Response to Friends of the Gulf Islands Election Questions

These responses can also be found on the Friends of the Gulf Islands website here

Questions for Trustee Candidates in the Upcoming Islands Trust Election

Candidate Name: Eric G March Island: Salt Spring Island

1. If elected, what will you do to sustain the health of our islands' ecosystems – as per the Trust Object and as made explicit in the Trust Policy Statement?

Make no mistake, our current regulations do not protect the environment. We still have big luxury homes being built on clear cut properties, and acres of land being purchased, de-forested for timber sales, and then put back on the market as subdividable developable land.  We need to shift land use planning from the luxury rural sprawl we are currently allowing to attainable workforce density in and around villages and amenities.  We need to ensure that we are protecting wildspaces and wildlife corridors as well as protecting farms and agriculture.

2. How do you define the term “unique amenities” used in the Trust Object?

The unique amenities of Salt Spring Island include any of the many of the things that make our island special.  Our Garry Oak Ecosystems, our Mediterranean Climate type, our indigenous history, our olive grove, the terroir that makes our wine and cider great, the best Fall Fair around…

3. Will you commit to producing a development build-out report for your island if one is not available? This report would be a calculation of the maximum number of dwellings that could be built on the island under current zoning? From that an estimated island population can be calculated. 

I am strongly in favour of facts based decision making, and development build-out reports give our government a lot of facts.  However, we need to find out not just what the potential build out for Salt Spring is but what the existing build out is.  Salt Spring is loaded with hidden and secret workforce housing options.  Some from well meaning folks trying to help, some from unscrupulous landlords.  Some non-conforming housing in excellent shape, some unsuitable or even unsafe.  We need to ensure that this existing uncounted build out is counted so that unsuitable housing can either be brought up to standard or replaced by safe, secure, and attainable workforce housing.

4. Carrying capacity can be defined as the number of people each island can support without causing loss of functioning natural ecosystems on that island. Carrying capacity should also consider how many people can be supported by existing water supplies, ferry systems and other essential infrastructure. Would you support an analysis of the carrying capacity of your island and set a limit on the number of residences accordingly in your OCP?

It is essential to live within our carrying capacity but, like other communities, we are going to have to limit who can be allowed to move to our community.  We cannot limit growth to a certain number of dwellings and then leave it to the market to fill them.  We must direct where those homes go, and who can fill them.  Many other communities, for example Banff, Jasper, Whistler, Tofino, and Ucluelet, which value preservation of the environment have placed limits on some portion of housing to reserve it for working members of the community or long term residents.  Salt Spring must do the same.  Limiting growth is not enough, we need to manage not just how much, but where and who as well.

5. What weight would you give to water quality and quantity problems when considering rezoning properties on your island to a higher density?

Density should be built near amenities, services, and places of employment.  That includes ensuring density has sufficient water, whether from NSSWD, a high flow well, or other source.

6. Do you think environmental reports paid for by development applicants are sufficient when determining impacts on the natural environment?

I think being paid for by someone applying for a development does not automatically invalidate an environmental report.  Staff should be looking into reports to ensure they are from reputable organizations and flagging anything that seems out of place, but a report from a reputable organization paid for by a developer is fine.

7. Which Governance Review Report recommendations do you believe would best support improving Trust Council’s effectiveness?

Recommendation #12: A communications and engagement function should be established to replace the current advocacy function. A communications and engagement strategy should be developed as part of the annual corporate plan, and in support of the priorities identified therein.

The strategy should support the Preserve and Protect Object of the Trust, focusing on two goals: 1) strengthening the Islands Trust brand by increasing awareness and support for the Trust with relevant stakeholders, influencers, policy-makers, and decision-makers; 2) improving communication between the Trust and Trust Area residents, in line with Trust Council’s emphasis on transparency and consultation.

The communications and consultation strategy would identify specific initiatives, along with performance metrics to assess performance. As is the case with any public-facing organisation, an important component of such a strategy must be a digital and social media plan that allows Islands Trust to more effectively connect with its target audiences, both transmitting and receiving information.

The Islands Trust consistently fails in transparency, communications, and engagement.  We need a communications strategy to improve transparency, engagement with all Islanders not just the small groups engaged with currently, and to communicate with the communities at large not just the few subscribers on the mailing list.

8. Would you support an amendment to the Trust Policy Statement to make protecting the natural environment paramount in land use decisions?

While protection of the natural environment sits at the peak of the Trust’s purpose, it is not the Trust’s singular purpose and does not deserve paramountcy over other needs of the Trust Area.  The Trust must balance protection of the environment with its duties as a land use planning authority to the residents of the Trust Area.  The Trust must balance environmental protection with ensuring the workers of the Trust Area are able to live in the Trust Area while they provide essential services whether ferry worker, healthcare worker, grocer, teacher, barista, bartender, cook, carpenter, plumber, or whatever service they provide.

9. In your opinion, what is the role of Reconciliation in the context of the Islands Trust mandate of preservation and protection? Please provide a concrete example of how you envision this working at the Local Trust Committee level.

Reconciliation integrates well with the preserve and protect mandate.  We need to be preserving and protecting traditional indigenous sites, for example clam beds, and using zoning to aid in land back initiatives as demonstrated on Galiano Island this winter.  On the other hand, traditional indigenous knowledge can assist us in preservation and protection of the natural world First Nations folks have been stewarding since time immemorial.

10. What would you strive to accomplish during your four-year term?

I want to shift land use planning from the luxury rural sprawl we are currently allowing to attainable workforce density in and around villages and amenities.  In four years I hope the zoning changes I implement will lead to better environmental protection outside the villages, safer and more affordable housing inside the villages, and a more vital and energising feeling in Ganges.  Additionally I hope in four years to achieve a Trust that is more open, accessible, and transparent to average citizens.  I want to make our communities more engaged and the Trust more engaged with our communities.