Work will begin this spring on overhead power line upgrades that will support a new underwater cable connecting Salt Spring and North Pender Island, expected to go live in September.
BC Hydro confirmed this week the project was going forward, with plans for 11 kilometres of cable between Welbury Bay and Port Washington placed along the sandy parts of the ocean floor in Captain Passage and Swanson Channel.
The new cable is meant to improve flexibility and reliability in electrical service for Salt Spring, Pender, Saturna, Mayne and Galiano islands, according to the utility, as well as provide infrastructure for future growth.
BC Hydro said the on-land upgrades on Salt Spring and Pender are expected to begin early this year, although exact timing is still to be confirmed; the submarine cable installation is planned for this summer. The route was designed to avoid rock outcrop, according to Transport Canada, who has said it expects the installation, once begun, will take approximately six days.
The project has been planned since 2022, although engineering and environmental studies weren’t completed until last year — alongside some civil construction on both islands, according to BC Hydro.
The Welbury Bay project will likely run ahead of a submarine cable realignment, replacing the current connection between Beaver Point on Salt Spring and Irene Bay on North Pender with a new line running instead to Thieves Bay on North Pender. That change is meant to bring power closer to the area of highest use on North Pender, according to BC Hydro, and is expected to be complete in either summer 2027 or 2028.
Two-way traffic across Salt Spring Island’s newest bridge will have to wait a few more weeks, according to officials, while crews complete final safety and embankment work ahead of a planned winter construction shutdown.
Temporary traffic signals — still the island’s only traffic lights — will likely remain in operation until the end of January at the site for the new Cusheon Creek Bridge, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Transit, when they will be removed and two-way traffic will be restored until work starts back up in the spring.
That springtime effort will include final landscaping and paving on the bridge deck and approaches and will be completed as soon as weather conditions permit, according to the ministry, adding that the public would be kept up-to-date in advance of crews’ return or if any traffic changes are required.
Meanwhile, the new bridge itself is in place, and initial paving has been completed on the bridge approaches. The project, on Fulford-Ganges Road between Horel and Cusheon Lake Roads, was planned largely in response to the 2021 atmospheric river event that flooded Fulford-Ganges Road at Cusheon Creek; traffic there was fully halted for several days, with the road shoulder completely washed out.
The creek runs from Blackburn Lake to Cusheon Lake. A 2023 report from the ministry’s project manager noted the next “significant weather event” there could result in a complete failure of the road. That stretch of Fulford-Ganges Road sees significant vehicle traffic; a ministry study in 2023 counted an average of more than 4,300 vehicles passing the project area every day.
The bridge design was approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and provides improved fish passage, restoring a “more natural stream environment,” according to planning documents –– and should better balance water levels between Blackburn and Cusheon lakes during extreme weather events.
The Southern Gulf Islands Tourism Partnership Society (SGITP) has operated for several years, but raised its profile in the last year with the release of the Short-term Rentals Impacts Report for Salt Spring Island. We asked the society’s executive director Jamie Sterling to answer a few questions in order to share more information about the organization and its role in the Southern Gulf Islands.
Jamie Sterling, executive director of the Southern Gulf Islands Tourism Partnership Society.
Q. When and why was SGITP created?
A. SGITP began operating in late 2019. It was born out of the “Experience the Gulf Islands” Proposal (2014) and subsequent Concept Plan (2016). These were led jointly by the Salt Spring and Southern Gulf Islands economic development commissions with the support of many volunteers across all five islands. The intentions were to advance community tourism planning, improve the social and environmental outcomes of tourism, and to improve inter-island mobility.
Q. What does the society do now? How is it funded?
A. Now, SGITP is actioning on those goals by promoting seasonal and geographic dispersion and responsible visitor behaviour. We only market the shoulder- and off-seasons, and in the summer we focus on visitor education. The rationale is to both provide more sustainable, year-round economic activity for businesses and to reduce the strains of summer overcrowding, ultimately working towards a regenerative visitor economy that gives back to our communities more than it takes. We operate from the standpoint that tourism should improve the quality of life for everyone in a community.
We’re funded by the Municipal Regional District Tax (MRDT), a two per cent tax on all visitor accommodations, including short-term rentals. So it’s visitors that provide our funding, not local businesses or residents. In order to be eligible for the MRDT program, however, the local electoral areas must contribute funds, which is a nominal amount.
Annually, the MRDT revenue is around $600,000. Expenditures are strictly limited to tourism marketing, programs and projects, except in the case of revenue derived from short-term rentals, which can be used towards affordable housing. Since 2024, SGITP has committed all of that portion to affordable housing, amounting to nearly 50 per cent of our total revenue.
Q. What is the current organizational structure?
A. Currently, there is one staff member (myself) supported by eight board directors from across the five islands: Jeremy Milsom (Salt Spring Inn), Glen Tremblay (Cusheon Lake Resort), Kelly Armstrong (Harbour House Hotel), David Wood (Salt Spring Island Cheese), Jesse Keefer (Bodega Ridge), Marcia Devicque (Marcia Devicque Glassworks), Anne Hayward (Sage Hayward Vineyards) and Lise Magee (Blue Vista Resort).
Q. What does an “average” work week look like for you, if there is such a thing?
A. The scope is really broad, which makes every week different. One week, I could be preparing reports for Destination BC, which oversees and approves our budgets and plans. The next, I could be planning or reviewing marketing campaigns, supporting board governance work, leading partner outreach and engagement, writing grants or working on advocacy.
Q. Your videos promoting tourism on the islands capture the culture and are so well done. Who is responsible for creating those?
A. We have a policy of procuring local first, so most of those are created by Brianna Cudmore, a young Salt Spring entrepreneur with a social media management business. She’s an expert at creating content that performs on social media and really understands how to present local values and culture for a visitor audience.
Q. The Gulf Island Events Calendar is another great initiative. How did that come about and how does it work?
A. We wanted to create more visibility for events to both attract visitors and to make sure those who are here can find out what’s happening. We found a great partner in Salt Spring Arts, which was exploring the calendar concept at the same time. Working together, we were able to create the only non-profit, region-wide cultural calendar that’s free to post on and is supported by digital ads. Event producers just have to submit their event on the website, and as long as it fits into the criteria, it will be posted within a few days.
Q. What was the impetus for the Short-term Rentals Impacts Report for Salt Spring Island?
A. The report was born out of a short term rental roundtable led by the CRD in January 2025 where it became clear that there wasn’t locally relevant data. SGITP offered to commission this report since the regenerative visitor economy we’re working towards depends on actively balancing housing needs with guest accommodation.
Among other things, the findings showed: the STR market has grown 24 per cent in booked nights from 2022–2024; they make up 48 per cent of the total guest accommodation units; and between May 2024 – May 2025, STR activity potentially led to the loss of 150 homes. I wouldn’t say this was revelatory as much as it confirmed existing assumptions and quantified the unchecked growth. However, the report makes it very clear that without clearer bylaws, a business licensing system and proactive enforcement, we won’t get more accurate local data or manage short-term rentals in a way that meets community needs. From SGITP’s perspective, that risks long-term industry resilience and limits resident quality of life, both of which fall under our mandate.
Q. What other projects or areas of focus kept the SGITP busy in 2025?
A.There was a big focus on revitalizing our policies and procedures, improving accountability and transparency, and strengthening relationships to make sure the society has a solid foundation as its operations mature. With our contributions to affordable housing, we also became hyper-focused on streamlining our activities and making sure our spending is providing the best ROI possible.
Q. What is on the agenda for the SGITP in 2026?
A. In 2026, I’m looking forward to turning the focus more onto marketing and destination management. We’ll be implementing better usability and functionality to our website, integrating AI, optimizing ads and campaigns for better performance, collecting and sharing more relevant data, and exploring a destination stewardship strategy.
I wish to comment on Laura Patrick’s article in last week’s Driftwood that mentions the review of the Salt Spring Island Official Community Plan (OCP).
Her article states that “the current OCP treats affordable housing as an exception to density limits rather than a central planning priority. It continues to leave substantial growth capacity within the density limits to satisfy ongoing demand for second and retirement homes.”
The “exception” Patrick is likely referring to is a policy in our current OCP that controls growth. The policy restricts changes to zoning except to achieve affordable housing and other objectives of the OCP. This policy does not take away anyone’s current right to build or subdivide their property but instead limits increases in density to be only for affordable housing. This policy has served us well and is still appropriate.
Why the fuss then? There are those advocating for getting rid of this policy so we can have “flexible zoning” that would allow more homes on lots now allowed to have only one, with no legal limits to ensure affordability. This has already been done elsewhere in the Trust Area with the hope that building more homes will, on its own, provide affordable housing. Salt Spring already has 2,000 properties that were rezoned to allow full-time occupancy of a suite or cottage with no real effect on the availability of affordable housing. Now some want more suites and cottages, more multi-family housing in Ganges (condos) and several small houses on existing lots, all with no requirements for affordability.
None of these schemes is allowed under the current limits in our OCP. That is exactly why some want to get rid of them.
As to criticisms of “substantial growth capacity,” reducing the right of property owners to subdivide or build to their current zoning would be strongly opposed by those owners. Clustering new housing on one portion of large properties is already allowed and encouraged by our OCP. Salt Spring already limits house size to approximately 5,382 square feet (500 square metres). So, what exactly is being proposed to address current “growth capacity?” Nothing. It is easier to criticize than submit realistic proposals.
The way to get more affordable housing is to utilize government and private subsidies with legal constraints on who qualifies and to assure that rents or sale prices are, and remain, affordable. Expanding zoning to allow more housing that will be sold at market rates is more likely to provide expensive homes and profits to developers than affordable housing for island families and workers. It is critical that we maintain the current OCP policy that limits granting new densities to be only for legally restricted affordable housing. Otherwise, we will have the overdevelopment that the Islands Trust was created to prevent.
The new year marks the beginning of the end for so-called “lifetime” licences for pleasure boats, with many owners in the Gulf Islands now looking at renewals with Transport Canada within the next three months.
Changes in Pleasure Craft Licence (PCL) regulations mean not only will boats with one or more motors adding up to a one-horsepower engine now only be able to be licensed for five years at a time, but starting at the end of 2027 those requirements will extend to wind-powered craft over six metres long.
The $24 fee — for a new, renewed, transferred or duplicate PCL — registers a boat’s unique identification number for five years, allowing emergency responders and law enforcement to quickly identify a boat’s owner, according to Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon, who said the revision will help tackle wrecked, hazardous and abandoned vessels by keeping ownership information accurate and up to date.
“Recreational boating is part of who we are as Canadians,” said MacKinnon. “By modernizing the pleasure craft licensing program, we’re strengthening marine safety, improving environmental protection and ensuring we have accurate information when it matters most.”
Current “lifetime” licences will gradually need to be replaced with licences that must be renewed every five years, according to Transport Canada; the first to come due will be any issued before Jan. 1, 1975, which will expire March 31, 2026. Licences issued between Jan. 1, 1975 and Dec. 31, 1985 will expire Dec. 31, 2026; those from Jan. 1, 1986 to Dec. 31, 1995 expire Dec. 31, 2027.
Licences issued between Jan. 1, 1996 and Dec. 31, 1999 expire Dec. 31, 2028; those issued between Jan. 1, 2000 and Dec. 31, 2005 expire at the end of 2029 and those issued between Jan. 1, 2006 and April 28, 2010 expire at the end of 2030.
A PCL is different from a Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC), which is more like a driver’s licence for a car.; PCLs are unnecessary if a boat is managed within the Canadian Register of Vessels title system, which issues certificates of registry also valid for five years.
Operating an unregistered or unlicensed vessel can incur fines.
The ministry confirmed boat owners who declare that they use a pleasure craft to exercise Section 35 treaty rights will not be required to pay the $24 service fee when renewing or registering for their PCL.
Applications for PCLs, payments of the new service fee and requests for fee exemptions can be completed on Transport Canada’s website. There is also a tool where people can check their licence expiry date by entering a licence number.
Everyone has a “Larry,” agreed Candy Roberts; hers dropped by one day down from Campbell River, put his feet up, made himself at home and has been part of her professional life ever since.
“He’s based on my family,” admitted the award-winning clown artist, who is bringing her loveable-if-misguided alter ego to Salt Spring for a single night Thursday, Jan. 22. “My brother speaks in idioms; he’s all, ‘fly at ‘er, Candy!’ or ‘fill yer boots, Candy’ or ‘whatever floats yer boat.’”
Roberts chuckled. “He even makes idioms up, and they don’t make any sense — and I’m like, ‘let me get my pen!’”
Larry has been described as “Bob and Doug McKenzie meets Gloria Steinem,” a send-up of a particular brand of heart-of-gold honesty Roberts said seems to increasingly appear the further one roams above the 49th parallel.
“I can’t tell you how many people have messaged me and said, ‘Oh my god, that’s my uncle up north — are you channelling my uncle?” she said. “I’ve toured this show across Canada — it’s always somebody’s uncle ‘up north,’ no matter where we are!”
Larry’s the first person to pull over if he sees you broken down on the side of the road, she said, and the most eager to help you sort out any problem — regardless of how well he knows the topic.
“And he might say some sexist things while he’s doing it, but, you know,” Roberts laughed. “‘That’s just Larry being Larry.’”
The show is certainly a bit of a poke at stereotypes. Growing up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, according to Roberts, there was a conditioning for girls to “just be quiet and do all those ‘feminine’ things.”
“It was a little different, right?” said Roberts. “It’s been fun to see what it’s like to have the confidence of an average white guy, to play with never being wrong — because Larry’s never wrong! He’s always got an answer. Whatever he says — and it can be so, so dumb — he’s like ‘yep, that’s how you do it.’”
Sometime in 2017, while she was studying as part of a clowning group, Roberts put on a fake beard and “started acting like my dad.”
“And my cohorts were just killing themselves laughing,” she said. “They thought it was hilarious, and I’m like, ‘but I haven’t even said any jokes!’”
What followed was a refinement of the act and sold-out runs from Vancouver to Orlando, alongside a host of awards — including Pick of the Fringe Vancouver in 2019 and Best of the Fests in the Fringe Encore Series at the historic SoHo Playhouse in New York City — as the brilliantly stupid “well-meaning hoser” continued to win over audiences wherever people identified with having “that one friend.”
Sometimes, Larry will say the most profoundly sexist things, Roberts said. While he might not set out to cause harm, the show inescapably highlights how often women find themselves forced to decide whether to let those kinds of remarks slide.
“He’s loveable, but on a deeper level, we do get tired of that stuff,” said Roberts. “Playing Larry has been really healing in that way. It’s sort of taking the piss out of the patriarchy.”
Based in Vancouver, Roberts’ connection to Salt Spring comes partly from a decades-long friendship and working relationship with local physical comedy performer Nayana Fielkov and her “Geezer” father Sid Filkow. Social media is abuzz with speculation that the legendary Salt Spring Hysterical Society member may appear in Thursday night’s show, but Roberts remained coy.
Apart from warnings for flashing lights and haze, coarse language, some nudity and a lot of mentions of alcohol — “Larry really likes to drink Lucky beer” — Roberts said Larry’s Salt Spring audience should mostly just be ready to laugh, and maybe have a bit of a cry.
“That’s the thing about clowning,” she said. “Laughing will open you up, then the clown will punch you in the heart and make you feel something.”
Larry’s bigger goal, Roberts said, is to help people connect — even something as small as brief eye contact with a person beside you can be meaningful, especially while you’re laughing together. Larry’s a pretty big character, she said, and he can help audiences create that shared space for some much-needed joy.
“There’s a lot going on in the world today, it’s a heavy place,” said Roberts. “I think we have to remember the joyful parts.”
Showtime for Larry on Jan. 22 is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at ArtSpring and via candyroberts.com.
The Capital Regional District (CRD) Board approved the 2026 provisional budget, including that of the Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission (LCC), on Oct. 29, 2025.
The final CRD budget will be approved on March 11 based on further public consultation, updated service budgets and property assessments, and 2025 year-end surpluses or deficits. The LCC will approve its final 2026 budget at a special meeting on Jan. 29.
Provisional Requisition Overall CRD for 2026
The CRD’s total 2026 proposed tax requisition, including Capital Regional Hospital District (CRHD) and LCC, is $9.7 million, an increase of 8.2 per cent over 2025.
For the “average” household on Salt Spring (with 2025 assessed value of $1.1 million), the tax requisition amounts to $1,472 per year or $123 per month, which funds a range of regional, sub-regional and local services and amenities. These figures do not include recycling (funded by Recycling BC fees on paper and packaging, and CRD Hartland landfill tipping fee revenue), user fees for some local services such as parks and recreation and liquid waste, nor area-specific water and sewer utilities.
The total proposed 2026 requisition for the 13 delegated local LCC services is $5.4 million, an increase of 9.5 per cent. The proposed requisition increase for regional, sub-regional and other non-LCC CRD services is 6.6 per cent. These increases reflect the financial challenges being faced by all local governments in B.C. just to maintain existing service levels, as well as some service improvements.
Major Contributing Factors to Requisition Increase for 2026
For all LCC and other CRD services, core cost inflation, including negotiated CRD staff wage and salary increases, is a significant driver of CRD requisition increases.
Other factors impacting the regional requisition are the establishment of new Transportation, Biodiversity and Foodlands Access services, all supported by voters via regional alternative approval processes (AAPs or “counter-petitions”). The new Regional Transportation Service is responsible for the CRD Regional Trail on Salt Spring, and for the first time, funding has been set aside in capital plans for trail design and construction. The Biodiversity and Environmental Stewardship Service was established to better coordinate invasive species management, and the Regional Foodlands Access Service will facilitate opportunities for leasing of selected public lands to farmers. The extent to which Salt Spring will benefit from these services will depend largely on partnerships with local groups.
Requisition impacts at the sub-regional level include the creation of a new electoral area manager (EAM) position, building inspection revenue fluctuations, and administration of 2026 local government elections. The EAM provides electoral areas with representation on the Executive Leadership Team that oversees all CRD services, as well as senior staff support for the LCC. While permit fees fund most of the CRD’s building inspection service, the level of 2026 construction is uncertain. There are also some one-time costs to more fully digitize the building permit process.
The 2026 provisional LCC budget was reviewed, amended and approved by the LCC on Sept. 11, 2025. The 2026 operating budget totalled $7,824,669, an increase of 6.8 per cent over the final 2025 operating budget. Most of the budget (95 per cent) will go to support four major service areas: Parks and Recreation (57 per cent), Liquid Waste (17 per cent), Transportation/Transit (11 per cent) and the Salt Spring Island Public Library (10 per cent).
Approved with the operating budget was the 2026 Provisional LCC Capital Budget, which funds improvements, maintenance and repairs to local government assets within the LCC jurisdiction. The 2026 capital budget is $7,283,806, funded by multiple sources including grants (42 per cent), borrowing (21 per cent) and capital reserves/capital on hand (20 per cent). Capital reserves are funded by annual transfers from the operating budget, which also provides for debt repayment. Most of the work in the 2026 capital plan is in Parks and Recreation (73 per cent) and Transportation/Transit (24 per cent). Significant capital projects slated for 2026 include a detailed design for the Ganges Harbourwalk, pickleball and tennis courts, pool repairs, Hydro playing field upgrades, roof repair and more energy-efficient HVAC for the Salt Spring Island Multi Space (SIMS) building, a new parks maintenance facility, additional bus shelters, and design and construction of additional pathways and crosswalks.
The 2026 provisional LCC operating and capital budgets ($15,108,475 in total) will require a tax requisition of $5,407,634, a 9.5 per cent increase over 2025. The impact of the LCC budget on property and parcel taxes varies by service. The Liquid Waste service represents 17 per cent of the operating budget, but because it is 67 per cent user-financed, it is only eight per cent of the total tax for LCC services. Other services with significant user financing include Community Recreation (62 per cent), Transit (30 per cent) and the Rainbow Recreation Centre pool (28 per cent). The other LCC services are almost entirely funded by local taxes. (Note that the tax-funded LCC contributions to the library, ArtSpring, the Salt Spring Arts Council and Search and Rescue represent only a portion of the operating budgets for those independently managed organizations).
The most significant impacts on taxes from the LCC budget increases are in the newly consolidated Parks and Recreation budget ($305,883 increase or 11 per cent), followed by Transit ($51,929 increase or 11 per cent), Transportation ($28,834 increase or 40 per cent), the library ($27,335 increase or four per cent), Economic Development ($21,190 increase or 33 per cent) and Liquid Waste ($20,314 increase or five per cent). While most increases are to fund services at their existing levels, the Transportation increase will also fund improvements to pathways and crosswalks in Ganges, while the Economic Development increase will allow greater support of food security initiatives.
Public Consultation
For further information, see the CRD website or contact LCC chair Earl Rook (erook@crd.bc.ca) or CRD director Gary Holman (directorssi@crd.bc.ca), who will also be guests at ASK Salt Spring on Friday, Jan. 16 at 11 a.m. at SIMS. The LCC will be reviewing, amending and approving its final 2026 budget at a special meeting on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 9 a.m. at SIMS.
There has been a great deal of misinformation circulating about the Baker Beach shoreline proposal, and I feel it is important to clarify the facts so the community can better understand what was proposed and why.
Baker Beach has seen a noticeable increase in shoreline erosion in recent years, driven by stronger king tides and winter storms linked to climate change. This erosion is reshaping the shoreline, affecting wildlife habitat, public access and nearby properties. The impacts have already been significant enough that the Capital Region District reinforced the two main beach access points from Quarry Road and Baker Road with rock walls to maintain safe access.
To help mitigate further erosion, a group of neighbouring property owners chose to work collaboratively to explore a shared approach to shoreline protection. The goal was to develop a cohesive solution that reflects how coastal systems function as continuous, interconnected environments rather than as isolated, parcel-by-parcel segments. As an alternative to using concrete or hard armouring, we proposed a nature-based approach using combinations of native plantings, gravel, sand, logs, stones and slope modifications to dissipate wave energy while maintaining ecological function and public access. Additional native plantings upslope were included to help manage rainwater and reduce soil saturation. This nature-based approach is commonly referred to as “green shoring.”
We received approval to proceed from Fisheries and Oceans Canada in July 2024, and by October of that year, Islands Trust staff advised the province that they had no objections to our development permit application. What this meant was that the Islands Trust was satisfied that we were in full compliance with all of the bylaws.
Around the same time, however, a petition opposing the project began circulating on social media. The petition contained a number of misleading claims, including assertions that the proposal would restrict public access, damage fish habitat, bypass First Nations consultation and privatize the beach. While these claims are untrue, it nonetheless gained the attention of the elected trustees.
It was then disturbing to learn that, despite having no objections to our plan in October 2024, Islands Trust staff reversed their position the following month. In November 2024 they informed the province that they would be submitting a new recommendation, without explaining the reason for the change or giving us an opportunity to address any concerns that may have prompted the reconsideration. How can a delegated staff decision be reversed without explanation? Which rulebook were they following?
No updated response followed. By April 2025 we had to take legal action to force the Islands Trust to provide us with a decision. Again, without any meaningful communication with us about their reversal, they chose to deny our application, 17 months after we initially applied for the development permit. We had been told at the outset that this process should take weeks, not years.
We appealed the decision, which was heard at a Local Trust Committee meeting in July 2025. The reasons given for rejecting our appeal were troubling. One trustee characterized the project as “too big,” despite professional evidence to the contrary, and was unable to define what an appropriate size would be. Another trustee, who appeared to acknowledge interference with the application process, claimed inadequate First Nations consultation. Consultation with First Nations is the responsibility of the province, not the Local Trust Committee. In any case, we had initiated such consultations with local nations approximately a year before submitting our application.
In short, the proposal was not rejected due to any demonstrated deficiencies or dangers, but rather on the basis of ever-shifting and arbitrary criteria that were introduced during the meeting itself. This is not sound or transparent governance.
Too often, citizens lack the financial resources to challenge such decisions, even when the process has been mishandled. In our case, we spent over $100,000 complying with regulations and retaining qualified environmental professionals to design a shoreline protection project grounded in green shoring principles, an approach that Islands Trust staff themselves encouraged and found no issue with until after the misleading petition gained the attention of the trustees. With no other recourse available, we sought a judicial review in the Supreme Court of British Columbia and are now awaiting the court’s decision.
Protecting our island requires action, not inaction. Doing nothing risks continued loss of shoreline stability, ecological function, and both public and private assets. The Islands Trust has promoted green shoring as the preferred approach to shoreline protection, which is exactly what we proposed, at our own expense and seeking compliance with the bylaws. Yet, it was rejected.
That is not sound governance, it is the opposite. It turns regulatory approvals into arbitrary processes that discourage compliance, and makes it harder for residents to contribute to the environmental protection of the island. This case makes it clear that we need better leadership if we have any hope of tackling important climate change issues in the future.
For information about the proposal, visit bakerbeach.ca.
The following was written in response to a Jan. 8 New York Times article headlined “A Construction Worker’s Suicide Highlights a Wider Crisis.”
By PETER HAASE
I’ve personally experienced this narrative a few times, and witnessed the loss of friends and workers.
The things one sees and personally goes through in the life-long drudgery of heavy industrial construction: the mines, mills, shipyards, refineries, factories; it’s work, it’s grimy people, it’s a difficult environment of constant pollution and danger, the drugs on the job, the alcohol on the job and, after work, the indifference from the employer and sometimes the corrupted union, the resulting host of injuries (some life-threatening, as I personally had), the addiction I endured to the pain-killing morphine which took two years to kick . . . shaking at night, trying to sleep. Stopped, only through my own stubborn determination, without professional help.
The loss of income and the curse of unreliable income, through layoffs and the pittance of financial compensation for injuries incurred. The hostile environments of the many out-of-town jobs, where the occasional suicides happened, by gun, rope or drugs (one night in the next room to me, in camp). Over the years, I’ve known a few lovely young construction guys who topped themselves. It was tragic, to say the least. Absolutely heartbreaking. Some were close friends. Snuffed out bright candles of hope.
I worked from 1966 to 2014 on construction sites; some with thousands of various tradespeople, many with iffy backgrounds, crazy mentalities, wide political/religious beliefs, ethnicities; all on those jobs because they had to be, not because they wanted to be. Some sites had over 3,000 men with a handful of tradeswomen. We often worked in temperatures from 40 below zero to 110 above. Sometimes, 12-hour days, dressed like astronauts in layers, hard hats, goggles, gloves, high-viz, steel-capped boots, gas masks, coveralls and rain gear, all compulsory and you’re fired if you don’t put it all on. Sometimes, mean-spirited foremen, and slow-paying bosses. Over time, it all mounts up within you, if you’re stuck on a bad job, praying for quitting time from the time you start at 7 a.m.
I was foreman on many jobs, and had the rep of being the helpful and lenient guy with the apprentices and tradespeople. If they were late, I’d warn them, but never dock them; if hungover, I’d put them on safe work with a sidekick. I always stood up for the women in my crews, if harassed by the misogynistic ignorance that usually fills up construction sites. I once witnessed a big, Black female American bricklayer punch out an iron worker. It was great entertainment.
The last big job was the KMP: the Kitimat Modernization Project, renewing the 60-year-old aluminum smelter. We had to wear heavy-duty respirators all day long, for 10 months, on that hellish site. Loneliness creeps in if you’re a complete stranger and not part of the connected group. Drinking and drugs ease the pain, and tempers flare at the card tables and in the pool room. Interestingly, more people quit over the lousy food than the job conditions. I joined the chess club and sometimes borrowed a guitar and sang a few numbers at the company pub in those northern microcosms.
The New York Times article is such a common story, where many succumb and many escape. Luckily, I escaped through the abundant companionship of family love. Hard hats can only do so much.
I bless the memory of all those great mates of mine who passed; most way too young. Disposable construction workers.
The writer is a longtime Salt Spring resident and author of the autobiography Liverpool Lad: Adventures Growing up in Postwar Liverpool.
Heidi May Twapassed away aftera long hard journeywith Huntington’sDisease.
Born on Salt SpringIsland, Heidi travelledacross Canada aftergraduation, settlingin Ontario where shereceived her teachingdegree. Heidi met &married Robert Housein 2003 & in 2007 theirson Aries was born.
Sadly, Heidi was diagnosed with Huntington’sin 2015, after returning home to Salt Spring toreside with her family.
Heidi was known for her vibrant, creativespirit, a woman that brought people togetherwith music, art & laughter.
She is survived by her son Aries House, motherLinda Koroscil, father Norman Twa, stepmotherSheila Twa, sister Amy Twa, brother Jackson Twa& nieces Maria & Brianna Wilson.
The family extends heartfelt gratitude to RobertHouse, close friend Roberta Temmel & the staffof ECU at Lady Minto Hospital for their years ofcompassionate care.
