Home Blog Page 147

Clanna Morna and The Slieves team up for Irish evening

Contributed Article
-
0
Clanna Morna and The Slieves team up for Irish evening

St. Patrick’s Day weekend will start off with a bang on Salt Spring as two Vancouver Island-based bring their dynamic celebration of Irish music to Mahon Hall on Friday, March 15.

Clanna Morna and The Slieves are two of the region’s liveliest traditional Celtic/Irish bands, who will each perform a selection of Irish and Celtic songs, stories and instrumentals over the evening; and will also join forces for a collective performance of traditional songs and tunes.

The Slieves are a West Coast Celtic band hailing from Victoria and Duncan, the traditional territories of the Lekwungen, WSÁNEĆ and Quw’utsun peoples. Brought together by their love of traditional Irish music, this group has brought Celtic folk and Celtic-inspired original music to the coast of B.C. for well over a decade. The trio draws inspiration from such groups as Dervish, The Bothy Band, The Pogues, The Chieftains, Great Big Sea, The Irish Rovers and others. The talented members include the magical Tasia MacKay (Irish flute and whistles, five-string banjo, vocals), the accomplished Jeremy Walsh (guitar, vocals) and the foot-stomping Andrew Morris MacKay (bodhran, spoons, vocals).

Members of The Slieves, from left, Jeremy Walsh, Tasia MacKay and Andrew Morris MacKay.

Hailing from the occupied territories of the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ nations (Victoria), Clanna Morna brings their take on the Celtic traditional genre to the west coast. Their sound is rooted in the traditional Irish, Scottish and English music that many love, and features carefully crafted arrangements, rhythmic spirited energy and captivating storytelling. Comprised of an ensemble of multi-instrumentalists, their collective musicianship and attention to detail contribute to a unique audience experience featuring both familiar and lesser known folk ballads and tunes.

Members of Clanna Morna have been arranging and performing traditional Celtic and original music for three years together and for over a decade in other projects, sharing their melodic arrangements and stories both locally and internationally. They have racked up a history of over 270 performances in the past three years.

The band is comprised of Cody Baresich (guitar, mandolins, Irish bouzouki, tenor banjo, percussion, vocals), Finn Letourneau (fiddle, banjo, vocals) and Mark Leigh (accordion, tin whistles, vocals). With the combination of traditional instruments featuring strong melodic leads, rhythmic guitar accompaniment and foot percussion, the band covers a wide swath of musical ground. From high-energy instrumentals to slow ballads, drinking songs to sea shanties, Clanna Morna brings a unique west coast influence to Celtic and English folk. The band pays tribute to and takes inspiration from legendary predecessors including The Dubliners, The Pogues, The Bothy Band, Planxty and The Clancy Brothers.

Their debut album called From the Lowlands to the High Seas was released on CD and all streaming services in June 2023.

Tickets for this unique event are available online through the the clannamorna.ca website.

This event is family friendly and open to all ages.
There will be a cash bar for those of age; with beer, cider and of course Irish whiskey! Doors open at 7 p.m., with music commencing at 7:30 p.m.

Letter: Salty Dog provides sanctuary

Contributed Article
-
0
Letter: Salty Dog provides sanctuary

The sense of community here at Salty Dog Retreat is incredible. Everyone looks out for each other and offers support whenever it’s needed.

It’s a safe and welcoming environment where we can truly be ourselves without fear of judgment. Retreat operators Jamie Halan-Harris and Jack Harris are always there to lend a listening ear and provide guidance when necessary. The resources available to us have been invaluable in our journey towards healing and recovery. I am so grateful to have found a place like Salty Dog, where we can thrive and grow together as a family.

Both fathers of my children have been blessed with their own homes here on the land as well, which has been an incredible joy and relief for them, for the kids and I. For all of our lives we have felt displaced and unsafe while living in survival mode, doing our best to cope with serious post-traumatic stress disorder and many other mental health and physical health conditions. Then facing all of that while also being parents.

Trauma and survival mode have been all we have ever known until we moved here. We are finally getting to see what it feels like to rise up out of survival mode and into safety and support. We feel seen, valued, cared about and accepted. It’s like breathing a full breath for the first time.

And suddenly we are able to step into that place beyond just fighting to survive — the place where we can explore our own unique individual talents and skills, how we can use them to better serve the whole. Who am I in my tribe? What do I have to offer? How can I best give back to my community? These are questions that arise when we feel accepted, supported and seen for who we truly are.

There are no words that could describe the level of gratitude I feel towards Jamie and Jack for welcoming us home when we had nowhere else to go. I feel most grateful that my children don’t have to live in trauma, displacement, judgment and fear any longer. They are given a chance to blossom into their truest selves surrounded by true community, fully supported and accepted.

I know that the feelings I have described in this letter are not mine alone, but the same feelings of all the other residents here at Salty Dog. I speak on behalf of the whole when I say, “I have found sanctuary at last, I have finally come home.”

Jupiter Butler,

Salt Spring

ArtSpring pre-history shared at March 16 panel event

Contributed Article
-
0
ArtSpring pre-history shared at March 16 panel event

By KIRSTEN BOLTON

FOR ARTSPRING

As ArtSpring readies to celebrate its 25th anniversary of opening its doors with the ribbon cutting by Birgit and Robert Bateman in April 1999, over a decade of petitioning, fundraising, coordinating and building occurred in the community leading up to that big day.

Four game changers from what is being called the “pre-history of ArtSpring” are assembling for a panel discussion to share stories and lived experiences on how and why the dream of ArtSpring came to be. The panel, Q and A, and coffee mingler session is free to the public on Saturday, March 16 from 12 to 2 p.m.

This is the first in an ongoing speaker series to be coordinated by the newly launched Community Roundtable Committee, an initiative that came out of an ArtSpring “listening session” in May 2023 to gather opinions from the island’s artists and organizations. A volunteer group passionate about developing public programming for ArtSpring was established to engage and grow community creative thinking, skill sets and involvement through local speakers, workshops and networking cafés. 

“The story of why ArtSpring was wanted and needed and how it was achieved is an epic drama,” explains April Curtis, who served on the first Island Arts Centre Society board formed in 1989. “It’s a perfect theme to set the tone for engaging long-time residents, while inviting more recent arrivals to learn about our unique history and culture.” 

Salt Spring has long had a reputation as one of the most dense per capita regions for artists in North America. The impact it has had on local culture, attracting tourism and contributing to the economy is a defining trait. That the island’s performing and visual artists needed a centralized place to stage productions and exhibitions, learn and practise their crafts and support students became a driving priority. 

At the event, Curtis will be touching on how the seed grants arose, what fundraising events were hosted by enthusiastic groups and how the community came together with over 12,000 signatures to prove interest for a home for the arts on Salt Spring. The process of finding land, architects, design plans and grant proposals will be highlights as well as the forming of the first board of directors.

Sue Newman will be speaking to the community music, dance and education contributions in the process and the specific needs that group of artists, musicians, choirs, bands and students had. 

Victoria Olchowecki will present the history of the art and craft guilds and their critical role in the development of ArtSpring. Some work from the guilds will be on display in the gallery for the event. 

Finally, Tom Toynbee will lead audiences through the exciting drama of the difficulties and costs of building an art centre. With critical moments of stops and starts, some doubted whether it even could be completed. He will reveal the story of how and who gave the final lift, which made it possible to cross the finish line and open ArtSpring’s doors.

The Community Roundtable Committee is seeking volunteer members who care about the arts at ArtSpring and have ideas and opinions to enrich local engagement and development.

GLOVER, Mary Joan (Mosley)

Obituaries
-
0
GLOVER, Mary Joan (Mosley)

 It is with sadness that the family announces that Joan passed away suddenly after a brief illness on January 3rd in her 92nd year. Born in Midland, Ontario, she lived in Oakville, Port Credit, Etobicoke and Creemore before moving to Salt Spring Island in 2016, She was the daughter of Thomas Harold Mosley and Eva Ann Perreault, also of Ontario. She was predeceased by her husband of 69 years, Barry Clayton Glover, brother Douglas and sister Fay Sproule (Harlan). She is survived by her son Wayne Barry (William Stedwill) on Salt Spring Island, and grandson Christopher Thomas (Vanessa) in Fergus, Ontario as well as sisters-in-law Sheila Mosley and Marilyn Washington, brother-in-law, Roy Glover and many nephews and nieces. 

Joan was the stereotypical 1950’s housewife until Wayne entered high school, at which time, she joined the workforce and had a very successful career. She started helping at a nursery school and grew into the job through taking courses at Sheridan and Humber Colleges. She started at Holt Howard in Mississauga in 1973 in an administrative role, eventually moving to Toledo Scale where she started as receptionist and worked her way up to Secretary to the President.

Creemore was a special place to Joan and Barry. After acquiring property on the Niagara Escarpment in the early 1970’s, they built their “self-designed” retirement home where they moved full time when they both retired. When upkeep on the property became too great to manage, they moved into the town of Creemore and then on to Salt Spring Island.

On Salt Spring, Joan did volunteer work with the Senior Services Society and Lady Minto Hospital Auxiliary where her dedication was so much appreciated.

Joan requested no special memorial ceremony and, if desired, donations in her memory may be made to the Senior Services Society or Greenwoods Eldercare Society on Salt Spring. 

ADU Bylaw 537 gets Trust executive nod

Robb Magley
-
0
ADU Bylaw 537 gets Trust executive nod

Salt Spring’s latest swift-moving effort at allowing some accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on the island has been approved by a senior committee of the Islands Trust, clearing the way for its likely adoption this week.

Bylaw 537’s approval by the Trust’s Executive Committee (EC) Wednesday, Feb. 28 came after Salt Spring’s Local Trust Committee (LTC) held first, second and third readings of the proposal at an online meeting Jan. 22. 

It also came on the heels of renewed opposition from representatives of Tsawout First Nation. In a Feb. 2 letter to the EC, Chief Abraham Pelkey expressed Tsawout’s “deep concern and continuing opposition” to the bylaw, as well as frustration with the process — saying they were not consulted or even informed that the Jan. 22 meeting was taking place, nor given time to express opposition before it happened. 

“The Salt Spring LTC acted with undue haste,” wrote Pelkey, “and with no opportunity for a public hearing at which we could have submitted our concerns.” 

Pelkey noted the Tsawout First Nation has the only reserve on Salt Spring Island at Fulford, land that would “certainly be affected by misguided land-use decisions” nearby. 

“Although Bylaw 537, as drafted, has less reach than the previous Bylaw 530, Salt Spring LTC is proposing to enlarge its catchment once it is in force,” states the letter, “by encouraging a program of spot-zoning to add density on demand.” 

Pelkey added that by abandoning Bylaw 530 in favour of 537, the LTC did not address the First Nation’s previous concerns; rather, he said, they “simply found a way to scale the bylaw down to pass it,” with an intention to expand the scope later. 

Bylaw 537 adds a new map to Salt Spring Island’s planning documents, indicating where ADUs would be allowed — from a land use perspective.

The new map covers essentially everywhere secondary suites are already permitted, except for lands subject to excessive saltwater intrusion and those subject to the existing moratorium on new connections within the North Salt Spring Waterworks District’s service area. The bylaw, according to Trust documents, provides “expanded regulation for secondary suites and provide[s] clear, concise regulations for the construction of ADUs” — saying it “only diversifies the form of already available density” rather than an expansion of use and density. 

Salt Spring’s LTC has asked staff to develop a streamlined spot-zoning “pilot project” to allow residents request their properties be added to the map.

“The Salt Spring LTC lobbied us through much of last summer and fall, months after presenting a version of Bylaw 530 that was almost the same as Bylaw 537, and which we could not support,” wrote Pelkey. “They then told us they would sponsor a potlatch to build a relationship for reconciliation, but never did so. Clearly, the Salt Spring LTC did not believe they had addressed our concerns a few months ago. So why should they think so now?” 

In unanimously approving the bylaw Feb. 28, trustees noted the EC’s main role was to approve the bylaw — or not — based on whether it was consistent with the Salt Spring Island Official Community Plan (OCP) and the Islands Trust’s own Policy Statement. 

“My view is that the consistency with the OCP and the Policy Statement checklist is what the Executive [Committee] needs to be looking at,” said Lasqueti Island trustee Tim Peterson, who also chairs Salt Spring’s LTC. “And that’s indicated in the report as being set up for approval.” 

Mayne Island trustee David Maude sought reassurance from staff that Islands Trust had met all its statutory requirements for consultation — that they were not “stepping outside of any boxes,” he said.  

“It has had its legal review, so to speak,” said planning services director Stefan Cermak. “And it is well within Salt Spring’s legal purview, as it is [within] EC’s, to proceed.” 

Bylaw 537’s Feb. 28 approval also came despite a last-minute appeal for deferral voiced at the meeting by Maxine Leichter, on behalf of island advocacy group Keep Salt Spring Sustainable (KSSS).

Among other concerns, KSSS had said it believed — contrary to Islands Trust staff — that Bylaw 537 was not consistent with the island’s OCP and therefore was not eligible for the process that gave LTC discretion to not hold a public hearing. 

Salt Spring’s LTC will meet on Thursday, March 7 to consider adopting the new bylaw.

CCG responds to sinking vessel at Fulford 

Robb Magley
-
0
CCG responds to sinking vessel at Fulford 

The afternoon buzz of activity at Fulford Harbour Sunday, March 3 was in response to a report of a moored vessel taking on water there, according to Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) officials. 

But with no visible sheen on the water — and after pump-out efforts mitigated the immediate pollution threat from the 35-foot aluminum trawler’s sinking stern — responding CCG personnel were able to safely leave the area. Communications advisor Michelle Imbeau told the Driftwood CCG Station Ganges had been tasked to assess the trawler after receiving a report around noon; eagle-eyed observers spotted CCG vessel Cape Naden and a second vessel at Fulford just after 1 p.m., with both returning to port later that afternoon. 

CCG will be determining next steps, according to Imbeau, and will work with the vessel owner to ensure they understand their legal responsibilities as a vessel owner; under Canadian law, owners are responsible for their vessel at all times and must take all actions necessary, Imbeau said — including repairs, salvage and prevention or clean-up of leaking fuel and oil. 

Owners’ responsibility for costs includes cleanup or repairs, as well as any remediation action taken by the CCG, Imbeau added. 

Windsor Plywood sponsorship boosts GISS athletics

Gail Sjuberg
-
0
Windsor Plywood sponsorship boosts GISS athletics

Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) athletes have been given a big boost this school year thanks to sponsorship by Windsor Plywood Salt Spring.

According to GISS athletics program director and teacher Brittany Allan, the $10,000 will help pay for team fees, ferry travel, and new uniforms for track and field/cross country athletes and Grade 8 basketball players.

“Two thousand dollars of Windsor’s donation was set aside to directly support students and families in paying their team fees,” said Allan. “Windsor’s donation has been invaluable in making sport accessible to all students.”

Travelling off island costs between $6,000 and $7,000 per year for sports teams, she said, so the Windsor contribution was a game-changer in that department.

GISS has more than 200 students in grades 8 through 12 participating in 24 different sports teams. The fall season sees six volleyball and two soccer teams in action, as well as cross country, rowing and swim teams. Seven basketball teams are on the courts in winter months, with tennis, track and field, mountain biking, disc golf and two soccer teams starting up each spring.

Recent achievements include the junior girls basketball black team finishing first at mid-island championships and 10th at the Vancouver Island championships. The senior boys basketball team finished fifth at island championships held at Brentwood College School in Brentwood Bay this past weekend.

“Without community support, we would not be able to run the same quality programming we offer, leading some of our athletes to pursue athletic scholarships at the post-secondary level or a career in sport at the professional level,” said Allan.  

Jess Harkema and Adam Geddes of the Windsor Plywood Salt Spring ownership group said the decision to support the GISS athletics program came after GISS parent Julie Nowell approached the company last year about making a donation. They suggested Nowell return with a specific proposal.

“So they broke it down for us, and we all agreed to donate this year,” explained Harkema, adding that they would evaluate the decision and hopefully be able to provide support again next year.

As individuals who benefitted from participating in sports during their school years, the sponsorship was a natural fit. Harkema primarily played soccer, basketball and volleyball when she was a GISS student. Geddes was on soccer, rugby, track and ultimate frisbee teams.

“I think both of us spent countless hours before and after school, and on weekends, with athletics,” said Geddes, “and it sort of helped form who I was, making good connections and friends. And I think it’s very important both for mental health as well as physical, so for us, it was a bit of a no brainer, and we’re happy to try to support how we can.”

Harkema added that when a group photo was taken the broader community connections became apparent.

“So many of our customers’ kids are athletes, right?” said Harkema. “So we sat in the gym and it was like, “that’s that guy’s kid, and she’s so-and-so’s kid . . . it was a good moment.”

Nowell underscores the importance of Windsor’s support when noting that “participating in GISS athletics is becoming financially unfeasible for many families as the program is fully funded by team fees. 

“Our school has athletes that are already committed with post-secondary scholarships for 2024 and our athletics department is doing extraordinary things in building future leaders, both academically, athletically and in the community. Without continued community financial support, participating in a high school athletics program will be limited to those who have excess funds.”

Local woman attends United Nations Commission

Contributed Article
-
0
Local woman attends United Nations Commission

CFUW SUBMISSION

As one of 20 members of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) delegation from Canada, Barbara DuMoulin will join policymakers, government officials and activists from around the world for the 2024 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW68) in New York City from March 11 to 22.

This year’s theme is “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.”

What will be considered? Strategies to eliminate poverty, which has distinct adverse impacts on women, changes to institutions (including laws restricting women’s rights) and levelling the financial playing field to enable women to participate more fully in business and economic life.

The UNCSW is the main intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls throughout the world. CFUW holds Consultative Status with the UN through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which permits it to send a delegation to join other accredited civil society organizations, UN Member States and UN agencies.

“I am interested in seeing what commitments member states, particularly Canada, will make to eradicate poverty and close the gender gap,” said DuMoulin. She is the VP of International Relations for CFUW and oversees the delegation.

DuMoulin looks forward to sharing her UNCSW68 experiences with local community leaders and CFUW Salt Spring Island Club members. To learn more about joining CFUW and gender equality in Canada, visit cfuw.org, or to learn more about the Salt Spring Island Club, visit cfuwssi.ca/.

Editorial: Saving at SIMS

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Editorial: Saving at SIMS

Community groups who have settled in to the Salt Spring Island Multi Space (SIMS) are understandably feeling threatened these days. 

That’s due to recent talk of local government offices being set up there beyond the current PARC office, Capital Regional District (CRD) meeting boardroom and the Salt Spring Island Emergency Program. With the Islands Trust losing its current space in the BC Hydro building this summer, bringing that body into the SIMS fold has also been suggested.

Having the Trust and CRD offices under the same roof has long been on CRD director Gary Holman’s wish list. It seems logical for a community to have its local government offices close to each other, although in this age of easy digital communication, staff of those agencies don’t need to be physically close to each other. And except for someone in the initial steps of a development or building permit application, proximity of the CRD and Islands Trust office is not important. 

Bringing the two bodies together might be a laudable long-term goal, but the Trust’s need for space is almost immediate. It’s not a viable short-term solution. 

One of Holman’s arguments for moving the CRD’s main and building inspection offices from their current downtown spots to SIMS is that it would “save money,” as the CRD would not be paying commercial rents to private Ganges landowners. However, as CRD staff recently pointed out to Salt Spring’s Local Community Commission, changing the current use of SIMS comes with some potentially expensive challenges. 

The promise of “saving money” just doesn’t hold much weight. The CRD pattern is that once funds are freed up, as when the Rainbow Recreation Centre construction debt was paid off ($171,000 was in the 2020 budget for pool debt charges; $26,000 in 2021), another use is always found for those funds. In that case, the “savings” allowed for the setting up of SIMS. 

Then there’s the question of the location itself. Compared to the CRD’s highly accessible McPhillips Avenue main office, SIMS is not easy to get to for anyone with mobility challenges. 

If people are happy with the primary use of SIMS as a community/recreation centre, and if taxpayers won’t really “save” money by using a bigger chunk of it for government offices, is it really worth pursuing at this time?

Opinion: Salt Spring’s ‘Unique’ form of governance

Contributed Article
-
0
Opinion: Salt Spring’s ‘Unique’ form of governance

By JULIA LUCICH

The Driftwood, of late, has published numerous opinion pieces with much handwringing over the mission statement (or lack thereof) of the Islands Trust. I’ll venture to say that whatever that mission statement may be, it will have as much relevance for the civic and social wellbeing of this community as the proverbial arrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic.

On any given day, in almost any newspaper from any community across the country, there will be an acknowledgement of the “housing crisis.” In that regard, Salt Spring is in the same boat. One significant difference, though, is that we lack a governance structure with authority to address it. Every other community of our size has municipal status, enabling coordinated decision-making. That’s not to say that those decisions are coherent or prudent . . . only that there is, at least, the possibility for such an outcome.

By contrast, we have a disparate, dysfunctional and dizzying array of autonomous and quasi-autonomous silos (each with its own governing body, letters patent/charter/bylaws/mandate), some of which intersect while others appear to exist in an isolated bubble. By way of example, much of the island is serviced by a checkerboard of “water improvement districts,” each of which is mandated to provide potable water to its members. Overlaying this checkerboard is the fire improvement district whose mandate, not surprisingly, is to eradicate the hot stuff . . . which requires access to the wet stuff. One might reasonably expect that pipes of the various water districts would be of sufficient gauge to satisfy the fire service . . . an expectation that presumes coordination. Oops. And this is just one example.

A casual peek at our property tax statements offers interesting revelations. In the last decade, our overall property taxes have increased by 67 per cent. For “local services,” the changes have ranged from negligible (the hospital) to double (fire district), with the Islands Trust coming in at an increase of 50 per cent and CRD at 72 per cent. While some of these increases may be easily justified (labour costs), some of those same costs may be attributed to redundancies. For argument’s sake, how much could be saved through centralized administration as opposed to the current situation where each of these entities necessitates its own budget/administrative staff?

Aside from these obvious, tangible costs, this diffused structure has another, more insidious cost . . . that of undermining and frustrating civic engagement. The old adage that you can’t fight city hall becomes even more fraught when you can’t even determine with whom to take up the fight. How many of us understand how and with whom to navigate to find answers: do we go to the fire department to get a street number for a new home; to the CRD; to the Islands Trust; to BC Hydro? How many members of young, working families can prioritize the time to attend the assorted meetings of these numerous taxing authorities? How are people with limited transportation expected to attend/participate?

If we really hope to do more than constantly bemoan our problems, perhaps it’s time that we abandon our quaint dysfunction and enter the real world.

The writer is a Salt Spring resident.

1...146147148...609Page 147 of 609