Trustees Misrepresent Minister’s Message
The April 28 letter from the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs to Islands Trust Council Chair Laura Patrick is being selectively interpreted to the public by some trustees. Minister Kahlon’s letter refused the Trust’s request for a review of the Islands Trust Act, governance and structure.
In her Gulf islands Driftwood article last week, Chair Patrick omits one of the Minister’s clearest statements – that the Trust has an “ecological mandate.” Trustee Lisa Gauvreau goes further in her Galiano Active Page report, claiming the Minister declined to review the Trust Act because “the Province is focused on current housing priorities.” No doubt he is occupied with the housing file but the Minister made no such statement in his letter.
Both Gauvreau and Patrick disregard key directives from the Minister, including:
“It is my expectation that the Trust Council recognizes that this (land use planning) requires careful deliberation and consideration of perspectives to manage expectations of growth, development and local economies without exceeding the carrying capacity of local ecosystems and preserving unspoiled natural amenities.”
And:
“I will need Trust Council to take particular care to ensure their engagement with the public and First Nations on the bylaws put before me for approval, including amendments to Official Community Plans and the Trust Policy Statement, are undertaken in a manner that demonstrates mutual respect and builds towards consensus.”
By cherry-picking and spinning the Minister’s message while downplaying the Trust’s essential environmental mandate, one that will protect people and their communities, Patrick, Gauvreau, and others are undermining public trust and misusing public resources.
The entire text of the Minister’s letter can be found under “New” on our website – friendsofthegulfislands.ca. Sign our petition to support strong environmental policies that will protect communities – https://chng.it/8Ds5RzHBFh
Jennifer Margison, Galiano
Friends of the Gulf Islands Society
250-539-2202
