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Opinion: Other communities act on workforce housing

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Opinion: Other communities act on workforce housing

By ERIC MARCH

Earlier this year I was inspired by the sentiments expressed by the Mayor of Park City, Utah. Faced with a labour dispute between the Vail Resorts, the town’s biggest employer, and Park City Professional Ski Patrol, essential workers, during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday, Park City faced a massive disruption.

During this time Mayor Nann Worel and Park City Council unequivocally supported the workers in the dispute, recognizing that “it is the workforce that all too often shoulders the weight of today’s economic pressures,” and “supporting a professional workforce is essential to the health, safety and vitality of our town.” These sentiments easily apply to Salt Spring Island; our workforce is unduly suffering under the weight of our housing and affordability crises, and the health, safety and vitality of Salt Spring also depend on maintaining a professional workforce. I can’t help but wonder why, when so many other communities are doing so much, Salt Spring Island struggles to do so little.

In the San Juan Islands they believe that “Stable affordable housing is the foundation upon which community members build fulfilling lives,” and to that extent they have chosen to implement a real estate excise tax and use it to fund several community land trusts and other affordable housing initiatives. On Cortes Island they set their Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT), a tax applied only to visitors, to three per cent, and are using the entirety of that revenue for affordable housing. Contrast these two communities with Salt Spring Island. We charge an MRDT of two per cent, and that revenue is split between tourism advertising and housing funding. We have levied no special taxes to fund worker housing, and haven’t even managed to convince the provincial government to apply the Speculation and Vacancy Tax here.

While the Capital Regional District celebrates building 32 units of supportive housing and four units of affordable workforce housing on Drake Road, nine units of boarding housing on Dean Road and 18 units of healthcare worker housing on Bittancourt Road, just one of the land trusts in the San Juan Islands has 40 apartments and eight to 12 houses scheduled to be built for affordable worker housing. In Ucluelet they have used zoning and the BC Housing Affordable Home Ownership Program to allow a private developer to build 33 units of affordable workforce ownership housing dedicated to residents.

In both Tofino and Whistler they have created corporations owned by the local governments for the purpose of creating affordable housing, the Tofino Housing Corporation and the Whistler Housing Authority respectively. The Whistler Housing Authority has a stated goal of housing 75 per cent of Whistler’s workers in Whistler, and to that extent has built 2,270 units of affordable rental and ownership housing in 25 years. That averages out to about 454 units every five years for a population of 13,982, putting our 140 units for a population of 11,635 built and planned to be built in five years to shame.

In Banff and Jasper National parks the townsites have placed such a high value on workforce housing that they have taken the extreme measure of putting “need to reside” laws in place, simply banning folks from living in the community if they do not work in the community. Parks Canada states that “The eligible residency provisions ensure that community residential lands are available exclusively for community use, rather than recreational or second home purposes,” and “This ensures that housing remains available for those whose primary objective is to live and work in the community.”

Given that the affordability and housing crises aren’t unique to Salt Spring Island but the lack of solutions is, I can’t help but wonder about our lack of action and I believe it is time to have a discussion in our community about that. Worse than our lack of action, our lack of vision. When so many other communities are building not just apartments but entire houses for working-class families, why are some of our local politicians still suggesting solutions like facilitating boarding houses? Our official community plan, aside from a small change in 2020, is almost old enough to drink, and may well reach legal drinking age before we complete our upcoming review.

May 1 is International Workers’ Day, celebrated throughout most of the world as a day commemorating workers rights and the fights to earn them. I hope folks take some time on the 1st to think about the incredibly valuable workers that keep our community functioning and deserve not just shelter but homes in order to build fulfilling lives in while they work and live in our community.

What would Salt Spring Island be like without ferry workers, teachers or nurses? Without bartenders, shelf stockers, cashiers, cleaners, manufacturing workers, delivery drivers, artisans, trades people, or anyone else? I think Whistler has an admirable goal we should adopt, ensuring we can house at least 75 per cent of our workforce within our community, and that those workers have safe, secure, sustainable and affordable housing.

In the spirit of International Workers’ Day I would like to challenge our elected officials and NGOs to make statements appreciating the labour that keeps our community running, committing to adequately housing 75 per cent of our workforce within our community, and echoing Mayor Worel’s sentiments about the difficulties facing our workforce and the importance of maintaining them within our community.

The writer is a Salt Spring Island resident and worker.

Where and when to vote on April 28

Driftwood Staff
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Where and when to vote on April 28

Heavy voting in advance polls occurred on Salt Spring Island as in the rest of the country, with a record 7.3 million people casting ballots nationwide during the April 18-21 period.

Election day is Monday, April 28, with voting locations open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Check your voter cards or look online at elections.ca for your polling location, which will be one of the spots below. Identification is also required. See the elections.ca website for acceptable forms of ID.

Salt Spring Island

• Fulford Community Elementary School, 203 South Ridge Drive;

• Gulf Islands Secondary School, 232 Rainbow Road;

• Fernwood Elementary School, 150 Fernwood Road;

• Community Gospel Chapel, 147 Vesuvius Bay Road.

Southern Gulf Islands

• Pender Islands Elementary-Secondary School, 5714 Canal Road;

• Mayne Island Community Centre, 493 Felix Jack Road;

• Galiano Lions Hall, 992 Burrill Road; and

• Saturna Recreation and Cultural Centre, 104 Harris Road.

Election letters to the editor – April 23

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Election letters to the editor – April 23

Undemocratic CPC actions

Wow, yet again a Conservative party member skips an all-candidates meeting.

At least Cathie Ounsted is consistent. She has attended only one of six all-candidates meetings in this riding she wants to represent. This disgusting, undemocratic tradition first started with Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidates and it’s clear that nothing has changed under Pierre Poilievre’s leadership.

Any person considering voting CPC who values democracy should be deciding to vote for one of the other candidates, all of whom are good potential representatives.

DARYL LOGAN,

Salt Spring

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Vote Green

I am writing this because I have had conversations with islanders who were confused about strategic voting in our riding with many supporting Mark Carney for prime minister. 

If I may, my understanding is that if you support Pierre Poilievre’s policies and want him to be prime minister, vote Conservative. No mystery.

However, in this riding where the polls show the two main candidates as our incumbent Elizabeth May of the Greens and Cathie Ounsted of the Conservatives, if you want someone other than Mr. Poilievre as prime minister, you must vote Green if you are trying to be strategic.  This is because your vote for the other honourable candidates will take away support from the Greens and possibly allow a victory for the Conservatives.

I hope this helps.

PATRICIA FLANNAGAN,

Salt Spring

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Double the value

A vote for Elizabeth May and the Greens will have double value: it will keep climate change — by far the most critical issue facing all humanity — on the national political agenda; and it will help ensure that Canada’s next prime minister will not be the guy who yesterday reminded us of his promise to bring back single-use plastics as part of the horrifying list of his proposed major steps backwards from fighting climate change. Not to mention the scary compatibility of his views and attitude with those of the guy in charge to the south, who wants to make us the 51st state.

Last week local polls showed the Greens slightly ahead of the Conservatives, with the Liberals trailing. That’s even more reason to vote Green!

CHRIS BRADLEY,

Salt Spring

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Strategic voting

The upcoming federal election cries out for a “strategic voting” approach to be considered by voters.

The latest polls and projections (April 21) at 338canada.com for the Saanich-Gulf Islands member of Parliament put the vote projection for the Green party (34 per cent ± eight per cent) and the Conservative party (35 per cent ± seven per cent) at neck and neck levels. They also project that the Liberal party and NDP candidates have virtually no chance of winning the seat.

Any voter who does NOT want to have Pierre Poilievre as the next prime minister of Canada during these perilous times for the country should seriously consider voting strategically for the only viable alternative to the Conservative party in this riding: the Green party. Luckily for us we have a competent, hardworking and proven Green party candidate in Elizabeth May.

GREG SPENDJIAN,

Salt Spring

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Best choice

Those of us who live in Saanich-Gulf Islands have to unite behind Elizabeth May, the best MP I have experienced in 60 years of voting — most of them as a Progressive Conservative before the party was hijacked — to prevent the Conservative Party of Canada candidate, who called Elizabeth May a cow and skipped the all-candidates meeting on Salt Spring, from taking the seat with 36 per cent of the ballots because of vote splitting.

Elizabeth May will serve our riding with dignity, honour, integrity and intelligence. Mark Carney holds her in high regard.

Ironically, she would have more influence on his policies than a rookie backbench Liberal MP.

STAN GARROD,

Atkins Road

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Absent candidate

Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party candidate for Parliament in our Saanich-Gulf Islands riding decided not to participate in the all-candidates forums on Pender and Salt Spring islands.

If elected, Cathie Ounsted would be responsible for representing everyone living on the Southern Gulf Islands. Yet, she decided at the very last moment without explanation not to meet with us and not to allow us the opportunity to get to know her. Who is she? What are her political positions and values?

Our current Member of Parliament, Elizabeth May, has shown us that she knows the Gulf Islands. She has been holding town halls and she has made herself available to all of us on a frequent basis. She has an active constituency office that handles individual issues. She is a beloved member of our community.

The comparison is obvious: An absent Conservative party candidate or a caring Elizabeth May.

CURT FIRESTONE,

Salt Spring

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Following CPC playbook

I want to thank the candidates that took the time to attend the all-candidates debate on April 15 at Fulford Hall. The Liberal candidate appeared to be unprepared and Elizabeth May was brilliant as usual.

Many people at the event expressed disappointment and frustration for the absence of the Conservative candidate. I take her decision not to attend as an insult to the people of Salt Spring. This person who is running to represent us in Parliament won’t even bother to come to our communities to tell us what she stands for and what her vision is for our riding. Does she believe she already has enough votes? What kind of representation can we expect from her?

Pierre Poilievre thinks he can become prime minister by insulting people, which he has been doing for years. The local Conservative candidate is following his playbook.

ALVARO SANCHEZ,

Salt Spring

Thompson holds unique art show and draw

Driftwood Staff
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Thompson holds unique art show and draw

Salt Spring artist Melanie Thompson hopes to spread her artwork far and wide through an upcoming novel exhibit and sale concept.

“Out into the World – towards a new work” is a pop-up art event in the annex gallery space at Mahon Hall on Saturday-Sunday, May 3 and 4. People can see the show of Thompson’s work — some new and some not — between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and buy $20 tickets for a chance to take home a piece. On Sunday, May 4 from 5 to 7 p.m., a draw for the work will take place.

“My idea is to give away my artwork through a random draw,” she explained. “My joy was in making the work; my further joy will be to see the work go out into the world, hence the giveaway.”

“Ticket holders will choose any work they wish when their name is drawn, the proviso being that the ticket holder will be photographed with the work chosen and they will later send me a photo of the work in situ,” said Thompson. “In future I will print and make new work with all the photos I collect. I will manipulate the photos with stitch, paint, collage or other techniques. These works will form a new exhibit.”

Once exhibit costs have been covered, remaining funds will be donated to the BC SPCA.

Editorial: Politicians’ respect lacking

Driftwood Staff
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Editorial: Politicians’ respect lacking

Once again Salt Spring Islanders and election candidates outshone themselves in an all-candidates event at Fulford Hall last week.

Questions and answers were relevant, thoughtful and delivered with respect. The only lack of respect in evidence was caused by the Conservative candidate’s decision to not participate. Ours was not the only such event she reportedly missed.

Cathie Ounsted’s team provided the Driftwood with a detailed response to the decision that morning. The email we received stated that “In recent elections, some Conservative candidates who stepped forward to serve their communities experienced situations where smartphone debate footage was selectively edited and shared on social media, creating impressions that didn’t accurately represent their positions or character.” It felt disrespectful to suggest islanders would do that. The email also stated that Ounsted was “committed to engaging with constituents through more direct channels, whether through one-on-one conversations in neighbourhoods, community visits or thoughtful digital exchanges.”

Then we learned that an April 14 candidates forum at Berwick Royal Oak had gone off the rails when side-chatter between Ounsted and Elizabeth May resulted in Ounsted reportedly calling May a “cow” for suggesting she might not want to be an MP because she would miss her son’s football games. CHEK News reported on the incident.

Disrespect was shown by both women in that Liberal candidate David Beckham had the floor at the time when May and Ounsted were conversing, and May did not wait until after Beckham had finished speaking to tell everyone what had happened.

Salt Springers have recently experienced disrespect from another elected official: Salt Spring Islands Trust trustee Jamie Harris, who moved off the island last summer. As far as we know, Harris is collecting full salary for participating in meetings via Zoom but doing none of the in-community work that goes with being a trustee. And he has clearly so far felt no obligation to advise constituents or colleagues where he is or if he plans to keep “governing from afar.”

Disrespect, dodging accountability and name calling have always been a part of politics. But there must always be consequences for such behaviour.

New NSSWD connections trickle in

Robb Magley
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New NSSWD connections trickle in

Weeks after a decade-long moratorium on new water connections was lifted, Salt Spring’s largest water district reported a modest number of applications: two. 

Both were applications to add water service for an existing property’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) — and both were approved, according to North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) chief administrative officer Mark Boysen. 

“It hasn’t been what we expected, although we weren’t sure what was going to happen,” Boysen told the island’s Local Community Commission (LCC) Thursday, April 17. “We do hear a lot of stories about potential developments, a lot of ideas, but so far all we’ve seen are the two ADUs.” 

Revenue from the two applications is the first such funds the district had collected in 10 years, earmarked to help pay for the construction of the Island Health-mandated water treatment plant at Maxwell Lake — itself the subject of an active borrowing referendum. NSSWD has also applied for a $6-million Canada Housing and Infrastructure grant, which could reduce the amount the district needs to borrow — thus lowering ratepayers’ borrowing costs — although Boysen said it was unlikely they’d hear a decision on that until after the federal election. 

“Maybe there’ll be a moment between the election and the referendum date where we find out,” said Boysen. “But it could be awarded to us later on as well.” 

Viewpoint: Spring of connection feeds river of gratitude

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Viewpoint: Spring of connection feeds river of gratitude

By BEN CORNO

For months, I have wondered how to promote the Second Annual Salt Spring Island Volunteer Fair, helping to make it a successful event for everyone involved.

Of course, I could highlight the importance of the attending organizations and their need for help with their missions, but I should do more: explore, and expand.

Is it fair to call the Volunteer Fair a “fair?” All fairs share two characteristics: a fair is a gathering, and it provides entertainment or facilitates commerce. I bristle. Becoming a volunteer is more than a physical sacrifice, the acceptance of a burden, a transactional share in supporting the community interest.

Maybe I should commodify fulfilling feelings. The investor, the volunteer, would be repaid, and we would have a “fair” trade? But our community needs to be able to give, not just trade. That’s why the Volunteer Fair exists in the first place: to facilitate the connections that make giving into a group project, not a lonely sacrifice. Connection is the commodity traded between everyone at the Volunteer Fair.

I am reminded of a Buddhist prayer prompt I was offered nearly 15 years ago at a monastery in Vancouver. I offered the Buddah a persimmon I had bought and, with gratitude, was asked to imagine the persimmon multiplying into so many persimmons that they filled the entire room, spilled from the monastery, and flooded the streets until all of the city became a mountain of persimmons. I still love the feeling of this prompt. So, the persimmon IS connection. The connection filling the Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) Multipurpose Room could be so abundant that it will overspill the doors of the venue, and flow out into the soccer field, wash across Rainbow Road and pour into Ganges with torrential force. Uphill, Swanson’s Pond will be inundated with connection due to the pressure inside the room sending connection over the banks of the pond. The connective potential inside the space will be like the totality of the persimmons in the monastery, and everyone will go home full from new sweet connections they have made. 

So, here’s the idea: please join us on Saturday, April 26 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at GISS to offer your persimmon of gratitude and be a part of the power of connection. You don’t need to find yourself volunteering with one of the 30-plus organizations in attendance to have a successful visit. Rather, successful attendance will be measured in the gratitude you have experienced and shared, and the connections that you have strengthened in the sharing. Creating our supportive and vibrant island is the result of unimaginable instances of historic connection leading to a durable, trustworthy community fabric.

Thankfully, not only are persimmons sweet and delicious, but they are also high in fibre, a key component of an integrated, hardy and delectable community!

Cynthia Sharp featured poet May 1

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Cynthia Sharp featured poet May 1

SUBMITTED ARTICLE

The Salt Spring Island Public Library Poetry Open Mic on Thursday, May 1 features Vancouver poet Cynthia Sharp.

Sharp is the author of Ordinary Light, a first-prize winner in the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society 2023 Book Awards, as well as the 2024 International Impact Book Awards in the Sustainability and Contemporary Poetry categories. Poems in the collection such as ‘my hand on the altar,’ Petals and Roots, and The Alchemy of a Heartbeat have placed in Canadian contests like the 2022 Vera Manuel Award for Poetry and the Delta Literary Arts Society 2023 and 2024 Poetry Competitions and been featured in the League of Canadian Poets’ Poetry Pause.

Known as Canada’s Mary Oliver for her focus on nature, Sharp is also the author of the poetry collection Rainforest in Russet, a meditative journey through West Coast scenery, as well as The Light Bearers in the Sand Dollar Graviton, a children’s fantasy story set between Vancouver and space with a focus on science and green energy for problem solving.

She’s the editor of Poetic Portions, a poetry cookbook featuring Canadian writers and their favourite personal recipes. Her poems and reviews can be found in many literary journals, including CV2, untethered and Prism.

At next Thursday’s open mic event, which begins at 7 p.m., Sharp will read poems like Sky Flowers from Ordinary Light, a book that is both a celebration of the beauty of British Columbia islands, shorelines and rainforest areas, as well as a call to protect our natural habitat. The audience can expect a relaxing, meditative experience with imagery that journeys through woods and neighbourhoods to capture details like “cappuccino-striped snails drinking rainwater from concave orange maple leaves” and “purple starfish returning.”

Ordinary Light is available in the Salt Spring Island Public Library collection and at any bookstore through the Ingram catalogue.

When not walking in nature, Sharp enjoys facilitating creative writing workshops and judging provincial, national and international contests. She was the poetry judge for the 2024 North Shore Writers Association Contest, which saw Diana Hayes, a Salt Spring poet and owner/founder of Raven Chapbooks, receive first prize for the brilliantly crafted Seascape from Sheringham Point, in addition to an honourable mention for Climbing Ancestry Trees.

Sign-up for the open mic starts at 6:45 p.m. for the 7 to 9 p.m. event, with one poem per reader to a maximum of three minutes per person. Sharp will present her meditative nature poems following the open mic readers’ portion.

District and public engage at fire AGM

Robb Magley
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District and public engage at fire AGM

The Salt Spring Island Fire Protection District’s 65th annual general meeting was held April 15, with a tender-truck-load of information from trustees and staff, and just enough drama to keep members of the public invested through the end of the public session, which came just after 9 p.m.  

For those less captivated by the district’s audited financial statements — corporate administrator Rodney Dieleman noted a “modest” surplus and no extraordinary income or expenses — the highlight might have been Fire Chief Jamie Holmes’ annual report. The fire department boasted a 19 per cent female membership, Holmes said, well above the Canadian average of five per cent, with members ranging in age from 16 to “60-plus” with an average recruit age of 34. 

Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue (SSIFR) took on six recruits in 2024, he said, making it a “relatively junior” department — in that over half of the membership has less than 10 years of service, a situation Holmes said was common in paid-on-call fire departments across North America. 

“We have really senior people and really junior people,” said Holmes, “and we tend to lose the middle; we’ve been seeing that trend for the last five to 10 years, where either they get hired on as career [firefighters with SSIFR] or they end up moving off island. It’s just getting them over that 10-year itch, so to speak.” 

Crediting the 24-hour staffing model at Ganges’ Fire Hall No. 1, Holmes said of the 700 calls in 2024, 13 involved structure fires — extinguished in time to prevent them from spreading to adjacent buildings or nearby wildland interface areas. 

The Firefighters’ Association reported the year’s accomplishments, from community events to donations to various groups of over $4,000; the strategic planning committee introduced its road map for the coming five years, including replacing and reinvesting in the district’s two secondary fire halls; and the communications committee highlighted its new priority of reaching out to officials in senior government — looking for help to quickly secure firefighting equipment that can reach the top floor of the unexpectedly tall Drake Road supportive housing project, erected through provincial paramountcy this spring. 

The town hall discussion launched a polite if agitated back-and-forth between some members of the public, district staff, fire board chair Rollie Cook and trustee David Courtney regarding the latter’s arguably extraordinary social media communications. 

Citing lack of support from fellow trustees for his ideas, most recently regarding a new site for the northernmost secondary fire hall, Courtney has posted his plans on Facebook, drawing criticism from the other board members.  

At the urging of a member of the public attending Monday night, Courtney agreed to present his current plan instead to the district’s strategic planning committee for more conventional consideration. 

In other business during the AGM, the public attendees voted to keep trustee remuneration at its current level of $330 per month for trustees and $385 for the board chair, and everyone thanked exiting trustee John Wakefield for his service to the district. 

During a special board meeting after the AGM, trustees heard a delegation from the North Salt Spring Waterworks District and voted to collectively encourage residents to vote “yes” in support of the water district’s Maxwell Lake water treatment plant borrowing referendum. 

Volunteer Fair at GISS

Robb Magley
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Volunteer Fair at GISS

If you want to help fellow islanders, but aren’t sure how, the upcoming Salt Spring Volunteer Fair might be able to provide some inspiration.

More than 30 local organizations, clubs and societies will be represented at the second annual fair, being held Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a new location: the Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) multi-purpose room.  

Fair organizer and Local Community Commission member Ben Corno said the event reflects Salt Spring’s long history of volunteerism, and serves as a sort of matchmaker to connect those looking to volunteer to organizations looking for help. This year’s fair again features groups with a broad range of mandates, Corno said, from community outreach, health and accessibility to sports, hobbies, the arts, agriculture and more — and the foot traffic from last year’s event made it clear the smaller space at the Salt Spring Island Multi Space wasn’t up to meeting the community demand.  

“Upgrading the venue to accommodate more groups should also make it more accessible,” Corno said, “and easier to stop and chat.” 

Corno said volunteering is a good way to stay connected on Salt Spring, in part because it brings together different groups someone might be a part of since they may not always overlap.  

“I learn more about the people in my groups,” he said, “and see my community as a more interconnected place than it sometimes appears.” 

This year’s event is also for groups who are seeking new members — and those seeking patrons. A vibrant community, Corno said, should include access to as many of these types of organizations as possible — and it’s the volunteers who help maintain and improve their experiences and offerings. 

“And it’s a great way to find a new club or group that shares your interests and values,” Corno said. “Seeing all these groups in one venue really makes it clear how much potential Salt Spring has to care for itself, together.” 

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