Today’s insert by Salt Spring Island journalist, Frants Attorp (see below) is alarming for those of us who live in the Gulf Islands and have embraced the mandate of the Islands Trust “to preserve and protect the trust area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the Trust Area and of British Columbia generally ,,,” Most often expressed as the “Preserve and Protect” mandate. Over the course of the past 10 or so years it has been evident that some Trustees, primarily those elected in the southern gulf islands have sought to reinterpret and or circumvent regulations in favour of growth and development. For many of us on the more northern islands the legal opinion quoted in the insert creates some hope that this trend will come to an end and, with public support of trustees from northern islands, and progressive trustees from throughout the Trust Area the “preserve and protect” mandate will be reinvigorated.
Graham Brazier
