Home Blog Page 244

Housing minister announces new plan for Seabreeze residents

Driftwood Staff
-
4
Housing minister announces new plan for Seabreeze residents

A two-week extension of the current lease at the Seabreeze Inne has been secured to accommodate a plan to put modular units for current Seabreeze residents on a Kings Lane property.

According to a B.C. government press release issued late Thursday, the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation (LMHF) has agreed to extend the current lease with BC Housing until July 15.

“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation for generously extending the lease at the Seabreeze Inne, providing people with a safe roof over their heads for the past six months,” said David Eby, Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing. “BC Housing continues to work diligently to build the new permanent supportive housing facility at Drake Road.”

The Gulf Islands Seniors Residence Association (GISRA) has agreed to allow their site at 154 Kings Lane to create temporary housing until permanent, purpose-built supportive housing is operational at the Drake Road site owned by the Capital Regional District. GISRA bought the Kings Lane property to build a seniors housing complex, but has not yet been able to secure funding to do so.

The current Seabreeze lease between the LMHF and BC Housing was set to expire on June 30 and LMHF executive director Roberta Martell said it was ready to begin on-site renovations to create housing for hospital staff.

“We’re ready to go,” Martell told the Driftwood in a June 29 story. “We’re ready to empty the place out, rip out the carpet, curtains, beds, furniture, tubs, sinks — everything has to go. It has to go down to the basically bare bones so that we can then build it back up.”

Western Medical, which is building the new hospital emergency department, has received the renovation contract.

However, BC Housing told the Driftwood the previous week that the 161 Drake Road project — announced in January — was not ready for Seabreeze residents as planned and would not likely be completed until the spring of 2023.

“The temporary modular housing at 154 Kings Lane will have individual bedrooms, air conditioning, laundry, washrooms, shared common areas and meals,” states the press release.

“BC Housing is continuing its due diligence for the development at Drake Road, including environmental, riparian area assessments and water supply approvals. Once completed, the mobile unit will be dismantled, the land returned to GISRA and residents will move into their new permanent homes at Drake Road or to other housing options, depending on individual need.”

“I want to express my appreciation to the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation for their valuable work to offer the affordable housing needed to deliver community-based health care on Salt Spring Island. I wish them the best in their work to support the health of Salt Spring Islanders,” Eby said.

Event to mark one year anniversary of heat dome

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Event to mark one year anniversary of heat dome

A unique anniversary event is taking place Saturday, marking one year since the deadly B.C. heat dome. 

On Saturday, July 2, the End Climate Delay event will be held at Centennial Park near the gazebo. Islanders will share stories from both the heat dome and the November atmospheric river event and expert speakers will share about the effects on people, society and the natural world. 

“We’re in a pivotal moment where we’re starting to recognize what a climate catastrophe might mean for our health and safety.  Last year’s heat dome, which killed 619 people, occurred with just 1.1 celcius of global average temperature rise,” Ryder Bergerud stated. 

Starting at 2:15, registered nurse and B.C. representative for the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment Helen Boyd will speak on the effects of heat illness on the body. President of the BC Nurses’ Union Aman Grewal will speak on the effects that extreme weather is having on the province’s healthcare system. Representatives from the Salt Spring fire department will touch on the enhanced wildfire threat projected under climate change. Saanich – Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May will also attend the event.

Several Salt Springers will share personal stories from these extreme weather events, followed by Tom Mitchell and Bergerud on opportunities for continued climate action and the speed and scale for a just transition to renewable energy sources. Artists Phil Vernon and Remy Rodden will also share their music at the event. 

A table will be set up to connect people with ongoing climate actions they can take part in. 

The Salt Spring event is one of many across Canada coordinated by the grassroots climate movement 350.org, all marking the anniversary of the heat dome. The events are a call for leaders to deliver on legislation to enable a just transition. 

“We deserve a healthy and stable climate, which this decade’s incredible advancements in renewable energy now makes affordable,” Bergerud stated. “However, our federal government continues to light the fuse on carbon bombs like TMX and Baie do Nord. We’re gathering to show there is broad support to ending the fossil fuel era by legislating for a just transition to renewables.” 

RSVP for the event at https://act.350.org/event/climatedelay/25459/.

CRD promotes housing strategy for Southern Gulf Islands

Emelie Peacock
-
0
CRD promotes housing strategy for Southern Gulf Islands

The Capital Regional District (CRD) has published a housing strategy for the Southern Gulf Islands, with 22 actions ranging from advocacy to funding to setting up a rural housing program. 

The strategy, made public on June 14, recognizes the dire housing needs in the electoral area that includes Galiano, Mayne, Pender, Saturna, Piers and other islands as well as the unique position of the CRD in guiding development, with the Islands Trust governing land use and the provincial and federal government in charge of much of the major funding and policy questions. Among the 22 strategic actions identified in the report are funding pre-development studies and site preparation for affordable housing and setting up a fund for individuals to build accessory dwelling units, such as cottages or secondary suites on properties already zoned to allow them.

“The social and affordability crisis on the islands is buried in the back forty of large rural properties, in trailers, converted sheds, and other inadequate or unsafe housing conditions,” the report noted. Drawing on a 2018 housing needs assessment and a 2022 update, the report found the gap between income and cost of housing had widened in those four years and that the rental situation is “desperate” and adversely impacting service delivery and the local economy. Renters face a limited rental stock with many renting in the secondary market, precariously housed and without proper tenant protections. 

The housing required, as detailed in the 2018 report and based on 2016 census figures, is a range of options with a median purchase price of $295,000 and median rental rate of $1,351 yet also over 500 units of rental housing at $625 or lower. Since the 2016 census, housing prices rose between 35 to 137 per cent. Rental rates have increased between nine and 27 per cent between 2018 and 2021. 

Other concerns are the needs of a growing seniors population on the island, inadequate family and workforce housing, as well as only 51 per cent of homes in the area occupied year-round.

Due to the unique character of the islands, which are low density and growth constrained, solutions in urban areas like concentrating growth in commercial centres and building multi-family housing could have negative impacts. Instead, the report stated that distributing density “is more sustainable for the freshwater carrying capacity of the island” as is allowing only some multi-family development in certain areas. 

As land use planning rests with the Islands Trust, whose local trust committees (LTCs) are in charge of governing land use through official community plans and zoning, the report does not focus on land-use tools to support affordable housing. The CRD is responsible for administering the BC Building Code (BCBC) through issuing building permits and ensuring compliance with it, and a range of actions in the affordable housing area, including housing agreements, collaborations and investment in affordable housing.

The plan sets out strategic actions around data gathering and monitoring, collaboration, funding, increasing capacity within the CRD and support to groups who want to build housing on the islands. Some actions also focus on advocacy to higher levels of government, including for funding and for regulatory and policy change. 

A key impediment to advancing projects on the islands is getting them to the point where they can access grants and financing, as these funding options usually favour larger, multi-unit projects. One strategic action set out in the report is to explore setting up a rural housing program that will include the Southern Gulf Islands. Another is to look at the CRD’s surplus land and see what land could work for affordable housing. 

In addition to supporting groups in financing their plans, the CRD’s actions include identifying funding for pre-development and site development costs for affordable housing developments. Funding for professional studies is all the more important on the islands, with concerns over environmental impacts, water availability and archaeological considerations. And site development costs are high on the islands, as development is often starting with bare land and needs roads, septic capability, clearing trees, drilling wells and other work.

Another strategic priority is focused on keeping housing affordable by the CRD adopting and administering housing agreements.

The CRD also wants to look into developing either a “fund or granting program to support the development of accessory dwelling units by existing residents” on properties zoned for this use. The housing strategy stated that this could help median income families with the otherwise prohibitive cost of building as well as providing a mortgage helper once the unit is built, or could support lower income seniors who own their home, with some seniors able to move into the smaller dwelling, which may be more suitable for senior living, and to rent out the main home — opening more housing for families. Another action point is developing building plans for garden suites and cottages that maximize affordability. 

The CRD also wants to look at ways to approve buildings that vary in their design but are still allowed under the BCBC. As well, the CRD plans to advocate to the province to allow more affordable housing and small dwellings under 600 square feet, such as tiny homes, to be built and financed.

A special section of the housing strategy acknowledges the historical and continued importance of the area for Coast Salish peoples and specifically the SENĆOŦEN and HUL’Q’UMI’NUM speaking nations. The report noted the existence of reserve lands including a “SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout) /WS̱ IKEM (Tseycum) (jointly held) on Saturna Island; a WJ̱ OȽEȽP (Tsartlip) reserve on Mayne Island, a Penelakut reserve on Galiano Island, and a WS̱ IKEM (Tseycum) reserve on South Pender Island.” First Nations on Vancouver Island, the report noted, have in recent years sought opportunities to build housing on and off reserve lands and have acquired more responsibility over developing housing. While the strategy does not include “the traditional uses or future housing opportunities of First Nations” in the area, the CRD expressed support for “opportunities for affordable housing that is inclusive of First Nations’ rights to live throughout the region.” 

The housing strategy is also guided by the CRD’s overarching regional housing affordability strategy and its goals of building housing supply across the housing spectrum, protecting rental housing stock, creating community support for affordable housing developments, and working regionally to address the needs. 

To make the strategy work, the CRD recommended further community engagement. And while the recommendations in the report are for the CRD, it stressed the need for work by governments at the federal, provincial and local level as well as partnerships with residents and the non-profit sector to take on the shared responsibility of housing. 

Skaters impress at Kanaka park competition

Contributed Article
-
0
Skaters impress at Kanaka park competition

By MARGRIET RUURS

SPECIAL TO THE DRIFTWOOD

A long-awaited event took place in Ganges on Saturday. 

The Fracas at Kanaka skate park offered a rare opportunity for local skateboarders to show off their skills. Organized by Angelo Scaia, owner of Axe & Reel Outdoor Emporium, with support from Dylan Doubt, Tristan Scarfo and Peter Hunt, the event drew many entries and a large crowd of spectators.

“This community has been so supportive of my business,” said Scaia. “I really wanted to give back to our community after Covid and make this event happen.” 

The appreciative crowd cheered while competitors showed impressive sportsmanship throughout the event by supporting and encouraging one another.

Regardless of age, participants were divided into skill groups: beginning, intermediate and advanced. Winners in each category were as follows:

Beginner:

1. Cohen McArthur

2. Henry Lecuyer 

3. Ryder Brown

Intermediate:

1.  Aidan Ruurs

2.  Kieran Rowthorn

3.  Leo Powers

Advanced:

1. Cash Simon

2. Ryder Mulherin

3. Ember Horan-Eades

Prize packages, made possible through generous donations by skateboard distribution companies, included skateboards, equipment and clothing as well as cash prizes for first place winners.

 Local sponsors Salt Spring Kitchen Co., POWERSHIFTER Digital, Powers Construction and Village Builders all stepped up to help the event become reality. Country Grocer and Yerba Mate made generous donations of gift certificates, water bottles and Powerade while local artist John Sayer used his talents to create a poster for the event. Other local sponsors included Windsor Plywood and Francis Bread. Salt Spring Lions provided hot dogs and refreshments on site.

Axe & Reel hopes to see the competition become a yearly event. “We really want to promote and expand possibilities for athletes in our community and support them with events and opportunities,” said Scaia. 

Ten-year-old Aidan Ruurs, winner of the intermediate category, agrees. 

“This was an awesome day,” he said. “Now I want to take part in more competitions.”

Decoding the lexicon of island bumper stickers

Shilo Zylbergold
-
0
Decoding the lexicon of island bumper stickers

Anybody who has even the slightest intimate knowledge of Salt Spring Island knows that our little isle lies smack dab in the centre of the bumper sticker universe. 

You can probably find more bumper stickers here than plankton in a fair size tidal pool. Whoever once pegged Salt Spring as an argument surrounded by water could easily have derived the idea by observing the sentiments professed on the rear ends of island vehicles. Perhaps second only to the belief in whacky conspiracy theories, Salt Spring leads the nation in the use and exhibit of bumper stickers. 

We are known for wearing our feelings and emotions on our sleeves and can double down by displaying our opinions and allegiances on the bumpers of our cars and trucks. The visual expressions of these sentiments stuck snugly to a ton of moving metal puts an exclamation point on any particular viewpoint or belief.

Bumper stickers come in many different flavours. There are political ones, such as DON’T BLAME ME, I VOTED GREEN or on the other side of the spectrum, I THOUGHT SOCIALISM MADE SENSE, BUT THEN I TURNED 9. You will most assuredly see social commentary ones that may read PRIDE or maybe COMPULSIVE, NEUROTIC, ANTI-SOCIAL, MANIC AND PARANOID, BUT BASICALLY NORMAL.

My dear wife was annoyed by all the speedy drivers sharing the road and so she designed a bumper sticker that read ISLAND LIVING – NICE & EASY. Unfortunately, the wind, snow and rain wore away at the sticker and eventually the edges frayed off to the point that it now says SLAND LIVING –NIC. We now get a lot of weird looks from drivers passing us on the highway. I’ve seen a similar result occur to an environmental bumper sticker that used to proclaim STOP OLD GROWTH LOGGING but took on a whole new meaning after weathering had reduced the message to STOP OLD GROWTH.

My favourite bumper stickers are the ones that are both funny and clever. Sometimes they play off a certain word or phrase. Three examples that have a little fun with “peace” are VISUALIZE WHIRLED PEAS and PEAS ON EARTH and then again GIVE PEAS A CHANCE. Another of my faves is THE FACT THAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS YOU DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU’RE AN ARTIST. One that spoofs the ubiquitous BABY ON BOARD is the slightly sarcastic ADULTS ON BOARD. WE WANT TO LIVE TOO.

Some bumper stickers are just plain mean and nasty. I’ve seen one that said IF I WANTED YOUR OPINION, I’D GIVE YOU ONE. On the same theme, there’s another that goes IF I WANTED YOUR OPINION, I’D BEAT IT OUT OF YOU. Probably the most disgusting one I’ve witnessed is IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING, SET IT FREE. IF IT DOESN’T COME BACK, HUNT IT DOWN AND KILL IT. You definitely don’t want to get into a fender bender with the driver of that vehicle.

Of course, it won’t matter much what your bumper sticker message says, if it is unreadable because you did such a terrible job pasting it to your vehicle. The last thing you want is for the sticker to wrinkle while you are pressing it to the metal of your vehicle. Naturally, the first thing it wants to do as soon as you peel off the backing paper is stick to your fingers, or more preferably, your eyelids. At the very instant that your bumper sticker is stuck to both itself and to you, that’s when you realize you should have cleaned the dirt off the surface where you were planning to put it.

If you can get a fair deal on a good quantity and variety of bumper stickers from your local thrift store or printing shop that is going out of business, you might consider saving the considerable expense of repainting your vehicle, and instead plastering the entire exterior with clever messages like HONK IF YOU HATE BROCCOLI or maybe HONK IF YOU LOVE HONKING. With a bit of creativity, your car may end up looking like something Pablo Picasso would have driven while he was still in his Cubist stage.

There must be a special niche for bumper stickers that refer specifically to Salt Spring Island. How about THIS IS A NUCLEAR FAMILY FREE ZONE? Who is going to tailgate you if your bumper announces I BRAKE FOR FIR CONES? If you want to get a little risqué, you could try I DO IT IN LOTUS POSITION. There’s no telling what reaction you would get if you displayed a HONK IF YOU LOVE BUREAUCRACY sticker off your rear end. A bumper that sports THIS IS NOT JUST MY CAR; IT’S MY DUPLEX might just be conveying a sign of our times here on the rock.

Would it be too much of a stretch to consider that perhaps bumper stickers are not here to amuse and inform us but they are our vehicles’ way of communicating with each other? We may think that car horns, turn signals and headlight dimmers are there for human interaction, but what if their primary purpose was to let our vehicles get along with each other while cruising down the road. 

By the same token, bumper stickers saying IF YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU ARE TAILGATING or alternately BACK OFF, BOZO are displaying two different ways to deliver the same message. JUST A WARNING: MY TRANSMISSION SOMETIMES WILLS ITSELF INTO REVERSE can have a similar effect on close following traffic.

Nobody asked me, but maybe we all could streamline our idle chatter conversations by affixing appropriate stickers to our own body bums . . . er . . . pers. Acting much like lapel buttons, but with so much room for expression (at least mine does), we could convey our thoughts and feelings to one another without having to waste valuable oxygen or risk pandemic infection by venturing inside social distancing recommendations. What would my “go to” bum-per sticker say? I BRAKE FOR CINNAMON BUNS.

Students Read In, march on National Indigenous Peoples Day

Emelie Peacock
-
0
Students Read In, march on National Indigenous Peoples Day

Southern Gulf Islands students are becoming leaders in learning and understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing.  

“You guys are leading the way, you’re the charges, you guys know more than most adults on this island,” said Indigenous studies principal Shannon Johnston, as she gathered with Salt Spring Island Middle School (SIMS) students in preparation for a march of awareness of Indigenous women and girls who’ve gone missing or been murdered. The Tears to Hope Walk was one of the many ways students marked National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21.  

“It’s not reconciliation, it’s ‘reconciliaction.’ And action speaks powerful things when people witness it,” said Johnston, referencing words from the local Stqeeye’ Learning Society.

SIMS students are the first in the district to be taking a year-long Indigenous studies class, and both Raazi Ahmadi and Molly Magley agree that learning Hul’q’umi’num’ has been a highlight.

“So far we’ve learned how to count to six and say things like hello and thank you, learned how to say the territory acknowledgement,” Ahmadi said. 

“I’m grateful for the Indigenous people of this land, for stewarding it. And I’ll be honest, I didn’t know it was today until I saw it on my calendar,” said Ahmadi, who donned a bright orange shirt for the day.

Magley explains the class learns through playing Go Fish and Memory with Hul’q’umi’num’ words for animals Indigenous to the Coast Salish area. 

“It’s a good way to learn by repetition,” she said. 

Magley, who moved to Salt Spring in 2020 from Colorado, has been sharing the language with her family members and has a dream that in the future the language will get so mainstream that she’ll be able to speak it with patients at her dream job in surgery.

The class has also been learning about the medicine wheel, different medicines for different seasons, and how cedar is used, “just to name a few,” Magley said. 

“I’m able to see sage and I’m able to recognize the meaningful traditions behind the plant and how much it’s been used and how much that plant means to so many people . . . and specifically Indigenous teachings, it’s meant so much for so long. Thousands and thousands of years people have been here and stewarded the land.”

June 21 also saw Salt Spring Elementary School students take part in a “read in” on Indigenous stories. It’s not a new concept for students, since they have participated in “read ins” on topics such as peace and friendship, explained principal Shelly Johnson. Students gain skills in literacy, the subjects themselves as well as getting to learn and spend time with students they normally wouldn’t be in the same class or same age group with.

The Indigenous stories “read in” was organized by Kindergarten and Grade 1 teacher Sylvia Louwman, with students choosing which room to attend based on the book covers put up in the school ahead of the day.

As Johnston told the Driftwood last week, she’s heartened to see Indigenous knowledge integrated across the school district in a meaningful way. One example of this at Salt Spring Elementary are the names of each classroom. Classes on the lower floor are all around water, with the salmon and orca classes. On the middle floor, which is land, classes include bears, raccoons, wolves and frogs. Upstairs are air classes for hummingbirds, dragonflies, owls and ravens. There are also regular classes with Quentin Harris, said Johnson, and teacher Janisse Browning has also brought a lot to the staff about how to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing. 

Everything classes do out on the land, “that is Indigenous ways of knowing,” said Johnson. ”Like the trips to Mouat Park, the gardening, the outdoor learning, that is another way to weave it in.” Children are also leading land acknowledgements at meetings. “It’s really a lot more integrated and rich than it was even a few years ago.” 

Makayla Joe-George, who is 22 and from Cowichan, also comes to the school weekly where she spends time with Indigenous and non-Indigenous students at the Indigenous lunch club. Joe-George, who also visits Fulford and Fernwood elementary schools, said it was her first year running the club and spent it getting to know students and connecting with them. 

“If they had any questions about anything to do with our culture or what I do, I do my best to answer,” she said. “And I find that they really enjoy the treats . . .There’s lots of laughing, I love that.”

“My job is basically just to be an older sister to them, a more fun older sister,” she explained. 

Salt Spring Elementary School’s “Read In” Reading List 

• The Little Hummingbird
by Michael Nicoll/Yahgulanaas

• Red Parka by Mary Peter Eyvindson

• How the Fox got his Crossed Legs collected by Virginia Football 

• The First Mosquito
by Caroll Simpson

• A Day with Yayah
by Nicola I. Campbell

• Eagle Boy Retold
by Richard Lee Vaughan

• Animals of the Salish Sea
by Melaney Gleeson-Lyall 

• Peace Dancer
by Roy Henry Vickers & Robert Budd

• Orca Chief
by Roy Henry Vickers & Robert Budd     

• Raven’s Feast
by Kung Jaadee

Salt Spring Island elementary students participated in a Read In of Indigenous stories, and middle school students marched in awareness of and solidarity with Indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or died by violence. Emelie Peacock photos

Fire hall referendum wraps up on June 30

Emelie Peacock
-
0
Fire hall referendum wraps up on June 30

The referendum on building a new fire hall wraps up Thursday with close to 3,000 votes already received.  

Salt Spring Island Fire Protection District’s (SSIFPD) new chief administrative officer Rodney Dieleman said that as of the end of last week, 2,744 ballots had been received through Canada Post. Another 150 to 200 had been dropped off in a secure box positioned just inside the door at the Ganges fire hall.

Regardless of the referendum outcome, SSIFPD board chair Rollie Cook said at a June 20 board meeting that the response so far made it on track to be a “good democratic process.” The referendum, which closes June 30, asks whether Salt Spring property owners approve of the fire district borrowing $9.7-million to build a new fire hall on donated land.

Three political leaders have publicly voiced their support for a yes vote on the referendum, including the Capital Regional District (CRD) Salt Spring electoral area director Gary Holman, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands Adam Olsen and, just last week, Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May. 

Voters who have not yet cast their ballots have until June 30 to do so. Ballots must be received at the Ganges fire hall on this date, before 4 p.m. As well as the option to mail in ballots, a secure ballot box is positioned at the hall where they can be dropped off. If voters did not receive a ballot, they can pick one up from Monday to Thursday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Ganges fire hall. Ballot packages need to be filled in correctly to be counted, which includes the name and signature of a witness on the certification envelope “B.” 

Deputy returning officer Alistair Sim said results will hopefully be available sometime on Saturday, July 2, but possibly not until Sunday. People can check the Driftwood website at gulfislandsdriftwood.com or our Gulf Islands Driftwood Facebook page for the outcome. 

At a portion of the June 20 meeting closed to the public, the fire board received a final business case for the new fire hall prepared by consultants from Capex Project Advisory. 

“That’s the full analysis and feasibility study of the new hall,” Dieleman said. 

The document is not public yet, he said, as it “discloses our budgets, our risks, our methods, our strategies for putting the building up.”

“I think anybody who reads it would take advantage of us by knowing our contingencies and budgets. So we’ll have to hold that document pretty close to the vest until after tendering and all the contracts are awarded,” he explained. 

In other news, Dieleman said the fire department will be recruiting volunteers for the district’s communications and marketing, finance and audit, and strategic planning committees. Interested individuals can find a fillable PDF application at saltspringfire.com/seeking-committee-public-member-volunteers/.

In his monthly report for May, fire chief Jamie Holmes noted the increase in hydro calls due to the May 18 spring wind event. Most of the time, windstorms happen in the winter when foliage is lighter and wind can go through them easier. This time around, there were “a lot of trees on power lines, live lines down and different trouble areas around the island,” he said. 

Compared with April’s four hydro calls, May saw 26. 

Holmes reported that a pandemic-related economic recovery grant that allowed firefighters to complete residential assessments for FireSmart, assessing whether homes are protected and prepared for wildfires, is coming to an end. A total of 288 assessments were done and 61 rebates valued at $250 each were issued to residents during the grant period. Over 1,200 members of the public were communicated with in the program. Another grant has been received, which will allow the department to continue to give vouchers to homeowners who do FireSmart assessments and work on their properties, as well as to expand who can receive the funds from mainly seniors to now any member of the public.

Assistant chief Dale Lundy was also recognized for his 30 years with the fire department. 

Editorial: Climate shaken

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Editorial: Climate shaken

It seems many of us need to be truly shaken up to have the reality of our warming planet be felt in our bones. 

This shaking happened twice last year, as we were forced to adapt to a deadly heat dome last June and an atmospheric river dousing the province in November. Along with having terminology only on the tongues of meteorologists enter common parlance, we had to take actions foreign to many of us. 

Perhaps it hit some of us as we lay on our floors draped in towels fresh out of the freezer, hurried to the hardware store to find supplies of fans wiped clean or doused our sweltering pets in baby pools or bathtubs. 

From July to November we were once again able to file the warming climate back into the “deal with it later” tab at the back of the filing cabinet, until it became an embodied experience again. 

In November around 100 Isabella Point Road families sheltered in place amidst flooded roadways, gaping holes once again dotted grocery store shelves, and for weeks after we all had to slow down and bump ourselves over patched up road washouts on Fulford-Ganges Road. 

These experiences did for many what hearing about the tragic loss of lives – 619 killed in the heat dome, at least five in the atmospheric river – perhaps couldn’t. They succeeded in a few short weeks in doing what the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s increasingly dire, catastrophic projections had been trying to accomplish for over three decades.

Okay, we’re shaken up. Now what? Local organizations have understood that despair is not enough, action must follow. 

Thanks to the actions of many, we now have a solid local climate action plan and ways individuals can adapt to a warming planet. 

The End Climate Delay event this Saturday at 2 p.m. in Centennial Park is one more way to act, together with other community members. The gathering will mark the deadly climate events last year with local stories from the heat dome and floods, as well as expert speakers and music. It follows similar anniversary events happening in cities across Canada, all geared to local action and pressure on the federal government to enable a just transition to renewable energy sources. 

Seabreeze/Drake plan goes sideways

Gail Sjuberg
-
0
Seabreeze/Drake plan goes sideways

Doors have been slammed in recent weeks on plans to turn the Seabreeze Inne into housing for Lady Minto Hospital staff as soon as possible.

Roberta Martell, executive director of the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation (LMHF), says she has a deconstruction permit issued by the Capital Regional Regional (CRD) and had hoped to start work on removing furniture and fixtures from the motel after June 30, when the foundation’s lease with BC Housing ends. She expects temporary use permit and development variance permit applications to be considered by the Salt Spring Local Trust Committee on July 12.

“We’re ready to go,” Martell said. “We’re ready to empty the place out, rip out the carpet, curtains, beds, furniture, tubs, sinks — everything has to go. It has to go down to the basically bare bones so that we can then build it back up.”

Western Medical, which is building the new hospital emergency department, has received the renovation contract.

Martell is both mystified and mortified that BC Housing has been unable to create the accommodation for Seabreeze residents as announced by the agency and the CRD, which owns land at the planned site — 161 Drake Road — on Jan. 20.

“We will move this development forward as fast as possible using statutory immunity to go straight to the construction phase. Our goal is to have this development ready by summer 2022,” states a website about the project that envisions 28 self-contained living spaces made from modular units, as well as a communal kitchen and on-site support staff.

But BC Housing has confirmed the Drake Road project has now been delayed until 2023.

“We are now working closely with the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation in close partnership to minimize impacts on residents of this unfortunate conflict,” the ministry stated in an email to the Driftwood last week. “We recognize the shared community priorities here, which are both preventing homelessness, and offering affordable housing needed to deliver community-based healthcare on the island. 

“We will update the community as our important work with the foundation moves forward, and we are grateful for the foundation’s willingness to engage with us in addressing this challenge.”

Tenants supported by BC Housing received a letter dated June 22 advising them that the current lease was due to end on June 30, although they had earlier heard that LMHF intended to follow-through with the initial lease-end date.

“We know this will be hard news for many of you,” wrote BC Housing rep Heidi Hartman in the letter. “No one wanted this to happen. We are here to support you however we can.”

Martell is critical of BC Housing’s lack of effectiveness on various fronts.

“The [Seabreeze residents] are the most victimized people in our society, you re-victimize them, and then you give them eight days to get out of the only housing they have. We didn’t cause it, but I feel like we have to help solve it because we simply can’t leave it to the people who created this problem.”

But Rob Grant, executive director of Salt Spring Island Community Services (SSICS), which provides support services to some of the Seabreeze residents who are at risk of homelessness, said Sunday that tenants have been advised to not vacate on June 30 and to force a ruling from the Residential Tenancy Branch. Social media posts have encouraged people to support the Seabreeze residents to remain in place.

The LMHF purchased the motel for $4 million earlier this year with the aim of creating 14 to 20 apartments out of the existing smaller suites. The hospital now has 36 staff vacancies, Martell said, and the new emergency department will require seven more employees after it opens next year.

Many of the Seabreeze rooms were used since the pandemic to provide housing to individuals who could not be accommodated at the emergency shelter funded by BC Housing and operated by SSICS when its capacity was reduced due to COVID-19. Other people with insecure housing situations rented rooms there.

The foundation had hoped to have vacant possession of the premises at the date of purchase, but agreed to sign a “short term room lease agreement” with the Provincial Rental Housing Corporation (aka BC Housing) for the period of March 14 to June 30. The agreement included an extension to Aug. 31 if both parties agreed.

At a March 31 meeting with North Salt Spring Waterworks District trustees, BC Housing reps John McEown and Kirsten Baillie said modular units were in storage in Langley and they anticipated people could move in by September. But Martell said a variety of issues both with those units and the site itself have caused the delay. Now that BC Housing knows the LMHF was serious about the June 30 lease end-date, Martell said the agency has been working to acquire other trailers and find an alternate location to put them as a temporary solution, but nothing has actually happened yet.

Martell said it has been frustrating to be portrayed as “the bad guy” when BC Housing had not only four or six months’ notice of the foundation’s need for vacant possession but actually 14 months since the Seabreeze Inne owner listed the property for sale in May of 2021. BC Housing stated publicly that it did not want to buy the property, which LMHF ended up purchasing for $4 million.

Grant has sent a letter to BC Housing advising that his agency “is not willing or available at this time to participate in a plan to relocate Seabreeze tenants to a temporary alternate location as a means of stabilizing their housing.

“SSICS is concerned that a relocation strategy would be a significant, stressful and unnecessary step that could in fact undermine their current stable housing and rights to maintain it. There has been no confirmation to our knowledge that their current housing is actually at risk. Requirements for SSICS involvement would include confirmation that all parties are abiding by the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA), that the rights of tenants have been considered, and that there is a legal order of possession that puts the Seabreeze tenants housing at imminent risk.”

Grant maintains that LMHF is the proper landlord and must follow RTA regulations regarding renovictions. That would give tenants four months’ notice after a building permit has been obtained. That process will follow receipt of the temporary use permit and development variance permit from the Islands Trust.

“I am aware that this does not ideally suit LMHF, but like any developer purchasing a tenanted property, if they are patient and follow the law they can achieve their objective,” Grant states in his June 27 letter to BC Housing staff.

He also noted that one Seabreeze resident has lived there since 2019 and has had no involvement with BC Housing or SSICS. Three individuals have secured units at the new phase of the Croftonbrook affordable housing complex operated by Islanders Working Against Violence and are scheduled to move there on July 1. That leaves 16 residents at Seabreeze.

Martell said the foundation is getting legal advice and continuing to seek solutions, while noting that the LMHF-BC Housing agreement has a clause stating that Residential Tenancy Act provisions do not apply in this case.

She added that she was alarmed to hear that SSICS was receiving rent from the tenants. Grant confirmed that SSICS has been collecting monthly rent from some tenants since the motel changed hands and was leased to BC Housing.

“We’ve been kind of waiting on an agreement or some indication of where to send the money. I mean, we haven’t got any agreement between Lady Minto or BC Housing about that end of it . . . For some people they come in to give us their rent because they don’t know where to give it anymore.”

The Copper Kettle Community Partnership has also been involved in trying to find solutions. They have offered to facilitate the building of Conestoga huts if the approximately $5,000 per unit is provided and a location to put them secured.

“It’s evolving,” said Cherie Geauvreau of Copper Kettle of the whole situation, “and nobody knows what they’re doing.”

SHORT, Anne Catherine

Driftwood Obituary
-
2
SHORT, Anne Catherine

Anne Catherine Short
7th December, 1947 – 8th June, 2022

We are so sad to announce the untimely death of our loving wife and very best friend, mother and Grandmother Anne on 8th June, 2022 following a long and courageous battle to recover from a major stroke suffered in July 2019. She is survived by lan, her husband of 54 years and her beloved sons the “Shorty Boys” Mark (Robin), Rob (Rachel) and Peter (Bree), and their children Cohen, Caleb, Brek, Kaeden, Anthony and Samantha. Anne was sadly predeceased by her parents Hoghton (1993) and Edith Carey (2017) and her brother Richard Carey in March this year in England.

Anne was born in England on 7th December, 1947 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent and raised on her parent’s farm in Burwash, Sussex. She went up to London to study and qualify as an orthoptist where she met lan who she married in 1968. In 1973 they emigrated to Canada with Mark and Rob(ert) and settled in Tsawwassen where Peter was born in 1976. Anne really enjoyed being a mother of her three boys and rarely missed a game of soccer or field hockey when any of the boys were playing. She also loved playing competitive sports herself, and was quite handy with both tennis and squash racquets. Anne was full of energy and had inherited a passion for gardening from her English parents. A lovely garden was an important part of the homes she created for her family. In 1993 Anne and lan moved to beautiful Salt Spring Island where with a local builder she renovated a pretty cottage on Ganges Harbour which they owned for 15 years. Many happy weekends were spent hosting friends and family visiting from the mainland and abroad enjoying the many delightful and unique aspects of the island.

They had moved back to Tsawwassen before selling the Salt Spring property and started to travel to interesting countries. They followed Rob and Peter’s international field hockey careers, and attended Olympic Games in Sydney and Beijing, Pan-Am Games, World Cups and Commonwealth Games, usually adding on a tour on their own after the tournaments were finished. In retirement Anne and lan managed to return to England most years to visit family and for walking holidays. Together they walked 70% of the 641 mile South West Coastal Path encompassing the south west coast of England from Somerset to Dorset. “I will try and finish the walk my darling, and will no doubt find you in spirit again running well ahead of me up those steep hills”. Anne always had unbelievable energy and there was never a time when she was not working on a project or planning the next one. There was a two year renovation of their current Tsawwassen home and somehow she found the time to create a beautiful garden there.

Tragically on 31st July, 2019 Anne suffered a major stroke which left her right hand side limbs weakened and without a voice. This was the final phase in her 74 years of life and it was to be an up and down journey with several setbacks, but she soldiered on and worked so hard with grit and determination to recover physically, bouncing back from every setback with a lovely smile on her face. The effort was worthwhile and she was improving physically, but she never managed to recover her voice and that was so incredibly frustrating for her. She was a rewarding patient, always grateful and happy despite her challenges and her competitive and independent nature resulted in several falls. She so often put herself at risk. On Sunday 5th June, 2022 she fell and I was unfortunately unable to protect her head from striking the ground. After a visit to hospital that night she fell asleep in her own bed and did not wake up again, finally coming home to die in bed with doors open to her beloved garden after yet another two day stay in hospital.

We thank all the members of the vast team involved in Anne’s care and rehabilitation during the past thirty four months including: her GP Dr Noble; various specialist doctors at VGH and SMH; the VGH Emergency Stroke teams; the Laurel Place High Intensity Stroke Rehab team where she lived for two months and the Out-Patient Rehab unit at SMH; the Emergency and Medical Ward teams at Delta Hospital; Dr Agnes Lee and the Thrombosis Clinic nurses at VGH; Anne’s amazing physiotherapists and speech pathologists and the many wonderful care providers from South Delta Home Health. Special thanks to nurse Amee, whose consistent friendly happy smile made everything so nice in Anne’s day. And finally tremendous gratitude to the 911 team and first responders, the firemen and particularly the paramedics of the BC Ambulance Service who too often came to us, including for Anne’s first and last trips to hospital on this stroke journey.

My Darling Anne we all miss you so much and wish you were still here inspiring us with your smile, energy and enthusiasm for life. In my mind I can still see you digging and heeling in a shrub, or caring for a lovely rose with your pruner in your beautiful garden, where we will gather later this summer to celebrate, in your own words “your simply wonderfully happy life”.

In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to the Delta Stroke Recovery Society, your own local Stroke Recovery Association or The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

1...243244245...609Page 244 of 609