The following was read at the closing ceremonies of Hands Across the Water in Centennial Park on Sunday, Sept. 21 by Justin Paulsen, San Juan County Council member, District #2.
On behalf of the Orcas Island community, it is my honour to recognize the Hands Across the Water cross-border event — a coming together of the Orcas Island and Salt Spring Island communities.
While we occupy lands divided by a national border, this event is a recognition of our shared values, a celebration of our unique cultures and an acknowledgment of the struggles — past and present — that our communities face together. We acknowledge the long history of injustices that our occupation of these lands has inflicted upon our Indigenous residents and recognize that it is our obligation and responsibility to continue to not only honour their fundamental, traditional rights but to continually strive to repair and protect this place for future generations.
This event, born from a shared vision of a “meeting of communities,” offers the residents of our islands an opportunity to gather together in the spirit of cooperation, free from broader political distractions, to share, learn and establish friendships that transcend artificial boundaries. As neighbours on the Salish Sea, this is one small step in expanding our understanding of one another and the importance of the place in which we live.
The Orcas Island community recognizes the tremendous time, energy and resources that have been invested in creating this event and wish to thank the organizers for their efforts. I wish to personally thank my counterparts with the Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission for their support of this event and for allowing this opportunity for engagement. It is with thanks and appreciation that I affirm and support the values of this event:
“We choose to become the best versions of ourselves — as neighbours, as friends, as people moved by care, community and reconciliation.”
“We declare our intention to strengthen this cross-border friendship, to steer away from division and sail toward the true north of unity and engagement.”