree that uh i think island trust would be a a good choice as a convener um

[0:54:56] Voice 9: considering that all of our communities are are dependent on ferry services my only question is

[0:55:03] Voice 9: uh around our capacity um to take on that work uh worthy work we're right in the heart of it

[0:55:11] Voice 9: um we definitely want a strong say in anything like this but do we have the capacity is my

[0:55:17] Voice 9: question trusty

[0:55:19] Voice 27: past thank you um uh my colleague judy getty and i uh asked the mayor about this

[0:55:27] Voice 27: wording at our previous council meeting um and uh he said that also work is in hand and things are

[0:55:35] Voice 27: moving quickly every island has its unique challenges and strains this was just a brief

[0:55:41] Voice 27: letter sent by um bowen council uh under the signature of the mayor and that's not detailed

[0:55:48] Voice 27: uh for bowen you know we've got our own set of issues over there that might not be shared with

[0:55:54] Voice 27: other islands um it's possible that bowen island municipality will make a cost-sharing arrangement

[0:55:59] Voice 27: with gibsons or for side hosting some kind of meeting at ubcm is what our latest thinking is

[0:56:06] Voice 27: so um it's possible that trust uh trustees islands trust will just be invited rather than being asked

[0:56:13] Voice 27: to be a convener so these are just early days trying to bring people together um to work on

[0:56:18] Voice 27: problems that many of us share but the solutions might not be the same so stay tuned

[0:56:24] Voice 27: thank you trustee stanford good

[0:56:30] Voice 25: afternoon everyone um i i would like to just hope that there is an

[0:56:35] Voice 25: opportunity to expand this a little bit to make sure that islands also have access to their route

[0:56:45] Voice 25: route 13 is in danger of losing their route due to the condition of our dock so i just have to

[0:56:53] Voice 25: put a plug in there somewhere um that there's so many issues on the islands to do with bc ferries

[0:57:00] Voice 25: and i do also recognize the difficulty bowen is having as well as route 3 from the sunshine coast

[0:57:06] Voice 25: thank you trustee portwood uh

[0:57:12] Voice 11: trustee yates actually had her hand up before me but i would

[0:57:14] Voice 11: like to speak afterwards if that's all right thank

[0:57:17] Voice 37: you very much trustee yates thank you

[0:57:19] Voice 37: um so our ferry working group on gabriola island which consists of a transportation group of some

[0:57:27] Voice 37: ex-fac members and our regional director and others were quite excited to see this letter

[0:57:34] Voice 37: they would be delighted if somebody or another the trust possibly being one um could convene

[0:57:43] Voice 37: a meeting with all relevant parties and um so i i would certainly support something like this

[0:57:51] Voice 37: if we ourselves don't have the capacity it would be nice if we could be invited to such a meeting

[0:57:57] Voice 37: and uh we the only thing the only comment that our local ferry group had is that in the second

[0:58:05] Voice 37: paragraph uh mayor leonard states that there is a shared priority uh for ferry dependent

[0:58:12] Voice 37: communities to have assured loading for residents that's not a shared priority in our area

[0:58:20] Voice 37: our shared our priority would be for medical assured loading but not for resident assured

[0:58:28] Voice 37: loading there's just no way we can get our heads around that but that's just a one of the topics

[0:58:33] Voice 37: of discussion that would of course come up if we were able to convene such a meeting thank you

[0:58:39] Voice 37: trustee barthwick um

[0:58:42] Voice 11: yeah i uh i also used to be on the the fac for for hornby demmon um and you

[0:58:50] Voice 11: know spend quite a lot of time with with lisi ferries when at our last meeting um i would

[0:58:55] Voice 11: definitely be keen for to be involved in such a conversation i do i hear that there's uh you know

[0:59:02] Voice 11: i'm glad to hear that there's potential for this to be something convened at ubcm um however i

[0:59:07] Voice 11: I worry that that might not be as accessible.

[0:59:09] Voice 11: Certainly, it's quite expensive to send trustees there, and I wouldn't want to use those resources.

[0:59:15] Voice 11: I think if there's room to convene this in a way that is more accessible, I am very keen to be part of those conversations.

[0:59:25] Voice 11: Similarly, we have lots of specific things, and I think there is a great desire to...

[0:59:30] Voice 11: I think we are well placed, you know, both geographically and also in our strange political ecosystem to sort of hold that sort of meeting.

[0:59:43] Voice 11: And I would be hopeful that we could, but I do appreciate the constraints of capacity.

[0:59:50] Voice 27: Trustee Faust?

[0:59:51] Voice 27: Thank you.

[0:59:52] Voice 27: Just to respond to the last few speakers, I have been in communication with Trustee Yates by email.

[1:00:00] Voice 27: or partly what I was reading from.

[1:00:02] Voice 27: Judy and I have been speaking to the mayor.

[1:00:07] Voice 27: The idea of a side meeting at UBCM is to make it more accessible.

[1:00:12] Voice 27: It wouldn't be part of UBCM,

[1:00:13] Voice 27: so registration fees and accommodation and things might not be involved,

[1:00:20] Voice 27: and it would be a more open kind of meeting,

[1:00:25] Voice 27: so different parts of groups and communities

[1:00:29] Voice 27: and nations, whoever, is what I understand.

[1:00:33] Voice 27: It's early days.

[1:00:35] Voice 27: Bowen has the Green Line ferry coming.

[1:00:38] Voice 27: I hope to get a ride on the new electric ferry on Saturday.

[1:00:41] Voice 27: And I'll try and keep people in touch by email.

[1:00:46] Voice 27: I think this is a really early time

[1:00:48] Voice 27: to be having these kinds of conversations,

[1:00:50] Voice 27: but I think we all can agree

[1:00:52] Voice 27: that there needs to be some uh gathering of some kind and uh um communication about how to

[1:01:00] Voice 27: mess move forward together

[1:01:01] Voice 35: trustee sorry

[1:01:05] Voice 37: i forgot to add um certainly our own mla sheila malcolmson

[1:01:11] Voice 37: has been in touch with our fairy working group just recently and um she would be all behind

[1:01:18] Voice 37: something like this and if there was a suggestion last week from our fairy

[1:01:24] Voice 37: working group what about the September council meeting on Gabriela it's central

[1:01:30] Voice 37: and we have our MLA there we have our regional director there we have lots of

[1:01:36] Voice 37: room for billeting would it be possible to have maybe a little pre-meeting or

[1:01:43] Voice 37: something similar to this that would lead into something bigger at UBCM

[1:01:50] Voice 7: Dusty Baberly.

[1:01:52] Voice 7: Thank you.

[1:01:53] Voice 7: So we had BC Prairies at one of our Trust Council meetings.

[1:01:57] Voice 7: I'm not sure how productive it was.

[1:02:00] Voice 7: But, you know, they're in the process of redeveloping an advisory capacity for the islands.

[1:02:08] Voice 7: I'm not sure what that's going to look like yet.

[1:02:10] Voice 7: I don't know if we've had any feedback on that.

[1:02:14] Voice 7: I mean, I think the reality is we can have all the meetings we want.

[1:02:19] Voice 7: and until BC Ferries decides they're going to rebuild our facilities

[1:02:26] Voice 7: on all the islands, it becomes kind of irrelevant.

[1:02:36] Voice 7: I'd like to see where our advisory process is going.

[1:02:42] Voice 7: I thought that worked quite well in the past.

[1:02:44] Voice 7: I'm not quite sure.

[1:02:45] Voice 7: Probably too well for BC Ferries comfort.

[1:02:46] Voice 7: comfort um but I I'd like to see where that goes I I think that the problem we run into is if

[1:02:53] Voice 7: you know and I'm not opposed to them to having a meeting it's is this we we tend to water down

[1:03:00] Voice 7: that process right um I remember back in the day actually when we had a shirt loading cards

[1:03:07] Voice 7: for residents we're great right um so there's lots of lots of issues out there around Ferries

[1:03:14] Voice 7: But the reality is, I mean, if you take the ferry to Galliano, you've got cones up both sides of the docks because our dock is condemned.

[1:03:23] Voice 7: And it's been condemned like that for, geez, over a year, Lisa?

[1:03:26] Voice 7: At least a year.

[1:03:28] Voice 7: And they still can't figure out how to not condemn it, right, and get it so we can use it to capacity again.

[1:03:34] Voice 7: So, you know, a lot of rambling here.

[1:03:37] Voice 7: But I just, you know, I'd be careful about, you know, trying to convene a meeting with B.C. Ferries unless B.C. Ferries is going to be a willing participant.

[1:03:52] Voice 11: Trustee Borswick?

[1:03:54] Voice 11: Yeah, totally appreciate that sentiment.

[1:03:57] Voice 11: We do know what the engagement is going to be.

[1:04:00] Voice 11: And the engagement is going to be is that if there is a problem with B.C. Ferries, B.C. Ferries will let us know.

[1:04:05] Voice 11: And then they will invite us to talk about it.

[1:04:07] Voice 11: but it's not for us to suggest that there might be a problem

[1:04:10] Voice 11: if they don't otherwise deem it thus.

[1:04:12] Voice 11: So that's where some of the frustration is,

[1:04:14] Voice 11: and that's where I see the value in us calling them to account,

[1:04:18] Voice 11: whether they like it or not, whether it's something that happens.

[1:04:20] Voice 11: Similarly, I think it's very easy and very reasonable

[1:04:24] Voice 11: to be despairing of the nature of that sort of lopsided relationship,

[1:04:29] Voice 11: and we won't get anywhere if we don't keep the pressure up,

[1:04:33] Voice 11: is my perspective and i frequently throw up my hands around the process but um i think we do

[1:04:40] Voice 11: you know we have people on our islands who who require that we all require the ferries one way

[1:04:46] Voice 11: or another um and uh uh yeah it i'm keen to keep the pressure up where we can i totally appreciate

[1:04:55] Voice 11: that it feels like an exercise in frustration um and and but their their engagement policy at this

[1:05:00] Voice 11: point is yeah at their discretion so that's the issue no

[1:05:06] Trustee Patrick: thank you um this this came up we had

[1:05:10] Trustee Patrick: our joint meeting at bowen island uh last month and mayor leonard raised this as an example of

[1:05:17] Trustee Patrick: as as this institution matures that this is a type of topic that we would have been well positioned

[1:05:25] Trustee Patrick: to jump into in the beginning when the ferry advisory committees were disbanded that we could

[1:05:31] Trustee Patrick: have played an important role at helping convene the conversation on behalf of all of the ferry

[1:05:38] Trustee Patrick: dependent communities uh in the in bc and so that was it was an example of what we could be

[1:05:45] Trustee Patrick: if we wanted to be and then he followed it up with a letter that was good trustee dodds just

[1:05:54] Voice 20: just a note of caution you know we keep adding the advocacy and I understand why communities

[1:06:00] Voice 20: of course they look to us but I also know in the past we put a lot of time staff time and

[1:06:05] Voice 20: energy into it so remember no matter what we do it will take staff and time and away from

[1:06:11] Voice 20: things that we probably should at least get finished first sympathy but concern so caution

[1:06:18] Voice 20: and as jim said so that are we just oh go ahead trustee fast

[1:06:23] Voice 27: um i just would like to move that

[1:06:27] Voice 27: we received this for information it's about um convening fairy dependent community communities

[1:06:33] Voice 27: not necessarily beast not necessarily bc fairies and we can um uh just see what happens i think

[1:06:42] Voice 27: things have already changed and conversations are ongoing i

[1:06:46] Trustee Patrick: think we could receive for general

[1:06:48] Trustee Patrick: consent. But Trustee Getty?

[1:06:52] Voice 12: Rather than just receive it for information, if we could

[1:06:55] Voice 12: if Trust Council could ask the

[1:07:00] Voice 12: Chair to reply to this saying that it's a problem of

[1:07:04] Voice 12: capacity for us, but we're interested in participating

[1:07:07] Voice 12: in the process.

[1:07:12] Voice 10: Trustee Bernardo?

[1:07:15] Voice 14: I'm glad that Trustee Getty mentioned

[1:07:18] Voice 14: that because that was kind of the direction I always felt myself drifting in and along the

[1:07:24] Voice 14: lines of what Trustee Dodds is talking about. We've talked around this table many times about

[1:07:28] Voice 14: the capacity of staff to implement already major projects and also some of the minor projects that

[1:07:36] Voice 14: we've already resolved on. We have to be extremely cautious about adding to the workload. And I

[1:07:43] Voice 14: think Trustee Getty's suggestion is helpful in that regard. Thank you.

[1:07:49] Trustee Patrick: all right uh did trustee getty want to try to form a motion for that then

[1:07:55] Voice 12: i move that um trust council replied to this letter under the signature of the chair that

[1:08:00] Voice 12: uh we're interested in the the um the issue in the process but uh we have to talk we have to

[1:08:09] Voice 12: talk more about the capacity okay

[1:08:12] Trustee Patrick: yeah we'll give a moment no seconding let's uh let some wording

[1:08:16] Trustee Patrick: develop there's there's no second so do you have a suggestion on wording yes yeah I

[1:08:24] Voice 20: was just gonna

[1:08:25] Voice 20: say I know I think that's but but we have we have concerns about capacity it was the wording of that

[1:08:31] Voice 20: we have concerns about our capacity that was it yeah

[1:08:39] Voice 29: we'd

[1:08:50] Trustee Patrick: like to be involved what what were the

[1:08:51] Trustee Patrick: wording you use you wanted to be involved in the process interest what was the what was your words

[1:08:58] Trustee Patrick: trustee giddy yeah it's part of the issue and the process but we are concerned about our capacity

[1:09:14] Trustee Patrick: is that what we had does that wording look good yeah

[1:09:19] Voice 19: there

[1:09:20] Trustee Patrick: uh director freighter as

[1:09:27] Voice 21: the one who

[1:09:27] Voice 21: has to dive back in history often to look at these motions perhaps it could say supportive of bc

[1:09:32] Voice 21: ferry issues or something or ferry issues just to signal the topic ah

[1:09:40] Trustee Patrick: yes probably should make

[1:09:41] Trustee Patrick: reference to the letter there's a few things missing there so if we could make reference uh

[1:09:46] Trustee Patrick: alexander to the bowen island municipality letter dated may 30th that would help where it says

[1:09:53] Trustee Patrick: letter at the beginning there we go okay resolutions by consul with the addition of the

[1:10:09] Trustee Patrick: letter being referenced there can we have who is there a second to this motion second by trustee

[1:10:16] Trustee Patrick: bernardo is there any discussion trustee harris i

[1:10:23] Voice 5: don't see this as being an island's trust issue

[1:10:25] Voice 5: i'm not really sure why we're even talking about it

[1:10:29] Trustee Patrick: any further discussion i'll call about all

[1:10:33] Trustee Patrick: those in favor sorry hope to keep your hands up i

[1:10:42] Voice 32: got that one too 19

[1:10:49] Voice 40: in the room all right

[1:10:51] Voice 40: All

[1:10:51] Trustee Patrick: right. Lower your hands. Any opposed?

[1:10:56] Trustee Patrick: One opposed. That carries.

[1:11:00] Trustee Patrick: All right. Now we have a number of items that were provided in the addendum of Trustee Evans.

[1:11:14] Trustee Patrick: Oh, let's complete the correspondence and then we will go back to Trustee Getty's report on her committee.

[1:11:19] Trustee Patrick: But let's let's complete the correspondence section.

[1:11:22] Trustee Patrick: Nope. We have more in the addendum.

[1:11:26] Trustee Patrick: So please open your addendum. There is item 6.6.

[1:11:29] Trustee Patrick: which is a letter from M.P. Kibble on Stronger Future Through Partnership on page 7 of the

[1:11:41] Trustee Patrick: addendum. This is just received for information. Oops, I do not have this page printed out,

[1:11:56] Trustee Patrick: so I'm going to go back and forth. Item 6.7 on page 9 of the addendum is a letter on Sunshine

[1:12:03] Trustee Patrick: Sunshine Coast Regional District Coastal Flood Mapping Project Update.

[1:12:08] Trustee Patrick: That's received for information.

[1:12:14] Trustee Patrick: Item 6.8, Gabriola Ferry Working Group.

[1:12:18] Trustee Patrick: This is the letter Trustee Yates referred to earlier on page 14, received for information.

[1:12:28] Trustee Patrick: Item 6.9 on page 15, it's the letter from Trustee Boland and Bernardo on personal commentary on the letter to the minister.

[1:12:39] Trustee Patrick: either one of you want to speak about that or

[1:12:42] Trustee Patrick: receive for information or trustee Bernardo

[1:12:52] Trustee Patrick: it's a microphone sorry the microphone's not working

[1:12:55] Trustee Patrick: no let's just wait one moment

[1:13:01] Trustee Patrick: figure out what technically is wrong by mic works

[1:13:05] Trustee Patrick: all

[1:13:06] Voice 32: right

[1:13:51] Voice 29: my microphone's right

[1:13:55] Voice 14: oh boom now now it's too loud

[1:14:04] Voice 14: out um um i i i think the rationale for you know what trustee bullen and i were trying to do is

[1:14:12] Voice 14: pretty transparent it's pretty clear i don't think i've got a tremendous amount more to add but if

[1:14:19] Voice 14: excuse me uh as i was saying i don't think um you know i i don't feel particularly compelled

[1:14:31] Voice 14: to sort of go into a long song and dance about the purpose of all of what we're trying to do

[1:14:36] Voice 14: there but it might be fruitful to you know if anybody's got any questions i'm happy to answer

[1:14:42] Voice 14: them i'm sure trustee boland is as well and uh yeah the one thing i can add is we were moved

[1:14:50] Voice 14: to do this because uh we feel that the communication over this issue hasn't been

[1:14:58] Voice 14: sufficient and you know i'm not complaining about where trust council's at or the staff

[1:15:02] Voice 14: working together with executive committee is at with this it's we're in a complicated situation

[1:15:06] Voice 14: situation but um the public narrative over the whole section three business uh seems to be having

[1:15:15] Voice 14: a lot of unintended consequences and to be honest it's there's what i believe to be a lot of

[1:15:22] Voice 14: unintended and it's key to say that unintended misinformation floating around out there

[1:15:27] Voice 14: so that's why we did that and if we could have a discussion collectively not necessarily about what

[1:15:34] Voice 14: about that narrow issue but the larger issue about how um the islands trust has a communication

[1:15:42] Voice 14: presence out in the community so that you

[1:15:46] Voice 1: know it's an

[1:15:46] Voice 14: aspect of transparency where we're actually

[1:15:49] Voice 14: much clearer about what we're doing and why uh i think that would help us because not doing that

[1:15:55] Voice 14: particularly well with respect to section three uh i think has hurt us so if people want to have

[1:16:02] Voice 14: that discussion i would encourage it but uh on the narrow issue of the letter happy to answer

[1:16:06] Voice 14: any questions but i don't have any any any speeches to make about it thanks yeah just

[1:16:12] Trustee Patrick: to remind tomorrow we do have the the general conversation on the letter from the minister

[1:16:16] Trustee Patrick: which also includes a section on that so we can have a deeper conversation about that tomorrow

[1:16:22] Trustee Patrick: any other questions on this otherwise we'll receive this one for information

[1:16:26] Trustee Patrick: hello sorry sorry

[1:16:29] Voice 1: sure just very briefly i uh echo what trustee bernardo said um i think that

[1:16:36] Voice 1: legal opinion uh needs to be put in front of everybody more obviously and i think maybe take

[1:16:44] Voice 1: the content of the news item and move it up to a news release or to a page in the web page would

[1:16:52] Voice 1: would be my recommendation there's good content there but it's not easy to find thank you thank

[1:16:58] Voice 1: you okay

[1:17:00] Trustee Patrick: so we'll move on to the next item 6.10 which is on page 22 a letter from case langreis

[1:17:07] Trustee Patrick: on the draft bylaw 197 which is actions later in the meeting so you can receive for information

[1:17:16] Trustee Patrick: that you could consider when we get to that

[1:17:18] Trustee Patrick: item. And we have

[1:17:22] Trustee Patrick: item 611

[1:17:23] Trustee Patrick: on page 27

[1:17:25] Trustee Patrick: which is a letter

[1:17:28] Trustee Patrick: regarding the trust mandate.

[1:17:33] Trustee Patrick: Received for information.

[1:17:39] Voice 32: Okay.

[1:17:48] Trustee Patrick: Sorry, just trying to read my notes.

[1:17:50] Trustee Patrick: I think we're caught up.

[1:17:52] Trustee Patrick: So we're actually, we're

[1:17:53] Trustee Patrick: running early, so we'll keep moving

[1:17:56] Trustee Patrick: forward rather than take a break, I think.

[1:17:58] Trustee Patrick: I'm sorry. Oh,

[1:18:00] Trustee Patrick: Chair Getty, thank you very much.

[1:18:02] Trustee Patrick: We can backtrack.

[1:18:03] Trustee Patrick: Chair Getty, if you are prepared to give us a report on the Governance Committee.

[1:18:13] Voice 12: One of the last things that we were asked to do was to reopen and have a fulsome discussion with this council about the 2022 governance review that the previous council had hired the consultants and they'd written a report.

[1:18:29] Voice 12: court. So we had one, we scheduled one committee of the whole meeting for May the 19th. We had a

[1:18:37] Voice 12: quorum and we had a really detailed discussion. We didn't finish the agenda. And that was in part

[1:18:45] Voice 12: because of the depth that we went into in some of the issues. And we made some recommendations,

[1:18:50] Voice 12: but we only got through the first five points. So there's another seven, I believe.

[1:18:57] Voice 12: we scheduled another committee of the whole

[1:19:00] Voice 12: I'm looking through my notes and there was one on May the 29th

[1:19:03] Voice 12: that was cancelled but I thought that was possibly

[1:19:05] Voice 12: the policy statement but there was another one that we had scheduled

[1:19:09] Voice 12: just to try and continue and finish

[1:19:12] Voice 12: with the governance report on June

[1:19:16] Voice 12: 6th I believe and we didn't end up

[1:19:18] Voice 12: with a quorum ahead of time we knew that about a week

[1:19:21] Voice 12: out and so we did a request

[1:19:24] Voice 12: without a meeting and canceled it so we're left a little bit in limbo we wanted this to come to

[1:19:30] Voice 12: this meeting in terms of the recommendations of the council from the committee of the whole and

[1:19:36] Voice 12: we're not finished so um there needs to be a discussion at some point in terms of whether

[1:19:42] Voice 12: or not we try and sort out what the problems are with committee of the whole and maybe schedule

[1:19:47] Voice 12: another one of those or get council to delegate it back to the Governance

[1:19:55] Voice 12: Committee and and try to come up with recommendations with an invitation for

[1:20:00] Voice 12: everybody to offer their input whenever we can advertise our meeting or some

[1:20:06] Voice 12: other process in terms of trying to get this through this is I was under the

[1:20:11] Voice 12: impression that this had been delegated as one of our terms of reference for the

[1:20:15] Voice 12: a governance committee to go through but it was very clear from council subsequent to our

[1:20:21] Voice 12: i guess first year of meetings that everybody wanted to have or most of us wanted to have a

[1:20:28] Voice 12: more fulsome detailed discussion and we started that process but we haven't finished it so

[1:20:34] Voice 12: there's a problem in terms of that is dragging on and there's a whole lot of other things that

[1:20:39] Voice 12: we would like to be able to get into and this is holding that up so in terms of

[1:20:47] Voice 12: coming back to Council we have we have a meeting scheduled for the end of August

[1:20:51] Voice 12: or the middle of August and we can have some input in terms of what governance

[1:21:00] Voice 12: committee wants to do with it and or and that if we can finish it up by then then

[1:21:07] Voice 12: then we might be prepared to have recommendations

[1:21:10] Voice 12: to the September council meeting.

[1:21:13] Voice 12: But in terms of getting an extra meeting, it's very hard.

[1:21:17] Voice 12: The problem with the July the 6th one

[1:21:19] Voice 12: was that it was 4 o'clock on a Friday afternoon.

[1:21:22] Voice 12: And it was gorgeous weather, so it was like our first sunny day.

[1:21:25] Voice 12: So it was doomed from the get-go.

[1:21:30] Voice 12: But we can try that again.

[1:21:33] Voice 12: If anybody has any suggestions,

[1:21:35] Voice 12: I've suggested to executive committee but it was very late in the process that

[1:21:42] Voice 12: I would really like to do a straw poll in terms of what the problems are with

[1:21:47] Voice 12: the committee of the whole and get your opinion but I'm not sure if that's gonna

[1:21:51] Voice 12: fly and other than that we're sort of at your your command I suppose but that's

[1:22:02] Voice 12: pretty well all that we've done since uh the last council meeting try to sort that out

[1:22:11] Trustee Patrick: sorry thank you very much and if we can squeeze in a conversation i think it would be good we've

[1:22:15] Trustee Patrick: had a lot of committee the holes and maybe some feedback round on that might be useful so thank

[1:22:20] Trustee Patrick: you for prompting that okay we're going to carry on because we're going to break at 3 15 because

[1:22:25] Trustee Patrick: we do have a long stretch coming after that so i'd like to keep going through the meetings and we

[1:22:29] Trustee Patrick: We keep our break near on time.

[1:22:31] Trustee Patrick: If I hit 315 and I'm still going, please wave at me.

[1:22:35] Trustee Patrick: So we're going to move on to Section 7, which is the Financial and Employee Services.

[1:22:40] Trustee Patrick: I hope Director Mobs is standing by.

[1:22:43] Trustee Patrick: So we have the first three items, 711, 712, and 713.

[1:22:48] Trustee Patrick: That's here to be adopted through general consent.

[1:22:52] Trustee Patrick: We can do that.

[1:22:57] Trustee Patrick: Great. Thank you very much.

[1:22:58] Trustee Patrick: And we're going to move on to item 721, which is March 31st, 2025, audited financial statements.

[1:23:07] Trustee Patrick: Request for a decision on page 92.

[1:23:10] Trustee Patrick: And I'll turn it over to Director Mobbs.

[1:23:12] Trustee Patrick: Good afternoon, Council.

[1:23:16] Voice 44: Thanks for accommodating my electronic attendance today.

[1:23:19] Voice 44: I'm happy to provide a brief overview of the audited financial statements for the year.

[1:23:24] Voice 44: They're here for your review and approval.

[1:23:26] Voice 44: approval. The first page of the financial statements on page 96 of the Agenda lets the

[1:23:32] Voice 44: readers know that the financial statements and the reflected notes are the responsibility

[1:23:36] Voice 44: of the Islands Trust management to prepare, with the auditor's responsibility being work

[1:23:42] Voice 44: to audit those provided figures. Page 97 is where we see the independent auditor's

[1:23:48] Voice 44: report. I'm very pleased to note that the Islands Trust has received a clean audit report

[1:23:52] Voice 44: court once again, with the auditor stating that the financial statements are presented fairly in

[1:23:57] Voice 44: all material respects. So that is the highest level opinion that can be provided in an audit.

[1:24:02] Voice 44: So it's a great thing that we've once again landed in that category. The first page with numbers is

[1:24:09] Voice 44: the statement of financial position on page 99 of the agenda. The statement presents a very healthy

[1:24:15] Voice 44: financial picture with net financial assets just north of $2 million. That does reflect a small

[1:24:22] Voice 44: decrease year over year, and that's primarily due to the use of cash in the year to pay for

[1:24:27] Voice 44: our operations. Non-financial asset balance has actually increased, and that's primarily because

[1:24:33] Voice 44: we did acquire some capital assets in the year. And our accumulated surplus balance, which is

[1:24:38] Voice 44: always important to look at, has fallen year over year by approximately $200,000, again,

[1:24:43] Voice 44: due to the use of surplus to pay for operations in the fiscal year. The statement of operations

[1:24:50] Voice 44: on page 100 of the agenda reflects the revenues that were generated in the year as well as

[1:24:55] Voice 44: the expenses that were incurred in the year.

[1:24:58] Voice 44: We do see total revenues reflected slightly below budget, approximately $170,000 below

[1:25:05] Voice 44: plan, $100,000 of that was due to fewer application fees received than anticipated, and about

[1:25:11] Voice 44: $68,000 of that is due to reduced grant revenue that was recognized in the year.

[1:25:16] Voice 44: On the expense side of things, we've landed where we typically do at Islands Trust, so we do see an underspending against budget, and that's largely due to underspending on salaries and benefits expense due to some vacancies in the year, as well as underspending against projects primarily in planning services, and that's due to some project delays as well as some projects that were intended to advance that did not begin in the year.

[1:25:41] Voice 44: I won't dig deeply into the financial statement notes. They are meant to supplement the numbers

[1:25:48] Voice 44: in the financial statements, but of course I'm very happy to take any questions. One thing I

[1:25:53] Voice 44: will note is a mention on where our general revenue surplus fund balance is landing at the

[1:25:58] Voice 44: end of the fiscal year. So this balance is important to look at because we do have a policy

[1:26:02] Voice 44: that says we need to maintain a minimum balance in that fund each year to pay for emergencies that

[1:26:07] Voice 44: may arise and also to get us from the end of the fiscal year to when we receive our property taxes.

[1:26:12] Voice 44: The general revenue surplus fund balance is almost exactly where we thought it would land

[1:26:17] Voice 44: at the end of the fiscal year. We were off by about $50,000. And that amount is reflected

[1:26:24] Voice 44: in the financial statement notes at around $2.1 million. I'm happy to take some questions.

[1:26:31] Voice 44: Otherwise, we would seek Trust Council's approval

[1:26:32] Voice 26: of the audited financial statement.

[1:26:34] Voice 26: Okay. Any questions

[1:26:36] Voice 26: for the director?

[1:26:39] Trustee Patrick: If not, would someone proceed with the resolution?

[1:26:46] Trustee Patrick: Those are questions. I'm sorry. Trustee

[1:26:48] Voice 17: Evans? Sorry, you're just going very fast through the

[1:26:52] Voice 17: approvals before I had, I want to go back. You were a little too quick for me.

[1:26:58] Trustee Patrick: Right. Do you have questions on the audited financial statements?

[1:27:03] Trustee Patrick: Okay. So can we proceed though with a motion on the audited financial statements? That is on

[1:27:10] Trustee Patrick: page, whoops, sorry, must be

[1:27:12] Trustee Patrick: page, here we go, 92.

[1:27:16] Trustee Patrick: Sorry, Trustee Fast?

[1:27:19] Voice 23: Otherwise

[1:27:20] Voice 23: known as Elliot. Trustee Elliot?

[1:27:22] Voice 23: I move that Trust Council approve the Islands

[1:27:24] Voice 23: Trust Audited Financial Statements for the year

[1:27:26] Voice 23: ended March 31st,

[1:27:28] Voice 23: 2025, and forward

[1:27:30] Voice 23: them to the Minister of Housing and Municipal

[1:27:32] Voice 23: Affairs.

[1:27:33] Trustee Patrick: Is there a second?

[1:27:33] Trustee Patrick: Trustee Borthwick?

[1:27:37] Trustee Patrick: Is there any discussion? Call the

[1:27:40] Trustee Patrick: vote. All those in favor, raise your

[1:27:42] Trustee Patrick: your hands okay lower your hands any opposed that carries okay trustee evans did you have a question

[1:28:08] Trustee Patrick: about one of the earlier ones i'm

[1:28:16] Voice 17: having trouble with the microphone um yeah i was wondering if

[1:28:19] Voice 17: um if we could go back to uh 713 um and and have a brief discussion on the uh foregoing the

[1:28:28] Voice 17: preparation of the allocated financial statements um i just wanted a little bit further information

[1:28:33] Voice 17: so if i could just ask that this be discussed uh briefly that'd be great all

[1:28:41] Trustee Patrick: right i guess i'd look

[1:28:41] Trustee Patrick: to uh director mobs the question is about the allocated financial statements and why they're

[1:28:48] Trustee Patrick: not being done uh

[1:28:52] Voice 44: sure happy to respond to that so normally at this time of year you would see

[1:28:55] Voice 44: the allocated financial statements coming to this table accompanying the audited financial statements

[1:29:00] Voice 44: The allocated financial statements, of course, allocating revenues and expenses across the various local trust areas of Ireland's trust.

[1:29:07] Voice 44: This year, the allocated financial statements have not been prepared.

[1:29:11] Voice 44: And that's primarily because one of the key data inputs that's needed to generate the allocated financial statements is not available.

[1:29:18] Voice 44: And so that data input is time tracking data, primarily for planning staff and for bylaw enforcement staff.

[1:29:25] Voice 44: We did have a failure of the time collection system in last fiscal year.

[1:29:29] Voice 44: year. And so we don't have the time data that helps us generate those financial, those allocated

[1:29:34] Voice 44: statements. We, of course, will be experiencing that same challenge in the current fiscal year

[1:29:39] Voice 44: because our new time tracking system will not be implemented until partly through the year.

[1:29:45] Voice 44: So staff did approach executive committee to let them know about this challenge. Executive

[1:29:49] Voice 44: committee did endorse foregoing the preparation of those statements for last fiscal year and the

[1:29:53] Voice 44: current fiscal year. The report that traveled to executive committee to inform their decision is

[1:29:58] Voice 44: is included in the agenda.

[1:30:00] Voice 44: package that's on page 88 of the agenda we did take the opportunity as staff to raise some

[1:30:05] Voice 44: additional challenges or limitations that we note with the allocated financial statements generally

[1:30:11] Voice 44: I believe that you know the primary one of the primary drivers for forgoing them for last year

[1:30:17] Voice 44: and this year is the lack of the time collection data and we will be having conversations with

[1:30:22] Voice 44: FPC in the future to determine if continuing with these statements is worthwhile given the

[1:30:26] Voice 44: other limitations and challenges that are presented um so i'm happy to take any other

[1:30:30] Voice 44: questions if there are any

[1:30:31] Voice 26: other questions i

[1:30:33] Voice 17: trust the evidence and i thank you i think that's where

[1:30:38] Voice 17: my my question was um headed towards was whether or not we were going to see these in the future

[1:30:44] Voice 17: or not i understand this year and next year we want due to the lack of information and key data

[1:30:49] Voice 17: in order to generate them um and if these um allocated financial statements were not going

[1:30:56] Voice 17: going to be part of ongoing reporting. Would there still be the time management system and

[1:31:04] Voice 17: the information that's gathered out of that? Would that still then blow into a data pool

[1:31:11] Voice 17: for planning of resources for strategic budget planning crap? Would that be available in a

[1:31:20] Voice 17: a different format in the future.

[1:31:26] Trustee Patrick: Director Mubbs, if you want to tackle that?

[1:31:32] Voice 44: Sure, I can provide some comments. And then if our CAO wishes to supplement, I'd welcome that.

[1:31:38] Voice 44: But certainly, at this point, there's no direction to not move forward with implementing a new time

[1:31:43] Voice 44: collection system and move forward with actually collecting time into the future. Of course,

[1:31:49] Voice 44: time data does have other uses outside of the allocated financial statements,

[1:31:54] Voice 44: the finance team uses that data for this purpose but time information can be very useful for other

[1:32:00] Voice 44: pieces of work as well primarily for understanding where staff time is spent to help us

[1:32:05] Voice 44: plan for future projects and initiatives so i'd look to the cao to see if he's got additional

[1:32:12] Voice 44: comments or thoughts you're wrong thank

[1:32:16] Voice 33: you chair and thank you director mobs yeah i know

[1:32:18] Voice 33: no decision has been made around the longer term whether we were returned to the afs i think

[1:32:22] Voice 33: as Director Mobbs has articulated, time collection has other benefits, and the data we get out of

[1:32:28] Voice 33: that is going to be useful in different ways potentially for how we do our planning.

[1:32:32] Voice 33: I do think we should, when the time comes, revisit the decision around the allocated

[1:32:39] Voice 33: financial statements and whether or not they do serve a valid purpose, given the other concerns

[1:32:45] Voice 33: that we've raised in the briefing that came to Executive Committee as well. But regardless,

[1:32:49] Voice 33: us the time collection system is still planned to come online and that we will still look at how we

[1:32:54] Voice 33: can get the best value for that data and use it most effectively to inform our operations and

[1:33:00] Voice 33: planning and your decision making thank

[1:33:03] Trustee Patrick: you very much trustee luckham um

[1:33:07] Voice 8: i just think it's worth

[1:33:09] Voice 8: noting here that if we're having difficulty tracking time associated with applications

[1:33:17] Voice 8: That continues to be a dilemma for us to understand the difference between the planning services budget and the revenues and that the fees associated with applications are drawn from the average cost associated with processing an application.

[1:33:42] Voice 8: And if we don't have a really good understanding on that, we're going to continue to, that

[1:33:46] Voice 8: question is going to continue to linger because the difference between budget and revenues

[1:33:52] Voice 8: is still significant.

[1:33:55] Trustee Patrick: Thank you.

[1:33:56] Trustee Patrick: Just to update, the Financial Planning Committee at its last meeting did pass a motion to do

[1:34:01] Trustee Patrick: more work on that issue.

[1:34:04] Trustee Patrick: So they're not letting it stop.

[1:34:08] Trustee Patrick: All right.

[1:34:09] Trustee Patrick: Are there any other questions for Director Mops and her section?

[1:34:12] Trustee Patrick: if not thank you very much director mobs our next now we're going to move on to is uh planning

[1:34:20] Trustee Patrick: services uh since there is only one item here before we approve it through general consent

[1:34:26] Trustee Patrick: i don't want to let poor regional planning manager robert kajima get away with maybe not

[1:34:31] Trustee Patrick: saying anything but are there any questions uh from this report oh sorry i generated it and

[1:34:36] Trustee Patrick: you're going to get questions uh vice chair peterson yeah

[1:34:41] Voice 9: just uh looking at page 116 we've

[1:34:46] Voice 9: got a couple of tables there now i know that the liskiti uh ocp projects although it's proved uh

[1:34:53] Voice 9: funding my trust council has not begun but it looking at this from somebody who maybe doesn't

[1:35:00] Voice 9: understand the process so well uh a member of the public or whatever it is a bit confusing not to

[1:35:05] Voice 9: have that reference at all on this table especially considering that the following table uh lists uh

[1:35:13] Voice 9: defeated to be determined uh pending major projects so just pointing out that

[1:35:22] Voice 9: uh just point out that uh you know as a member of public the public looking at this report it

[1:35:29] Voice 9: it looks like there's no projects.

[1:35:33] Voice 9: Thank

[1:35:34] Voice 34: you. Through the Chair, yes, I noticed that as well.

[1:35:37] Voice 34: So the next report will be noted as a major project where it should be.

[1:35:42] Voice 34: Thank you.

[1:35:44] Trustee Patrick: Was that Trustee Evans?

[1:35:46] Trustee Patrick: No.

[1:35:47] Trustee Patrick: Yes.

[1:35:48] Trustee Patrick: Sorry.

[1:35:49] Voice 17: Yeah, so my question was, I see on page 105 that the bylaw compliance and enforcement policy review

[1:35:56] Voice 17: that the drafts have been completed.

[1:35:58] Voice 17: i was just wondering when they're going to come back to this body for another look over thanks

[1:36:06] Voice 17: thank

[1:36:06] Voice 34: you through the chair um so regional planning committee completed its review of

[1:36:13] Voice 34: the draft policy um and gave direction to staff to harmonize the manual with the policy that's

[1:36:19] Voice 34: been completed both documents are now at the ombudsperson's office which is the direction

[1:36:25] Voice 34: from regional planning committee um for a review final review by the ombudsperson's office we hope

[1:36:30] Voice 34: to get that back any comments the ombudsperson's office may have back in time for the july regional

[1:36:36] Voice 34: planning committee meeting with the hope that regional planning committee will endorse it with

[1:36:41] Voice 34: any changes and send it to trust council for the september meeting

[1:36:46] Trustee Patrick: thank you very much any further

[1:36:48] Trustee Patrick: questions uh go ahead um trustee maberly

[1:36:52] Voice 7: yeah just a quick question i said on the three ocp reviews

[1:36:55] Voice 7: and probably a question for staff.

[1:36:57] Voice 7: What's the average length of time on those?

[1:37:03] Voice 7: For a major OCP review?

[1:37:06] Voice 34: Yeah.

[1:37:07] Voice 34: I think two years for Gabriola.

[1:37:13] Voice 34: Scheduled to be completed next fiscal year.

[1:37:22] Trustee Patrick: Okay, Trustee Stamford?

[1:37:25] Voice 25: Just like to note, it's eight years for Gambier Island

[1:37:30] Voice 25: and we're still just starting trustee

[1:37:37] Voice 23: elliot so a little comment on on that yes gabriel is

[1:37:41] Voice 23: is scheduled to complete um and i think we will bring it in before end of term it doesn't mean

[1:37:47] Voice 23: the lub review will be done but the ocp policies and i think the hope is that this sets a template

[1:37:53] Voice 23: for the rest of the trust areas because it seems to my view anyways that we've done everything sort

[1:37:59] Voice 23: of in the right order engagement with um the name at first nation has been going really well

[1:38:04] Voice 23: and that capacity funding agreement is um um as well as their own going through their own

[1:38:10] Voice 23: community plan uh and then our community has been i don't know if we've pummeled them into

[1:38:17] Voice 23: submission with a number of surveys and public engagements and they're just sick of it but it's

[1:38:23] Voice 23: kind of we're getting those policies um probably by september for another review probably go

[1:38:29] Voice 23: through um the year of rework but uh it's it's on track and i really think this is a perfect

[1:38:34] Voice 23: project to really test the methodology of how we do this and we can probably roll out

[1:38:40] Voice 23: other ocp reviews in much quicker time than definitely gambier i am so sorry to hear that

[1:38:46] Voice 23: eight years has taken that long right

[1:38:51] Trustee Patrick: uh trustee maberly yeah

[1:38:52] Voice 7: thanks and that's kind of where i

[1:38:54] Voice 7: I was hoping to go.

[1:38:56] Voice 7: So it's more of a question for Gabriela, I think.

[1:39:00] Voice 7: When you're doing that review, has there been sort of, you know,

[1:39:06] Voice 7: you've had a chance when you're doing your engagement with First Nations,

[1:39:10] Voice 7: has there been some processes that you found that worked better

[1:39:15] Voice 7: as you've gone through the process?

[1:39:16] Voice 7: You sort of go, oh, okay, that worked really good,

[1:39:18] Voice 7: and, you know, sort of modified your approach as you went through it?

[1:39:26] Voice 23: I don't want to step too deep into this,

[1:39:28] Voice 23: but it's really been handled by the planner and I think at the beginning we had some leadership

[1:39:34] Voice 23: to leadership meetings where we talked through some big issues. Those have actually fallen off

[1:39:40] Voice 23: by the wayside and the effective work has been done by the planner working with the person who

[1:39:47] Voice 23: can then bring the information to the appropriate people within the nation. It seems to work better

[1:39:55] Voice 23: when they're really talking nuts and bolts

[1:39:57] Voice 23: and they have an understanding of each other's processes.

[1:40:01] Voice 23: And so I actually think trustees staying out of the way

[1:40:04] Voice 23: has been the most effective approach right now.

[1:40:09] Trustee Patrick: All right, lessons learned.

[1:40:11] Trustee Patrick: Any other questions?

[1:40:14] Trustee Patrick: If not, oops, sorry, Trustee Luckham.

[1:40:18] Trustee Patrick: Oops,

[1:40:19] Voice 8: can you turn your mic on?

[1:40:21] Voice 8: Chair, if I might, I got caught up

[1:40:23] Voice 8: in the whole financial conversation

[1:40:24] Voice 8: and there's an item in,

[1:40:26] Voice 8: And I would like to speak to employee services just very briefly.

[1:40:32] Voice 8: Oh,

[1:40:32] Trustee Patrick: so can we finish this item first?

[1:40:36] Trustee Patrick: Yeah, absolutely.

[1:40:37] Trustee Patrick: All right. Thank you.

[1:40:38] Trustee Patrick: So are there any other questions under Director Planning of Services Quarterly Report?

[1:40:42] Trustee Patrick: Otherwise, can we approve that through general consent?

[1:40:48] Trustee Patrick: Thank you very much.

[1:40:49] Trustee Patrick: Okay. Trustee Luckham, what

[1:40:51] Voice 8: was your question about the past item?

[1:40:52] Voice 8: Well, I didn't have a question.

[1:40:54] Voice 8: I just want to make a remark.

[1:40:54] Voice 8: Mark, I just want to note that Lori Foster, Executive Administrative Assistant, has retired

[1:41:00] Voice 8: from the Alms Trust. And I worked very closely with her as Chair of Council in the time of her

[1:41:09] Voice 8: work. And I just want to note that she was very committed, dedicated, took her job seriously,

[1:41:14] Voice 8: and was a great support to myself and Executive Committee. And I didn't want to let this moment

[1:41:19] Voice 8: pass. And thank you, Lori Foster.

[1:41:28] Trustee Patrick: Hopefully someone can pass on that she received

[1:41:31] Trustee Patrick: applause. And yes, Lori was deeply

[1:41:36] Trustee Patrick: appreciated by Trust Council for many years.

[1:41:40] Trustee Patrick: And I hope enjoying her retirement, not having to plan Trust Council

[1:41:44] Trustee Patrick: meetings. All right. How are we doing on time?

[1:41:48] Trustee Patrick: Good. We're doing great. Okay. We're going to move on to item nine, which is

[1:41:52] Trustee Patrick: engagement and collaboration oh no these are the delegations so we're we're going to stop and pause

[1:41:58] Trustee Patrick: there so we're going to um we're ahead of schedule um and one of the ways that we can

[1:42:06] Trustee Patrick: help us later is to take item 18 which is the reports um trustee updates with your consent can

[1:42:18] Trustee Patrick: can we move through the trustee reports from item 18?

[1:42:24] Trustee Patrick: So that's great.

[1:42:25] Trustee Patrick: That begins on page 310 of the agenda.

[1:42:32] Trustee Patrick: Yep, take your moment, catch up.

[1:42:39] Trustee Patrick: Nice if we can finish it all today, but maybe not.

[1:42:44] Trustee Patrick: I'll try.

[1:42:46] Trustee Patrick: Okay, is everyone where they are?

[1:42:48] Trustee Patrick: So on page 310 of the agenda package,

[1:42:52] Trustee Patrick: there's a report here from the ABI CC,

[1:42:55] Trustee Patrick: which the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities

[1:42:58] Trustee Patrick: number of trustees were there

[1:43:00] Trustee Patrick: and that's the reports that are in there

[1:43:02] Trustee Patrick: don't know if anyone has any questions

[1:43:03] Trustee Patrick: or anyone that provided reports

[1:43:05] Trustee Patrick: that want to point anything out

[1:43:10] Trustee Patrick: nope trustee fast

[1:43:12] Voice 27: just that I was there too

[1:43:14] Voice 27: as was trustee Getty

[1:43:16] Voice 27: and Mayor Leonard

[1:43:18] Voice 27: and a few of us from Bowen Island Municipality

[1:43:21] Voice 27: and there were a number of other trustees

[1:43:22] Voice 27: with different roles

[1:43:23] Voice 27: Kate Wee Stanford

[1:43:25] Voice 27: Trustee Stamford was there with her regional district hat on, so there was a nice group of us, and we did get together informally to at least make sure we all knew who each other were and that kind of thing.

[1:43:42] Voice 27: So just to let you know, collaboration, possibilities.

[1:43:48] Voice 27: I'm sorry,

[1:43:49] Trustee Patrick: director.

[1:43:51] Trustee Patrick: Yeah, Vice Chair Peterson.

[1:43:53] Voice 9: Yeah, thank you, Chair.

[1:43:54] Voice 9: I just wanted to let Trustee know that towards the end of my report on page 310, I talked about the Mental Health Supports for Elected Leaders Resolution Islands Trust brought to AVICC.

[1:44:10] Voice 9: It did fail at that convention, but it has come through the other four area conventions, including being passed unanimously with no debate at the Lower Mainland Local Government Association, and we expect to see it at EBCM.

[1:44:28] Voice 9: And thanks again to Director Freider for her great work on that, that not only on behalf of our organization, but the other organizations that took that to the other area associations as a template, in some cases with absolutely no variation and slight variation at most.

[1:44:48] Voice 9: So Director Freider's work has been appreciated across the province in this case.

[1:44:53] Voice 9: Thank you.

[1:44:54] Voice 9: okay

[1:44:56] Trustee Patrick: with no further questions on the avicc 18.2 is they'll cut somehow sound biosphere regions

[1:45:03] Trustee Patrick: there's a couple of links to the newsletters oh go ahead trustee sorry

[1:45:07] Voice 25: i just wanted to um go back

[1:45:11] Voice 25: to the comment by trustee peterson um i found it very interesting the the just where the discussion

[1:45:18] Voice 25: went on that, and that it failed in part because people felt there were stronger mental health

[1:45:26] Voice 25: concerns among the general population. I didn't realize it was a contest, I think. So it was,

[1:45:37] Voice 25: it's good to hear that the other regional conventions supported it, but it was very

[1:45:44] Voice 25: Very enlightening to hear the reasons why it was not supported at ABI-CC.

[1:45:50] Voice 25: Thank you.

[1:45:53] Trustee Patrick: Just for interest of press counsel, at both ABI-CC and UBCM, when the resolutions, which there are sometimes hundreds, are considered, many of them are dealt in one big block, but then they go through them individually.

[1:46:11] Trustee Patrick: And they have a pro mic and a con mic set up in the room.

[1:46:15] Trustee Patrick: and you line up behind your mic to speak and as soon as one mic is empty the vote is called

[1:46:22] Trustee Patrick: so it's a it's an intriguing and very interesting exercise from to listen on the debates are

[1:46:30] Trustee Patrick: mostly very well articulated debates and to you really find yourself listening intently to the

[1:46:38] Trustee Patrick: debates and watching the process and it moves quite quickly through makes it hundreds because

[1:46:43] Trustee Patrick: as soon as as soon as the mic is empty boat is called and a good process okay so i'll cut some

[1:46:50] Trustee Patrick: house sound biosphere region anyone have any comments or reports nope uh sorry uh trustee

[1:46:59] Trustee Patrick: jedi or

[1:46:59] Voice 12: first or just um so bones in house sound and we find this meeting is what incredibly well

[1:47:08] Voice 12: organized and very very interesting so um many people from our council in our community go

[1:47:13] Voice 12: and give presentations.

[1:47:15] Voice 12: So it's the new UN Biosphere area.

[1:47:21] Voice 12: And it's very well organized by Ruth Simon.

[1:47:25] Voice 27: Thank you.

[1:47:26] Voice 27: Trustee Fast.

[1:47:28] Voice 27: Thank you.

[1:47:29] Voice 27: This is the 25th year, I believe,

[1:47:32] Voice 27: of the Howe Sound Community Forum.

[1:47:35] Voice 27: So all the communities around Howe Sound.

[1:47:38] Voice 27: This is one of the organizations

[1:47:39] Voice 27: that Trust Programs Committee recommended

[1:47:45] Voice 27: amended and trust council supported through the secretariat funding so it helps to rent the spaces

[1:47:50] Voice 27: and hold them hold the meetings and uh at this meeting islands trust uh as always was um

[1:48:00] Voice 27: recognized at the end with the logo and the uh a few words and uh chloe straw our new um

[1:48:07] Voice 27: oh i've forgotten the title anyway works for uh claire um was also there so we got to introduce

[1:48:13] Voice 27: her around she got to see how things worked so that was great to see some uh more islands trust

[1:48:18] Voice 27: uh representation and uh and recognition there thank you thank

[1:48:23] Trustee Patrick: you on to 18.3 the bain sound

[1:48:27] Trustee Patrick: lambert channel ecosystem forum trustee bartholick yeah

[1:48:34] Voice 11: i apologize for not having a written report

[1:48:36] Voice 11: here um we continue to meet regularly um we did uh the the the forum became a society registered

[1:48:45] Voice 11: as a society last year and we'll be having our first uh proper agm in august um there's

[1:48:53] Voice 11: a lot of work going into sort of trying to figure out how to revamp our engagement model and make

[1:49:00] Voice 11: sure that we're communicating our you know and engaging on a variety of topics we recently our

[1:49:05] Voice 11: most recent forum um we delved into the topic of uh the ship breaking operation that's happening

[1:49:12] Voice 11: in Bain Sound, which was very controversial and continues to be a really awful situation

[1:49:20] Voice 11: in general.

[1:49:21] Voice 11: There's a tremendous amount of work being done by community organizers in Union Bay.

[1:49:28] Voice 11: And yeah, we've sort of brought that conversation forward, which wound up being, it was a really

[1:49:35] Voice 11: useful conversation.

[1:49:36] Voice 11: It was a really great conversation.

[1:49:37] Voice 11: We had really good engagement from the First Nations that sit on our board.

[1:49:43] Voice 11: They spoke very eloquently and passionately to the issue.

[1:49:48] Voice 11: And we, you know, we look forward to continuing to sort of speak to those things.

[1:49:54] Voice 11: It did highlight some complexities.

[1:49:58] Voice 11: We used to have a member of the DFO used to sit on our board, and he was instructed to

[1:50:04] Voice 11: step down uh in light of us bringing this conversation forward um so that's that's

[1:50:11] Voice 11: definitely been a loss in that conversation but um you know we thank them for their involvement

[1:50:16] Voice 11: up until that point we are looking to broadly build a state of the sound report which will be

[1:50:21] Voice 11: a sort of trying to create a scientific uh you know place to capture what's happening in in the

[1:50:27] Voice 11: sound and all of this work cannot happen without trust counsel so i want to thank uh the uh trust

[1:50:34] Voice 11: Trust Programs Committee for continuing to support it

[1:50:36] Voice 11: through the Secretariat Services.

[1:50:38] Voice 11: And yeah, there's lots of good work happening.

[1:50:42] Trustee Patrick: Thank you very much.

[1:50:45] Trustee Patrick: Thank you.

[1:50:46] Trustee Patrick: So who is this First Nations Relationship?

[1:50:49] Trustee Patrick: None.

[1:50:49] Trustee Patrick: I don't like when it's reports like that.

[1:50:52] Trustee Patrick: But I know last night we did have the feast over at the sale of First Nations

[1:50:57] Trustee Patrick: yesterday, a number of trustees and a large number of staff,

[1:51:01] Trustee Patrick: which was great.

[1:51:03] Trustee Patrick: great. It was a wonderful evening. I think we all learned a lot, listened. I think we

[1:51:12] Trustee Patrick: ate food together. It was a really heartlifting evening, and we were very fortunate to have Chief

[1:51:21] Trustee Patrick: Pelkey come today to welcome us today on the territory. So I hope to see more of these type

[1:51:31] Trustee Patrick: type of events going forward with many of the nations here in our territories.

[1:51:37] Trustee Patrick: Is there any other First Nations?

[1:51:39] Trustee Patrick: Oh, yes, we have.

[1:51:41] Trustee Patrick: I hope you talk about Luskete.

[1:51:42] Voice 9: Yeah, well, briefly.

[1:51:43] Voice 9: Thank you, Chair.

[1:51:45] Voice 9: Briefly, on May 3rd, on Luskete, we had the Welcome Mural unveiling hosted by the Luskete

[1:51:55] Voice 9: Archaeology Project, FETE.

[1:51:59] Voice 9: there's now a beautiful mural and a plaque installed there and quite fun there's a little

[1:52:07] Voice 9: button that you can push that tells you how to pronounce Hawaii properly super fun well attended

[1:52:15] Voice 9: by Islanders. We had Chair Patrick and Vice Chair Elliott, as well as Director Frater

[1:52:29] Voice 9: and RPM Jamrat in attendance, elders from Qualicum and Tla'amin, and some great drummers

[1:52:41] Voice 9: and singers from Tla'amen as well.

[1:52:45] Voice 9: Really lovely event and bringing the communities together.

[1:52:50] Voice 9: And just saying my work on other islands,

[1:52:54] Voice 9: it's really heartening to see that there is relationship building going on.

[1:53:02] Voice 9: Penelaket and Galliano is another good example.

[1:53:05] Voice 9: And certainly, of course, the feast yesterday with Seaut.

[1:53:09] Voice 9: Also in the northern, the relationships, I think, between, I don't want to speak for Denman, but my understanding is that the relationships between Denman, Hornby, and Comox are really blossoming in a way that is reflective of, you know, a hopeful future, especially given a past, where we come from, from the past.

[1:53:32] Voice 9: So I think there is good news out there.

[1:53:36] Voice 9: Thank you.

[1:53:38] Trustee Patrick: First, Ms. Trussie, welcome.

[1:53:40] Trustee Patrick: trustee luckham um

[1:53:43] Voice 8: thank you on a more uh sad note i would just like to share with you that

[1:53:49] Voice 8: elder florence james of penelope island at 80 years old an amazing human being that

[1:53:58] Voice 8: espoused knowledge and language and history of the penelope nation particularly throughout

[1:54:05] Voice 8: communities and schools for children has passed away and that was just over the weekend i think

[1:54:11] Voice 8: there's a service for her on Thursday on Sineleket. But that's, as we know, when the elders

[1:54:18] Voice 8: move on, it's a loss of that being and that knowledge in our place. But certainly she leaves

[1:54:23] Voice 8: a legacy of information. So I just want to acknowledge that. Thank you. Thank you. Our

[1:54:28] Voice 27: condolences, Trustee Fast. Thank you. And thanks for that. I'm under First Nations Relations. I'm

[1:54:36] Voice 27: back to you again regarding 18.2, if you click on that second link

[1:54:40] Voice 27: that says April 2025 Forum Review,

[1:54:44] Voice 27: you'll see that Squamish Nation was a co-presenter

[1:54:47] Voice 27: for the 64 elected officials around House Out.

[1:54:52] Voice 27: And this is basically a big reclamation

[1:54:56] Voice 27: of Squamish, the old log sort and the

[1:55:00] Voice 27: industrial lands down there with all the chemicals and things.

[1:55:03] Voice 27: and it's turning back into a park and housing

[1:55:06] Voice 27: and wonderful to see it re-bloom

[1:55:10] Voice 27: and the Squamish Nation all among it

[1:55:13] Voice 27: and if I check this because I wanted to remember

[1:55:16] Voice 27: if you scroll down to the bottom there's some photos

[1:55:18] Voice 27: and one of them is this amazing huge statue

[1:55:22] Voice 27: of the two canoes

[1:55:24] Voice 27: anyway it's incredible if you don't that way please

[1:55:27] Voice 27: go all the way down to the waterfront

[1:55:30] Voice 27: and the old industrial park and have a check

[1:55:32] Voice 27: Thank you.

[1:55:33] Voice 27: All right.

[1:55:36] Trustee Patrick: Just a reminder, I know Staff Joylett sent out an email to all of you about June being National Indigenous History Month,

[1:55:46] Trustee Patrick: and that on June 21st will be the National Indigenous Peoples Day.

[1:55:50] Trustee Patrick: And I know here on Salt Spring there will be a lot of activities,

[1:55:53] Trustee Patrick: and I hope there are many activities across most of your islands.

[1:55:57] Trustee Patrick: So, okay, we're moving on into 18.5, which is the Freighter Anchorage Ocean Protection Plan.

[1:56:06] Trustee Patrick: Is there any reports on those activities, Vice Chair Peterson?

[1:56:15] Voice 9: Yeah, just briefly, there were a number of online sessions through the winter and spring from Transport Canada on the Ocean Protection Plan.

[1:56:24] Voice 9: I'm not sure if other trustees attended them.

[1:56:29] Voice 9: i attended quite a few of them uh really some really interesting discussions um there are

[1:56:34] Voice 9: some materials if anyone's interested i'm happy to forward those on to you just let me know thank

[1:56:42] Trustee Patrick: you very much okay so moving on we have the shellfish um agriculture management advisory

[1:56:48] Trustee Patrick: committee trustee laroni yeah

[1:56:53] Voice 38: i've got some things to add to that so i don't have an actual report

[1:57:02] Voice 38: Thank you. Sorry, a little bit of spotting internet here.

[1:57:07] Voice 38: The last Shellfish Management Aquaculture meeting was in May, and there was a lot of focus on

[1:57:14] Voice 38: there's changing regulations for how shellfish farming is done and regulated, and there's some

[1:57:20] Voice 38: really positive stuff on an environmental front. For example, it's required now to make sure

[1:57:30] Voice 38: everything is labeled that for every farm so anything that goes missing you know who it is

[1:57:35] Voice 38: so it's really encouraging everybody to be responsible for their environmental footprint

[1:57:43] Voice 38: and also they're working on doing a lot of cleanup which is great especially for that

[1:57:49] Voice 38: sound area it is making it a lot more challenging to run till fish farms but

[1:57:55] Voice 38: but they're trying to find a healthy balance, I think,

[1:57:58] Voice 38: between regulations and small businesses.

[1:58:02] Voice 38: So that's my brief little update.

[1:58:06] Trustee Patrick: Thank you very much.

[1:58:08] Trustee Patrick: So we have the Southern Gulf Island Forum.

[1:58:11] Trustee Patrick: It's interesting enough.

[1:58:13] Trustee Patrick: We have Asia Emerson, but this term MP May's office

[1:58:19] Trustee Patrick: has been sort of leading the coordination of that.

[1:58:21] Trustee Patrick: It was Sad Moulson's office prior to that.

[1:58:25] Trustee Patrick: We don't have reports here, but I know those of us from the Southern Gulf Islands, I think we've had a couple of meetings and we're planning away other meetings that are coming and hopefully to have a forum in the fall with our counterparts from the San Juan Islands.

[1:58:43] Trustee Patrick: So that's the planning that's in the works and I think will be of interest to many of us.

[1:58:48] Trustee Patrick: So I don't know if anyone has anything to add on the Southern Gulf Island Forum.

[1:58:51] Trustee Patrick: Anything you want to add?

[1:58:53] Trustee Patrick: Okay.

[1:58:55] Trustee Patrick: That's great.

[1:58:56] Trustee Patrick: All right.

[1:58:56] Trustee Patrick: The Transportation Ferry Group.

[1:58:59] Trustee Patrick: Now, that's interesting.

[1:59:00] Trustee Patrick: Transportation Ferry Group.

[1:59:04] Trustee Patrick: There you go.

[1:59:05] Trustee Patrick: There you go, Trustee Yates.

[1:59:08] Voice 37: But first, I had a question for Trustee Larone.

[1:59:12] Voice 37: When you say anything goes missing from the aquaculture sites,

[1:59:16] Voice 37: does that mean like equipment that could wash up on the beach or is that the purpose to figure out

[1:59:22] Voice 37: um you know like how beach garbage happens or where it's coming from yes

[1:59:32] Voice 38: that is exactly right

[1:59:33] Voice 38: um i was part of the ocean legacy beach cleanup in several years running and there was so much

[1:59:39] Voice 38: aquaculture garbage stuff that had just gotten loose just so much of it and so this is kind of

[1:59:45] Voice 38: of the government's attempt to have people really try not to have stuff go loose because you'll be

[1:59:50] Voice 38: fined for it and everybody knows where it's coming from so all your floats like everything has to

[1:59:54] Voice 38: have your I'm not sure it's your license number but an identifying identifier on it so if it

[1:59:59] Voice 38: washes up

[2:00:00] Voice 38: up on the beach they know which farm it came from very

[2:00:05] Voice 37: helpful thank you so this next item on the

[2:00:09] Voice 37: list here is called the transportation ferry group because we have a newly constituted ferry

[2:00:16] Voice 37: advocacy or working group and it includes our transportation society members it includes

[2:00:23] Voice 37: ex-ferry advisory committee members and former ferry advisory committee chairs it's supported

[2:00:30] Voice 37: Supported strongly by our regional director and also supported by our MLA, Sheila Malcolmson.

[2:00:37] Voice 37: So it's just a new group that in lieu of having a ferry advisory committee, we are still going to try to work positively with BC Ferries Management, as our previous FAC did.

[2:00:48] Voice 37: And we still have a very active website because it gets a lot of traffic and it's accountable.

[2:00:56] Voice 37: accountable and it helps us determine our community concerns. And I should just mention,

[2:01:02] Voice 37: after I wrote this report, we got a message earlier this week from BC Ferries that there's

[2:01:10] Voice 37: going to be a pop-up engagement session on Sunday, June 22nd. We won't know the details of that

[2:01:18] Voice 37: until we get there. All right,

[2:01:23] Trustee Patrick: Vice Chair Peterson.

[2:01:26] Voice 9: Yeah, thank you, Trustee Yates.

[2:01:28] Voice 9: And just further to that notion, although we know that BC Ferries has disbanded the FACs, up on Mosquito, we never had one because we're an unregulated route.

[2:01:40] Voice 9: But our community association has maintained a ferry committee low these many years, which I sit on as the local trustee and our regional director sits on as well.

[2:01:53] Voice 9: And last week, we managed to get a meeting with Morningstar Pinto from BC Ferries, who was really great for our ferry committee to have someone to talk to.

[2:02:09] Voice 9: Having not been an official FAC, we often hit a dead wall, you know, send a letter off to BC Ferries.

[2:02:17] Voice 9: They say, talk to transport ministry.

[2:02:19] Voice 9: Ministry of Transport says, talk to BC Ferries.

[2:02:21] Voice 9: This is the first time we've actually talked to a person at BC Ferries who has committed to find out who has the answers to our questions.

[2:02:33] Voice 9: So I think there's still avenues out there.

[2:02:35] Voice 9: And it may be that ad hoc non-official FAC-type organizations on our islands are going to be the way for us to sort of continue the good work of the previous, of more official groups.

[2:02:52] Voice 9: But I appreciate that you're doing that work on, Gabrielle, as well.

[2:02:58] Trustee Patrick: All right.

[2:02:59] Trustee Patrick: I know the next item Trustee Morrison would want to speak to, and I know she sent her regrets for today, but will be joining us later in the week.

[2:03:07] Trustee Patrick: so i think we'll pick up 18.9 when trustee morrison's uh able to join us i'm going to

[2:03:15] Trustee Patrick: look over to staff because we've concluded section 18 and we still have 10 minutes before we take a

[2:03:21] Trustee Patrick: break uh i'm just going to turn to staff for a moment is there a recommendation for what we

[2:03:29] Trustee Patrick: should move into go ahead trustee okay

[2:03:32] Voice 33: see how i don't need that burden thank you chair um i think

[2:03:38] Voice 33: i don't think we have we were 10 minutes ahead of schedule which may not be enough time to delve

[2:03:41] Voice 33: into anything substantive so i think it's fine if you want a break give yourself an extended

[2:03:45] Voice 33: break and then reconvene as scheduled all right i

[2:03:48] Trustee Patrick: think that's probably a good idea we'll take

[2:03:50] Trustee Patrick: a break now till 3 30. so uh trustee evans yeah

[2:03:54] Voice 17: i was just going to say we could always

[2:03:58] Voice 17: go through the follow-up action list well we'll

[2:04:00] Trustee Patrick: talk we put that at the end for a purpose but we

[2:04:03] Trustee Patrick: we can talk about that. Yep.

[2:04:07] Voice 29: Let's take a break till 3.30.

[2:31:35] Trustee Patrick: Welcome back. I hope it's okay with you. We thought we'd go move on to trust program services here.

[2:31:45] Trustee Patrick: Section 12. Thank you very much. Section 12. I have a funny agenda, so it's broken over several pages.

[2:31:54] Trustee Patrick: Okay. So we have trust area services, sorry. Section 12. We have a number of consent items here. 12.1.1, 12.1.2, 12.1.3, 4, and 5. We also have the director here for asking, answering any questions.

[2:32:16] Trustee Patrick: questions uh can we approve those items through general consent nope a couple of um are there

[2:32:24] Trustee Patrick: particular items you want to call out uh trustee Evans I'm sorry thank you if you're not ready we

[2:32:33] Trustee Patrick: can go to the next person are you ready okay uh trust uh Vice Chair Peterson yeah

[2:32:42] Voice 9: on the uh

[2:32:43] Voice 9: reconciliation program on page 137 incidentals nation section there there's

[2:32:54] Voice 9: a question about continued interest in holding working group meetings and staff

[2:32:59] Voice 9: seeking direction from Trust Council about chair being appointed to the seat

[2:33:03] Voice 9: held by former chair Lackham and just look to staff maybe to see if we need a

[2:33:09] Voice 9: resolution to that effect um because i would like to make sure that that happens uh

[2:33:18] Voice 21: thank you vice

[2:33:19] Voice 21: chair peterson at this time we won't recommend that we hope to meet with sinaloa's nation and

[2:33:24] Voice 21: determine next steps we understand they'd like to speak with us before formalizing things further

[2:33:28] Voice 21: so i think it might be premature at this time and certainly if we manage to connect with them before

[2:33:32] Voice 21: september council we can provide a recommendation to that effect at that time all right uh trustee

[2:33:40] Voice 23: Thank you. It's not in this report, but it's something that we discussed in regards to the work program for programs committee and the secretary, the role of the programs committee to oversee secretariat services and how that's not reflected in the council committee terms of reference.

[2:34:03] Voice 23: So, when are we going to address that?

[2:34:13] Voice 21: I will look to the director of legislative services you'll see another agenda in your

[2:34:17] Voice 21: another agenda item today in our section around looking at committee terms of reference as part

[2:34:22] Voice 21: of the big policy review project so I think it would come out as part of that overarching project

[2:34:27] Voice 21: I don't know where it would fall in the prioritization of the big policy review

[2:34:32] Voice 21: project but that's where it would be dealt with in the meantime I think we're fine to continue as

[2:34:36] Voice 21: we are all right

[2:34:44] Voice 31: and another question

[2:34:44] Voice 23: for some reason I thought there was a resolution to coming

[2:34:49] Voice 23: to trust council to direct trust programs committee to continue work on the stewardship

[2:34:55] Voice 23: is that further along

[2:34:59] Trustee Patrick: go ahead director if

[2:35:02] Voice 21: i might direct you if i might get wrecked you to item 2.1.5

[2:35:08] Voice 21: that's where we've provided a briefing around the fact that stupid i think this may be what

[2:35:13] Voice 21: you're referring to that the stewardship education program is not in this term strategic plan

[2:35:18] Voice 22: so

[2:35:18] Voice 21: this was we provided this briefing to trust council to advise that there will be no business

[2:35:24] Voice 21: case forthcoming forthcoming for the next fiscal year for stewardship education so this would be

[2:35:29] Voice 21: the last year of this program at this time because it wasn't included in the strategic plan and as a

[2:35:34] Voice 21: result of that discussion at trust programs committee they did identify a desire to look

[2:35:38] Voice 21: at the terms of reference for trust programs committee and if you scroll down to the follow-up

[2:35:42] Voice 21: section at the end of the briefing we've noted that that there's no direction needed because

[2:35:47] Voice 21: the director of legislative services is already working on a plan as it relates to all of trust

[2:35:52] Voice 21: council's policies and then would return with that policy included as part of that plan and

[2:35:58] Voice 21: you could comment at that time if the prioritization is correct please

[2:36:05] Voice 23: proceed so i just want to to

[2:36:08] Voice 23: air this issue a little bit for council to think about i don't think we need to take action on it

[2:36:12] Voice 23: now and it's not specifically a trust programs committee but in the development of our new

[2:36:17] Voice 23: new strategic plan, there are a number of initiatives that were advanced from previous

[2:36:24] Voice 23: councils that were kind of dropped off. And one of them is housing affordability. So regional

[2:36:29] Voice 23: planning committee now has a set of three new priorities, none of which advances a previous

[2:36:36] Voice 23: direction, such as housing affordability. And here we're seeing the same thing, where some things

[2:36:41] Voice 23: have dropped off. So we're going to see some misalignment between the previous initiatives

[2:36:46] Voice 23: initiatives and projects that were continued from old strategic plans with the new strategic plan

[2:36:50] Voice 23: and i'm just asking everybody to take a look closely at the work programs and make sure that

[2:36:56] Voice 23: they do reflect the strategic plan we want to continue into the future but also don't drop

[2:37:04] Voice 23: off some significant initiatives so i think this is one way that trust programs committee picked

[2:37:09] Voice 23: that up and rpc is struggling to figure out how to deal with that at our next meeting

[2:37:18] Trustee Patrick: trustee evans are you ready or i

[2:37:22] Voice 17: think i just need a quick clarification as to where we're

[2:37:25] Voice 17: at are we on just 12.1 or are we going to also deal with 12.2

[2:37:34] Trustee Patrick: so those all first five if there's any of those that you wish to talk about you can

[2:37:39] Trustee Patrick: identify which one so 12

[2:37:41] Voice 17: .1 like 12.1 1 2 3 4 5 okay thank you no uh it's 12.2 that i'm looking

[2:37:47] Voice 17: before thank you for trustee bernardo uh

[2:37:50] Voice 14: yeah it's i'm just following up on um something that

[2:37:53] Voice 14: yeah i'll be honest only notice it now after trustee peterson just brought it to our attention

[2:37:58] Voice 14: or that section to our text attention it relates to 12.1.1 and at page 137 and um director freighter

[2:38:07] Voice 14: i um i'm intrigued by the fact that we're now engaging in consultation and engagement with

[2:38:13] Voice 14: with lumination in the US.

[2:38:16] Voice 14: Where does, how does that happen?

[2:38:19] Voice 14: We obviously have a constitutional obligation

[2:38:24] Voice 14: derived from the province with respect to the,

[2:38:26] Voice 14: you know, First Nations that are in Canada.

[2:38:30] Voice 14: Where does the obligation come from

[2:38:32] Voice 14: with respect to lumination?

[2:38:35] Voice 21: I'll answer the question just by starting with history

[2:38:38] Voice 21: that when we are undertaking any bylaw,

[2:38:41] Voice 21: we send a list, we send a shape file,

[2:38:44] Voice 21: the GIS state file of the jurisdiction in question to the province and they returned to us with the

[2:38:49] Voice 21: list of nations that we need to engage with because it's been a number of years since we

[2:38:54] Voice 21: referred out the policy statement we did that in anticipation that you might get to first reading

[2:38:58] Voice 21: and got a renewed list back which added four nations Lummi nation was on there and we have

[2:39:03] Voice 21: we simply take direction from the province I've not had time yet to engage with provincial staff

[2:39:09] Voice 21: to understand how that came to be but we will be expected to follow that and send a referral

[2:39:12] Voice 21: referral through um so uh

[2:39:21] Voice 14: we'll we'll be looking into that question like where that obligation

[2:39:26] Voice 14: comes from because it seems pretty mysterious at the moment all right thank you

[2:39:33] Voice 5: trustee Harris

[2:39:35] Voice 5: thank you um so I see some points here and one being the stewardship education program

[2:39:41] Voice 5: um is there going to be a creation of zoning for Workforce housing education program coming to this

[2:39:48] Voice 5: list i

[2:39:54] Trustee Patrick: think well the the lists stewardship education i don't know director freighter if

[2:39:59] Trustee Patrick: you want to identify how the topics were identified so

[2:40:04] Voice 21: certainly um trust programs committee is funded

[2:40:06] Voice 21: for this year for stewardship education and the committee has already selected the five webinars

[2:40:10] Voice 21: that we'll be delivering as reported earlier by tpc chair evans and there's not a proposal to fund

[2:40:16] Voice 21: it next year so there would be no program delivery i think most of the housing work is being delivered

[2:40:21] Voice 21: through the regional planning committee at this time trustee maberly yeah

[2:40:28] Voice 7: um just for joe um

[2:40:33] Voice 7: the reason that would that would happen is if you look at the lumming nation and you follow

[2:40:40] Voice 7: the lineage of the penelagate nation and probably some of the other wissanish nations as well

[2:40:46] Voice 7: you'll find a direct lineage through those nations but you'll also find uh shared rights that that

[2:40:54] Voice 7: cross the borders and so you know when we're doing planning if any of those shared rights were

[2:41:01] Voice 7: were affected a Lummi would would would be a nation that you would you would refer to

[2:41:09] Voice 7: um whether it's territorial rights or other rights it's it's just when you have an effect

[2:41:15] Voice 7: because there is that there is that relationship down that line you you you tend to have a um

[2:41:22] Voice 7: And it's respectful to then just refer to the nation and nothing probably comes of that.

[2:41:29] Voice 7: But it's just a respectful thing to do because of the lineage.

[2:41:33] Trustee Patrick: I note that Joe Elliott at the podium.

[2:41:37] Voice 4: I want to thank you for that.

[2:41:38] Voice 4: And I talk about the kinship in regards to prior to me, before there was a border, our families used to cross the border or cross the lines.

[2:41:47] Voice 4: And we used to live in Muncie and share some of the territories.

[2:41:50] Voice 4: And my mother's name is, I can't remember her traditional name right now, but her mother

[2:41:56] Voice 4: name comes from Lummi.

[2:41:57] Voice 4: So our families are all connected up and down the coast.

[2:42:00] Voice 4: And so probably before the border was there, we were able to share that, but once the border

[2:42:06] Voice 4: came up, we created that separation.

[2:42:08] Voice 4: I think that's probably why Lummi's there.

[2:42:09] Voice 4: I think a lot of the Coastal First Nations also have a challenge with some of the things

[2:42:14] Voice 4: with UNDRIP and those principles, but I think they're also welcoming in regards to the

[2:42:20] Voice 4: share an interest in regards to some of the

[2:42:22] Voice 4: islands that have with our families

[2:42:24] Voice 4: in Lummi.

[2:42:26] Trustee Patrick: Thank you.

[2:42:27] Voice 4: Trustee Middleton?

[2:42:33] Voice 35: Thank you, Chair. This is

[2:42:34] Voice 35: I think I'm in the right spot, but let me

[2:42:37] Voice 35: know in regard to

[2:42:38] Voice 35: just point three or point three below

[2:42:40] Voice 35: point two there. The policy

[2:42:42] Voice 35: statement amendment project is

[2:42:45] Voice 35: okay to ask you a question

[2:42:46] Voice 35: about that right now? Yes, it is.

[2:42:49] Voice 35: I'm just curious because this is quite a

[2:42:50] Voice 35: hot topic and

[2:42:51] Voice 35: And you mentioned, thank you for the overview, that's very good, that you did have meetings with the Ministry of Housing, Municipal Affairs, and the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.

[2:43:04] Voice 35: And they actually, if I read your comment correctly, they actually outlined what they meant when they had authored or influenced authorship of the words built towards consensus with Indigenous governing bodies.

[2:43:19] Voice 35: Did they give you any kind of elaboration or breakdown or unpacking of that term about what success might be when they ask that we build toward consensus?

[2:43:30] Voice 35: Thank you.

[2:43:34] Voice 21: I don't.

[2:43:35] Voice 21: I want to speak carefully here so as to not stumble on myself.

[2:43:38] Voice 21: But generally, it is to work in good friendship and to take account of everything that we're told and consider it seriously.

[2:43:44] Voice 21: It is not meant to that we must do everything that is asked for.

[2:43:49] Voice 21: But I think it's meant that it's provided deep consideration, thoughtful review, and that we have a rationale if we're not able to take up something that's been asked.

[2:43:56] Voice 21: That's my interpretation of it generally.

[2:43:59] Voice 21: And it's meant to be through good dialogue and good relations that we undertake thoughtful listening and deep reflection on what's being asked of us.

[2:44:08] Voice 21: I'll turn to my colleagues. Anything to add?

[2:44:10] Voice 21: I'm seeing general nods.

[2:44:14] Voice 1: Trustee Boland.

[2:44:18] Voice 1: Thanks.

[2:44:19] Voice 1: I have just kind of a numbers question.

[2:44:22] Voice 1: I'm 99% sure that someplace I saw that in the first rounds of engagement, there were 31 First

[2:44:28] Voice 1: Nations. So I thought, okay, we're now at 35, but I see it's still 31. So are there First Nations

[2:44:37] Voice 1: who have dropped off the list from the province? And how can that happen? Anyway, thank you,

[2:44:44] Voice 1: if you could answer that. Thanks.

[2:44:49] Voice 21: Generally, the prior number was 27. Indeed, we were in

[2:44:53] Voice 21: dialogue with a few non-profit societies or treaty associations as well so that may be where the prior

[2:44:58] Voice 21: number came from but we have been working with 21 first nations and then through the project have

[2:45:03] Voice 21: been dialoguing with tribal councils leadership societies and others as well any other questions

[2:45:12] Trustee Patrick: though so then through can i have your agreement through general consent to approve items 10.1.1

[2:45:20] Trustee Patrick: 10.1.2. Oops, sorry, I'm at the wrong one. I keep moving to 12. Don't change my page. 12.1.1,

[2:45:28] Trustee Patrick: 12.1.2, 12.1.3, 4, and 5. That's great. Thank you. So we're going to move on to the items for

[2:45:37] Trustee Patrick: decisions, which is section 12.2. We have item 12.2.1 on page 185, which is the draft annual

[2:45:46] Trustee Patrick: report. Over to you, Director Frater.

[2:45:51] Voice 21: Thank you, Chair. This is an annual item,

[2:45:53] Voice 21: so I'll keep my comments brief. Essentially, this is here for your review. I'm happy to take

[2:45:58] Voice 21: any edits that might be noted. Otherwise, we encourage you to pass the resolution as noted

[2:46:02] Voice 21: on screen. And thank you to everyone for once again, an efficient process of review and approval

[2:46:07] Voice 21: of your individual LTC reports and committee reports that make up this larger report to the

[2:46:13] Voice 21: minister thank you there's

[2:46:16] Trustee Patrick: any comments otherwise i'd entertain the motion that's on page 185 trusty

[2:46:22] Trustee Patrick: borthwick i

[2:46:24] Voice 11: would be happy to make the motion there's nothing else uh i move that the island's

[2:46:30] Voice 11: trust council approved the 2024-25 annual report for submission to the ministry minister of housing

[2:46:36] Voice 11: and municipal affairs it's

[2:46:38] Trustee Patrick: seconded by trustee evans is there any discussion i'll call the vote

[2:46:44] Trustee Patrick: then all those in favor raise your hands right

[2:46:55] Voice 40: lower

[2:46:57] Trustee Patrick: your hands anyone up oops sorry anyone

[2:47:00] Trustee Patrick: opposed yep she voted no she voted for actually that carries all right thank you so we're gonna

[2:47:09] Trustee Patrick: move on to the next item 12.2.2 on page 234 the policy statement amendment project update

[2:47:16] Trustee Patrick: request for decision director freighter if

[2:47:21] Voice 21: i might share i think it might be prudent to first review

[2:47:23] Voice 21: you item 12.2.5 in your addendum package, which speaks to meeting scheduling prior to looking at

[2:47:29] Voice 21: the project charter. All right,

[2:47:31] Voice 21: that would be great. So if everyone can take a moment to open

[2:47:33] Voice 21: up their addendum.

[2:47:35] Voice 21: It's on page 29.

[2:47:37] Trustee Patrick: Everyone has the addendum. So that would be on page 29.

[2:47:55] Trustee Patrick: It's up on the screen for your help as well. Back over to you, Director Brader.

[2:47:59] Trustee Patrick: Thank

[2:48:02] Voice 21: you. Some of you, I'm acknowledging, may not have had an opportunity to look this over yet, so I'll give you a quick outline. Essentially, we are trying to seek direction from this body to schedule new meetings for the next steps for the Policy Statement Project. It's being brought to this meeting in an attempt to avoid you all having to deal with multiple RWMs following this meeting, and also to support your consideration of the project charter that you'll look at next.

[2:48:25] Voice 21: Next, we have polled everyone, and it's busy summer schedules, so we've found some dates.

[2:48:32] Voice 21: So we're recommending to you that the next Committee of the Whole meeting,

[2:48:35] Voice 21: maybe go back down a little bit, be on June 30th.

[2:48:39] Voice 21: We cancel the Committee of the Whole meeting that was scheduled for June 30th,

[2:48:42] Voice 21: and instead schedule a new Committee of the Whole meeting for July 9th.

[2:48:47] Voice 21: And that would happen in the afternoon.

[2:48:50] Voice 21: I'm just refreshing myself here.

[2:48:52] Voice 21: on the afternoon of July 9th

[2:48:54] Voice 21: and then continuing on as needed

[2:48:56] Voice 21: and then that you consider scheduling

[2:48:59] Voice 21: a special electronic trust council

[2:49:00] Voice 21: oh yeah, council meeting, sorry, that was

[2:49:02] Voice 21: July 9th regular meeting and for the July

[2:49:04] Voice 21: 29th we're looking at the afternoon and evening

[2:49:07] Voice 21: for first reading

[2:49:08] Voice 21: and so this is our best recommendation

[2:49:10] Voice 21: to you given all of your busy calendars

[2:49:13] Voice 21: the purpose of these meetings

[2:49:14] Voice 21: for the next committee of the whole would be to

[2:49:16] Voice 21: look at the final product from trust programs

[2:49:18] Voice 21: committee's work and in addition

[2:49:20] Voice 21: we'll bring you comments from legal counsel that's now taken a look at the revised draft

[2:49:24] Voice 21: and we'll bring any associated recommendations with their review and then following that review

[2:49:30] Voice 21: by committee of the whole if you deem it ready then we will prepare a package for consideration

[2:49:34] Voice 21: of first reading at the end of july should that go well and you entertain and pass first reading

[2:49:40] Voice 21: then it's time for public engagement so i just want to reiterate that these next two meetings

[2:49:45] Voice 21: are simply preparing a document for public comment and first nation comment this is in a way

[2:49:50] Voice 21: you know the beginning of the next chapter it is in no way concluding the project it is simply

[2:49:55] Voice 21: you know your agreement that the document is sufficiently developed to invite comment on it

[2:50:01] Voice 21: and you can then have an opportunity to revise it again at second reading and revise it again

[2:50:06] Voice 21: at third reading before you consider adoption later in the term. We will just note that in

[2:50:13] Voice 21: order to accommodate this sort of shift in schedule we are tightening up the time frame

[2:50:17] Voice 21: particularly around possibly the ministerial review unless you wanted to also consider

[2:50:23] Voice 21: shortening up the public engagement period we'll talk about this at the project charter time

[2:50:26] Voice 21: but we think we can still have a good chance of landing this project this term but it's getting

[2:50:31] Voice 21: it is getting tight so the first step here before we consider the project charter is for you all to

[2:50:37] Voice 21: determine can you proceed with these dates knowing that we have I think it's around you know 18

[2:50:42] Voice 21: participants we haven't been able to get a full body of council available on any one day

[2:50:46] Voice 21: all

[2:50:47] Trustee Patrick: right so this is a discussion on sort of the meeting we'll go to the project charter here in a

[2:50:51] Trustee Patrick: few moments uh trustee maverly so

[2:50:56] Voice 7: i recall in at the last trust council meeting uh put forward a

[2:51:02] Voice 7: motion that we would have the trust policy statement available for this meeting for first reading

[2:51:08] Voice 7: hasn't happened it's no big surprise um it's a complicated document uh everybody is well aware

[2:51:15] Voice 7: of how i feel about what we did to this document after it came back from first nations but i'm

[2:51:22] Voice 7: going to make the recommendations i'm going to recommend that we ask all three of these and

[2:51:29] Voice 7: and move on with this because quite frankly if we don't we might as well table this thing until the

[2:51:34] Voice 7: new uh group of trustees gets here um we delay this another another um trust council we're done

[2:51:44] Voice 7: on the track on the policy statement there's no way we're getting to through referrals and that

[2:51:49] Voice 7: and i think that would be a disservice a real disservice to staff right the amount of work

[2:51:57] Voice 7: that's been put in to get to this document to this point um so i move that trust council counsel the

[2:52:11] Voice 7: committee of the whole meeting schedule for june 30th 2025.

[2:52:14] Trustee Patrick: is there a second trustee borthwick

[2:52:16] Trustee Patrick: any discussion

[2:52:18] Trustee Patrick: Trustee Evans

[2:52:20] Trustee Patrick: I

[2:52:22] Voice 17: just had a quick question I know that there were

[2:52:23] Voice 17: other Committee of the Whole meetings

[2:52:25] Voice 17: that needed to get rescheduled

[2:52:27] Voice 17: or moved rather than

[2:52:30] Voice 17: cancelling that for example

[2:52:31] Voice 17: the

[2:52:33] Voice 17: governance review could that be moved

[2:52:35] Voice 17: into the currently scheduled

[2:52:37] Voice 17: June 30th instead

[2:52:39] Voice 17: rather than outright cancelling this

[2:52:41] Voice 17: if something's already on the books and there's

[2:52:44] Voice 17: other work that needs to happen

[2:52:45] Voice 17: them.

[2:52:48] Trustee Patrick: Yes, I was just looking at the date. If we look at the schedule, June 30th is kind of a

[2:52:53] Trustee Patrick: holiday weekend. So if we had problems on a Friday afternoon, how are we going to do on a holiday

[2:52:59] Trustee Patrick: weekend getting people in? So Director Frater?

[2:53:04] Voice 21: Yes, that's just it. I think I will turn to our

[2:53:06] Voice 21: table there, but I think our polling of getting trustee availability on June 30th, which is

[2:53:11] Voice 21: right in the middle of a long weekend

[2:53:13] Voice 21: was that we're not achieving quorum

[2:53:15] Voice 21: so we didn't have enough people to hold a meeting

[2:53:17] Voice 21: anyway.

[2:53:19] Trustee Patrick: Any other comments, debate?

[2:53:22] Trustee Patrick: Otherwise I'll call the question.

[2:53:24] Trustee Patrick: All those in favor?

[2:53:31] Trustee Patrick: Oops, he's raising his

[2:53:32] Trustee Patrick: hand over there too.

[2:53:38] Trustee Patrick: Lower your hands.

[2:53:40] Trustee Patrick: Any opposed?

[2:53:44] Trustee Patrick: That carries.

[2:53:46] Trustee Patrick: No.

[2:53:48] Trustee Patrick: Okay.

[2:53:50] Trustee Patrick: Trustee Maberly.

[2:53:51] Trustee Patrick: I

[2:53:52] Voice 7: move that Trust Council schedule a special electronic meeting on July 9th, 2025 to review the draft New Islands Trust Policy Statement.

[2:54:01] Trustee Patrick: Is there a second? Trustee Yates? Any questions? All those in favor? Raise your hands. Lower

[2:54:22] Trustee Patrick: your hands. Any opposed?

[2:54:28] Voice 7: That carries. Trustee Maberly?

[2:54:31] Voice 7: I move that Trust Council schedule a special electronic Trust Council meeting on the afternoon and evening of July 29, 2025, to consider first reading of the draft new policy statement.

[2:54:44] Trustee Patrick: Is there a second? Trustee Borthwick?

[2:54:46] Trustee Patrick: Any discussion?

[2:54:49] Trustee Patrick: I have one question.

[2:54:50] Trustee Patrick: So the afternoon is intended to be a town hall.

[2:54:57] Voice 21: so we have the Thetis LTC meeting until about noon that day and it was our intention to give

[2:55:04] Voice 21: everyone some lunch break and then start certainly we would be working with executive committee to

[2:55:09] Voice 21: determine how they want to structure the day our thought was the meeting could open with a town

[2:55:12] Voice 21: hall and then move into consideration of the draft so

[2:55:16] Trustee Patrick: we're not making a decision on the format at

[2:55:18] Trustee Patrick: this time no just the dates okay I just wanted to clarify that any other questions or discussion

[2:55:23] Trustee Patrick: I'll call the vote then. All those in favor?

[2:55:36] Trustee Patrick: Lower your hands.

[2:55:42] Trustee Patrick: Any opposed?

[2:55:45] Trustee Patrick: That carries.

[2:55:46] Trustee Patrick: Thank you very much.

[2:55:47] Trustee Patrick: Now we'll go back to Item 12.2.2,

[2:55:51] Trustee Patrick: which is the Policy Statement Amendment Project,

[2:55:54] Trustee Patrick: which is on page 234 of the main package.

[2:55:57] Trustee Patrick: Over to you, Director Frater.

[2:56:01] Voice 21: Thank you, Chair.

[2:56:02] Voice 21: Before I use the motion to adopt a revised project charter,

[2:56:05] Voice 21: version 11, and this is being brought to you just to, you know,

[2:56:09] Voice 21: know keep track with reality of where the project is at reflecting the change in timing it's taken

[2:56:14] Voice 21: to have the document edited through trust programs committee as noted the timeline is tight but some

[2:56:21] Voice 21: staff do believe it's still achievable to achieve this term the more we can work to tightly explain

[2:56:27] Voice 21: to the minister why we how we listen to nations and how we listen to referral agencies and what

[2:56:32] Voice 21: we did with the feedback hopefully the more documentation we can do there the more and we

[2:56:37] Voice 21: allowed six months for ministerial review if we can provide a very detailed package explaining

[2:56:41] Voice 21: the rationale it's our hope that that would then speed up that ministerial review process

[2:56:45] Voice 21: so it's here for your consideration uh we you know as presented with the meeting dates you

[2:56:50] Voice 21: just selected we're still the changes noted still stand just just just in the nick of time there at

[2:56:56] Voice 21: the end of july but um this is what we're recommending to you and we hope to bring you

[2:57:01] Voice 21: back something shortly for consideration trustees

[2:57:06] Trustee Patrick: any questions trustee evans

[2:57:08] Voice 17: i have a couple of

[2:57:13] Voice 17: questions so i see like late june this goes out for um completing the legal review um my question

[2:57:20] Voice 17: is will uh when this comes back to us at the meeting will legal be present to answer questions

[2:57:28] Voice 17: and i have a couple of other questions later too i

[2:57:34] Voice 21: have not had confirmation that legal will be

[2:57:36] Voice 21: present but we certainly will make that request or have made that request i just haven't seen a

[2:57:39] Voice 21: confirmation but certainly we will have their opinion ready for you to consider along with

[2:57:43] Voice 21: associated recommendations did you have another question

[2:57:51] Voice 17: my next question is on the updated project charter version 11 on the proposed next steps

[2:58:00] Voice 17: we have the bylaw referral and then the six month engagement now occurring one month apart

[2:58:07] Voice 17: part, whereas previously they went out at the same time. Could you explain the difference why

[2:58:12] Voice 17: they're not going out at the same time anymore?

[2:58:16] Voice 21: We will be prepared to send referrals soon after

[2:58:18] Voice 21: first reading. Of course, we need lead time for public engagement. We need to be able to advertise

[2:58:22] Voice 21: and so on. So there's a little bit of a lag. We'll get the survey out as soon as we can,

[2:58:26] Voice 21: but there's always a lag in terms of advertising and island papers and drawing that attention.

[2:58:31] Voice 21: But we're preparing as much as we can to do it as quickly as we can.

[2:58:37] Voice 21: Trustee Getty

[2:58:38] Voice 21: On

[2:58:39] Voice 12: page 235 there's mention that

[2:58:42] Voice 12: there's one nation that is saying that they would have difficulty

[2:58:47] Voice 12: engaging in the

[2:58:50] Voice 12: review of the policy statement

[2:58:51] Voice 12: because of their capacity and they're asking for funding

[2:58:54] Voice 12: and that there were some late efforts to find potential

[2:58:58] Voice 12: funding sources so this report is written

[2:59:01] Voice 12: at the end of May is there an update on that

[2:59:04] Voice 12: was there not something left over in the budget

[2:59:13] Voice 12: in terms of money that had not been spent

[2:59:15] Voice 12: that had been given to us

[2:59:16] Voice 12: with respect to capacity building

[2:59:18] Voice 12: that was in our budget?

[2:59:25] Voice 21: Yes, we are hoping to approach the nation

[2:59:27] Voice 21: with capacity funding.

[2:59:29] Voice 21: I think we've been meeting as a team.

[2:59:30] Voice 21: There's a number of referrals

[2:59:32] Voice 21: for big initiatives headed that way.

[2:59:34] Voice 21: And there is indeed funding left

[2:59:35] Voice 21: in the First Nation engagement funding

[2:59:37] Voice 21: the province had given us.

[2:59:38] Voice 21: So that's a conversation we've been having

[2:59:39] Voice 21: at the management level.

[2:59:40] Voice 21: And I think we are determining

[2:59:42] Voice 21: that we would like to move forward in that way.

[2:59:44] Voice 21: But I think there's more discussions to be had.

[2:59:46] Voice 21: but certainly we are looking at that option and because there's a number of big projects

[2:59:50] Voice 21: heading it might make sense to bundle them together and work in that way but yeah

[2:59:53] Voice 21: those conversations have not been had yet with the nation.

[2:59:58] Trustee Patrick: Any other questions?

[3:00:00] Trustee Patrick: If not, there is a motion to endorse on page 234.

[3:00:11] Trustee Patrick: Trustee Borthwick?

[3:00:14] Voice 11: I move that the Islands Trust Council endorse policy statement amendment project charter version elect.

[3:00:19] Trustee Patrick: Is there a second? Seconded by Trustee Getty.

[3:00:23] Trustee Patrick: Is there any discussion?

[3:00:24] Trustee Patrick: If not, I'll call the vote. All those in favor, raise your hands.

[3:00:41] Voice 40: 2023.

[3:00:43] Voice 40: 23. okay

[3:00:44] Trustee Patrick: any opposed that carries right

[3:00:50] Voice 12: trustee getty i'd like to thank the members of the um

[3:00:54] Voice 12: trust program committee for all the extra meetings since that was very very very helpful

[3:01:01] Trustee Patrick: yes they did an amazing job i think staff didn't believe they were going to get through their last

[3:01:05] Trustee Patrick: agenda package and boy did they surprise them they did

[3:01:08] Voice 37: trustee yates and i'd like to extend

[3:01:12] Voice 37: And a special thank you to Senior Policy Advisor Jason Yeomans, whose efforts have not only been heroic, but extremely helpful.

[3:01:22] Trustee Patrick: All right. Thank you.

[3:01:23] Trustee Patrick: Well, it's good to be here and look forward to these next meetings.

[3:01:27] Trustee Patrick: Please make sure you put those meetings in your calendars that we just approved earlier so that we have quorum and we can proceed well.

[3:01:35] Trustee Patrick: Okay, we're going to move on.

[3:01:37] Trustee Patrick: We're doing really well.

[3:01:38] Trustee Patrick: We've got a few more minutes before we move over to the public engagement part.

[3:01:43] Trustee Patrick: So we have 12.2.3 on page 245 of the agenda package.

[3:01:49] Trustee Patrick: It's the amendments to the strategic plan.

[3:01:54] Trustee Patrick: Is that you?

[3:01:57] Trustee Patrick: So it's Director Freider.

[3:02:01] Voice 21: Thank you.

[3:02:01] Voice 21: This item is being brought to you as a result of all the re-review we did of the First Nations feedback.

[3:02:08] Voice 21: And in the context of you having adopted a new strategic plan.

[3:02:11] Voice 21: And it occurred to us there wasn't, in that strategic plan, there wasn't a signal or any commitment to undertaking further review of the policy statement.

[3:02:20] Voice 21: I think we're all aware this is meant to be a living document that's amended regularly, not at 30-year intervals.

[3:02:26] Voice 21: And so we thought as we enter into the next round of conversations with First Nations around this document,

[3:02:32] Voice 21: It would be really nice if council could signal its intent to keep reviewing the document and to work with nations around their preferences for how that review gets undertaken sort of beginning next term, that when we initiate a project of this scope and size that we do so in partnership with them and take into account their views of how that process should work.

[3:02:51] Voice 21: so that's what this is intended to do so I'm sorry to be bringing you an

[3:02:56] Voice 21: amendment to your shiny new plan but I do think this this warrants the change

[3:03:01] Voice 21: and will certainly assist staff as we go back out and have those conversations to

[3:03:05] Voice 21: help everyone including the public understand that this document is well

[3:03:09] Voice 21: you might be adopting it let's hope you adopt it this term there's every

[3:03:13] Voice 21: opportunity in the future to keep amending it hopefully more incrementally

[3:03:16] Voice 21: than what we're doing now trustee bernardo yeah

[3:03:21] Voice 14: just a point of clarification question um

[3:03:25] Voice 14: first i think uh going this direction i think is intriguing because um i think we i i think we all

[3:03:34] Voice 14: recognize that we need need to move towards um more developed actual working relationships

[3:03:40] Voice 14: with first nations that are a willing and be able uh i'm just i just want to be clear that what

[3:03:47] Voice 14: but by virtue of making this a change to the strategic plan,

[3:03:52] Voice 14: this is a commitment of trust council and whatever gets designed and

[3:04:01] Voice 14: doesn't get implemented before we at trust council get a chance to sort of

[3:04:05] Voice 14: actually work with staff, go through it, try to figure out,

[3:04:08] Voice 14: is this really workable or not? So have I got that right?

[3:04:12] Voice 14: That this is like, this isn't committing the staff to doing it.

[3:04:15] Voice 14: It's committing trust council to making it happen.

[3:04:18] Voice 14: Is that right?

[3:04:21] Voice 21: Yes, that's correct. As the next Trust Council comes in after the election,

[3:04:25] Voice 21: they're going to want to take a look at that strategic plan. They're going to want to assess

[3:04:28] Voice 21: if the priorities still stand. And likely, before we move forward on any new work for the policy

[3:04:33] Voice 21: statement, there'll be a project charter provided to Trust Council that would spell out in specifics

[3:04:37] Voice 21: how the next steps would happen.

[3:04:41] Voice 17: Trustee Evans? Thank you. As the last meeting was very quick,

[3:04:48] Voice 17: quick um i've been looking at this a little bit further the current strategic plan and i'm

[3:04:53] Voice 17: wondering if this work could fit under one of two other items that are currently in the strategic

[3:04:59] Voice 17: plan namely 512 which is clarified opportunities for co-governance and co-management of the trust

[3:05:05] Voice 17: area so i think this could definitely fall under that heading as well as identifying one of those

[3:05:12] Voice 17: Or 522, which is develop tailored public engagement processes that acknowledge the preferred engagement methods of Indigenous peoples.

[3:05:22] Voice 17: So there may be two places that this specific element, which is the ongoing review of the policy statement amendment process, and it's the process itself, not the document.

[3:05:42] Voice 17: So we have the trust policy amendment process.

[3:05:52] Voice 17: So if you keep scrolling down to five, so we've got 512, and then on the next page, 522, are the two areas that I see this actually slotting into very well as already highlighted.

[3:06:12] Voice 17: Dr. Britter?

[3:06:16] Voice 21: Certainly, we did look at those sections, but deemed the recommended section in Section 1 to be the most appropriate.

[3:06:21] Voice 21: The one cited is around, we didn't want to, yeah, we felt that it was better because it's about project planning.

[3:06:28] Voice 21: It was better bundled with the project itself.

[3:06:30] Voice 21: And the other one, there was one noted around, it's particularly around governance.

[3:06:34] Voice 21: So this wouldn't be that.

[3:06:35] Voice 21: This would be around, you know, interacting processes as we engage together to run a project.

[3:06:40] Voice 21: and then the other one was relating to um incorporation of actual knowledge into our

[3:06:44] Voice 21: work and again we felt this was more like a project management piece so recommended that

[3:06:48] Voice 21: it go in section one of course it's at council's discretion where you wish to put it any other

[3:06:55] Trustee Patrick: discussion

[3:06:55] Voice 17: trustee evans so again one of the one of the things that we've uh talked about here is

[3:07:04] Voice 17: when one element um is closed so we're looking at finishing the trust policy statement once one

[3:07:11] Voice 17: element is closed and we look to move something else in if this is its own separate item and it's

[3:07:19] Voice 17: very specific where some of these are a little bit uh broader um i'm going to stop and and

[3:07:29] Voice 17: correlate my thoughts here thank

[3:07:31] Trustee Patrick: you any other questions or comments otherwise there is the

[3:07:35] Trustee Patrick: motion on page 245 uh vice chair peterson i

[3:07:40] Voice 9: move that trust councilman the 2025-28 strategic plan

[3:07:44] Voice 9: doing blue key initiative 1.1.2 color coded to indicate that the initiation timeline

[3:07:50] Voice 9: is to be determined as i work with indigenous governing bodies to co-design and implement

[3:07:55] Voice 9: future policy statement amendment review processes that ensure ongoing and more regular review and

[3:08:01] Voice 9: amendment of the policy statement is

[3:08:03] Trustee Patrick: there a second trustee fast is there any discussion

[3:08:13] Trustee Patrick: trustee evans no okay um is there any discussion trustee fast thank

[3:08:18] Voice 27: you chair yeah i'm uh i'm in

[3:08:21] Voice 27: favor of um of the motion and as to where to put it i do agree that it belongs uh up there um at

[3:08:28] Voice 27: near the top, because it's a little different

[3:08:30] Voice 27: than the other ones about working with First Nations.

[3:08:35] Voice 27: Specifically, it uses the words co-design

[3:08:38] Voice 27: about the policy statement amendment

[3:08:42] Voice 27: through review processes.

[3:08:44] Voice 27: So it's co-designing the processes.

[3:08:47] Voice 27: And it says that ensure ongoing

[3:08:51] Voice 27: and more regular review and amendment,

[3:08:53] Voice 27: which isn't in any of the other ones.

[3:08:55] Voice 27: So I think for those reasons that it does belong

[3:08:57] Voice 27: up under 1.1.1, which is about updating and adopting an updated policy statement. So I think

[3:09:05] Voice 27: it's sort of like, first you adopt one, and then you start thinking about the next one

[3:09:09] Voice 27: in view of co-design and getting on with it. So that's, I'm speaking in favor of the motion.

[3:09:17] Trustee Patrick: Any other discussion? Trustee

[3:09:19] Voice 17: Evans? So then on the same vein, should 512 move up where it says

[3:09:24] Voice 17: there's clarified opportunities for co-governance and co-management should that also then be moved

[3:09:28] Voice 17: up to the governance section well

[3:09:33] Trustee Patrick: i think we could probably spend all day on re reordering this but i

[3:09:37] Trustee Patrick: think we'll we'll deal with the fact the the topic before us at this time is there any further

[3:09:42] Trustee Patrick: discussion on this motion i'll call the vote all those in favor okay lower your hands any opposed

[3:10:05] Trustee Patrick: proposed that carries all right we have five minutes let's see how we do we're going to move

[3:10:15] Trustee Patrick: on to item 12.2.4 which is a request for official recognition for two place names on bowen island

[3:10:21] Trustee Patrick: it's on page 251 this is an example of an item that came to the executive committee that we felt

[3:10:28] Trustee Patrick: was should be directed to this body so over to you director freighter

[3:10:34] Voice 21: thank you bowen island

[3:10:36] Voice 21: municipality has suggested the renaming of two places on bowen island um to the provincial

[3:10:44] Voice 21: new word for me um and that has then been referred to trust council to express its support or

[3:10:51] Voice 21: non-support of the changes of place name so we have a recommendation here um that you request

[3:10:55] Voice 21: staff to draft a letter from the chair expressing trust council support for the name change

[3:10:59] Voice 21: page. I'm happy to take any questions.

[3:11:02] Voice 21: Any

[3:11:02] Trustee Patrick: questions? Trustee Fast? Yes? No? Oh, you want to make the motion. Okay. Any comments

[3:11:09] Trustee Patrick: or questions? Otherwise, Trustee Fast, please proceed. Thank you.

[3:11:13] Trustee Patrick: Oh, someone online. I apologize. Trustee Stanford?

[3:11:19] Voice 25: Just out of interest, is there a spot somewhere that we can hear how these names are pronounced?

[3:11:28] Voice 25: announced uh trustee fast

[3:11:31] Voice 27: yes thank you uh trustee stanford i was interested in that too

[3:11:35] Voice 27: and if you go down to the um uh the the links that are in one of these reports down there at

[3:11:41] Voice 27: the bottom uh on page 254 there's uh it says um smiley ant oh gosh now i'm gonna get it wrong

[3:11:52] Voice 27: i've looked it up smayman ayak and that's um it has a little speaker i can see

[3:11:59] Voice 25: it there great

[3:11:59] Voice 27: thank you and same for the other one so it

[3:12:02] Voice 27: gives you the pronunciation these were names received

[3:12:05] Voice 27: from squamish nation super

[3:12:07] Voice 25: thank you i should have

[3:12:08] Voice 27: read closer no it's fine we're just starting

[3:12:11] Voice 27: to put links in so i think that's great i can i make the most please proceed okay um i move

[3:12:18] Voice 27: that Trust Council requests staff

[3:12:21] Voice 27: to draft a letter from the chair

[3:12:23] Voice 27: expressing Trust Council's support

[3:12:25] Voice 27: for official recognition of the,

[3:12:28] Voice 27: oh boy, okay,

[3:12:31] Voice 27: Smeemant Ayak

[3:12:35] Voice 27: and Kolakan

[3:12:38] Voice 27: place names for beaches on Bowen Island.

[3:12:40] Voice 27: Is there a second?

[3:12:42] Trustee Patrick: Trustee Gavriel,

[3:12:44] Voice 31: is

[3:12:44] Trustee Patrick: there any discussion?

[3:12:47] Trustee Patrick: That'll call the vote.

[3:12:48] Trustee Patrick: all those in favor thank you all right lower your hands is there any opposed seeing that carries

[3:13:07] Trustee Patrick: trustee giddy

[3:13:08] Voice 12: if i can just interject for just a few seconds there's a really sweet backstory

[3:13:12] Voice 12: um one of the leaders of the squamish came with his um an elder i believe it was his grandmother

[3:13:19] Voice 12: um and they toured and we walked down to the pedley beach on um cape roger curtis and

[3:13:27] Voice 12: And they wanted to spend a whole bunch of time there.

[3:13:30] Voice 12: They quite liked it.

[3:13:31] Voice 12: And then they went to this other little beach that had been called Crayola.

[3:13:34] Voice 12: And there's colored rocks on the side of that beach.

[3:13:38] Voice 12: And so they were very, very impressed with how well kept that we kept our beaches nice and clean.

[3:13:43] Voice 12: And that they were admiring the work of the trust in terms of keeping the places so pristine.

[3:13:49] Voice 12: So they had a really wonderful day.

[3:13:51] Voice 12: And it was a great visit.

[3:13:52] Voice 12: So we got these wonderful names.

[3:13:54] Voice 12: They were quite happy.

[3:13:55] Voice 12: All

[3:13:57] Trustee Patrick: right. Thank you very much.

[3:13:59] Voice 27: Go ahead, Trustee Faust.

[3:14:01] Voice 27: And just so people know how this came about, as part of our transportation plan on Bowen Island and as part of our Parks, Trails and Beaches plan, so these are both sort of master plans, they each included an aspect of renaming and involvement and asking for input from First Nations.

[3:14:26] Voice 27: and that's kind of the basis for how it came to happen.

[3:14:31] Voice 27: It's not just a one-off.

[3:14:32] Voice 27: They're kind of embedded now, and so I hope we get more.

[3:14:35] Voice 27: Thank you.

[3:14:38] Trustee Patrick: Well, thank you, trustees.

[3:14:39] Trustee Patrick: I think we did very good making it through that session.

[3:14:43] Trustee Patrick: Thank you, Director Frater.

[3:14:46] Trustee Patrick: With that, we're going to move on to Section 9,

[3:14:48] Trustee Patrick: going back in the agenda, which is the delegations,

[3:14:53] Trustee Patrick: the delegation materials for Appendix A of your agenda packages.

[3:14:58] Trustee Patrick: And I believe we have delegates are here, so that's good.

[3:15:03] Trustee Patrick: So I'm going to introduce our first delegation.

[3:15:06] Trustee Patrick: I will remind audience members we are here to listen to our delegates.

[3:15:10] Trustee Patrick: We don't make any clapping or sounds as we listen.

[3:15:13] Trustee Patrick: We're here to hear our ears.

[3:15:15] Trustee Patrick: I'm sorry.

[3:15:16] Trustee Patrick: Oh, Alex.

[3:15:18] Trustee Patrick: Alexander.

[3:15:18] Trustee Patrick: Okay.

[3:15:19] Trustee Patrick: So before I introduce.

[3:15:25] Trustee Patrick: Yes, I have more information on that when we get there.

[3:15:28] Trustee Patrick: So with that, I'm going to introduce our first delegate, which is Salt Spring Solutions.

[3:15:33] Trustee Patrick: We have Mary Wellman and Elizabeth Fitzaland.

[3:15:35] Trustee Patrick: You may proceed to the podium up front, and you can turn your microphone on.

[3:15:41] Trustee Patrick: Thank you.

[3:15:41] Trustee Patrick: Trustee Faust is directing you there.

[3:15:44] Trustee Patrick: Yes, we have 10 minutes.

[3:15:46] Trustee Patrick: There's a teeny-weeny timer on the – I'll wave to you when your 10 minutes is up if it's going,

[3:15:54] Trustee Patrick: but there is a will be a tiny timer you can hardly see on that big screen over there on the

[3:15:59] Trustee Patrick: see how big it is yeah binoculars are necessary

[3:16:05] Trustee Patrick: all right so yeah okay no i don't want to do that but i'll wait so when you're ready you may be i'm

[3:16:12] Trustee Patrick: ready um

[3:16:14] Voice 42: hello thank you guys so much um for having us here today um we really appreciate

[3:16:19] Voice 42: the time on your really full agenda my name is elizabeth salem this is mary wellman we're co-chairs

[3:16:26] Voice 42: of salt spring solutions which is a local grassroots non-profit organization that's been

[3:16:33] Voice 42: working here on salt spring for the last seven years on a bunch of different efforts that have

[3:16:39] Voice 42: ranged from from dedicating parkland up on mount maxwell to advocating for the sailors to multi-use

[3:16:46] Voice 42: Trail. And I think we're known mostly for our work and advocacy on community housing.

[3:16:53] Voice 42: And so we submitted into your agenda package today an update on a report that we did

[3:17:00] Voice 42: two years ago called the Homes for Islanders, an integrated housing solutions framework for

[3:17:08] Voice 42: Salt Spring Island. We're bringing it here to Trust Council because we think that the work

[3:17:13] Voice 42: that's been done here is really scalable um the complexities of the gulf islands um and the whole

[3:17:22] Voice 42: trust area in terms of the way our governance model works um and um you know even seeing today

[3:17:28] Voice 42: that you guys are still working on the policy statement interpretation and all that like i

[3:17:32] Voice 42: think it just goes to show how complex things are here on the islands and because of that we need to

[3:17:39] Voice 42: also respond with dynamic solutions for the housing crisis. We also have recently

[3:17:46] Voice 42: completed engagement on the housing framework, which is kind of part of this

[3:17:50] Voice 42: whole kind of two-year rollout of the plan, and Mary is going to share back on

[3:17:55] Voice 42: that. We also think that the approach we took on that has merit and has lessons

[3:18:00] Voice 42: to be learned for the rest of the islands as each of you look at engaging

[3:18:05] Voice 42: on your community on housing but also on a variety of topics that are of

[3:18:09] Voice 42: importance so as just a quick refresh I know it was in your packet I won't

[3:18:14] Voice 42: belabor this but the homes for Islanders report was something that we did as an

[3:18:18] Voice 42: organization once we got involved in looking at housing as a is a really top

[3:18:23] Voice 42: of mind issue here on Salt Spring Island and doing a survey of 20 years of work

[3:18:28] Voice 42: that's been done on this topic by a variety of organizations a lot of work

[3:18:32] Voice 42: done by the trust both at the regional level and the local level but also the

[3:18:36] Voice 42: CRD other groups the province and really realizing that there is there's so much

[3:18:43] Voice 42: work that's been done a lot of conversations men had over and over

[3:18:46] Voice 42: again but what hadn't happened is people stitched together all the different

[3:18:50] Voice 42: pieces across the different organizations across the different silos

[3:18:53] Voice 42: and then also poke our head up and look around at other rural communities other

[3:18:58] Voice 42: other places that are trying to balance community development and the environment

[3:19:02] Voice 42: to really see what are the best solutions for communities like ours

[3:19:06] Voice 42: where you have limited resources, limited

[3:19:10] Voice 42: infrastructure, where there's a strong desire to protect the environment, but also

[3:19:14] Voice 42: a real housing crisis. So Homes for Islanders identified

[3:19:18] Voice 42: five strategy areas, and then there's 40 actions distributed amongst

[3:19:22] Voice 42: those strategies. The strategies are

[3:19:25] Voice 42: are, one, coordinated and properly resourced local approach to housing.

[3:19:32] Voice 42: So that's really about working across agencies, not just working in silos.

[3:19:37] Voice 42: So we do two, effective public education, engagement, and dialogue on housing.

[3:19:42] Voice 42: So this is really about having a common understanding of what we're talking about

[3:19:48] Voice 42: when we're talking about a housing crisis or community housing or affordable housing

[3:19:52] Voice 42: or environmental protection or any of these things having a common understanding and also

[3:19:57] Voice 42: a common understanding of solutions that are working in other areas other communities

[3:20:01] Voice 42: and how this could be applicable to us here in the islands strategy three is preservation of rural

[3:20:09] Voice 42: areas and nature space through clustered housing strategy four is readying ganji's village for more

[3:20:15] Voice 42: housing which on salt spring is obviously really important as our is our major town center

[3:20:19] Voice 42: Center. Strategy five is accessory dwellings for housing in the right places. And I think

[3:20:28] Voice 42: importantly, one of the things that we've said in our report is that all of these other

[3:20:34] Voice 42: strategies that are kind of more zoning related, if you will, clustered housing, ADUs, all

[3:20:39] Voice 42: that, really are all for naught if we don't get those first two strategies right. So coordinating

[3:20:44] Voice 42: across agencies and doing good outreach and public education and finding understanding

[3:20:49] Voice 42: understanding that those are things that we just have to do and I guess we'd like to make

[3:20:53] Voice 42: hints today that that's something that we're hoping to find more leadership on in the trust

[3:20:57] Voice 42: you have it's part of your mandate coordination with other agencies and we'd really like to see

[3:21:05] Voice 42: the stitching together you know we're just a small local grassroots you know special interest group

[3:21:11] Voice 42: if you want to call it that but really this is work that should be led by government and we'd

[3:21:15] Voice 42: love to hand it over for you guys to lead um i know that there'll still be a need for grassroots

[3:21:20] Voice 42: efforts but um that's kind of the case that we're making right now um this work that we did was um

[3:21:26] Voice 42: done professionally it was peer reviewed it was extensively researched we have a great bibliography

[3:21:31] Voice 42: if you get that far all of the strategies we have a criteria for them that they have to be

[3:21:38] Voice 42: achievable within the existing local regional and provincial regulatory context they have to support

[3:21:44] Voice 42: Support small-scale housing types that are known to have fewer adverse impacts on the natural environment

[3:21:48] Voice 42: than typical single-family development.

[3:21:51] Voice 42: Support efficient use of land, water, and infrastructure.

[3:21:54] Voice 42: Not require large-scale land clearing of existing forest or harm-sensitive ecosystems.

[3:22:00] Voice 42: You need to be economically viable, and I cannot underscore that enough.

[3:22:05] Voice 42: Improve the availability and or affordability of long-term housing for a range of incomes and household types.

[3:22:12] Voice 42: compatible with or enhancing island community characteristics such as

[3:22:18] Voice 42: self-sufficiency interdependence neighborliness and low-income packed

[3:22:21] Voice 42: living and supporting increased uptake of transit and active transportation so

[3:22:27] Voice 42: that's that's where we that's where we were two years ago and we've worked with

[3:22:33] Voice 42: different agencies here on Salt Spring of the 40 actions that were recommended

[3:22:38] Voice 42: 10 have advanced or are advancing big kudos to North Salt Spring Water Works

[3:22:44] Voice 42: which has really worked quite hard on advancing those for their own purposes

[3:22:48] Voice 42: but also with the eye on community housing also the CRD has made some big

[3:22:54] Voice 42: strides both at the local level but also at the regional level in their efforts

[3:22:58] Voice 42: to advance the regional housing program which again is kind of really taking

[3:23:02] Voice 42: this inter-agency and regional approach to this trying to I think outside the

[3:23:07] Voice 42: the box of how we can kind of stitch together an approach that's appropriately scaled to our

[3:23:11] Voice 42: communities and also cards out some funds and resources at the regional and provincial level

[3:23:17] Voice 42: um i think i'm gonna hand it over to mary so i can't see that little clock but i'm probably

[3:23:22] Voice 42: getting into some of her time on this um yeah over to you i'm

[3:23:27] Voice 16: not sure who's scrolling through

[3:23:28] Voice 16: the presentation but can you stop scrolling thank you it's distracting um i'm going to speak to you

[3:23:36] Voice 16: a little bit about the engagement because we feel that this is a really important topic for the

[3:23:41] Voice 16: trust it's something you're not getting right now and we'd like to help you do it better um one of

[3:23:47] Voice 16: the things we realized after we did this report was we had talked to all the experts we had written

[3:23:52] Voice 16: the report but we hadn't gone out to the community and said so do you agree and you guys weren't

[3:23:57] Voice 16: doing it so we decided to go ahead and do it um it's a fact that you consistently hear from a very

[3:24:03] Voice 16: small group of people and I include us in that group people who are especially

[3:24:07] Voice 16: interested people who have the time to pay attention to your agendas and show

[3:24:11] Voice 16: up at meetings and we wanted to find out who what the rest of the community

[3:24:17] Voice 16: thought about this so we're here to show you that point of view because you won't

[3:24:21] Voice 16: hear it from the wider community unless you change how you engage the current

[3:24:26] Voice 16: engagement practices that you have expect people to come to you to give you

[3:24:30] Voice 16: their opinion your advertising is not really advertising it's public notices and you have

[3:24:37] Voice 16: town halls and you have meetings and you have um i forgot what they're called where the big boards

[3:24:43] Voice 16: are information sessions and um that's for people who have time and who are paying attention people

[3:24:50] Voice 16: who are working more than one job people who have kids people who have ailing parents people who are

[3:24:56] Voice 16: living precariously in terms of housing they're not they're not going to come to a meeting they

[3:25:00] Voice 16: don't have the capacity to do that. So we decided that we were going to do an online survey so that

[3:25:06] Voice 16: anybody in the community who wanted to could give us their feedback. But we also decided to do focus

[3:25:11] Voice 16: groups and one-on-one interviews. And we went out and actively recruited the participants

[3:25:16] Voice 16: with marketing type advertising for those focus groups. So we held seven focus groups with 42

[3:25:24] Voice 16: two participants. We conducted 12 one-on-one interviews, and we hosted this publicly accessible

[3:25:29] Voice 16: online survey. The survey attracted a really big number of respondents, over 600 people,

[3:25:37] Voice 16: which is, you know, more than double that you need up from a population of 12,000 to really

[3:25:41] Voice 16: mean something. And when you add in the focus group participants, we got 6% of the population

[3:25:46] Voice 16: on Salt Spring giving us their opinion. The survey gave us some qualitative information,

[3:25:51] Voice 16: quantitative information and the focus groups gave us that qualitative digger deeper find out

[3:25:57] Voice 16: what's behind the answers people are giving and so using both of those gives us a reliable picture

[3:26:05] Voice 16: of what the community thinks of these ideas that we've suggested interesting point of fact 67%

[3:26:13] Voice 16: of the people who answered the online survey already own homes so between the focus groups

[3:26:19] Voice 16: and the survey we got we got the whole you know enchilada we got workers we got employers

[3:26:25] Voice 16: we got people who are precariously housed uh you know it's kind of the whole package and they agree

[3:26:32] Voice 16: they all agree yes we want to protect the environment and yes we need to do something

[3:26:37] Voice 16: about housing and they actually do believe it can be done and i don't think you have to reinvent

[3:26:42] Voice 16: the wheel there's lots of great knowledge out there about how to fix this problem especially

[3:26:47] Voice 16: especially in small rural communities.

[3:26:48] Voice 16: And as Elizabeth said, the CRD is starting to really respond

[3:26:52] Voice 16: to that need with their program outline.

[3:26:59] Voice 16: Oh, okay.

[3:27:00] Voice 16: The other piece that we have was a report card that's in your package.

[3:27:04] Voice 16: We don't need to speak to that.

[3:27:05] Voice 16: That'll show you where we stand today on all of those actions.

[3:27:08] Voice 16: Thank you.

[3:27:09] Voice 3: Thank you.

[3:27:10] Voice 3: All

[3:27:20] Trustee Patrick: right, we have a second delegation today.

[3:27:22] Trustee Patrick: It's the Friends of the Gulf Islands.

[3:27:24] Trustee Patrick: I believe it's Jennifer Margason.

[3:27:28] Voice 36: Thank you.

[3:27:29] Voice 36: Well, I think it's really quite interesting that in a sense, both the delegations today are about public engagement. So I'm going to say something about that as well. So, yes, I'm Jennifer Margeson, and I'm speaking on behalf of the board and members of the Friends of the Gulf Islands Society.

[3:27:49] Voice 36: I come to you from Galliano Island, traditional lands of the Penelakut and home to other First

[3:27:56] Voice 36: Nations peoples. So before I begin my official delegation presentation, I would just like to

[3:28:04] Voice 36: preface it with some remarks on community engagement. In considering approval of our

[3:28:11] Voice 36: delegation, some executive committee members were reluctant to hear from our group again,

[3:28:17] Voice 36: commenting that they hear a lot from us and that is indeed true but I just want to say that this

[3:28:25] Voice 36: is what civil engagement looks like and with an emphasis on civil which we certainly strive to be

[3:28:33] Voice 36: out of respect for anyone occupying public office the staff who do so much work in supporting

[3:28:40] Voice 36: courting trustees and trust work, and the divergent communities that you all represent.

[3:28:46] Voice 36: We could certainly be faulted and restrained were we not civil. There is far too much incivility in

[3:28:54] Voice 36: our society today, but I don't believe we should be faulted for being engaged, asking questions,

[3:29:01] Voice 36: and pursuing issues that concern us. We are all volunteers with busy lives apart from this.

[3:29:08] Voice 36: We have no paid staff, we have no funding apart from membership fees and donations, and we try to do our homework, listening to as many trust meetings as we can and meeting by Zoom every Monday morning, and we have been doing so for about four years.

[3:29:28] Voice 36: We invite our members to come to a monthly official board meeting

[3:29:32] Voice 36: to present their concerns and ask questions.

[3:29:36] Voice 36: We publish a monthly newsletter.

[3:29:38] Voice 36: We have a website and Facebook page.

[3:29:42] Voice 36: The Islands Trust and governing documents like the Trust Policy Statement

[3:29:47] Voice 36: and OCPs and bylaws are not easy to understand.

[3:29:51] Voice 36: And the previous speaker just mentioned that the Trust is not easy to understand.

[3:29:57] Voice 36: as an organization.

[3:30:00] Voice 36: We try and inform our communities and have our communities inform us.

[3:30:05] Voice 36: We don't get everything right.

[3:30:07] Voice 36: We continue to learn.

[3:30:09] Voice 36: By all means, disagree with our points, our views, our presentations,

[3:30:15] Voice 36: but we don't feel we should be faulted for being engaged and present.

[3:30:21] Voice 36: So today I want to speak to the recent letter from the Honourable Rabbi Calon,

[3:30:26] Voice 36: Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, written in response to the Trust Council's

[3:30:32] Voice 36: second request for a review of the Islands Trust Act governance and structure. His letter contains

[3:30:40] Voice 36: some clear messages and expectations. He states, land use planning to preserve and protect the

[3:30:49] Voice 36: trust area and its unique amenities and environment is the core responsibility of the Islands Trust.

[3:30:56] Voice 36: This reflects the ecological mandate of the trust, the toolkit deliberately supplied by government, and that island communities have a role to play in local environmental stewardship.

[3:31:10] Voice 36: He goes on, it is my expectation that the Trust Council recognizes that this requires careful deliberation and consideration of perspectives to manage expectations of growth, development, and local economies without exceeding the carrying capacity of local ecosystems and preserving unspoiled natural amenities.

[3:31:38] Voice 36: So these are powerful and important phrases, core responsibility, ecological mandate, environmental stewardship, managing growth and development without exceeding the carrying capacity of local ecosystems, preserving unspoiled natural amenities, or perhaps let's not spoil them any further.

[3:32:03] Voice 36: We strongly support these principles. We believe the minister has made it clear the fundamental purpose of the trust has always been and remains protection of the natural environment and that the trust policy statement must contain strong policies to uphold that purpose.

[3:32:27] Voice 36: In support of this message and in anticipation of the upcoming community engagement on the draft trust policy statement, Friends of the Gulf Islands presents a petition to you today.

[3:32:43] Voice 36: This petition has received almost 1,000 signatures in a very short period of time from people across the trust area.

[3:32:52] Voice 36: and I'm just going to unfurl my my little scroll here maybe I can get you

[3:33:03] Voice 36: to grab that so our petition says addressed to Minister Callan and to the

[3:33:16] Voice 36: Trust Council we request that the new trust policy statement not be approved

[3:33:22] Voice 36: until it affirms that the term environment in the legislative object of

[3:33:28] Voice 36: the islands trust act refers specifically to the natural environment not residential development or

[3:33:36] Voice 36: infrastructure affirms that the trust's top priority is protection of the island's land

[3:33:43] Voice 36: and marine ecosystems and rural character requires each island to establish clear development limits

[3:33:53] Voice 36: limits development to what can be supported by each island's drinking water supply while also

[3:34:02] Voice 36: protecting water needed by natural systems, requires each island to produce a build-out report

[3:34:11] Voice 36: to determine the maximum population if all existing lots were developed or subdivided

[3:34:22] Voice 36: as currently zoned. Ensures that any decisions allowing more intensive land or water use

[3:34:30] Voice 36: be guided by independent, up-to-date scientific data, local knowledge, and traditional Indigenous

[3:34:39] Voice 36: knowledge and practices. Let me close by saying this is about the future of the Gulf Islands.

[3:34:47] Voice 36: The environment didn't get much attention in the last two elections.

[3:34:54] Voice 36: We're lucky to have Green Party representation in some trust areas,

[3:35:00] Voice 36: but we know that environmental progress is under threat in our province, in our country, and around the world.

[3:35:11] Voice 36: The current economic threats from south of our border is resulting in legislation

[3:35:17] Voice 36: that will not be kind to our environment.

[3:35:22] Voice 36: So, this is our opportunity locally.

[3:35:26] Voice 36: The Islands Trust is not an ordinary government body.

[3:35:29] Voice 36: It is unique, a one-of-a-kind institution

[3:35:32] Voice 36: with a legislated preservation mandate.

[3:35:37] Voice 36: We urge you to ensure that the revised trust policy statement

[3:35:41] Voice 36: and all the decisions that you make as trustees

[3:35:45] Voice 36: truly reflect that mandate.

[3:35:47] Voice 36: date fully faithfully effectively only by protecting our environment from further degradation

[3:35:56] Voice 36: will we be able to support thriving communities meaningful partnerships with first nations

[3:36:04] Voice 36: responsible housing solutions for workers and seniors and offer both residents and visitors

[3:36:12] Voice 36: the chance to breathe deeply, feel renewed, and give thanks for these remarkable islands.

[3:36:21] Voice 36: This is the gift we've been given.

[3:36:24] Voice 36: Please, let's cherish it.

[3:36:27] Voice 36: Thank you very much.

[3:36:29] Voice 36: Thank

[3:36:34] Trustee Patrick: you.

[3:36:42] Trustee Patrick: We're going to move to the public comment period.

[3:36:44] Trustee Patrick: I have some introductions before we get started.

[3:36:47] Trustee Patrick: We really value the input of community members, and your participation is essential to helping us make informed decisions that serve the best interests of the trust area.

[3:36:57] Trustee Patrick: Before we begin, I'd like to go over a few guidelines for public comment period to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to speak, and the process remains respectful and productive.

[3:37:09] Trustee Patrick: Please remember to keep your comments respectful and focused on issues, not people.

[3:37:13] Trustee Patrick: We are here to listen to the diverse viewpoints, and everyone's opinion is important.

[3:37:18] Trustee Patrick: Each speaker will be given three minutes to speak.

[3:37:21] Trustee Patrick: There is a timer on the screen, but it is itty-bitty and very difficult to see, so I'll wave at you.

[3:37:29] Trustee Patrick: We ask that everyone refrain from interrupting or engaging in a disruptive behavior, and I ask that there be no clapping or booing.

[3:37:39] Trustee Patrick: Please direct your comments to the council and chair.

[3:37:42] Trustee Patrick: If you're asking a specific action or follow-up, please know that the consul will take your input into consideration but may not provide an immediate response during this time.

[3:37:53] Trustee Patrick: I know many of you have signed up.

[3:37:55] Trustee Patrick: Don't worry.

[3:37:55] Trustee Patrick: If you did not put your name on the list, I will raise and ask if there's further people who wish to speak.

[3:38:03] Trustee Patrick: So don't panic if you're not on the list.

[3:38:06] Trustee Patrick: So right now I'm going to go in the order of the sign-up list that's before me,

[3:38:10] Trustee Patrick: and then I'll open up the floor for others that want to speak.

[3:38:13] Trustee Patrick: Oh, sorry, Alexandra?

[3:38:16] Voice 18: We do have two members of the public online and one that wishes to speak.

[3:38:21] Voice 18: So if you could put them in order, thank you.

[3:38:23] Trustee Patrick: Okay, I'll run through this list.

[3:38:25] Trustee Patrick: I'll go online, then I'll open down the floor.

[3:38:27] Trustee Patrick: That works for everyone listening?

[3:38:30] Trustee Patrick: Three minutes.

[3:38:31] Trustee Patrick: Okay, so the first person that has their name here is Maddie Smith.

[3:38:34] Trustee Patrick: So if you can make your way up to the podium, take your time, begin when you're ready.

[3:38:48] Voice 15: Red light, there you go.

[3:38:50] Voice 15: Straightforward, okay.

[3:38:51] Voice 15: Hi, I'm Maddie Smith.

[3:38:52] Voice 15: I'm here, I live here on Salt Spring Island.

[3:38:58] Voice 15: I'm a plumber here.

[3:38:59] Voice 15: I'm here to hopefully offer kind of a different voice, as the Solutions Delegation said.

[3:39:05] Voice 15: That is very hard for working members of the community to come out here and speak to their lived experience on the island.

[3:39:14] Voice 15: So that's what I'm here to do.

[3:39:18] Voice 15: I've been here about four years.

[3:39:19] Voice 15: I've lived in all sorts of strange living situations, lived in bathroomless cabins, weird arrangements where I have to work for my landlords,

[3:39:31] Voice 15: towards um staff housing where you're not only worried about uh losing your job or your housing

[3:39:38] Voice 15: you're worried about losing both at the same time and um it can be really frustrating to try to

[3:39:44] Voice 15: engage um when there's a lot of people that want to walk any sort of housing development that they

[3:39:52] Voice 15: uh that isn't you know the right kind of housing in their opinions so um i just

[3:39:58] Voice 15: just oh let's say only semi-prepared just working a lot of long days um so i do think these people

[3:40:08] Voice 15: you know people are are well-meaning but they're and they're vaguely aware at how hard it can be to

[3:40:14] Voice 15: live on the islands as a young working person but i don't think they know the um you know the

[3:40:20] Voice 15: financial mental health struggles of trying to live without proper kitchen bathroom facilities

[3:40:26] Voice 15: and, again, what it's like to live in stop housing

[3:40:29] Voice 15: where you can't quit your job, you can't move around.

[3:40:36] Voice 15: And I know there is a petition of a thousand voices there

[3:40:44] Voice 15: that want to preserve the environment above all else,

[3:40:48] Voice 15: but they don't see these illegal housing villages

[3:40:51] Voice 15: that don't have safe septic systems

[3:40:54] Voice 15: that aren't following rules, and the people are here,

[3:40:58] Voice 15: the water is being used, the resources are being used,

[3:41:02] Voice 15: but these people are unsafe and insecure,

[3:41:06] Voice 15: and I think what we need to do is we need to let the trust do,

[3:41:11] Voice 15: you know, our trustees do what we have elected them to do

[3:41:14] Voice 15: and, you know, provide for the people

[3:41:19] Voice 15: as well as taking care of the environment.

[3:41:21] Voice 15: so that's all I have to say I guess thank you thank

[3:41:28] Trustee Patrick: you uh the next person on the list is Eric

[3:41:31] Trustee Patrick: Marsh all

[3:41:48] Voice 10: right red light still on hello my name is Eric March I've been a working resident of

[3:41:54] Voice 10: Salt Spring Island for five years now I'd like to emphasize the working part of working resident

[3:42:00] Voice 10: I did not move to the trust area because I was called here I did not move to the trust area

[3:42:04] Voice 10: because I visited while on a writer's retreat or while sailing or because I had a life-changing

[3:42:09] Voice 10: and vacation here. I did not move here because after retiring, I decided to make my vacation

[3:42:14] Voice 10: home my primary residence. I moved here because a local farm was looking for staff. And when I

[3:42:20] Voice 10: moved on from that job, I stayed because a local resort was looking for staff. And when I moved

[3:42:25] Voice 10: on from that job, I stayed because a local cidery was looking for staff. My identity as a Gulf

[3:42:29] Voice 10: Islander, Salt Springer, and resident of the Islands Trust is inseparable from my identity

[3:42:34] Voice 10: as a worker providing valuable labor for my community.

[3:42:38] Voice 10: So I hope you all can understand my frustration

[3:42:41] Voice 10: when those privileged enough to easily afford stable housing

[3:42:44] Voice 10: call efforts to ease the housing crunch a threat

[3:42:47] Voice 10: to the environmental protection of the trust area.

[3:42:50] Voice 10: Because when I think of overdevelopment,

[3:42:52] Voice 10: I think of private golf courses like the one in Galliano.

[3:42:56] Voice 10: I think of private helicopter landing pads.

[3:42:58] Voice 10: I think of private tennis courts and swimming pools.

[3:43:01] Voice 10: I think of the fact that the gross majority of waterfront on my island

[3:43:04] Voice 10: is privately owned and fantastically expensive and therefore blocked some access for working

[3:43:10] Voice 10: class residents and visitors. One of my favorite quotes comes from a Brazilian environmentalist

[3:43:16] Voice 10: Chico Mendez. Environmentalism without class struggle is just gardening. If you're outraged

[3:43:23] Voice 10: about multi-family dwellings for workers, a little silent about single family homes with space for a

[3:43:29] Voice 10: helicopter or golf course, you're just gardening. If you're concerned we don't have enough water to

[3:43:35] Voice 10: build workforce housing but you aren't concerned about swimming pools you're just gardening if you

[3:43:41] Voice 10: think multi-family dwelling for workers would ruin rural character but you aren't outraged by the

[3:43:47] Voice 10: lack of public ocean front here's gardening i agree the preservation and protection of our

[3:43:54] Voice 10: natural environment and rural character here in the trust area are essential i could not disagree

[3:44:00] Voice 10: agreeing more about setting these things as a higher priority than ensuring working people are

[3:44:06] Voice 10: able to live in our communities. Working professionals earning decent wages, teachers,

[3:44:11] Voice 10: nurses, tradespeople, and many more, including humble cider makers, should not be priced out

[3:44:16] Voice 10: of the communities they work in and support. Trustees, staff, delegations, and public both

[3:44:24] Voice 10: here and participating online. If you're not willing to grapple with the extreme income

[3:44:29] Voice 10: inequality in the trust area then you're not an environmentalist you're simply a gardener let's

[3:44:35] Voice 10: set the housing crisis where it belongs of equal importance to environmental protection thank you

[3:44:41] Voice 10: thank

[3:44:43] Trustee Patrick: you the next person on the list julia lukic there

[3:45:11] Voice 30: we go okay and there's a light somewhere

[3:45:15] Voice 30: that i'm supposed to be looking at it's

[3:45:21] Trustee Patrick: very tiny but i'll wave at you when three minutes is up

[3:45:23] Voice 30: Okay. So I appreciate that we're not supposed to clap or boo or what have you, but I assume that if I simply offer verbal well done to the people who just spoke, that that would be permitted.

[3:45:39] Voice 30: To some extent, I want to take a look at why it is that we even have an entity called the trust or any government entity.

[3:45:48] Voice 30: What is it there for?

[3:45:51] Voice 30: Whether or not we actually think that the environment, the natural environment is important,

[3:45:57] Voice 30: the reality is that the regulatory environment that a government entity creates is not something

[3:46:03] Voice 30: that the trees respond to.

[3:46:05] Voice 30: It's not something that the scotch fruit responds to or the grasses.

[3:46:10] Voice 30: It's for people to actually understand what these rules and regulations are about.

[3:46:16] Voice 30: So basically, when we talk about government entities, we're talking about something that is intended to be largely human-centric, hopefully in balance with the natural environment, but the natural environment cannot exist in communities without something going on with the people as well.

[3:46:38] Voice 30: Well, basically, government is human-centric.

[3:46:43] Voice 30: At present, the reality of trying to balance the environment

[3:46:50] Voice 30: versus whatever else is going on insofar as amenities go,

[3:46:56] Voice 30: there's a lack of recognition, it seems,

[3:47:00] Voice 30: to whether or not the Islands Trust has been able to do that during its 50 years

[3:47:05] Voice 30: or is capable of doing that.

[3:47:07] Voice 30: Some of you may have seen the article, the opinion piece that my husband and I submitted to the Driftwood that was in this last week, where we basically were arguing that salt spring is such an aberration, is such an anomaly for the rest of the islands because of size and amenities and all the rest.

[3:47:28] Voice 30: that we should actually not even be part of the Islands Trust, that in order to have something

[3:47:36] Voice 30: that is structurally coherent, you need to have a municipality. And I recognize that Bowen has

[3:47:44] Voice 30: been able to do that. For whatever reason, we have not. In any case, the notion that the Islands

[3:47:51] Voice 30: trust has been able to be responsive to environmental

[3:47:54] Voice 30: considerations is impotent. It is impotent.

[3:47:59] Voice 30: It is toothless. And one only needs to look at

[3:48:02] Voice 30: the exotic and highly priced

[3:48:06] Voice 30: spa off of King Road to recognize

[3:48:11] Voice 30: that the trust has been incapable of even responding

[3:48:15] Voice 30: to something as egregious, as blatant as

[3:48:19] Voice 30: that with whatever I'm done.

[3:48:24] Trustee Patrick: Thank you so much. Thank you. The next person is Francine Carlin.

[3:48:30] Trustee Patrick: Hello,

[3:48:46] Voice 3: council members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Francine

[3:48:50] Voice 3: Carlin. I'm a 20-year resident on Salt Spring Island, also chair of the Rural Islands Economic

[3:48:55] Voice 3: Partnership. So today we are at a turning point. Our island communities face an uncertain future.

[3:49:03] Voice 3: future. A vocal minority claims the island's trust exists solely to preserve and protect the

[3:49:09] Voice 3: environment. This narrow, misinformed view ignores the reality of island life. They ignore the

[3:49:16] Voice 3: diverse communities that keep these islands alive. Our islands are not just nature reserves.

[3:49:23] Voice 3: They're homes to families, workers, and elders who care for the land and build our communities.

[3:49:28] Voice 3: Yet, their voices are often drowned out by idealized visions that don't reflect today's

[3:49:35] Voice 3: challenges.

[3:49:37] Voice 3: Protecting nature shouldn't mean shutting out the people who live and work here, or

[3:49:42] Voice 3: ignoring urgent needs like workforce housing, or if we do, we risk losing the very fabric

[3:49:49] Voice 3: of our communities.

[3:49:50] Voice 3: The Islands Trust was created to balance environmental protection with human needs.

[3:49:56] Voice 3: That balance isn't a compromise. It's essential. In today's world, it's more important than ever.

[3:50:03] Voice 3: The trust must evolve. It must address workforce housing, climate change, community economic

[3:50:11] Voice 3: well-being, and inequality. Supporting the environment and resilient communities isn't

[3:50:18] Voice 3: either or. We need both. Let's ensure that the trust serves all Islanders. Let's protect both

[3:50:25] Voice 3: both the land and the people who call it home.

[3:50:27] Voice 3: Our future depends on it.

[3:50:29] Voice 3: Thank you.

[3:50:30] Voice 3: Thank you.

[3:50:31] Trustee Patrick: We have Dr. Daniel Mazzica.

[3:50:41] Voice 6: I must start this, first of all,

[3:50:43] Voice 6: by thanking you all for the opportunity to speak.

[3:50:46] Voice 6: I'm going to keep it short

[3:50:47] Voice 6: because this is just shocking

[3:50:49] Voice 6: for somebody who's taught all of his life

[3:50:51] Voice 6: in once 30 minutes.

[3:50:53] Voice 6: I'm in violent agreement

[3:50:57] Voice 6: with the previous four speakers here

[3:50:59] Voice 6: in terms of the need for the trust to address the balanced need of environment and the communities

[3:51:09] Voice 6: it serves. I just want to take the moment to remind everyone that in the act, the object of

[3:51:17] Voice 6: the trust is to preserve and protect the trust area and its unique amenities and environment

[3:51:21] Voice 6: for the benefit of the residents of the trust area in British Columbia generally.

[3:51:30] Voice 6: that is a balance act. Right now, I would say that we do need a governance review. I respectfully

[3:51:36] Voice 6: disagree with the minister. I hope he reconsiders his actions in this. He is not changing the trust

[3:51:44] Voice 6: act in his letter, so that is not the point. But I can say things are broken right now.

[3:51:50] Voice 6: I have a list of things that come to mind for me. We have families living in RVs, tents, and boats.

[3:51:56] Voice 6: We have serious workforce limitations. You've heard some of those. We have gaps between those who have housing and those that don't. That's dramatically increased in the 20 years I've been around Salt Spring. We have a long-time community of artists and artisans. Distinguish the islands. They're part of the amenities as well as residents. And that is diminishing today.

[3:52:20] Voice 6: The cost of living escalates. There's a lack of meaningful evolution and action in community planning at this particular point. I can't tell you how many years, decades, that we've had an issue or had the idea of densifying Ganges, and it hasn't happened.

[3:52:40] Voice 6: In the end, the lack of planning by the Islands Trust has imperiled health care delivery and services.

[3:52:46] Voice 6: This isn't the fault of the trust.

[3:52:49] Voice 6: It's just that we need a governance review of Islands Trust to ensure that it has the right mandate and the right tools to move the Gulf Islands forward.

[3:52:59] Voice 6: Thank you very much.

[3:53:01] Trustee Patrick: Thank you.

[3:53:03] Trustee Patrick: Ian Peace.

[3:53:17] Voice 41: Thanks, everybody.

[3:53:20] Voice 41: It's a privilege to be able to speak to the group.

[3:53:23] Voice 41: and this time we wanted to talk about building consensus because it's mentioned in the letter so

[3:53:32] Voice 41: I guess underpinning my remarks is that the Allen's Trust sent a letter to the government

[3:53:41] Voice 41: and asked for a review so I'm here to commend you for writing those letters and it's not a

[3:53:49] Voice 41: a backhanded compliment at all, because it progressed the discussion. We're hearing from

[3:53:55] Voice 41: a lot of different people what their concerns are, and it has reignited, put more fuel to this

[3:54:02] Voice 41: topics that have animated our community. And the letter from the minister talks about

[3:54:11] Voice 41: working toward consensus. I think it's build toward consensus. But consensus is tough. It

[3:54:19] Voice 41: It takes a lot longer.

[3:54:21] Voice 41: And the benefit of hanging in there

[3:54:23] Voice 41: until you get to consensus or as close as you possibly can

[3:54:28] Voice 41: is that the outcome will be better.

[3:54:31] Voice 41: And so when we have a divisive community

[3:54:36] Voice 41: where there's a few topics

[3:54:39] Voice 41: that seem to have a giant gulf between them,

[3:54:42] Voice 41: putting that time into consensus building

[3:54:44] Voice 41: is very likely to lead to a better outcome.

[3:54:48] Voice 41: come. So that's what I'm here for, is to commend you for sending those letters, because it's

[3:54:54] Voice 41: leading to this long discussion about the topics. And I'm confident that we'll get to a better

[3:55:01] Voice 41: solution by putting more time into it and working towards consensus. Thank you.

[3:55:08] Trustee Patrick: All right. Thank you. Before I ask people in the room, I said I'd go to the people online that

[3:55:13] Trustee Patrick: wanted to talk i'll look over to alexandra to have mr moses so mr moses you uh you've been

[3:55:23] Trustee Patrick: allowed to speak thank

[3:55:25] Voice 24: you very much uh uh madam chair um my name is art moses i'm a resident of

[3:55:32] Voice 24: galliano island i was uh one of the folks who uh put their name on a letter that you received

[3:55:39] Voice 24: received, I believe, received this morning about the minister's letter. I feel like I'm

[3:55:48] Voice 24: coming into a bit of a lion's den here with the chorus of speakers who we just heard.

[3:55:58] Voice 24: Our feeling is that, and I should add that among the signatories who was not included

[3:56:05] Voice 24: in this letter, should have been on the list, was former trustee Sandy Pottle, also signed

[3:56:12] Voice 24: the letter.

[3:56:12] Voice 24: Her name should be on this letter.

[3:56:16] Voice 24: The letter is simply, the reason for the letter is that I was kind of disappointed with the

[3:56:23] Voice 24: way that some trustees reported out on the minister's letter that obscured the fact,

[3:56:31] Voice 24: the main point of the minister's letter, which has been targeted by various people

[3:56:36] Voice 24: have spoken before that the main that the mandate of the islands trust is first and foremost preserve

[3:56:40] Voice 24: and protect the natural environment and ecological values of the trust area from over development

[3:56:48] Voice 24: and um you know unfortunately i think that the trustees have have spent a lot of time and energy

[3:56:54] Voice 24: seeking a review of the islands trust act and trying to redefine what unique amenities are

[3:57:00] Voice 24: instead of sticking to the knitting and sticking to the mandate,

[3:57:05] Voice 24: which requires, as the minister says, careful deliberation and consideration of perspectives

[3:57:10] Voice 24: to manage expectations of growth, development, and local economies

[3:57:15] Voice 24: without exceeding the carrying capacity of local ecosystems.

[3:57:18] Voice 24: And we're quite happy that Rob Botterill, our MLA, has taken up the cause of the Islands Trust mandate.

[3:57:24] Voice 24: We believe that there is actually nothing in the mandate that prevents trustees from working productively on other key community concerns, such as the shortage of affordable housing.

[3:57:38] Voice 24: For example, on Galliano, our official community plan, which was amended in 2010 and 11, provided for increased residential density for projects specifically designated for affordable and seniors housing.

[3:57:56] Voice 24: And two sites have been rezoned and are awaiting senior government financial support, which seems to be the main problem behind the lack of affordable and, as you call it, workforce housing, the lack of support from senior levels of government.

[3:58:15] Voice 24: So that would be the, what I would put forward to the minister is to fund affordable housing and the trust has an advocacy function to call for that.

[3:58:27] Voice 24: So please respect the Islands Trust mandate and get on with this work. Thank you.

[3:58:33] Trustee Patrick: Thank you. Is there anyone else online? That was the only one online.

[3:58:37] Trustee Patrick: All right. So back into the room. Is there any additional speakers who would like to address us today? If you could either raise your hand or that would be great. So I'm going to let you kind of slowly monitor yourselves if you'd like to go first and then you can make your way behind. If you could introduce yourselves. Appreciate that. And we've got the three minute to the teeny tiny timer. You'll hear that little noise that it makes when it goes off. I think that's the best signal. So thank you.

[3:59:05] Trustee Patrick: Good

[3:59:13] Voice 2: evening. I'm Peter Meyer, and I'm here to speak about the development process.

[3:59:19] Voice 2: We're concerned with the application process.

[3:59:22] Voice 2: Proponents can apply with plenty of time to obtain qualified environmental practitioner reports

[3:59:27] Voice 2: while opponents are notified through the public notification process 30 days prior to the closing of comments.

[3:59:36] Voice 2: To address community concerns, members of the public do not have the same ability as the proponent

[3:59:41] Voice 2: to provide expert reports for environmental assessment.

[3:59:48] Voice 2: We would suggest that the trust might consider hiring QEPs

[3:59:53] Voice 2: and charging proponents for the reports.

[3:59:56] Voice 2: And that would ensure that...

[4:00:00] Voice 2: There's no conflict of interest in a report that's paid for by the proponent.

[4:00:04] Voice 2: We're also concerned that staff is making decisions on these development permits rather than our elected officials.

[4:00:12] Voice 2: Our elected trustees are, after all, responsible to the public.

[4:00:17] Voice 2: Thank you.

[4:00:20] Trustee Patrick: All right.

[4:00:20] Trustee Patrick: Thank you very much.

[4:00:22] Trustee Patrick: Thanks.

[4:00:23] Trustee Patrick: My

[4:00:39] Voice 31: name is Christine Torgerson.

[4:00:42] Voice 31: I'm a 28-year resident of Salt Spring Island.

[4:00:47] Voice 31: And I sat around this table for three years, from 2008 through 2011.

[4:00:56] Voice 31: And in the previous three years, I was instrumentally involved in the development of the revised official community plan on Salt Spring.

[4:01:09] Voice 31: I first started getting involved in land use planning when I was 20 years old.

[4:01:15] Voice 31: And I'm 75 now, so you can see that that's been a long time.

[4:01:20] Voice 31: And I participated in many different private land use issues, as well as government processes.

[4:01:29] Voice 31: And I simply want to thank you for sitting at this table.

[4:01:36] Voice 31: It's a tough job.

[4:01:39] Voice 31: The connection between people and land and the decisions related to that are really tough at times.

[4:01:51] Voice 31: The first organization that I co-founded in the 1970s was called the Montana Trust for People and Land, and it was because I came from a farming and ranching background, and I saw that the relationship between people and land were inextricable and also really difficult to navigate.

[4:02:18] Voice 31: And in that 70-some years, I have seen such great success in working with people with differences and trying to come to some sort of consensus and agreement, but with the basic agreement that without protecting the places that we depend on to survive, to live,

[4:02:44] Voice 31: Our livelihoods and our way of living ultimately will not be successful.

[4:02:52] Voice 31: I just finished watching the three-part series of Knowledge Network right now on planet Earth, on air, water, and land.

[4:03:02] Voice 31: And it reminded me of that view from the moon in the 1960s that made such an incredible impression on our societies.

[4:03:14] Voice 31: And then later on, the view of that little blue planet from space.

[4:03:21] Voice 31: And so I just want to encourage you to keep that in mind as you make decisions, that we live in such a precious place.

[4:03:34] Voice 31: And I'm not just talking about Salt Spring or the Trust area or even Canada.

[4:03:43] Voice 31: Anyway, I just encourage you to keep that in mind.

[4:03:47] Voice 31: Thank you.

[4:03:48] Voice 31: Thank you.

[4:03:49] Voice 31: Is there other people

[4:03:51] Trustee Patrick: you'd like to address that are in the audience?

[4:03:54] Trustee Patrick: Make sure I'm not missing anyone.

[4:03:57] Trustee Patrick: Everyone's had a chance.

[4:04:00] Trustee Patrick: Being patient here.

[4:04:02] Trustee Patrick: Okay.

[4:04:03] Trustee Patrick: I want to thank everyone who participated in the public comment period today.

[4:04:06] Trustee Patrick: we appreciate you taking the time to share your views and we take your comments seriously as we

[4:04:12] Trustee Patrick: move forward with our work. While we may not be able to respond to each individual comment right

[4:04:17] Trustee Patrick: now, please know that we will review all the input we've received and if necessary we will follow up

[4:04:23] Trustee Patrick: with you and take appropriate action on issues you've raised. If you didn't have a chance to

[4:04:29] Trustee Patrick: speak today or would like to follow up on any specific issues, please contact our office or

[4:04:34] Trustee Patrick: write us once again thank you for your time and your commitment to the well-being of the islands

[4:04:40] Trustee Patrick: of the in the trust area all right trustees where are we on our schedule sorry i have to look at my

[4:04:48] Trustee Patrick: time are we doing so we're at the end of our day yeah all right can i turn to stop on any updates

[4:04:55] Trustee Patrick: for this evening's um logistics

[4:05:00] Voice 20: we

[4:05:02] Voice 18: have a presentation from islands trust conservancy

[4:05:06] Voice 18: Chair Gavereau at 545

[4:05:08] Voice 18: and then dinner

[4:05:10] Voice 18: following that. Alright, well

[4:05:13] Trustee Patrick: thank you very much. So please be back in the

[4:05:15] Trustee Patrick: room for 545 so we

[4:05:17] Trustee Patrick: can hear from our Chair of the Trust

[4:05:19] Trustee Patrick: Conservancy. And

[4:05:21] Trustee Patrick: thank you for day one

[4:05:22] Trustee Patrick: and we'll see you for dinner.

[4:05:25] Trustee Patrick: Thank you.