Whenever I chatted with Helga and Michael Bagnell over the years about the Christmas Day Fulford Hall Free-be-do, they always gently suggested I attend. Helga repeated the invitation when I saw her at the hall a few weeks ago.
But having spent almost every Christmas Day with family at my childhood home in Courtenay until my mom and my husband died in 2019, and then taking some measure of responsibility for creating a special meal in my own home in subsequent years, it just didn’t fit into my holiday plans. And of course at some level I felt a free Christmas dinner wasn’t intended for someone like me who could afford to buy a turkey and all the trimmings if I wanted to.
But this year my daughter Chloe couldn’t come to Salt Spring over Christmas, so that left my boyfriend Bryn and I at loose ends for Christmas dinner, with other friend and family events on the 24th and 26th. “Why not go to Fulford Hall?” we asked ourselves, and did.
It turned out to be a great idea. Not only did I get royally hugged by Helga when I came into the hall (and some other lovely people later), but the food, company, music and community spirit combined to make it a super enjoyable event. Food is such an equalizer and connector. We all need to eat, so why not do it together? Families, neighbours, couples and single people of all ages and experiences came together, sharing a hot meal and conversation in a welcoming spot where good spirits and appreciation prevailed.
I feel so much gratitude to all the volunteers, including those setting up, cleaning up, peeling vegetables the day before, cooking and serving the food, and the supreme skill of chef Brody and Elsie Paine. (“What would we do without them?” was the consensus.) Helga and Michael, longtime kitchen stalwart Mary Ann McColl and the contributing businesses and individuals also deserve the warmest community hug possible.
That brings me to the topic of volunteers. One conversation I had at the event centred on the need for some volunteers to replace those who are getting on in years and would like to gracefully step aside. But we agreed it’s not just a matter of willing bodies being corralled and thrown into the kitchen, as some measure of training and coordination is required for helpers to be safe and used effectively.
For some time I’ve wanted to use the Driftwood to help with volunteer recruitment efforts in some way, and feel short features about or a Q&A with a volunteer from organizations seeking more help would be a good way to go. It could give potential volunteers an idea of what’s involved with a specific role, including the potential perks, and perhaps remove a bit of the trepidation someone might feel about raising their hand to help out.
If your community group is needing volunteers, please connect with me at news@gulfislandsdriftwood.com or 250-537-9933 to be included in the feature series. Let’s help keep our beloved traditions, organizations and events rolling and resilient in the years to come.
The writer is editor of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper.
Salt Spring officials will be floating options for changing the island’s public transit fee structure in the new year, looking for public feedback on a fare scheme that hasn’t been adjusted since 2012.
Salt Spring’s Local Community Commission (LCC) voted Dec. 11 to advance three versions of what will likely be fare increases for almost all classes of island riders, differing mostly in how quickly those rates go up. One proposes a gradual increase over several years, another an immediate bump-up to fall in line with inflation and a third eyes a larger increase for single-ticket riders over two years with more discounted passes.
LCC members said they would recommend no changes to BC Transit without hearing from the public first. In addition to a planned survey, Capital Regional District (CRD) senior manager Dan Ovington said staff would be heading into the community for feedback as well, likely in January, although not in an extensive — or particularly costly — way, given budget constraints.
“We’re looking at doing an open house at the Rainbow Recreation Centre,” said Ovington, adding that a date would be publicized when CRD and BC Transit staff can settle on one. “There will be boards up and an opportunity for people to provide input. So staff resources, but not [many] costs.”
The Islands Trust is poised to hand over most of its public notice distribution to U.S.-owned Facebook next year, as leadership closed out 2025 by quietly forwarding a new staff recommendation: that the 26-member Islands Trust Council abandon publishing public notices in local newspapers.
Advanced by the Executive Committee Wednesday, Dec. 17, the recommendation also includes the unusual suggestion that Trust Council enact the new bylaw through three readings completed outside of a regular public meeting, utilizing that body’s “resolutions without meetings” protocol.
The latest proposal is built upon a similar “model” public notice bylaw that has guided Local Trust Committees (LTCs) toward eschewing local newspapers for their notifications, proposed by staff and adopted by Trust Council last year. Most LTCs have since adopted some version of that model bylaw, although a few have modified the language to incorporate parallel use of local publications to post their notices — including Salt Spring Island in August and, as of its Dec. 16 meeting, Denman Island.
If the bylaw is approved, Trust Council’s own “alternate public notice policy” will affect information typically posted for Islands Trust elections, according to Legislative and Information Services director David Marlor, who prepared the recommendation.
Currently, when public notices are required by the Islands Trust Act and Local Government Act, the default notification laid out by the Community Charter is simple: publication in two editions of a newspaper, once each week for two consecutive weeks.
But a provision also allows local governments to adopt their own alternative schemes, requiring trustees to consider — and affirm in the bylaw — that their publication choice is “reliable, suitable and accessible,” three terms given specific meaning in the Public Notice Regulation.
Means of publication are “reliable” if they provide factual information and publish at least once a month; they are “suitable” if they display information legibly, by the required date and allow a person to consult the notice more than once during the notice period; and they are “accessible” if they are “directed or made available to a diverse audience or readership” and “are easily found.”
The new alternate public notice bylaw would necessarily record that trustees agree that the Islands Trust’s Facebook page, along with its own website, fulfill those principles as the only two required means of publication.
Marlor told trustees on Dec. 17 that examples of the kinds of notifications the policy could affect included future amendments to meeting procedures bylaws or “advertising for your Policy Statement.”
“And the other one is the election coming up,” said Marlor. “Any statutory requirements for the election would follow [the new] bylaw; otherwise, we’d have to publish it as per the standard, which is the local newspapers.”
Staff had identified “about eight” individual newspapers it believed Trust Council needed to use whenever there was a legislative requirement to provide notice.
“Logistically, it creates a lot of work as well as a lot of cost,” said Marlor. “The Times Colonist, the Driftwood and several others are fairly expensive to advertise in.”
The use of “resolution without meeting” procedures to pass bylaws involves vote collection via email, and is common for matters considered urgent. Changes to the Community Charter that allow local governments to consider alternative publishing for public notices were enacted in February 2022.
Trust Council’s own policies note that resolutions without meeting are for decisions “not requiring discussion or debate” and that “issues which may be considered controversial, sensitive, complex or otherwise benefitting from discussion and debate” should be voted on at a regular meeting.
Marlor told trustees that as a “simple administrative bylaw” Trust Council could give three readings and then adopt the policy by resolution without meeting following the in-person three-day meeting in March.
Trust Council’s procurement policy specifies goods and services should be acquired at “the best value including consideration of environment and local economy,” as well as favouring “Canadian content wherever possible, practical and economical.”
Facebook is owned by Meta Platforms Inc., an American company deeply invested in resource-intensive generative artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in California.
Apart from public notices, Trust Council’s past work to promote transparency has included largely successful efforts to livestream its quarterly public meetings and make recordings available online, an undertaking that began shortly after the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Senior staff this year have reminded trustees there is no legislative requirement they stream public meetings at all. During the December Trust Council meeting, Gambier Island Trust Area trustee Joe Bernardo suggested the body consider “whether or not the whole livestreaming and recording business is worth it.”
The Executive Committee Wednesday forwarded the recommendation and public notice bylaw to Trust Council through general consent, indicating no member present objected to the proposal.
If we did such things, we’d give the 2025 Word of the Year award to “engagement” — and not in a complimentary way.
From BC Ferries to our own local and regional governments, this year seemed to highlight a growing trend of allowing engagement as a metric to supplant its mission. Instead of using the tool to help build the informed public critical for guiding its own governance, time and again we see our officials too eager to embrace a pro forma process brought by well-meaning consultants who know how to get the “job” done.
No one wants to work harder (or spend more), but whether it’s placing too much value on a single tickbox on a website or placing too little on a raucous town hall’s 50 pages of handwritten notes, we see officials gradually abandoning the creative mess of proper deliberation in favour of a strict, if arguably easier, tally.
Engagement now mistakes a measured amount of attention for consensus-building; it counts heads rather than ideas, leaves a voicemail to qualify as consultation and values clicks over connections. Engagement proudly proclaims the virtue of its own “reach” while tweeting into the void; it seems indeed fully imported from its usage on the internet, mistakenly applying an attention-economy mindset to a field where once our elected officials were tasked to persuade.
It does not need to be this way.
Engagement can be rooted in public deliberation — not just an argument, although we shouldn’t shy away from a good one, but a process with a shared goal or at least a common direction. It can begin the real work of consensus with an informative conversation, and bring neighbours into decisions earlier and with a fuller understanding of the issues — and why they might care.
In 2026, we invite those tasked with engagement to take steps to make their work more difficult, meaningful and indeed risky.
It will be worth it. Whatever civility left behind should neighbours cluck at one another in a town hall is certainly outweighed by the futility of the alternative: waiting until decisions are made, and clucking at the sky.
The past year has seen an unprecedented level of investment in essential infrastructure and services. The Capital Regional District (CRD) has played a direct or indirect role in many of these investments, and Salt Spring has particularly benefitted from our partnerships with the province and our capable community groups, foundations and improvement districts.
CRD Budget
The overall CRD provisional requisition increase in 2026 for Salt Spring Island, approved by the CRD Board Oct. 29, is estimated at 8.2 per cent. The Local Community Commission (LCC) portion of the requisition increases by 9.5 per cent, while the non-LCC portion of the requisition (including regional, sub-regional and non-LCC local services) is about 6.6 per cent. The LCC requisition increase does not include a further increase for local transit (see below), or other possible budget changes, to be considered by the LCC and CRD Board in the new year. LCC chair Earl Rook (erook@crd.bc.ca) and I will be providing a more detailed summary of the provisional CRD and LCC budgets and related services in January.
Housing
The completion of BC Housing’s Drake Road 36-unit supported and worker housing facility and the 18-unit Lady Minto Hospital Foundation (LMHF) Heartwood project represent the culmination of several years of progress on affordable housing. Together with the construction of Salt Spring Commons, Croftonbrook (Phases 2 and 3), and the Dean Road boarding house, over 140 units of affordable housing have been built on Salt Spring over the past five years. Over that time, the Trust has legalized hundreds of properties for suites or cottages, although financial incentives (e.g., as proposed by the CRD Rural Housing Program) are needed to improve homeowner take-up of this zoning. Building permit data also indicates that roughly 150 units of market housing have been constructed over the past five years.
I will continue to focus on funding partnerships for our next best prospects for affordable housing development at the Kings Lane, Norton Road and Drake Road properties, together representing another possible 125 units of affordable housing. I have committed $600,000 in Community Works Fund (CWF) funding to connect the Kings Lane affordable housing and health clinic projects to the Ganges sewer system, and will be supporting inclusion of the Norton Road property into the sewer service area. I will also continue to work with the Capital Regional Hospital District (CRHD), Island Health and LMHF to help fund preliminary planning for the future of seniors care at the Greenwoods-Lady Minto hospital site.
Transportation and Transit
The Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT)’s repaving of Ganges Hill with wider shoulder lanes is finally completed, and while very disruptive for many, will greatly improve safety for the increasing numbers of cyclists and pedestrians.
Thanks to a partnership between CRD and Island Pathways, the Salt Spring Island Regional Trail feasibility study has been completed, and for the first time funding for design and future construction of the trail has been set aside in CRD capital plans. I am working with the CRD Transportation Committee, board and staff to accelerate the detailed design work necessary to move the project forward. MOTT work also continues on the installation of the bridge on Fulford-Ganges Road, as well as washout repairs at several other locations, an indication of MOTT’s welcome responsiveness to the increasing impacts of climate change on our 265-kilometre road system.
The CRD Board will be approving amendments to the Salt Spring Island Transit bylaw to increase the maximum levy for this service by 25 per cent. The Local Government Act requires voter approval or consent of the electoral area director for such an increase. I have provided my consent in order to maintain the existing level of service that is being challenged by substantial increases in BC Transit bus leasing and related costs and reduced cost recovery in part due to road repairs and upgrades. A referendum will be required for expansion of transit service on Salt Spring Island, the timing to be determined by the LCC, but possibly as part of the October 2026 local elections.
Waste Disposal
The CRD Board has approved renewal of a five-year contract to Island Community Services to operate the Rainbow Road recycling depot at a cost of over $400,000 per year. Funding is provided by CRD tipping fees at the Hartland landfill and Recycle BC (i.e., at no cost to taxpayers). Measures have also been approved by the CRD Board to incentivize and facilitate recycling, particularly for construction materials such as clean wood and asphalt shingles. CRD has also committed to the construction of a facility to gasify the region’s liquid waste, to be operational within several years. At the local level, ratepayers of the CRD Maliview sewage treatment system have approved the necessary borrowing to match a $1.9-million infrastructure grant for the rebuilding of their treatment plant.
Health and SafetyInvestments
Our local fire district has announced that our new, post-disaster fire hall, partly funded by CRD via a CWF grant of $1 million, will be ready for occupancy in early May. As an outcome of an arrangement with the fire district, CRD will then assume ownership and begin reviewing the feasibility of repurposing the old Ganges fire hall and site.
The new Lady Minto Hospital emergency room, funded primarily by our hospital foundation and $3.7 million from the CRHD, has now been operating with increased staffing capacity for over a year.
The B.C. Ministry of Health has provided funding for 11 full-time-equivalent health care and allied professionals on Salt Spring. Along with David Norget, I sit as a community representative on an implementation committee for this Primary Care Network (PCN), the program lead for which is Sarah Bulmer (sarah.bulmer@sidfp.com). A new clinic planned for part of the Kings Lane property could house all of these professionals, but working space is needed in the meantime. The PCN, in collaboration with the hospital foundation and local physicians, has helped recruit two new physicians, with the potential for others, and has already connected 600 previously unattached patients to family doctors.
As always, for any questions or further information, please contact me at directorssi@crd.bc.ca.
It happens every December, just as we approach the end of the calendar year.
We tilt our heads to the sky and peer up in expectation. Some of us are hopeful that the heavens will deliver the goods. The rest of us hold our collective breath in anxious dread. The object of this curious behaviour that we display is none other than snow.
That’s right. Snow. It is said that the Inuit, the Indigenous people of our North, have over a thousand words for snow, depending on the texture, consistency, temperature, and dozens of other factors that affect its appearance and origins. We here on the southern Left Coast mostly call it just plain old snow, although we probably have a similar number of names for rain (that are all preceded by a word that starts with the letter “f”).
Where does snow come from, you might ask. Scientists and other experts in the field will try to convince you that it has something to do with precipitation, temperature, clouds, air pressure, condensation, evaporation and gravity. Don’t believe them; they are wrong. Remember, these are the same “Smarties” who tried to explain Santa, the Tooth Fairy and where babies come from. They will just confuse you.
No, if you want to understand snow, you have to go back to your kindergarten class when your teacher first taught you how to create snowflakes by folding a blank sheet of paper over on itself several times and then using scissors to cut little notches out of it. If you somehow succeeded in making the cuts with those dull, almost useless scissors, the sheet would unfold into an intricate geometric pattern that resembled the magnified appearance of a single snowflake. All the tiny shapes that had been cut and notched out of the original folded sheet were left in several piles on the school desk or on the floor. These were later swept up and taken to a snowflakes reservoir where they were mysteriously propelled up into the clouds. When there was no more room for them up there, they fell back to the ground. Hence, snow. We should all thank our kindergarten teachers.
Let’s get back to the original question. Snow or no snow? Which will it be? A blanket of white covering this lovely piece of paradise we share with each other, or that normal soggy sponge of greenery that we slosh and tromp through for most of the winter? Into what camp do you fall? Snow or wet lush green? Who’s dreaming of a white Christmas, anyway?
It’s a tough choice. Frozen water lines and flushing toilets with a bucket of melted snow, or the freedom from homework because snow days mean the school buses will be grounded and classes cancelled.
Frosty the Snowman and Santa’s North Pole workshop on one hand or a hot tub time share just out of Puerto Vallarta on the other. There are many factors to consider. Take road conditions, for instance. A nice six-inch cushion of snow piled upon your gravel or blacktop thoroughfare might look pretty, but the aesthetics will dwindle somewhat if you are forced to observe it from deep in the ditch where your Hyundai has settled after sliding helplessly off the shoulder of the road. This common winter event is even more embarrassing if you are seen fishtailing out of control in a vehicle equipped with bald summer tires and regular two-wheel drive. It’s even worse if you are watching the whiteness from a position seated upside-down in your ride.
On the other hand, if snow is your thing, what could be more delightful than tobogganing down the centre of the road after a fresh dump of the white stuff? What makes it even more fun is watching all the ill-prepared traffic trying to avoid your newly groomed sled track (as well as your extremely vulnerable body) by shimmying their way off into the roadside ditches.
Besides playing games with traffic, there are so many other activities that lend themselves to having fun in the snow. You can snowboard, ski downhill or cross-country, and snowshoe. If you have the technology, you can fire up your snowmobile or hitch up your sleigh to your faithful team of sled dogs (or your kids if you can coax them out of the house).
Nobody asked me, but I’m willing to put up with the inconvenience of going without hydro and running water for days on end if I can trade in those amenities for the privilege of living in a white wonderland that looks incredibly like a picture postcard. I can handle occasional blizzard-force winds knocking Douglas fir trees about until they come crashing down on the power lines, if I’m allowed to throw on my toque and snow mitts in order to indulge in a neighbourhood snowball fight.
I don’t much mind following behind an Amazon delivery van whose driver did not bother to sweep all the snow off their roof so that it feels like I am now driving through my own private blizzard. No, I will put up with that if I can occasionally pull over beside Stowel Lake to watch the kids shovel the snow off a section of the frozen ice and play an endless game of “free-for-all shinny” near the shore. I will even donate my extra well-worn pair of gumboots to be used as goal posts for one of the imaginary nets.
And if it turns out that we get hit by a “snow storm of the century” that stops all life and motion, and even Netflix grinds to a halt, then I guess you can lay the blame on me.
But for right now: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
A pollutant-capturing yellow boom spotted floating at Fulford will remain there a while longer, according to Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) officials, after a work barge and crane capsized in the harbour during high winds Thursday, Dec. 18.
First deployed by the CCG, the containment boom has since been tended by the barge’s owner, according to a federal spokesperson reached over the holidays, and that owner has cleaned up debris on the beach nearby. Officials said the fuel and other pollutants initially seen on the water had ceased “upwelling” and that the owner has hired a salvage contractor, who will right the barge as soon as crews are available.
“The Canadian Coast Guard is working with the owner to ensure an appropriate response,” according to a statement Wednesday, Dec. 24 from the Department of National Defence (DND), which integrated Coast Guard operations in September. “The boom will remain in place as a precautionary measure.”
Diesel and hydraulic fluid had been seen near the upturned barge during and after the storm, but appears to have been contained by the boom.
A 35-foot tugboat registered to Salt Spring’s Gordon Wahl of Wahl Marine Construction also broke free from the barge, and was blown aground; federal officials said owners are liable for the costs of addressing their “problem vessels” after a storm, including salvage, fuel and oil cleanup or any remediation action taken by CCG.
During the Dec. 18 storm, more than 8,000 customers lost power in the Southern Gulf Islands alone, according to BC Hydro, with some 120,000 homes going dark for several hours province-wide. Wind gusts of nearly 80 kilometres per hour were recorded at weather stations near Fulford Harbour.
Extended power outages also occurred in the islands due to high winds on Monday, Dec. 15.
Once again, young Gulf Islands writers delighted Driftwood story contest judges with their creativity and ability to capture the holiday spirit.
“I was impressed by the breadth of imagination all of these kids showed,” said longtime book publisher Marlyn Horsdal, who was a first-time judge and read stories written by 12- and 13-year-olds.
Fran McIninch, who judged the nine-year-old age category, said, “I feel they should all get an award for participating and making the effort.”
Also judging this year were veterans Joan Gage and Sheila McEachern, and newcomer Janice Parker. Thank you to all five women and longtime coordinator Victoria Olchowecki.
Results are: Age 7-8 category: first place, Sofia Névé Langer, Christmas in Hawaii; second place, Elora King, You Cannot Have Christmas Without Merry. Age 9 category: first place, Lily Hughs, The Christmas Adventure; second place, Lilly Slade-Waters, Turtle’s First Christmas; honourable mention, Alexi Stotecky, The Christmas Day; Lyra Smith, Fluffy’s Christmas. Age 10 category: first place, Willow Kilpatrick, Believe; second place, Fern Cardinal, The Mystery Behind the Advent Calendar; honourable mention, Lia Bourns and Eva Ilinykh, The Little Ferntail Butterfly. Age 11 category: first place, Isla Maruca-Alarie, Never Too Old for Christmas Magic; second place, Athena Dragland, A Gift for Maggie; honourable mention, Millie Smid, The Hat. Age 12-13 category: first place, Marrella Hoffman, Christmas at the Retirement Home; second place, Violet Penner, Inaccurate Lists, an Over-Hot-Chocolated Elf and (G)iPad Kids; honourable mention, Inara Demich, A Siberian Solstice; Aurelia Lukow, The Missing Gifts.
Winner of the cover art contest is Grade 10 GISS student Nya Hornsey. Cover artwork from eight members of Melissa Hingston’s Grades 4-5 class at Fernwood Elementary School is also included in a gallery in this post.
Artist Hornsey and all first- and second-place story winners receive vouchers that can be exchanged for gift certificates at Salt Spring Books. Vouchers are available for pick-up at the Driftwood office at 241 Fulford-Ganges Rd. during regular office hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, or by arrangement with us through news@gulfislandsdriftwood.com. Vouchers must be taken to Salt Spring Books to exchange for certificates by Jan. 31, 2026 (but do not have to be used by then). Thank you to Salt Spring Books for being a dedicated partner in the contest by providing the prizes for so many years now.
First- and second-place stories are published below. Ana Roy, age 15, was the sole entrant from an older age group this year. Her excellent story is also included below.
Artwork by Sophie, age 9Artwork by Linden, age 8Artwork by Eli, age 9Artwork by Captain, age 9Artwork by Theo, age 9Artwork by Avery, age 9Artwork by Andrii, age 10Artwork by Alexi, age 9
Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Persepheny, who was no ordinary girl. She was special, but she didn’t know that! On the other hand, Santa was getting tired of doing his job, so he decided to find a child to do it for him. So, he asked his elves to find someone who could do the job. Santa had booked a flight to Hawaii!
When the elves found Persepheny, they brought her to Santa. He inspected Persepheny and then said, “Well, this looks like someone to do the job, if she can say the magic word.”
“Supercalifrajaslisticexpialadocious,” said Persepheny. She gasped. Had she really said that long word?
“Yes, you have,” said Santa, reading her mind. “You have to give the presents out, but be careful. There might be a snowstorm or the presents could fall out! And I don’t want that to happen, do you?”
“No!” yelled Persepheny.
Finally Santa had convinced Persepheny to drive his sleigh.
“Thanks!” said Santa, thinking of drinking from a Hawaiian coconut.
“You’re welcome,” answered Persepheny. “I’ll do it!”
Christmas was only two weeks away, and Persepheny was very nervous about losing the presents, or if there would be a snowstorm, so she asked Santa if he could lend her elves to guide her along.
Santa said, “Yes, of course!”
Santa wished her well and left for Hawaii with his sandals and beach towel packed in his suitcase. He was curious to see what Christmas in Hawaii would be like, and left for the airport with a happy grin.
When Christmas Eve came, Persepheny was more nervous than ever! She was also excited, so she called that feeling “ner-cited.”
Persepheny helped the elves load the presents into the sleigh and harness the reindeer, but, as they climbed in, snow started to fall! It fell really hard and really fast!
Persepheny’s nervousness came back, because she might lose the presents in the snowstorm! Now, it was turning into a blizzard!
So Persepheny cried to the reindeer, “Let’s go quick before the snow is too deep! Dash away, dash away, dash away all! Thank you Rudolph for leading us with your nose so bright!”
The heavy sleigh struggled, but flew into the air on its journey around the world! As Persepheny gave out presents, she noticed most houses were pretty easy, except for a few. One of them was particularly difficult because she was almost seen by the children! Some of the floorboards were really creaky in that house! She quickly ran into the bathroom to hide.
After those children went back to bed, Persepheny returned to the sleigh and delivered presents to children around the world! Persepheny was so happy, she couldn’t wait to do it next year!
Meanwhile, Santa was drinking juice from a Hawaiian coconut in his sandals and happy grin. Christmas was great in Hawaii. He couldn’t wait to do it next year!
Once upon a time there were two friends named Merry and Christmas. They were helping set up for the Christmas dance. They were also carrying the big Christmas tree when suddenly, it snapped and it smashed Merry, pinning her to the ground! She was stuck.
“How are we supposed to have Christmas without Merry?” Christmas said. “This is terrible. We need to get Merry out of there. Someone help! Mrs. Claus, help me get Merry out,” pleaded Christmas.
“OK, I will try,” said Mrs. Claus. “Eeaaaaaa, it is too heavy! We need Santa. I will go get him.”
“Hohoho!” bellowed Santa.
“Be quiet!” said Christmas seriously. “We need to get Merry out of there right now.”
“OK, I will try. Aaaaaaaaaa, it is too heavy! We need the reindeer. I will get them,” he said.
“Hey boys, we need help to get Merry out from under the tree. She is stuck,” he explained.
“OK, we will try. Aaaaaaaaaaa, it is never going to work!” they cried.
“Wait, I have an idea! I will attach a rope from my sled to the Christmas tree. On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen, Comet and Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. Wait! Where is Rudolph? Oh, no, he is still at the North Pole eating hay! It is OK. It will still work. OK, here we go. Aaaaaaaaaaaaa.”
Pop!
“Yay, it worked! Thank you so much,” said Santa. “You guys are the best!”
“Thank you, everybody,” said Christmas. “Christmas is saved!”
Once upon a time on Christmas, there was a penguin named Pengweeny. He was very funny and my best friend. He lived in a little log cabin in the forest. When he got hungry, he went out to find fish.
He was happily swimming alone when he saw a fish. All of a sudden, a giant fin popped out of the water. A shark started chasing him and he screamed!
Pengweeny was okay, but he still needed something to eat. He decided to catch a plane to Hawaii, hoping there would be no animals who would eat him.
When he got to the plane, he was surprised to find that the pilot was a seagull! He went and sat down in his seat, and the plane took off. He decided to play checkers with the guy next to him named Ebbyfry, who was a shrimp. They played checkers and Ebbyfry won.
Pengweeny was thirsty, so they went to the potion-brewing stand and made a speed-walk potion. After drinking it, they ran up and down the aisle of the plane 100 times in three seconds. Pengweeny was really excited to get off the plane.
He got off and looked around and felt so happy that he jumped into the water. He saw hundreds of fish as well as turtles. He swam down and caught a fish. He brought it back up and noticed a Mer-pup swimming in the water next to him. She grabbed him up and dove down to a beautiful kingdom made of seashells. She swam into a castle, putting him down and saying, “Hello, my name is Princess Coral.”
He told her his name, just as a graceful creature came swimming toward them, saying, “Princess Coral, what are you doing?”
“Look, Mother, it’s a penguin.”
Pengweeny bowed, introducing himself.
“Why don’t you come and stay for the Christmas feast?” Coral’s mother said.
“Yes, please! But will there be fish?” Pengweeny asked.
“Of course there will!?” they said, and they all swam off to prepare for the Christmas banquet.
One night an egg was hatching. It was a turtle egg. The eggshell was glimmering from the moon. It cracked and cracked until a little head popped out into the shimmer of light. It was snowing outside but not heavily falling down.
From that day on, Turtle had always wanted to meet Santa. Every Christmas she looked up at the moon and most of the time she didn’t see him, but one night she heard a jingle of a bell. She looked up in confusion. There was a big sleigh with a big fat dude on it. She still wanted to meet Santa, but she wanted to meet an elf even more.
She packed her stuff and headed out to Antarctica. She waddled into the water. After 10 minutes of paddling she wondered if this was a good idea. She decided to continue, and the water kept getting colder and colder. She got so cold but she finally made it to the ice land, Antarctica.
She saw a sleigh fly across the sky so she followed it to Santa’s house. There were elves everywhere. All those little elves had black and white bottoms and tops and they all wore little red or green hats on top. The elves were making toys and so much more. Everything she could have wished for. But there was no turtle stuff in the workshop, like little fish. And why were there no coral-shaped sculptures and little rare shells? There was more human stuff than she could ever imagine. She didn’t see anything for turtles, not even a little turtle picture! It was crazy because she thought there would have been more things for turtles because turtles were so cute.
The turtle then saw this big fat dude in the crowd and she waddled up to him and it was Santa. She said to Santa, “What’s up, Santa? Why aren’t there things for turtles in your workshop? I have been looking forward to Christmas my whole life! Now it’s finally here and there’s nothing for me!”
Santa replied, “Well, little turtle, what would you like?”
The turtle said, “Everything!”
“Well, I can’t do that.” Then Santa thought for a moment and realized he could do something amazing for this turtle and all the turtles across the land.
“Jellyfish! I will make sure that there is enough fish and jelly in the world for all of you!”
From that day on, Turtle was so happy. Christmas turned out to be such a special time and the trip to Antarctica was a memorable experience.
Once upon a time there was a girl called Maple. She was 10, and her whole life she had believed — she believed in Christmas, Santa and all magical things. When she was young it was normal — all her friends also believed and knew that Santa was real. Well, until Grade 5 . . . .
In Grade 5, some of her friends started talking about Santa and saying that Santa was just their parents. She found it was hard being the weird kid and felt like everyone made fun of her because she was the only one who thought Santa was real.
No matter how much she tried to keep believing in the magic of Christmas, her friends got into her head, and she started seeing things differently — the elf on the shelf looked felted, Santa’s handwriting looked so much like her mum’s, and a person that lived at the North Pole . . . really? All just children’s stories . . . . But still, Maple did not want to give up.
She had a special memory that stayed with her. When she was six years old, Maple, her brother and her mum were standing on the treehouse outside at Christmas time and suddenly up in the sky they saw a glowing red nose and two little antlers darting across the starry night. It felt truly magical.
When she told her Grade 5 friends about this they said, “Sure,” and, “You were only six years old when that happened and it was probably just a dream,” and, “Planes have red lights on them so it was probably only a plane!” Her friends’ comments stuck in her heart. But still Maple did not want to give up.
On Christmas Eve, Maple decided that she would do something to prove things to herself once and for all. She found her stash of saved-up Halloween candies and power-ate it all night to keep herself up. Then her plan was to secretly spy on Santa. Maple also set up a spy camera just in case she fell asleep.
Late that night she fell asleep and missed Santa. In the morning, she realized what had happened.
“Well, at least I have my spy camera,” said Maple, hopefully. But as she went over to watch the footage, she saw that she had forgotten to turn it on.
“No! I forgot to turn it on!! Now I have no proof!”
She felt that she had failed herself.
But when Maple walked upstairs and saw her family around the glittering Christmas tree with presents underneath, she thought, “Maybe I don’t have proof that Santa’s real, but in my heart I do know that Santa exists and I always will.”
After winter break, all her friends were talking about how fake Santa was.
“I don’t need them to believe to know it’s true, only I need to believe,” she said to herself.
Suddenly the conversation didn’t seem as important to Maple. And she felt the Christmas joy FINALLY fill her up.
There was a bump. And a shake. Jingle, a small wooden hamster, with a white crescent on his forehead, woke up with a startle. He opened his apartment window and saw that his wooden home had been moved to the checkout counter of the Ye Olde Knick Knacks Shop.
He heard the owner of the antique shop talking to a human and her young daughter.
“You’re very lucky to get this advent calendar. It’s the only one in the world!”
What the shop owner knew that this human family didn’t was that this advent calendar was much larger on the inside than on the outside. It hid a whole town behind it, full of tiny carved woodland creatures. But all the humans saw was an old, wooden advent calendar.
Jingle ran outside the back of his apartment to ring the old bell at the centre of town. The wooden animals came out yawning, not used to being awake in the daylight hours.
“We’re being moved,” said Jingle, looking at the sleepy creatures. “We must be careful! We don’t know what these humans want.”
The frightened animals went back to bed.
In the evening, Jingle awoke and saw that their home was now located inside a human house, decorated with mistletoe and twinkling Christmas lights. His mouth dropped to the floor. Worried, Jingle decided to check on his bestie, a shaggy wooden raccoon named Stocking, who lived in apartment number one.
Stocking’s front door was wide open! He was nowhere to be seen. Jingle looked everywhere, asking all the other wooden toys if they’d seen Stocking, but no one had. He was gone.
Soon the sun came up and the animals got sleepy again. As Jingle went yawning back to his apartment, he vowed to unravel the mystery.
That evening Jingle awoke to a wooden fox named Rudolph shaking him violently. “Holly is missing!!”
Jingle jumped out of bed and raced to Holly’s apartment (number two). Just like Stocking, the front door was wide open and the chestnut-coloured squirrel was nowhere to be seen.
Days flew into weeks and every morning another toy animal disappeared from their apartment. Soon Jingle was the only one left in his apartment — number 24.
The next morning he awoke to large, cold hands grabbing him from his bed! He flailed his little wooden arms and looked into the eyes of a human child. She placed him down gently on a huge wooden dresser. To his surprise all his animal friends were there!
The human girl skipped away squealing, “Mom! Come see what I got in the advent calendar! It’s a hamster!”
Jingle jumped up and down with his friends. They were all safe, even Stocking. The human girl had simply been setting them up on the dresser as a display.
“And the humans will return us to our apartments after the holidays,” Stocking explained.
Jingle sighed with relief. The mystery was solved and next year he’d be prepared for the Christmas tradition of the advent calendar.
It was Christmas time, and there was a little girl named Freya whose parents owned a bakery in a quaint little town called Cranberry Vale. Freya loved the holiday season, and it was going to be her 13th Christmas.
She had two special reasons she was excited this year. One, because Christmas makes everybody happy and she is the kind of girl who loves seeing other people smile. Second, the bakery is very busy during the holidays, and her parents let her help out. She dreams of running the bakery on her own one day.
Three days before Christmas, snow was falling outside. Freya’s parents needed to make a quick trip to the next town for ingredients, but on the way back the road was blocked by heavy snow and they couldn’t get home that evening. For the first time, Freya had to sleep alone in their apartment above the bakery. She was worried about opening the shop on her own the next morning.
Snuggled in bed she looked out her window and saw a shooting star. Quickly she made a wish: she wished she had all the ingredients she needed and some extra hands to help. Then she drifted off to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Freya woke to the clatter of pots and pans and the sound of many little footsteps downstairs. Freya crept downstairs, and pushed open the kitchen door where she saw about 15 little Christmas elves, in tiny little aprons, busily running around the bakery.
She heard one of the little elves say, “Shhhhh, we don’t want to wake Miss Freya.”
“Who, me?” Freya said, stepping into the kitchen.
Another little elf replied, “Oh, hello Miss Freya, we are here to help you in the bakery.”
Then another elf said, “I’m so glad you wished us here last night. Santa’s toy shed was getting a little cramped!”
“You’re Santa’s elves!” Freya gasped.
Then she noted, all around her, the counters were covered in perfect piles of treats. There were mince pies, apple strudels and fritters, macarons, chocolate eclairs and many more delicious delights.
Soon it was time to open the shop! Customers poured in and bought many holiday treats. Then to Freya’s surprise, her parents arrived home at last.
She told her parents everything and led them to the kitchen to meet the little elves — but they had all vanished.
Freya’s dad said, “Oh honey, don’t you think you’re getting a little too old for believing in Christmas elves and fairy tales?”
Her mom, looking around at the perfect piles of pastries, said, “But how else do you think Freya managed all this on her own?”
Freya grinned, and with a twinkle in her eye she said to her dad, “You’re never too old for Christmas magic,” and then ran outside to play in the fluffy snow.
There once was a little girl called Maggie. She lived in a small cabin made of logs in the big woods on a snowy mountain in Banff, B.C. with her mother and father. It was winter in the big woods, and it was getting very cold.
Maggie was an only child and her friends lived so far away that she saw them very rarely, but her best friends were the animals in the woods like rabbits, squirrels and birds. She loved animals and they loved it when she came to visit them in their home.
One winter’s morning when the snow was falling harder than normal, Maggie woke up, got dressed and excitedly, she quickly ran to the pantry to grab birdseed and peanut butter. With both items, she went to the door and got her leather bag.
“What are you doing, Maggie?” her mother asked.
“I am going to feed the birds!” And with that Maggie swung open the door and bounded off into the snow.
Maggie trenched into the forest where the winter wonderland got even more beautiful. She sat down on her long jacket and started to get out the peanut butter. Now where were the pinecones, she thought? Just then a cold frosty air swept by her and the snow came dumping down. What was happening, she thought? She rolled down a hill, then opened her eyes and the forest looked different and the trees circled around her. In the middle of the clearing there was a young woman wearing a long dark green dress. Her hair was dark brown and flowed down to her hips. Standing next to her were different animals of all kinds. They all gathered around her and she had a bag of food.
“Hello.” Her kind eyes gazed upon Maggie. “I am Noel the winter fairy, who are you?”
“Maggie,” Maggie managed to whisper.
“Why are you here?” Noel asked.
“I somehow tumbled down here in a big wind storm.”
“Well, do you know where your home is now?” Noel asked.
“No, I don’t.”
“Well, we can help you. I come here every year to help the animals and I know my way around these parts of the woods.”
“That would be great,” Maggie said.
“Yes, but first we have to help the animals,” Noel said.
“I know what to do, I brought some bird seed and peanut butter and now we just need some pinecones,” said Maggie.
“I know where those are,” Noel said and then they got to it using the items Maggie brought and Noel’s sweet treats.
After they had helped the animals, Noel said to Maggie, “You have been such a great help and I would like to give you a gift.” She kneeled and picked up a snowy white rabbit that was so small it could probably fit into the palm of her hand.
“This is for you,” Noel said. “It’s a young orphan rabbit and I would like you to have it.”
“Really!” Maggie said.
“Of course,” replied Noel. “I think you will be great friends.”
Maggie picked up the rabbit. It looked up at her with its dark eyes. “I’ll name you Snowball.” And with Snowball in her hand she and Noel travelled home.
At Maggie’s door she said goodbye and went inside. Inside she told her mother all about her adventure and her special gift.
It was a dark, snowy evening at Serenity Springs Retirement Home. As the halls filled with families visiting for the holidays, Edith hobbled her way through the crowds, making it to the singular chair sitting in front of the fireplace. As the old lady watched the grins of her peers as they hugged their grandchildren, tears started slowly rolling down Edith’s wrinkled cheeks.
To Edith, it had only felt like yesterday when she was one of those grandmas hugging their loved ones. Although in her mind it had been only a few days since the accident, the calendar said otherwise. Four years ago was the night everything in Edith’s life shifted. Her family was halfway through the 10-hour-long drive from British Columbia to Alberta to see Edith for Christmas when their small car slid down a steep, ice-coated hill and all passed away. As Edith patiently waited for her family to arrive, minutes turned to hours, and eventually, hours turned to years.
Now, four years later, some part of her still hoped that somehow, she could see her daughter and three kids one last time. Every night leading up to Christmas, she kneeled on the cold tiles and prayed for just a chance to see her loved ones again.
Just as the small, old clock on Edith’s bedside table hit midnight, a loud bang jostled her awake. Now awake, she took a deep breath, and smoky soot filled her lungs. She left the cozy warmth of her bed and hobbled out to the same place where just hours earlier she had been standing perfectly still. As she peered into the fireplace, now covered in charcoal, she saw a big black boot. Not a boot you would see just anywhere; this boot was the size of a watermelon, and soon after she noticed the boot, another large boot hit the bottom of the fireplace with a boom.
A large, blubbery, pale man stepped out of the fireplace, charcoal chunks degrading underneath his feet. His face almost instantly turned from joy to pure shock. Edith’s jaw dropped, and the two stood in complete silence, just taking in what they had both just seen.
“You weren’t supposed to see me,” the man said. “No one was supposed to be awake!”
Now clearly stressed, Edith couldn’t help but feel guilty for the strange man in her home. Edith wanted to say something, but her lips wouldn’t move out of the shocked expression he left her in.
After chatting with the guy, Edith found him not to be as scary as she once thought. He asked about who was visiting her, and even though he meant no harm, the question sent tears to her eyes.
Eventually, the two checked the time, realizing they had been talking all night. The nameless guy seemed quite distressed at that thought, as he quickly grabbed the back of her top and tossed her into his sack.
Although she knew she should be frightened, she felt oddly safe in the presence of this mysterious man. The man threw the sack into his sleigh and they took off. She felt a big thump as they appeared to be landing, and before she knew it, they had landed in the North Pole.
While Mrs. Claus heard all the commotion, she scurried outside. All three of them enjoyed the nice warm dinner provided by the reindeer, and when Edith told them her story, they decided to let her live with them, so she would never have to spend the holidays alone.
Inaccurate Lists, an Over-Hot-Chocolated Elf and (G)iPad Kids
By Violet Penner
Age 12-13 Category
Second Place
Mr. Cane had an especially important job. He was the elf that monitored the Naughty-Or-Nice-Atron1 (NONA1), which the inventor Ms. Gingerbread had created. It said which children were, well, Naughty or Nice. He then printed the names on the classic, scroll-like lists, and gave them to Santa on Christmas Eve.
It was a week before Christmas, so everyone was working overtime. That meant that Mr. Cane had extraordinarily little time to sleep, so he stayed awake by drinking gallons of hot chocolate. Now, the head chef, Mrs. Mix-a-lot, had gotten bored of making the same hot chocolate for him repeatedly, so she passed the job on to the intern, Gumdrop, whose favourite way to make hot chocolate was with a lot of warm milk. While hot chocolate with warm milk is delicious, it is also relaxing. So, when Mr. Cane drank the hot chocolate prepared by Gumdrop, he felt his eyelids drop.
“Soo… sleepy…” he muttered, while curling into a ball in his office chair.
He woke to the sound of alarms, and Rudolph yelling over the PA system, “We need those lists, Mr. Cane! It’s five minutes until lift-off!”
Mr. Cane shot up like an overenthusiastic tulip put in fresh water, grabbed the lists, and sprinted through the halls of the North Pole Toy Factory to the sleigh. He passed the lists up to Santa and the reindeer took off.
Santa was halfway over Finland when he noticed the discrepancy between the lists and the amount of presents he had. It clearly stated on the list that Annie Green was midway through the “Nice” section, but he had a huge lump of coal with her name on it! (Literally and metaphorically.) He turned the sleigh around and pulled up in the North Pole courtyard.
“The lists aren’t correct,” he cried. “If we don’t figure this out, I fear it won’t be a very merry Christmas!”
Suddenly, Ms. Gingerbread burst in.
“Good news, everybody! I figured out how to make the NONA1 portable!”
Santa stared at Ms. Gingerbread.
“If that’s true, I’m giving you a raise.”
“It is true! Here, have a look!” Ms. Gingerbread handed Santa a small, black rectangular screen.
“Huh. It looks like a smartphone.”
“That’s where I got the idea! I made it bigger so that it’s easier to see the names, and I just made the lists an app. I call it… a GiPad!”
“Why?”
“Because Gi is the first part of my name, and it’s catchy. See, I wrote it on the back.”
Santa looked, and it was written there in white. Then, he realized he needed to get a move on, got back on the sleigh, and took off. He delivered all but one piece of coal, but at the last house, while he was slipping a lump of coal into Michael Thompson’s stocking, the GiPad slipped into the stocking with it, and he didn’t notice.
In the morning, Michael opened his stocking and found the GiPad.
“i…Pad,” he read, for the coal had smudged over the “G.”
Michael took the “iPad” to school, and showed it to his friends. Next year, all the kids were asking for iPads, and Michael was the first of what are now known as iPad kids.
Tia watched the snow drift through the sky from her glass prison. She sat in a chair, blankets layered over her lap. The sky was filled with stars that peeked through the curtain of clouds. Instruments beeped and hummed around her, tangling with the thick scent of antiseptics. Christmas lights shone through the layer of fog that filled the city lanes. Her hands quaked in her lap. Whispers could be heard behind her as the nurse entered the room. He tugged on the corner of his clipboard, his eyes glancing towards the door. He opened his mouth to say something, and she raised a hand to silence him.
“Please,” she choked out, “Don’t say it. I already know they’re not coming.”
The nurse’s face turned a sickly shade before he glanced down at his papers.
“I’m so sorry,” his voice trailed.
Tia nodded, her hands constricting around the blankets. The nurse scurried from the room, leaving her with the crushing weight of loneliness. Resting her hand on the frigid glass, she leaned in to catch a glimpse of the people below moving in and out of the hospital. Their faces blurred in the twirling basin of snow. She didn’t expect to recognize anyone anyway. After all, not a single one of her family had come to visit her. Her nails sank into her palms, a silent tear travelling down her face. She choked back sobs. All she wanted was to see her sister’s face again.
Her chest felt heavy, her breath coming in short, heaving gasps. She dragged herself to her feet, one hand snatching her IV. The gap between the floor and the bed felt mountainous as she hauled herself over the edge. Chatter drifted past her door, strangers discussing their Christmas plans. She prayed that each shadow crossing the threshold would be her sister.
Tia sank back into the bed, watching the snow fall outside. She let everything sink in, every word that had gone unsaid.
Suddenly, a shaft of light ripped through the dark room.
“Tia?”
Framed in the doorway, with a net of curly hair, was her sister’s face, wide and bright. Her rosy cheeks fell when she saw Tia’s broken form.
“Meleka?”
Meleka dropped onto the bed, cupping her hand. “I’m here.”
Tia’s cheeks were drawn as she smiled. Her sister wrapped her in a tight hug, her arms soft. They didn’t need to speak, every harmful word behind them. The snow gently fell outside, covering the world in white, but inside, they were safe and warm in each other’s embrace.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of a formerly unofficial pathway this week, as Salt Spring Island community members celebrated completion of Kanaka Connector Trail improvements Thursday, Dec. 18.
The 100-metre pathway’s southern exit by the Gulf Islands Secondary School has made it popular for students, as well as other islanders headed to and from Ganges on foot or by bicycle. Even on a rainy mid-week afternoon, Thursday’s celebrants had to step aside more than once for people using the busy trail — some stopping to express appreciation for the work.
“And we’ve had a lot of positive feedback on social media,” said LCC member Brian Webster. “A lot of thumbs up.”
Work on the joint improvement effort — involving the Capital Regional District (CRD), Salt Spring’s Local Community Commission, Partners Creating Pathways, Island Pathways and island contractor Sam Erck of Salt Spring Slinger — was completed just days earlier, a combination of improved drainage, resurfacing, compaction and “general clean-up” that substantially upgraded the pedestrian experience on the pathway, which had been used for many years as an often-muddy shortcut between Park Drive and Kanaka Road.
After the CRD acquired a licence of occupation for the narrow strip of land from the Ministry of Transportation and Transit this summer, Erck was commissioned to take on the work of making the Kanaka Connector more of a safe, all-season trail. Senior CRD manager Dan Ovington confirmed the project was funded by the Community Works Fund — federal gas tax dollars allocated to communities based on population.
“Thanks to all the volunteers, the contractor, the staff and the commission for supporting the project,” said Ovington.
Ottawa’s “red tape reduction” agenda may have island implications, according to trustees, as a Dec. 10 meeting with representatives from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) suggests closer collaboration between the federal agency tasked with communications tower approval and the Islands Trust.
The meeting was something of a surprise, according to Lasqueti Island trustee Tim Peterson, who said both he and Mayne Island trustee David Maude were able to participate despite ISED’s firm schedule. Peterson and Maude both serve on the Islands Trust’s Executive Committee (EC), and told fellow vice-chairs Friday, Dec. 19 that the gathering shed light on ways Local Trust Committees (LTCs) might better deal with cell tower applications — and suggested they could have more influence on that process, with a little work.
“I think it was a good meeting,” said Peterson, who also chairs Salt Spring Island’s LTC. “I appreciated their reaching out to us, which I think is unusual.”
Peterson said ISED staff present had included a coastal region director and a spectrum manager. Over the course of discussions, he said, it became clear that each island’s elected officials should take a bigger role in the “preconsultation” part of the process for approving new towers — which right now is conducted with Islands Trust staff. There was an opportunity there to lay out the “ground rules” of each LTC’s siting protocols, if they have them, he said, and for the proponents to ask questions.
ISED representatives also strongly suggested those protocols would benefit from refinement, according to Peterson, because while local trustees may want a “robust” public process, a tower proponent can appeal directly to ISED if they believe local protocols are unreasonable.
That would likely trigger a reversion to ISED’s default process, which trustees agreed was far less rigorous than islanders generally prefer.
To help avoid those conflicts, Peterson said ISED analysts offered to go through current protocols and “give some pointers” on language they thought was potentially problematic. Maude said they in fact offered several times during the meeting to do so.
“I thought it was quite generous,” said Maude. “They said that if we would send them a fresh copy of the policy, they would be willing to go through it line by line and make suggestions, because they did identify during the meeting several points where our policies directly conflicted with theirs.”
Maude said his impression was that the meeting itself was prompted by ISED concerns over such conflicts causing issues during recent tower applications on Salt Spring and Hornby islands.
In a written report to the EC, Peterson and Maude noted ISED indicated the protocols needed better-defined “finish lines” showing how a proponent might know the consultation process had been completed — such as a specific number of rounds of public feedback.
They also said it was clarified that LTCs’ protocols needed sharper focus on the specific issues over which they and ISED had purview. ISED, for example, must defer to Health Canada on health concerns, and LTCs are limited to the consultation process — and issuing a letter indicating concurrence or non-concurrence.
Notably, according to the report, unless there was strong evidence to dispute the process, a non-concurrence from an LTC “essentially means the process is finished.”
“Once concurrence is given, however, the role of the land use authority is complete,” read the trustees’ report. “Reversal of concurrence is a non-starter, and is regarded as outside the process.”
In 2022, Salt Spring Island trustees attempted over several months to reverse their initial concurrence with plans for a 40-metre tower — eventually constructed by Rogers on Channel Ridge — over concerns the project was in conflict with that neighbourhood’s preferences and the Salt Spring LTC’s new tower siting protocol.
“I know we got caught out last term because we hadn’t adopted the protocol,” said Salt Spring trustee Laura Patrick, who had voted to rescind that concurrence and currently chairs both the EC and the Islands Trust Council. “Towers are a very . . . different process. I’ve been involved in four of them on different islands, and not one has been the same.”
Peterson said ISED officials said there were likely to be some changes to their procedures in the new year, and planned to make some consultation on those changes available to local governments; Islands Trust staff said they thought their internal legislative review process would “catch” any proposed changes and bring them back to trustees.
“We know that in our communities, towers are of high interest,” said Peterson. “We want to give our communities the best opportunity to have the best consultation that we can.”
