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STATEMENTS FROM
EACH OF THE CANDIDATES
TO BE OUR LOCAL
ISLANDS TRUST REPRESENTATIVES
(Two out of the three will be elected)
Sue French, First and Follow-up Statements
Peter Luckham, First and Follow-up Statements
Dave Steen, First and Follow-up Statements
To go to the ALL CANDIDATES' FORUM, click here
http://www.islandstrust.bc.ca/pdf/thetisnonresnotice.pdf for voting information

       FRENCH, Sue

FIRST STATEMENT:
The job of an Islands Trust trustee is to provide leadership within their community in fulfilling the object/mandate of the 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, in co-operation with municipalities, regional districts, improvement districts, other persons and organizations and the Government of British Columbia.”
“In co-operation with” - there is our job and the challenge.
Islands Trust and the Government of BC ask for our co-operation to fulfill this important mandate created by insightful ministers in the mid 1970s. The goal then and now is keeping these Gulf Islands the beautiful gems of the BC coast that they are in the face of intense development pressures. On Thetis we have no public land to preserve and protect by creating parks or conservation areas. It is as each of us land owners, residents and visitors make private and public choices to preserve and protect in a great variety of small and large ways that we achieve the object of the Trust together on Thetis and in the balance of our Trust Area.
With Islands Trust’s Natural Areas Protection Tax Exemption Plan (NAPTEP) recently approved by the CVRD and being jointly implemented in the coming year, we now have in place an important new tool to encourage and reward conservation covenants which:
      1) gives support those who continue to own the land;
      2) won’t burden the rest of the tax payers who absorb the tax shift;
      3) privately preserves and protects in perpetuity places and features on our islands we hold dear and need for long term survival.
In this “win - win - win” situation - everyone benefits, as has been seen in the CRD where it’s been in use for over three years.
I believe with community involved, inclusive, thoughtful planning we can, over the next couple of years, improve our Official Community Plan and it’s supporting Land Use Bylaw while we preserve and protect this amazing island so it will remain healthy - able to sustain us and those who come after us long into the future. This will continue to mean limits of varying kinds for everyone and asks us to co-operate as we creatively develop new living habits and ways of using our precious resources - a challenge we can meet.
Working respectfully with our neighbouring First Nations peoples is another important area needing attention as we co-operate for the sake of preserving and protecting. We have much to learn from the people who have been here much longer than we have.
Most of us, knowingly or unknowingly, have arrived in these islands with the Trust mandate already in place. For a few this seems to be a burden while most others are pleased to be part of upholding the Trust. Some of you even carefully chose to move here in support the Trust. With the experience of 1 term of intense learning to ground me in reality I believe I can be a strong part of our local leadership team to put the Land Use Planning tools we have available to us to work. If elected, I will lead by listening and respecting the community voice and bringing my understanding of the Islands Trust mandate and process to the work of supporting our common visions for Thetis, Valdes and the other islands within our Trust Area.
“Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.” - Stewart Udall.
Sincerely,
Sue French.
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FOLLOW-UP STATEMENT:
When Peter Luckham and I were elected by acclamation in the Fall of 2005 I realized it was because no one else really wanted the job and that you trusted us to do it. As your trustees over the last three years we have learned at every turn and twist of the road called "community dynamics". Learning about the complexity of government processes and working in the public realm we have weathered some misunderstandings and a few mistakes with your gracious patience.
Putting those lessons to use we have been making real headway by building consistent staffing support and making that support accessible to you with once a month Thetis visit by our staff planner. We have brought the tool of Natural Areas Protection Tax Exemption Plan to our Trust Area for increased incentive to preserve and protect property privately. We have appointed an Advisory Planning Commission to assist in gathering information and developing recommendations for our OCP review. We have learned how to listen better and speak with greater care.
Government works slowly which is at times frustrating - yet is a safe guard by providing time and check points to ensure careful thought and review is given each step of the way when contemplating change so fewer mistakes are made in the long term. As we review our Official Community Plan and it’s supporting Land Use Bylaw we are taking the time to listen, think and work carefully to “preserve and protect” our beautiful islands. The final decisions will be made with as much support as possible to ensure we have real community “buy in” to our revised OCP and LUB.
We can now focus on the issues raised by the community. I hope to serve as your trustee for a second term with a continued focus on excellent staff support and an ongoing willingness to learn with and from you. Knowing better the full picture of Trust work I can better follow up on your individual letters and delegations while increasing the focus of educating all of us about the Trust and its importance for the Thetis Local Trust Area.
Now you have a choice of trustees and I ask for your continued trust. Please make time to vote on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Community Centre.
Thank you,
Sue French.

Sue is one of three candidates for the two Thetis Island trustee positions in the November 15 civic election. Each was invited to submit their position and hopes for serving as trustee for the 2008 – 2011 term. The trio’s statements were sent out simultaneously today, Monday, November 3, to e-wheel SPOKES recipients. The candidates have a followup option: to submit a second statement to be sent out Friday, November 7 – a chance to address public feedback or material contained in an opponent’s platform paper.
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       LUCKHAM, Peter

Greetings, and thank you for taking the time to review my campaign statement. I hope that you will look upon my story favorably and send me back to Trust Council to work for you and complete the tasks I have begun. I have been fortunate to live on Thetis Island for 21 years, moving here when I was just 30 seeking a place to hang my hat and call home. Adam Hunter was selling 10-acre lots back then, that’s what put Thetis Island on the map for me. I made a number of trips over that summer of 1987 checking out lots, people and the island. I did not buy one of Adam’s lots but did find three acres on Forbes Road that called out “home.”
A long story short, I lived here in my trailer for two years, met my future wife Simone, travelled to her homeland Switzerland for six months and we returned to build a cabin and a life together. Over the following three years we built our home where we live now, brought our son Alexander into the world where he promptly learned to hammer nails and drag lumber around from one pile to another. Eighteen years later Alexander is a first-year carpenter apprentice, still pounding nails and dragging lumber around on the island. Our daughter Tegan arrived 13 years ago and thrives in a loving, warm, safe community; what a great place for kids to grow up and learn about people & community!
What has all this got to do with an election for trustee you ask? Well a lot, actually. Over the time I have lived here, some of the people who were here when I arrived have left, others have come for varying lengths of time and some have stayed like we did. A number of elders have moved on or passed on, children have arrived, grown up, stayed and or moved on. Businesses of all descriptions have come, survived or again moved on.
The community pretty much accepts all of us who arrive. We were welcomed and supported in often magical ways, which I don’t think I would have experienced if I had lived somewhere else where often people don’t even know their own neighbours.
My neighbours helped build our house, looked after our kids, helped with firewood, gave rides to and from the ferry in inclement weather and in turn we helped others in kind.
But back to the “why” of all this; for me this election is about the community of which I am pleased to be a part. I don’t think the community has changed a whole lot in the time I have been here; that’s a good thing; it means it works, most people are content. Certainly property values have changed; most of us have high speed Internet; the fulltime resident population has slightly increased but mostly we are still doing similar things. We all enjoy this wonderful place including - amongst many other things - deer, owls, wildflowers, quiet, solitude, kind neighbours, warm community events, even Local Trust Committee meetings (granted, sometimes slightly more than warm). Over time many people have come and gone, business ideas have come and gone, “not permitted” uses have come and gone. Many of these people, businesses and “uses” have not gone because of by-laws or visions for that matter, but perhaps for lack of vision, or simply because they were not compatible with the community needs or expectations. There is a natural order to things, if we need to do anything; perhaps we need to find a way to support the natural order. I think this can be done through communication and dialogue. We need to talk to each other, our neighbours.
Generally things are fine, certainly some by-laws need to change to meet provincial and other regulatory requirements. Perhaps there is a need for some zoning adjustments, some language clarification, some recognition of the needs of the community to continue to sustain itself in caring for its young and it’s old. We need to support in writing the things we value, like the school, the ferries, fire protection, and our varied ways of life.
The last three years as trustee I have learned a lot about how the Islands Trust runs, who the staff are, what they do, what the politics are, and a lot about process and budgets. A significant part is seeing how the other islands work and deal with similar issues and concerns. I learned that we work as a federation of islands, whose mandate is “to preserve and protect”. This has many challenges.
As trustees Sue French and I have managed to get Thetis Island and the surrounding trust area on the radar of staff at Islands Trust, we are getting recognition and work done. This has included moving our support to the Northern office, improving Bylaw enforcement, with responsive officers and management who seek compliance rather than conflict. Opportunity to find some tax shelter and provide protection through NAPTEP (Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program). We have been laying plans and testing the waters to try and find out what the community really thinks about our official community plan and in the long run, the by-laws. We have recently created an APC (Advisory Planning Commission) whose task is to solicit your opinion to determine if you think we need to change anything with the vision or the by-laws. We want you to tell us. I am committed to listen and act on your wishes. I believe that it’s the community opinion that counts it is not the trustees’ opinion that is important. It’s the trustee’s job to listen to and assist the community in crafting a community plan that reflects its vision for a viable, sustainable future reflecting the values of the community and at the same time preserving and protecting what brought us all here.
There are two ways you can participate in this OCP process: the first is to come to the public meetings, write us letters or just call. The second is to vote on November 15th for the individuals you think are going to be able to best listen and act on your behalf.
In conclusion I would like to finish the job Sue French and I have started; continue to listen and work for the community. I would appreciate your vote to return me to Trust Council on Election Day. Please vote! Every vote counts!
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Peter Luckham.
250.246.4802
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FOLLOW-UP STATEMENT:
Greetings again, I have been asked a few questions that I would like to address in this forum and I thought it was important to comment on the statements of one of the other candidates.
Question 1: What do you think about the abandoned / derelict boats in the harbour?
I am very concerned about the situation in the harbour. It is not only vessels, it is rafts, mooring buoys and vessels at anchor or moored permanently that have no connection to Thetis. Lack of concern on the part of Transport Canada and other agencies who have jurisdiction over the water are the cause of this problem. Island trust has no jurisdiction over vessels or mooring practices. I am committed to work with concerned citizens and government agencies to find a solution.
Question 2: Is Kuper Island in the Trust Area and are the residents there able to vote for Trustees?
No. All reserve land is excluded from the Trust area, and persons living on reserve are not electors for Islands Trust, they can however vote for the CVRD directors and School Trustees.
My comments: Trust council consists of 26 elected members. I can assure David Steen that in this past term there have been no ladies or gentlemen’s handshake agreements or conspiracies.
The Islands Trust is on record opposing any bridges in the trust area, this is very clearly stated in the policy. It is BC Ferries that is interested in toll bridges and shorter ferry routes to the mainland without consideration for the islands.
Yes, the Local Trust committee does have more power than Trustees in the past have chosen to exercise. I think this is a wise choice because I believe we need to let the community decide what it wants to enforce through well thought out community plans and enforceable by-laws. By-law enforcement should not be at the whim of trustees but on legal opinion.
I do not support taking apart the OCP piece by piece. In this past term we have put in motion a community review of the entire OCP for the community to determine if change is needed or necessary. I will not support removing sections like “accessory buildings” or “lofts”. The community has spoken clearly on these issues.
Much discussion over many terms by staff and trustees has surrounded “model by-laws”, but as different as all the islands and their inhabitants are, so are the OCP’s and By-laws necessary, there is no cookie cutter solution. We live on Thetis because it is unique, we are not like the other islands nor do we want to be.
The Islands Trust certainly has internal issues, all the trustees and staff are well aware of them. I have spent the past three years working hard with staff and council members to improve the way Islands Trust delivers on its mandate and how it meets the needs of its electorate. At the Local Trust Committee I work for the community, I hope that you will allow me to continue this work for you. I am listening and am not prepared to make change without your support.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call.
Peter Luckham,
250.252.0758

Peter is one of three candidates for the two Thetis Island trustee positions in the November 15 civic election. Each was invited to submit their position and hopes for serving as trustee for the 2008 – 2011 term. The trio’s statements were sent out simultaneously today, Monday, November 3, to e-wheel SPOKES recipients. The candidates have a followup option: to submit a second statement to be sent out Friday, November 7 – a chance to address public feedback or material contained in an opponent’s platform paper.
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       STEEN, Dave

FIRST STATEMENT:
Summary:
I’m seeking your support to help …
Keep Thetis a beautiful place to live and visit.
Uphold Islands Trust Act to preserve and protect Thetis and other Gulf Islands.
And manage the Act, Trust policy statement and the Thetis official community plan (OCP) and bylaws fairly and openly, with attention to population influx and limits to growth.
Backgrounder:
(The length of my statement reflects my belief that voters are entitled to know where candidates are coming from and where they intend to go, if elected.)
Among the tributes to Phoebe Spurgeon at her recent standing-room only 90th birthday party at Forbes Hall was one by her neighbour Pat Mooney.
Talking about Phoebe’s long running listen-to-children-read program at the Thetis School, the husky ferry worker started to choke up. At that moment, whose heart didn’t feel a tug? It was Thetis at its best. And yet it was just another day. When the entire unprompted community showed up to celebrate a selfless soul, who like many on Thetis just keep on giving.
It reminded me that we’re living in the good old days when friends and neighbours took simple delight at being in each other’s company. I thought of the laughter and tears of human stories and events that have unfolded in Forbes Hall: memorials for people who had been good neighbours; Sunday prayers for the sick and troubled no matter what their faith; meetings to decide how volunteers could best serve the rest of us; school parties and performances where folks risked looking like fools to join the entertainers; concerts by some talented home-grown and imported musicians; community breakfasts, special events lunches, baby showers, seniors dinners, and pie auctions; Christmas crafts and book sales, fitness and recreation and Neighbour to Neighbour sessions. From the Friends of Furries to our amazing firefighters/first responders, our community fund and Capernwray’s student outreach, to pick-up baseball games with Kuper folks, and the little red school house where our hopes for tomorrow are expertly nourished, you’ve got to love this island!
What has this got to do with my bid for a trustee seat? Well, everything.
The purpose of the Trust Act is to preserve and protect the natural AND social environments of the islands. It sets aside this special, fragile place as a model and refuge from the clamour and dangers in a world choking from over-production and over-consumption. Let’s not wake up one day in this dream place to find we’re on a different island.
Some growth and change are inevitable and welcome. Thetis is accepting its share of development. If Capernwray’s 130 students are included, we match Salt Spring as the fourth-most densely populated of the Trust’s 13 island areas.
The Trust’s inventory of commercial visitor accommodations shows an “occupancy” capacity of paying visitors of 833, more than double our permanent population. We are only half way to the “build-out” permitted by our Official Community Plan, which is 450 single family homes and a smaller number of guest cottages. While it may seem prudent to wait and see what the mature state looks like before deciding whether to amend our plan, the OCP’s vision can be modified at any time. In fact, there are good reasons and a legal obligation to give ongoing consideration to changes which may be recommended by private and public sources. Technically, trustees aren’t politicians; they hold a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of Trust beneficiaries.
Over the years, in many Thetis discussions involving the Trust, too little regard has been paid the Trust Act. Maybe, with good reason. An Ipsos-Reid poll once showed that more than 90 percent of BC people believe the Gulf Islands are a special part of the province; 86 percent say they should be protected from overdevelopment; and 88 percent believe the province should ensure they are preserved and protected for all British Columbians. But, while everybody favours “preserving and protecting,” divisions and disputes arise over the detailed definitions of those terms which are spelled out in the Trust policy statement. It’s a puzzling document. With more wind-up than delivery, its text would surely disappoint the provincial leaders who drafted the Trust Act in the early 1970s and vowed that, “We won’t let these precious jewels slip through our fingers.”
The fact the Gulf Islands population is growing at twice the provincial average is a clue that the Trust Act’s noble intentions are under siege.
You may wonder what has been preserved or protected on Salt Spring. Gabriola is studying the feasibility of building a bridge to Vancouver Island, a project that’s akin to pulling the proverbial finger out of the dike. Although the natural environment suffers with each additional human footprint, I’m not suggesting the social environment is worse on those islands. It’s just different, more crowded and complex. Like most places succumbing to the urban wave, they face urban challenges, such as how to provide all the goods and services on-island and cope with crime and affordable housing and traffic problems. You likely know people there. I know some who yearn for the good old days when their neighbours weren’t strangers, when life was like … well, like it is on Thetis.
So that raises the question, which is the heart of my purpose for seeking election: Is Thetis making the same mistakes that Salt Spring made 30 years ago, mistakes that will eventually turn us into a mini-Salt Spring? I’m not certain, but I sure want to find out so that if we are, we can correct them before it’s too late. Thetis’ permanent population has remained steady at about 360 people for several years despite the daily arrivals of trades-persons and materials. The explanation may be the increased interest by investors and second-home owners. Only 37 percent of homes are occupied by permanent residents.
Some people argue that the inflation of housing prices on other islands is in part the result of the proliferation of short term vacation rentals in residential areas. The practice by non-residents of building and renting multi-suite homes on Salt Spring became a mini-industry.
Residents complained that “the illegal uses have robbed our community of commercial taxes for years.” Trust enforcement has been ineffectual even though one court case provided a precedent.
Eight years ago Whistler took vacation rental owners to court, and in the resulting decision, Mr. Justice Drost said, “In my view it is untenable to suggest that the rental of a detached dwelling to short-term paying guests is a normal and customary residential use.” His view was upheld by the Appeal Court of B.C. It’s estimated that short term vacation rentals and multiple ownership of single lots increase land and housing prices by 20 to 30 percent over their value as traditional residences. That reduces housing rental and purchase opportunities for middle and lower income people. Last year some waterfront land assessments on Thetis rose a remarkable 160 percent before neighbours organized a joint appeal to have them trimmed back.
In addition to inflated housing prices, exposing Thetis to some unregulated growth and tourism would increase home security costs, crime, ferry wait times, traffic, construction, risk of wildfires, emergency occurrences and infrastructure costs, strain on groundwater aquifers, the risk of septic effluent contamination of groundwater and soils, solid waste and litter, noise pollution, degradation of wildlife habitat, seasonal displacement of resident renters, and the loss of local community identity and spirit.
In research on how attractive island communities can identify and save themselves from unplanned growth, two themes persist:
First, we must discard the notion, even voiced by Canada’s new environment minister, that the environment is equal in status to the economy and society. Without the environment, no economy or society is possible. Mankind is waking up to the reality that we can’t keep ransacking the environment; to destroy it we destroy ourselves.
Second, there are powerful forces afoot to discover and sell paradise. Undoubtedly, Thetis is a piece of paradise. Left unchecked, the shelf life of a world vacation destination is 14 to 20 years. Here’s what typically happens: an authentic, accessible, accommodating, scenic area attracts a growing number of visitors. At their dollar-backed insistence, more and more amenities of high living are installed until paradise is lost. One United Nations charter says people should have the right to see the world, but when they arrive, if there’s a conflict, their interests must be subordinate to residents.
With these themes in mind, the Trust must never lose a grip on its objective as development pressures escalate. On Thetis it will mean making our zoning crystal clear and backing it with sensitive compliance practices. Wise land use management should minimize our environmental impact and foster a community where the greatest good is enjoyed by the greatest number while protecting the majority and minority from incompatible uses; it should secure the value and quiet enjoyment of our properties. Until recently, the understaffed Trust treated Thetis as small potatoes. One bylaw officer at a Thetis meeting admitted to driving by some infractions because he had bigger fish to fry. “Acceptable,” innocent indiscretions may later become a nuisance when assumed by a less-aware buyer when a property is sold. A close reading of the Trust Act reveals that the local trust committee can exercise more control over compliance issues than Thetis people have been led to believe.
The Trust needs fresh ideas, more energy, and talented leaders who can rally and raise public and provincial moral and financial support. We can’t solve today’s problems with the same thought processes that created the problems. The larger Trust is splintered and weakened by an unspoken gentleman’s agreement between local trust committees not to interfere or vote against each other’s initiatives. Some people grumble that the Trust is an unnecessary extra layer of local government, headquartered on other islands, that sports an urban-planning bias. Public trust is needed before its mission can be appreciated.
The Trust must sincerely listen to Thetis people and respond conscientiously and professionally to their letters and deputations. Meeting leaders should cater more to the convenience of those who show up. And those who don’t shouldn’t have to wait for months to find out what happened; unapproved minutes should be published immediately. The Trust serves us, not the reverse.
In the past few weeks we’ve received invitations by the Local Trust Committee and APC to file survey responses, letters and comments about your vision of Thetis’ future. Let’s make certain that the 2-year APC program and interest in your views are not in vain, that it’s not an illusion of democracy whose real effect is to delay and deflect the responsibility for making hard choices, a practice that undermines public confidence in the process. A few years ago an APC recommended numerous bylaw changes. Its report was shelved by the Trust and now six years later still gathers dust. One reality is that Thetis can’t be all things to all people. It won’t become a microcosm of larger centres that provide every amenity including a wide array of employment opportunities and a mix of housing for every income level. Thetis already offers a range of these in keeping with our geographic size.
The APC’s job of recommending comprehensive changes to the official plan and bylaws is daunting. Its focus should be narrowed to a manageable size to identify, study and recommend early solutions and action on key problems, such as:
- Define “dwelling unit.” If recent Trust-sanctioned cases are a precedent, you can re-label your home an “accessory building” and live in it. The personal advantage is that you can then build a second home on your lot. The Trust also okays placing an unspecified number of permanent trailer homes under fixed structures on residential lots. The disadvantages to the neighbours and community are self evident. (My requests to the Local Trust Committee to review these approvals were turned over to the same staff person who made the original decisions and of course he didn’t change his mind.)
- Define “accessory.” Guest cottages are required to be “accessory” to the dwelling unit on the same lot. It’s hard to see how they can be “accessory” on multiple-owner properties where one family owns the house and the other, the cottage. A person can’t be a guest in his own house. Maybe “accessory” should simply be removed from the official plan.
- Define “sleeping loft.” Presently the Trust allows sleeping lofts to be entire second stories of guest cottages. That means that a two-story cottage can be 1,400 square feet. Hardly a cottage! One solution may be to set a second-story floor space limit, say of 200 or 300 square feet that’s not conditional of head space.
I would urge Islands Trust to begin to develop “model bylaws” for trust areas, ones with clear language designed to withstand court challenges.
Local trust committees presently develop and amend their own official plans and bylaws. With model bylaws to cherry-pick and an expert to periodically sit in on APC meetings, it would accelerate the review process. The models could include explanations to show how each (or at least the most contentious) conforms to the Trust Act. Obviously it would be a big, staged undertaking for the Trust, but compare that to the frustrations, unnecessary animosities, wasted time and disrespect for law and the Trust that prevent trustees, APCs and citizens from solving common problems across the islands.
Elections are your democratic right and privilege. They should promote fruitful, respectful discussions about how we manage ourselves. On the other hand, acclamations are like hiring without a job interview. To give you and the island the best voice, select trustees on their ability, commitment, and positions on issues. If it’s a popularity contest, I confess that I’ve never been the life of the party, won a beauty contest or dressed a moose. With a different approach, emphasis and intensity, I’m less patient and impressed with the slow pace and some business practices of the Trust. It needs to listen and communicate better. It needs to explain and promote its beneficial purpose in order to gain public support. Otherwise it will fail.
In a world where there’s too much to care about, we need to put our trust in civic managers who know that there are good ideas and bad ideas and the first good idea is to know the difference.
I’m asking for your help to get on with our work on Thetis and help revitalize the Trust for the sake of Thetis and all the Gulf Islands.
Life on Thetis will hang separately unless we make a conscious choice to hang together. If elected, I will work for the latter.
Thanks,
Dave Steen
Personal notes: I am 66, a 13-year Thetis resident, cyclist and retired newspaper editor/writer. My partner Doreen Lilley and I helped found the grassroots Gulf Islands Alliance www.gulfislandsalliance.ca which is dedicated to “preserving our fragile island environments and small rural communities.” It now has 300 members. I’ve served as a Thetis ratepayer executive, Quarterly editor, advisory planning commissioner, and organizer of Get-to-the-Point and Terry Fox run/walks.
For more information or to comment, please contact me at 250.246.3530 or 66steen67@uniserve.com)
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FOLLOW-UP-STATEMENT:
Thanks to SPOKES and Lon Wood for this opportunity to follow up on our trustee campaign statements sent to you earlier this week.
Because no ‘third party’ has chosen to hold an all-candidates meeting, this seems the next best and fairest way to present our platforms.
Thanks, too, to the candidates who chose not to clutter the roadsides with election signs.

*****
In “public comment” time at yesterday’s Advisory Planning Commission meeting, Ernie Hunter sparked a robust discussion when he suggested that top priority should be given to having open dialogue with Thetis people at both the APC and Local Trust Committee meetings.
The APC is working hard to gather facts and viewpoints from residents so they can recommend to the Trust ways to update the Official Community Plan. That’s the objective of the facilitated meeting tomorrow 10 a.m. to 12 noon at Forbes Hall.
I support any move to welcome and involve residents and property owners in the dialogue. Within the measures to protect Thetis’ social and natural environments, set out in the provincial Islands Trust Act, there’s plenty of latitude to create a plan that reflects the dreams and desires of our people.
Our most precious resource is people. Consider how far we could get if we could put all the experience, talent, and wisdom of Thetis people in the same boat and have them row in the same direction? To get there, the Trust needs to popularize and get Thetis folks excited about its story – the quest to protect a truly special and wonderful part of the world. Then it has to reach out and listen carefully. (I love Larry King’s line: “I never learned a thing when I was talking.”)

*****
There was some official confusion over Kuper Island’s role in our election. I was surprised a few weeks ago to see about 100 Kuper people’s names on the Thetis voting list. The CVRD people running our election assured me they had the right to vote in the Trust election. That position was confirmed by an Islands Trust staff person I called later.
Just yesterday, a ‘clarification’ was issued by the Chief Election Officer: “The Ministry of Community Development has advised that the Islands Trust Act specifically excludes Indian Reserves from the Islands Trust Area. Kuper Island electors cannot vote in the Islands Trust election.”

*****
Another mistake that needs reporting is one I made in my candidacy statement: contrary to what I believed when I wrote it, several recommendations by the APC of the early 2000s were incorporated into the OCP. Some were set aside apparently because they didn’t conform to the Trust Act. I regret the error.

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For more information or to comment, please contact me at 66steen67@uniserve.com or 250.246.3530.

Dave is one of three candidates for the two Thetis Island trustee positions in the November 15 civic election. Each was invited to submit their position and hopes for serving as trustee for the 2008 – 2011 term. The trio’s statements were sent out simultaneously today, Monday, November 3, to e-wheel SPOKES recipients. The candidates have a followup option: to submit a second statement to be sent out Friday, November 7 – a chance to address public feedback or material contained in an opponent’s platform paper.
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