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Zukerman leads Young Beethoven concert at ArtSpring

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Zukerman leads Young Beethoven concert at ArtSpring

SUBMITTED BY ARTSPRING

We find George Zukerman, OC, OBC, on an early spring afternoon in a buoyant mood.

The project he curated several years ago, and planned to tour in 2020, has finally hit the road. With most of the pandemic sat out in his south Surrey home, he says it feels very good to be getting these concerts underway.

The Young Beethoven, a celebration of the composer’s early and rarely heard works, was scheduled to mark his 250th anniversary in late 2020. A sanguine Zukerman said at the time, “pandemics leave few options. Beethoven waited 250 years. Another few months will probably not bother him unduly.”

Those few months turned into a year, and a change in original personnel, before the first performance in November 2021.

The concert runs at ArtSpring Sunday, March 27 at 2:30 p.m., with a pre-concert talk at 2 p.m.

Zukerman introduces the pieces with fascinating stories. The program includes movements from early works, which are “seldom heard because it’s difficult to get this type of ensemble together — it’s an unusual mix of instruments,” he says of the group that includes two violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, bassoon and three French horns. “In fact, I’m challenging anyone on Salt Spring to say they’ve heard the Quintet W.o.O. 208 for clarinet, three horns and bassoon.”

Zukerman is particularly drawn to the Sextet, with its spectacular French horn writing.

“Horn player Andrew Clark, who played with the London Symphony Orchestra, really is an expert on the ancient French horn. He has great skill with open chords. I often do a double take when I hear him play. I think, ‘A horn can’t do that.’ But he nails it.”

The concert finale — a complete performance of the celebrated Septet, Opus 20 — is a chamber piece albeit symphonic in nature.

“It was one work before Opus 21, his first symphony. With the music in this concert we hear the path from his early, quasi-orchestral moments through to his great symphonies.”

A much-celebrated bassoonist and impresario, Zukerman retired from playing 12 years ago. He describes selling his instrument as going “cold turkey.”

“I have some regrets, but I take enormous pride knowing I stirred a generation of bassoon players who heard me play.”

The pre-concert talk is in the theatre with Zukerman, violinist Nancy DiNovo and bassoonist Jesse Read.

Transportation forum probes how to ‘get there green’

Driftwood Staff
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Transportation forum probes how to ‘get there green’

According to Transition Salt Spring (TSS), transportation is Salt Spring Island’s single biggest source of direct CO2 emissions.

“How we get around emits 60,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, or about the same amount of carbon storage a forest one and a half times the size of Salt Spring Island stores in a year. That’s a lot of trees!” the not-for-profit group states in press material about an upcoming event. 

Let’s Get There Green! Transportation Solutions for the Gulf Islands is a webinar that runs Thursday, March 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. via Zoom. 

The event will focus on what members of government, local transportation experts and policy makers are going to do to get islanders moving in the right direction to reduce emissions caused by transportation activities.

People are invited to join the evening “to hear about the path and vision to improving our transit system, electrifying transportation and making Salt Spring more walkable and bikeable for our health, our planet and our economy.” 

At the event, islanders will hear from: 

• Rob Fleming, B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, who will be in conversation with TSS chair Bryan Young about transforming transportation at the provincial and local levels; 

• Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, who is working to close the loop on the Salish Sea Trail with its missing link on Salt Spring;

• Gayle Baker, chair of the CRD’s Salt Spring Island Transportation Commission, on developing a greener transportation future for Salt Spring Island.

Also participating are Jean Gelwicks and Bob MacKie from Island Pathways; Justine Starke, manager, Southern Gulf Islands (SGI) service delivery for the CRD; Tristan Ford, transit planner for BC Transit; and Paul Brent,  chair of the SGI Economic Sustainability Commission and alternate director for the Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area, in addition to being an Islands Trust trustee for Saturna Island.

One new initiative to be discussed is the Southern Gulf Island Transportation Integration Plan, which proposes a new transportation function for the CRD to support better mobility in the Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area of Galiano, Mayne, Saturna, and North and South Pender Islands.

“With a new service, the CRD could provide funding for the community buses, facilitate improvements to active transportation networks and integrate with opportunities for additional inter-island travel between the islands beyond BC Ferries,” explains Transition Salt Spring.

Registration for next Thursday evening’s event is available at www.tinyurl.com/gettheregreen.

The suggested donation is $10, but everyone is welcome to participate regardless of ability to pay. Email TSS at info@transitionsaltspring.com for complimentary registration.

Consultants make 15 recommendations for Trust governance improvement

Emelie Peacock
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Consultants make 15 recommendations for Trust governance improvement

The Islands Trust has fundamental governance issues to grapple with, a $75,000 governance review found, and consultants recommended they should be undertaken before many other priorities are looked at. 

Great Northern Management, the consultants undertaking the review, presented 15 recommendations to Trust Council at a quarterly meeting held in Nanaimo on March 8. Changes to the structure of the Islands Trust or to the Islands Trust Act were outside the scope of the review, which focused on recommended changes to how Trust Council functions, is supported and interacts with staff, the public and the province. 

Overall, the report found that current practices of Trust Council, the governing body of the Islands Trust, “do not meet requirements set by good governance principles.”

“There are very fundamental governance issues that need to be addressed, in order for trust council to effectively set direction and provide oversight,” said consultant Maryantonett Flumian. She acknowledged trustees are working within “one of the most burdensome and heavy governance structures that I’ve ever seen for an organization this size.”

Trustees will need to tackle governance issues as they simultaneously try to meet the Trust’s unique mandate to preserve and protect the area, and while adapting to dramatic social, environmental and economic circumstances. 

Consultants did find, in interviews with trustees, the desire and commitment to make the Trust work in spite of the difficulties the organization finds itself in.

Yet there is fundamental misunderstanding among some members of the public, consultants noted, and even among trustees, about what the Islands Trust is. While the Trust takes on some characteristics of a local government, dealing with land use planning and having “democratic concepts of election and representation, even if not based on population,” Flumian said the Act makes it clear that the Trust was intended to be an agency of the provincial government.

Consultant James Roche noted that a number of other factors point to the Trust being an agency, rather than a local government: reporting to a minister of the crown, directive powers in the Islands Trust Act that allow the province to “either allow things to happen or instruct other things to happen.” “These…are characteristic, generally speaking, of an entity that the government of British Columbia is intent on keeping a certain amount of control of and its powers derive from it in a more direct way than the municipal governments do.” 

Coming to a consensus around what the Trust should be over the next 25 years is work that needs to be done before the Trust approaches the province for assistance with governance challenges.

Flumian and Roche said the Islands Trust Act invites the Trust to ask the provincial government for help.

“So clearly, they gave you an overall act, which allows you lots of latitude, and then they said ‘In case we forgot something, and it’s essential to the conduct of your mandate, please come back to us and ask us for you fill in the blank,” said Flumian. “Those are pretty broad powers that have never been used…since the Islands Trust has been around. You won’t find them in many pieces of legislation.” 

The review recommended undertaking advocacy with “relevant stakeholders, influencers, policy-makers and decision-makers” to improve awareness and support for the Trust, as well as improved communication between the Trust and residents. 

“A new approach that emphasizes consensus and collaborative decision-making will allow trustees to better fulfill their responsibility to set direction, guide operations and assess performance,” the report noted.

Trust Council itself has to become a deliberative body, focusing on working towards consensus yet not necessarily unanimity. “The issues are that the body was seen to be too transactional in nature, endorsing many of the proposals put before it, sometimes with greater understanding, sometimes with less,” Flumian said. Moving from what many interviewees pointed to was a council “unduly encumbered by procedure, and not particularly focused on outcomes,” would involve changing how agendas are set, how meetings are organized and having more digestible briefing material. 

Consultants recommend increasing the number of committees, since they are the real “workhorses” of Trust Council, and adding members to Trust Council representing First Nations and the province.

“Reconciliation requires that the question of co-governance be taken up as a priority by Trust Council,” and by local LTCs, the report stated. Adding seats for First Nations at Trust Council would involve discussions with the province, First Nations and an amendment to the Islands Trust Act. 

Many of those interviewed for the review reported a “disconnect between trustees and senior staff that inhibits the efficient functioning of both the Trust Council and Trust management.” The report noted some trustees felt “staff’s efforts lean toward managing Trust Council, rather than enabling it,” with others noting that questioning staff recommendations or activities “is construed to be challenging the preserve and protect object itself.” Meanwhile, some staff felt trustees don’t always fully consider the advice and information they’re provided. Recommendation 13, to conduct a management review, is aimed at identifying measures to improve the relationship between Trust Council and staff. 

The review noted that while the Islands Trust Conservancy is probably the most popular part of the Islands Trust brand, its place “seems to be downplayed.” Recommendation 14 is to “take measures to ensure greater sharing of expertise, experience, and resources between the Conservancy and other Islands Trust operations.”

The Islands Trust’s governance structure has not changed significantly in 30 years.

For a copy of the report, visit the Trust website.

Let’s stick with Pacific Standard Time

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Let’s stick with Pacific Standard Time

Since we just changed our clocks to Daylight Saving Time (DST), I am encouraged to write this.

I am all for not changing the clocks twice a year. The BC NDP asked us a couple years ago if we wanted to stop the twice yearly change and most said yes. However, the question was skewed.  We were only given the option of DST year round or keep changing twice a year.  That is not correct.  We should have been asked which time we preferred, Standard Time or DST.  I personally prefer Pacific Standard Time. DST is not necessary and is harmful.

Daylight Saving Time is an outdated measure. It causes a lack of productivity after the time changes because people are tired. Heart attacks, car accidents and other types of accidents increase after the time changes. It was introduced over 100 years ago as a way to save coal, and even though there is no evidence that it actually leads to energy conservation, it has been hard to abolish because it is embedded in our and the U.S.’s economy. The federal government should work with provinces to eliminate DST across Canada to promote public safety and health.

A few facts about Daylight Saving Time: 

• In Canada, at first, DST use varied from town to town. Saskatchewan and some regions in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Nunavut also don’t observe daylight time.

• Safety: workplace injuries are six per cent more frequent after DST, especially in the trades, and traffic collisions are about 20 per cent more frequent (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety).

• Health: risk of heart attack and stroke increases after the spring time change. 

Sleep experts have stated that DST is harmful to our health, especially children, as it disrupts our natural sleep patterns. It raises the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disturbances and depression. 

We, along with all of nature, follow the circadian rhythms of nature, whether we are aware of them or not.  Having the time set as natural as possible is having the sun be at its highest point on any day at noon, not 1 p.m. This gives a natural balance to our biological functions.  Pushing it one hour ahead throws an imbalance into our lives.  You may think you adjust to the extra hour imposed on us, but I do not think that really happens.  We are only going to get so much sunlight on any given day. Changing the time of day does not change that. 

If we were to have DST in the winter it would be much worse.  We would have to wake up and be functional an hour before we naturally would. Sleep is lost and disrupted, and we do not necessarily go to bed one hour earlier to make up for this loss. 

In all the years I had to be at work at 8 a.m. I noticed that it was always harder to get up and be at work for 8 a.m. during DST, even though it may have been summer with more daylight.  And when the time changed back to Standard Time for winter I found that I had no problem getting up and being to work at 8 a.m., even though it may be darker.  My circadian rhythms were not interrupted.  In our world of so many unnatural things to imbalance our place in nature, having only Standard Time year round would be much more natural and gentle on our biological selves. I for one see no need to have it light until after 10 p.m. in the summer. I like the evening with some dark time to watch videos, read and just settle down before I go to bed and sleep.

Europe recently voted to end DST and have just Standard Time. Hawaii is on Standard Time year round as are many other places. Business does not require that we are all on DST in order to function. Following the U.S.A. in any changes they may make on whether to keep DST or not should not dictate to B.C. that we have to do what they do.

Getting rid of the twice yearly switch will be a very good thing, but only if Standard Time is the norm. Let us have the most natural time, not the false imposed time of DST. Having DST year round would be devastating. Please let us not be fooled into thinking it is the answer. Please let us have Pacific Standard Time all year.

The writer is a Salt Spring resident.

Salt Spring portion of CRD budget higher than first estimated

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Salt Spring portion of CRD budget higher than first estimated

The Capital Regional District (CRD) Board approved its final 2022 budget on March 16.

Local CRD service requisitions remain the same as provisionally approved last fall. However, due to the unprecedented 31 per cent increase in local property assessments versus 22 per cent for the CRD overall, Salt Spring Island will pay a higher proportion of region-wide service costs. Also, since provisional budget approval, all local governments within CRD consented to increase climate action funding, reflecting our declaration of a climate emergency.

These changes resulted in an overall increase in the CRD and CRHD (Hospital District) requisition of 5.8 per cent (versus 3.3 per cent in the provisional budget) to a total of $7.244 million. Over the 2018-22 term the average CRD requisition increase has been 3.5 per cent, compared to inflation, negotiated CRD wages and salaries, and Salt Spring population growth, all roughly two per cent per year. The average Salt Spring residential property, currently assessed at $983,000, now pays roughly $96 per month for a range of CRD services and facilities. During this term alone, Salt Spring has received millions in regional CRD funding for affordable housing at Croftonbrook, the new Lady Minto emergency room, and free residential recycling.

As I indicated in my Oct. 18, 2021 provisional budget report, the single most important driver of local requisition increases is the cost related to PARC’s leasing of the middle school (SIMS). SIMS will house CRD’s Emergency Program and serve as Salt Spring’s first true community centre, providing affordable space for a number of non-profits that contribute so much to our quality of life. Local requisition increases will also fund continued increases in Parks and Rec maintenance and bylaw enforcement, a full-time IT staffer for our library, improved public transit to Long Harbour, and an economic development coordinator.

North Salt Spring Waterworks District

The North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) recently announced its rationale for refusing to submit a funding application to the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. NSSWD significantly underestimated the potential ratepayer savings from this particular grant, which would have contributed almost 75 per cent of project funding for the Maxwell Lake treatment plant, not the two-thirds estimated by the district.

NSSWD’s blame game is disappointing. CRD management of some water utilities has been criticized, as have NSSWD and other service delivery organizations on Salt Spring, but this is a smokescreen. CRD water districts, with several million in infrastructure funding, have built three state-of-the-art dissolved air flotation plants years before NSSWD built their first on St. Mary Lake. NSSWD is also the only water district declaring a moratorium, a major obstacle to affordable housing in Ganges. Infrastructure funding could have helped, directly or indirectly, by reducing distribution system leakage.

For months, CRD and the province urged NSSWD to submit a grant application, and during the lengthy adjudication process, continue discussions regarding NSSWD’s governance concerns. I was not directly involved in early discussions of the so-called “water optimization” report, but CRD was clear from the outset they didn’t support the consultant’s recommendation to bypass senior staff who the CRD Board relies upon for advice. The consultant’s proposal for an island-wide utility reflected an astonishing misunderstanding of the area-specific nature of our water utilities.

NSSWD continues to tilt at windmills regarding alternative funding mechanisms, but the province has made it very clear to MLA Adam Olsen and to myself during my tenure in that role, that joining local government is a requirement for infrastructure funding. NSSWD complains the funding would not cover its infrastructure deficit, again a reflection of magical thinking. But there is little doubt NSSWD could have received the single largest infrastructure grant in SSI’s history. The real issue is that NSSWD ratepayers have been denied their right to decide for themselves whether they would accept delegated authority within the CRD to secure millions in grant funding.

Local Community Commission

A first draft of a discussion paper developed by a sub-committee of the Salt Spring Community Alliance’s Governance Working Group (GWG) has been submitted to CRD staff for their review and their further discussions with provincial staff. A local advisory committee will soon be appointed, and CRD staff will prepare a draft establishment bylaw, which with the GWG report, will form the basis for public consultation.

I must comment on the March 9 Driftwood Viewpoint on the LCC by former GWG member Bob Moffatt. First, the LCC proposal was a 2018 platform commitment I made to all Salt Spring voters, not just “anti-incorporation supporters.” Second, an LCC is not “like any other commission” or “another layer of local government.” In fact it is quite the opposite. It would be elected at large just like the CRD director, not appointed. An LCC could also consolidate existing commissions, thus reducing the number of siloes and meetings. Finally, the CRD budget is a prime example of “real issues” an LCC would address — the need for broader, more diverse representation to determine local CRD taxation and service levels.

Salt Spring fire department CAO to retire in April

Emelie Peacock
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Salt Spring fire department CAO to retire in April

Salt Spring Fire Rescue’s chief administrative officer Andrew Peat has announced he will be resigning as of April 7. 

This is Peat’s second retirement from the top administrative job at the fire department, a role he held for over six years in total. In the fall of 2020 Peat came out of retirement to help the Salt Spring Island Fire Protection District (SSIFPD) through some “interesting moments,” board chair Rollie Cook said at the district’s trustees meeting on Monday night. A news release from Cook noted Peat’s work on “the final stages of collective bargaining and preparing the groundwork for the new fire hall project.” 

Peat rejoined the district after former short-term CAO Laurie Taylor was placed on paid leave in September of 2020. Fire board chair Ron Lindstrom and trustee Joanne MacDonald also resigned that month. Lindstrom and MacDonald cited concerns around the decision to place Taylor on leave and how spending on plans for the new fire hall was being handled. The two also criticized how the board was reversing course on decisions made, citing in particular a desire among trustees to reverse the one-employee corporate model the board adopted in 2019.

At the March 21 meeting, the board thanked Peat for his service as he prepares to retire.

“He stepped in at a very difficult time and helped us through keeping us on track,” Cook said. “Andrew has decided to retire a little bit early for health reasons and it is with a lot of respect from the board and a lot of appreciation that we accepted his early resignation.” 

“As I am needed in the future, I will assist as I can,” Peat said, including possibly helping with the transition to a new full-time CAO. 

The hiring process is well underway, Cook stated, led by a committee with support from the Greater Victoria Labour Relations Association. In the interim, fire chief Jamie Holmes has stepped up to be the acting corporate administrator and financial officer. 

Vaccination policy and COVID-19 workplace changes were also shared at the March 21 meeting. The fire board continues to receive letters of opposition to a policy that came into force Feb. 28, mandating firefighters be fully vaccinated to continue in their roles or be placed on leave without pay. Seven letters were included with the March 21 agenda, advocating for the board to drop the policy, citing fears around the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines, freedom of choice and the effects it could have on the capacity of the department to respond. 

Holmes gave a brief update Monday, noting that two paid-on-call firefighters had been placed on leave without pay as a consequence of the policy. The department had also seen one recruit retire as a result. 

Cook said the board, which approved the policy in December, is following the advice of the province. The province has not lifted the vaccine mandate requirement for health workers, Cook confirmed with Peat at the meeting.

“We’re following the guidance of Dr. Bonnie Henry and the province and when she makes her moves we will make our moves,” Cook said. 

The fire department is moving from a COVID-19 plan to a communicable disease plan. Peat explained the public won’t notice much of a difference as fire halls are still closed to the public. The main change will be that N95 masks are no longer required when people are away from their workspaces, and can go back to cloth masks if they choose to. 

The department has been impacted by people either off work with COVID-19 or with symptoms awaiting test results, with 180 hours accumulated since the beginning of the year. 

Holmes said there have already been 17 applications for the open position of deputy fire chief, and he expects more to come in with 10 days before the application closes. 

The department’s newest fire engine, #205, is still in Fort Garry, Man. due to supply chain issues and some things that need to be fixed before the vehicle is released to the department. 

Trustees and staff went in camera to discuss the new fire hall referendum project. Consultant Bruce Cameron noted that his firm Return On Insight had received 212 responses to a survey on the issue and another survey was available at saltspringfire.com/planning-for-tomorrow/. The second survey is “intended to supplement the representative survey and provide a way for Salt Springers to give their input and feedback about fire services and facilities,” Cameron stated by email. 

The board also adopted a board and committee member attendance and participation policy Monday. The policy clarifies expectations of trustees to attend board meetings and sit on at least one committee, as well as prepare for meetings and assist with the mandates of committees. If trustees cannot attend, they need to give at least 24 hours notice to indicate their absence and should trustees miss three consecutive board meetings, which are held monthly, or two consecutive committee meetings, the board chair will discuss the issue with them.

“If a trustee or committee member is unable to commit adequate time to their position, they should be asked to consider resigning,” the policy states. 

Hospital Foundation gets keys to the Seabreeze Inne

Emelie Peacock
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Hospital Foundation gets keys to the Seabreeze Inne

A hearty cheer erupted in the hallway of the Lady Minto Hospital Monday as the hospital’s foundation officially took possession of a motel that will be renovated into affordable staff housing. 

The purchase of the Seabreeze Inne by the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation (LMHF) is about addressing both recruitment and retention, executive director Roberta Martell said, at a hospital with 35 open positions. The motel on Fulford-Ganges Road was purchased for $4 million and will be renovated, with over $5.6 million raised through donations including $2.5-million from the foundation’s endowment. 

The 29 units plus a manager’s suite will be renovated into between 14 and 20 units of mixed bachelor, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. 

There is already a list of hospital employees who are underhoused, the board noted, who may be moving in once the renovations are complete. Some units are also meant to be open, said LMHF board member Derek Fry, as temporary housing for staff who want to try out life on Salt Spring before committing to a permanent move. Units will also be available for the regular rotation of locum physicians and nurses who support the hospital.

“Having a place for them that’s easy, that’s always available, makes attracting locums and filling those vacancies much, much easier…to keep the management of the hospital more smooth,” said LMHF director and member of the housing committee Brenda McEachern

Director and fellow housing committee member Humberto Martinho noted that with construction of a new emergency department commencing this year, another success for the hospital foundation with $10.4-million raised, the need for staff and housing will be even greater. 

While the Seabreeze plan won’t solve the entire problem, McEachern said it will go a long way to addressing what hospital site director Sara Gogo has indicated are critically important: recruiting and retaining hospital staff. 

Design work has started with architects from the Jensen Group and construction is expected to start in the fall. Martell said she hopes the foundation can skip the rezoning process, given the Nov. 9 Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee decision to defer bylaw enforcement for any commercial accommodations being used for long-term residency and for any dwellings deemed unlawful. “It’s not a change of use, people are already using it in this manner, we just want to make it better,” Martell explained. “It’s not a change of use or a change of land use. It’s just a renovation.” 

Renovations could begin in June, if no rezoning is required. Otherwise the foundation will need to try and usher through a rezoning in six months Martell said, as the hospital cannot wait. “This is about quality of life on the island and I think a small change like, ‘Oh, is it nurses living in there or folks from the shelter?’ is a moot point when we really need to get moving,” she said. 

The purchase of the Seabreeze was not a simple real estate transaction. BC Housing was temporarily leasing space in the motel for 18 people who were at risk of being unhoused. 

When Salt Spring Island Community Services’ attempt to purchase the property fell through, with funding from BC Housing not forthcoming, the hospital foundation put a bid. This left the fate of the temporary residents hanging in the balance. 

On Jan. 25, BC Housing announced it will build 28 units of housing with supports at a Drake Road property donated to the Capital Regional District by the Gulf Islands School District. A temporary lease has been negotiated between BC Housing and the foundation, so the tenants can stay at the Seabreeze as this build is completed. 

“It’s a win for the hospital, it’s a win for healthcare, it’s a win for workforce housing on the island,” said chair of the board Dave Taylor. “It’s a win for people who don’t have a home to go to because BC Housing…as part of all of this, is going ahead and fast-tracking permanent supportive housing on Drake Road.” 

“We took these disparate variables and recombined them in innovative ways to come up with a sustainable solution,” Martell said, on an island where issues including a water moratorium and unaffordable land and homes make providing new housing very difficult. “I think that takes a certain courage, that I just really want to thank this board for because we’re really out on a limb here, and we’re going to make sure it works.”

Trust Council approves $9.1-million Islands Trust budget

Emelie Peacock
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Trust Council approves $9.1-million Islands Trust budget

After 11th hour deliberations by the 26-member body that governs the Islands Trust, the trust council passed a $9.1-million budget with a two per cent increase to property taxes.  

In addition to the two per cent property tax increase, an added 1.25 per cent is expected from new construction and development. Also included in the 2022-23 budget is keeping land use planning at existing service levels, adding a part-time Conservancy fund development specialist and implementing several initiatives outlined in the 2018 to 2022 strategic plan, the Islands Trust stated in a March 11 news release.  

On Salt Spring, projects to be implemented include the Ganges Village planning project, the Coastal Douglas-fir zone and associated ecosystems protection project and a housing action program. All of these are ongoing projects.  

As trustees undertook last-minute budget trimming, some $32,000 in funding for the Coastal Douglas-fir project was removed from the budget. Trustee Laura Patrick made a successful motion to shift some $32,000 in funding from the Ganges Village project to this project to keep it going with the hopes, she said, of MLA Adam Olsen being able to help find funding to fill in the gap. 

An upcoming groundwater sustainability science program focused on mapping recharge potential will include Salt Spring, Thetis, Bowen and several other islands in the region. Salt Spring Islanders will see a $60,000 special tax levy to fund the Salt Spring Island Watershed Protection Alliance (SSIWPA) and its work on freshwater preservation and protection.  

Other projects the budget will fund include the reconciliation action plan, stewardship education, species at risk protection programs conducted through the Conservancy, as well as a heritage preservation overlay mapping and model bylaws project.  

A total of 8.3 per cent of the overall budget, $760,501, is funded by external grants and $395,500 comes from transfers from surplus and reserve funds. Other funding sources for the budget are property taxes in local trust areas, a municipal tax levy from Bowen Island, the SSIWPA tax levy and rezoning and development permit fees from developers. 

Bowen Island, a municipality within the Islands Trust, will see a four per cent increase to its tax levy comprised of 3.09 per cent from property taxes and 0.95 per cent from new development and construction.  

Late last year, a $9.3-million budget went out for public consultation. The budget presented to trust council at the quarterly meeting March 8 to 10 was $9.51 million with the increase coming from upcoming election expenses and unfinished projects carried over from the previous fiscal year.  

Salt Spring Island trustee Peter Grove, chair of the financial planning committee which conducted detailed work on the proposed budget, explained that the committee started with an 11 per cent increase to property taxes in the proposed budget and brought it down to three per cent. With low property tax increases in previous years and over $750,000 covered by grants, Grove called the three per cent a “reasonable and expected” increase.  

The trust asked for public feedback on the draft budget. In a survey completed 1,256 times, 49 per cent of respondents supported a reduction in services and programs for current levels.  

Several trustees expressed that they would not support the draft budget as presented; it represented a seven per cent overall expenditure increase from the 2021-2022 budget and a three per cent property tax increase.  

Spurred by the survey results, South Pender Island trustee Steve Wright put forward a motion on March 9 to reject the budget, adding that any budget passed this year should not exceed the 2020-2021 budget.  “If we are going to ask the public and they are going to answer us, we have to obey what they say,” he said, noting emphatically the hardship people have gone through during two years of a pandemic and the damage the trust would incur in credibility by not listening to the public. “Those people have had to tighten their belts, and I find it a little difficult for us to start bloating our budget.”  

Several trustees noted that public feedback needs to be taken into account—not simply obeyed—as one of many factors the trust considers including other public feedback, science and expertise, as well as carrying out the object of the trust for residents, but also for ecosystems and people in all of B.C. Laura Busheikin, Denman trustee and member of the financial planning committee, explained Islands Trust work funded by the budget will address hardships such as efficiencies in planning to get projects done and work on the climate crisis. “It’s not a lot more money, and I believe that our constituents can afford it without undue suffering, and I think it’s our responsibility to do this work.” 

Bowen trustee Sue Ellen Fast said the budget reflects the increasing amount and rate of development as well as several crises: “The biodiversity crisis, for one, climate crisis for another; we’ve got a narrow window of opportunity to make the world a better place.” 

 Saturna trustee Paul Brent said constituents are worried about scope creep, going beyond the Islands Trust mandate, and the impact on the budget.  

Mayne trustee Jeanine Dodds, speaking against a budget increase, noted that “we are in a time right now when people are not happy with the Islands Trust.”  She added, “We have a governance review that we need to spend some time on. We need to think about what we should really be doing; we are duplicating a lot of work that’s going on within the province that we don’t need to be doing. We are trying to be all things to all people, and it is time to get back to some real simple basics,” she said.  

Chair of the trust council Peter Luckham noted that it is trustees who have added more and more items to the strategic plan over time. Chief administrative officer Russ Hotsenpiller said there are around 100 projects on the go. “We’re really over-committing ourselves, but we choose to go ahead anyway and add all this…so it’s our fault to a large degree.I think that’s part of the response of the public,” said Gabriola trustee Kees Langeris.   Director of administrative services Julia Mobbs said there are concerns around workloads and stress on administrative staff, and within the budget there is an additional $100,000 for contracted services to deal with this.  

Other trustees noted 45 per cent of survey respondents wanted to either maintain or add new services and programs.  

After several hours of discussion March 9, and a trimmed budget option presented by Brent, trustees asked staff to prepare a more modest budget for their review. Trustees approved the trimmed-down budget, with some changes, on March 10. 

“There was some trimming that happened, in order to get that as close as we possibly could to a 2020-2021 budget number,” said Luckham, adding that the budget is the most difficult thing trust council has to grapple with.  “The struggle is to balance the financial needs of the organization and undertaking the work necessary to support the preserve and protect mandate, and reconcile that with the impact on people associated with the tax burden,” he said. “The work is important, but we are completely cognizant of not wanting to create a big financial burden to our communities.”  

The budget bylaw received three readings on March 10 and has been forwarded to the minister. It will be adopted later in the year. 

Comic Strippers return for night of improv

Gail Sjuberg
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Comic Strippers return for night of improv

An improv comedy troupe that has thrilled audiences worldwide for more than a decade — including some on Salt Spring Island — is bringing a new show to the ArtSpring stage this month.

The Comic Strippers have won a best live production Canadian Comedy Award and been on numerous TV shows, including CBC’s Just for Laughs, CTV’s Comedy Inc. and NBC’s Late Friday. On Saturday, March 26, three group members will present The Improvisers.

One of them, Roman Danylo, explains the difference between past shows and The Improvisers.

“The Comic Strippers show concept is a group of fake male strippers trying their hand at improv comedy. In real life we’re all improv comedians that have been doing it for about 30 years each. In this stripped-down version of the show we are fully clothed. However, we’ve all been known to take off our shirts from time to time in any comedy show.”

The Improvisers sees the actors create spontaneous comedy sketches based on audience suggestions. The March 26 show, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is guaranteed to be a fun and high-energy evening with performers who have tons of comedy experience.

Danylo has appeared on CTV’s Comedy Now, Comedy Inc. and Corner Gas, CBC’s Just For Laughs and The Debaters, and played the Winnipeg and Halifax comedy festivals. Michael Teigen is a well-known performer in the improv comedy scene and has also been in many films, TV shows and commercials. He is also a proud kidney donor. Chris Casillan is a longtime Vancouver-based actor, improviser, comedian and musician, and two-time Canadian Comedy Award winner.

Danylo says improv work has delivered the most fun in his acting career.

“There’s just a special electricity that happens when the audience knows you are flying by the seat of your pants. Improv comedy is like learning how to play an instrument: once you figure out how it all works you can just get out there and play.”

Danylo also gave high ratings to past audiences at ArtSpring.

“We absolutely love Salt Spring. The crowds here have always been super enthusiastic. We’d love to come do a show here once a month if we could.”

Like all live performers who were kept off stages due to the pandemic, they are really looking forward to getting back on track.

“There’s certainly an extra level of gratitude we are feeling for being able to tour and do shows with our friends again,” he said.

Tickets are available through ArtSpring at www.artspring.ca.

Adventurers to Recount 80 Km Traverse Across Vancouver Island

Contributed Article
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Adventurers to Recount 80 Km Traverse Across Vancouver Island

Anyone yearning for “live and in-person” tales of adventure can enjoy a presentation Thursday night called “Sea to Sky: a 10-day ski mountaineering traverse of Vancouver Island”.

Stefan Gessinger presents stories, slides, and video footage of his 80-km traverse from Carey Lakes (Comox Lake neighborhood) to Herbert Inlet north of Tofino with Mitch Baynes and Jonathan Skinnider.

The event, hosted by the Salt Spring Island Public Library and Salt Spring Trail and Nature Club, is at Mar. 17, 7 p.m. at the library. It is free but advanced registration is required by emailing info.sstnc@gmail.com.

The adventurers travelled Cumberland’s logging roads across the beautiful and rugged landscape of southern Strathcona Park down to the beach at the end of a remote, west coast inlet.

Vancouver Island’s large snowpack transforms the island alpine into a seasonal ice field throughout the winter and spring. Steep, forested and low elevation access guards the higher elevation deep snow cover which with careful route finding can connect well via ridges, glaciers, summits and gullies.

For more information, see saltspringtnc.ca or info.sstnc@gmail.com.

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