Cortes Currents

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - On Friday, June 5, Manda Aufochs Gillespie welcomed three women from neighbouring islands to Folk U Radio. In the interview that follows, Renate Harvey and Renée Desautel from Sonora Island and Sheila Hollanders from Read Island talk about their lives, families, communities and hopes for years to come.

De Clarke / Cortes Currents - My assumption is that we will, at some point in time, see a fire on Cortes of a severity that will flabbergast the population. It may not happen this year, and it may not happen in 10 years, but the conditions are getting very, very bad. That is what Mike Brown, volunteer fire fighter and long time Cortes resident, had to say at the May 3rd meeting on Emergency Preparedness in the Pioneer Room. At that thinly-attended meeting, SRD emergency services staffer Sarah Rosen gave a presentation on emergency preparedness for individuals and households. As part of her presentation she reviewed potential emergencies in our local area. Cortes Island is fortunate to be sheltered from tsunamis; earthquakes are rare in BC; the island has no rivers to flood or dams to burst (unlike Campbell River, where the hydro power dam is currently undergoing seismic safety renovations). The island has no hazardous chemical plants or huge fuel dumps. The one serious disaster-grade risk to the Cortes community is wildfire.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Eric Denis grew up in Quebec and is the technical operator of machines at Island Sea Farms. Melissa Steblyk comes from Alberta, is a substitute teacher at the Cortes Island School, and also manages the Gorge Marina. Last May, they launched a moped rental business called Cortes Cruiser in the Gorge. It didn't start out that way. Melissa Steblyk: “Eric's got three kids, and his oldest is almost 16. We were thinking a scooter would be a great option for him when he gets his license.” Eric Denis: “In March, we bought that first bike. It was one of those Yamaha BWS—just a little bit of a beater. It was for my kids, so it was like, ‘We'll fix it up.'” The Vision for Cortes Cruiser Melissa Steblyk: “We bought one, and then we were like, ‘Why don't we buy another one? Maybe we could rent them out.' People are constantly asking, ‘How do we get around the island? We want to see Cortes. We want to experience this.' I was like, ‘I don't know what you can do. You can hitchhike, if you'd like.' Then the idea dawned on us. We're at the Gorge—we have a setup here. I work at the marina, I can promote it through word of mouth right there, and we can really see it going somewhere.” Cortes Currents: They approached Marco Bedetti, manager of The Gorge Harbour Marina, with the idea of renting out their mopeds at the resort. Eric Denis: “Marco's a good friend. I've known Marco since I moved here, when he was working under Bill Dougan and Tammy Allwork back in the day. I worked at Island Sea Farms as well. I'm a liveaboard—I've been living here at the Gorge for the winters. I'm out of the dock for the summer, but I come back for the winter.” Melissa Steblyk: “I've been working at the Gorge. I've been at the marina for the last two years—this is going to be my third year. I have a good working relationship and friendship with Marco, and I understand the need people have, especially coming in on a boat. “He said, ‘Okay, if you guys want to do this, you need to come up with a business plan. You have to sell me on this a little bit if we're going to bring you into it.'” Eric Denis: “For people who come by boat, it gives them a good opportunity to visit the rest of the island.” Melissa Steblyk: “Go to Squirrel Cove, check out the food truck there. Drive over to Manson's, enjoy the beach, check out the lake, and then go to the co-op—Bertha's—and have a snack. And maybe take that down to Smelt Bay. Those are the main things we recommend.” Eric Denis: “So we came up with a good plan, and he set me up really well at the Gorge.” Melissa Steblyk: “I'm not saying we're tied to the Gorge—we're still a separate entity—but we're located here.” Getting Started Cortes Currents: They decided to purchase five mopeds. Eric Denis: “We started researching, and we went for some 49cc automatic Honda Ruckus scooters. They've got Honda reliability.” Melissa Steblyk: “We wanted something that still looked great, ran well, and we knew it could handle the island.” Eric Denis: “We set up a trailer close by the Gorge staff area. I have the five bikes over there and a little bit of a shop so I can maintain them.” Cortes Currents: When did you rent the first moped out? Eric Denis: “The May long weekend during Seafest. A couple from Campbell River came by jet ski, wanted to do some house hunting. They just went, ‘Oh, this is easy.' Then they went on a cruise for a couple of hours.” Melissa Steblyk: “We hadn't even posted yet—we were still trying to figure out how they found us. They might have just been walking by. We didn't have everything fully organized, but we were close enough. They saw us, and that was our first rental.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -  At their May 27 meeting, the Strathcona Regional District Board approved a motion to provide the Cortes Island Food Bank with close to $24,000 for its new outlet in Manson's Landing. Mark Vonesh (Regional Director, Cortes Island): “I'd like to move that a financial contribution of up to $23,425 be approved from the Electoral Area B Community Works Fund to the Cortes Island Food Bank Association to support construction of a food security hub, subject to finalizing a funding agreement between the association and the regional district.” The minutes state that Michael Lott of Gold River seconded the motion, but the voice in the audio sounds more like Robin Mawhinney, Regional Director for Area C. Mark Baker (Chair of the SRD): “Discussion? All in favor. Motion is passed.” The money comes from federal gas tax revenues, which in BC are administered by the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM). A similar motion was turned down on October 2, 2025, because the funds would go to a third party. As Chief Administrative Officer David Leach explained at that time:
“The challenge is, again, these are UBCM resolutions. It's not an SRD asset. So is this a priority within the regional districts? Do you have any other regional deficiencies that you could use this money for yourself? That's the challenge. It qualifies, but it's to a third party.” Some directors were concerned that granting money to a third party could be interpreted as meaning the SRD did not have any applicable projects of its own. The Union of BC Municipalities later advised the SRD that funding for the Cortes Island Food Bank be eligible as cultural infrastructure if it was included in board-approved planning documents. This interpretation is based on the precedent set by communities using gas tax funds to enhance community centers that host programs such as emergency shelters and food services, thereby contributing to food security outcomes. SRD staff responded by incorporating the project into their 2026 to 2031 financial plan. Beatrix Baxter, president of the Cortes Island Food Bank, emailed, "We were thrilled to get the news that our funding request was approved. This was funding we were hoping to get last year as we faced the loss of our former food storage location and needed to make emergency renovations to the shipping containers at the Village Commons. Unfortunately, due to questions about whether a nonprofit can count as a beneficiary of that particular infrastructure funding, we weren't able to access that funding last year. We're so grateful to our regional director and to the SRD board, C-CAO and CFO for their work in negotiating an effective strategy so those funds are available to, so those funds are available to us this year." "We hope other nonprofits on the island will work with the regional director to use this strategy to fund future projects. We're continuing to work on the shipping containers, adding a roof between the structures and improving accessibility. We're excited to show the public everything that we've been working on at our open house later this summer. It's been a huge effort, and we couldn't have done it without the support of the SRD, our regional director, Food Banks Canada, and our amazing local donors who consistently show up to support our work. The need in our community is growing, and we're very glad to be working on eradicating hunger with the support of our local government."

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - On May 3rd, Sarah Rosen from the Strathcona Regional District came to the Pioneer Room at Mansons Hall to talk about emergency preparedness… and there were about eight people in the room. As Sarah herself said, the biggest emergency preparedness risk on the island might just be that so few of us are thinking about it. [I'll admit that I've been procrastinating — not getting around to producing this story — and it might be because the subject is a little uncomfortable when you know that you yourself are not prepared. But avoidance and procrastination are exactly the problems that Sarah came to address, and she says being prepared might not be as daunting as you think.] Sarah Rosen speaks at the Pioneer Room, May 3rd 2026 — photo by Roy Hales With just three questions: should I stay, should I go, how do I know? I'm gonna walk you through how you could prepare for everything. Three Essential Questions In the first week of my job, I was given an amazing insight by one of my former coworkers, the basis of these three questions: Should I stay? Should I go? How do I know? And what I learned from her is that basically there's only two types of disaster and emergency in terms of how you actually wanna prepare for them: situations where you need to stay put or shelter in place, and then situations where you need to evacuate (and typically you need to evacuate fast). Sarah works for the Emergency Services section of the Strathcona Regional District. She travels to communities across the region to offer these workshops, and her job is to make emergency preparedness feel manageable rather than overwhelming. So she structures everything around those three core questions. My sense is that some people feel so overwhelmed by the scope of all the disasters that can happen that they choose consciously or subconsciously to just not even kind of open their minds up to the preparedness process, and I really understand that. Like if, if you have this sense of like, you know, a wall of fire bearing down on your home or a catastrophic earthquake, and that's what's in your mind when you're thinking of preparedness, it's pretty easy to feel powerless in the face of that.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - After serving at the Quadra Island Medical Clinic for eight years, Dr Steve Hughes will soon be retiring. That puts the island in a difficult spot and inn this morning's interview Marc Doll, Chair of the Quadra Island Foundation, explains how his organization and the clinic have teamed and raised more than $50,000 towards finding Hughes replacement. Marc Doll: "Dr. Hughes, who I believe is the doctor for several people on Cortes as well, is retiring. He's stretched out his retirement as far as he can. Come September, he will be doing the official retirement, which puts that clinic, which is anchored by a doctor, in a stressful position." "The Quadra Island Health Society, which was formed last time a doctor left that clinic, has been searching for a doctor for some time now, and it's been a rough rough ride. It's hard to find doctors willing to come to specialized clinics in rural settings. So they decided, as a board, to reach out to a professional healthcare recruiter. That comes with a pretty hefty price tag, at least from my perspective, and the decision was to go to the community to find the funds to hire a recruiter to bring a doctor, to the island to keep that clinic open." "So about two weeks ago, they came to us to ask us if we would engage in a project for them to hire a recruiter. We sat down as a board, decided it was within our charitable purposes, set up the fund, and let it be known to the community that this was happening. We expected it would take a couple of months to find that amount of funds, and it was less than two weeks before we actually exceeded the target." "Now the recruiter is at work, and we keep bringing our fingers crossed that this process will work and bring a doctor to the island." Cortes Currents: Do you have any idea how long it would take through the process to find a doctor? Marc Doll: "Well, that's the $10,000 question, right? Can you find somebody?" "And if you find somebody, is it somebody that will be a fit for that particular office 'cause, as most people know, that office isn't just simply a doctor's office. It saves us from having to go to Campbell River for every blood test. There's a community health nurse running out of that office, and a lot of other things." "So it's probably not as simple as just finding any first-year doctor that's willing to go there." "We have to be optimistic. We know that we've had doctors leave this island, in the last few years. Every time, even though it, took six, seven, eight months longer than you would expect, we managed to always fill those gaps. It helps that both quadra is an amazing community, beautiful place to live, easy access to Campbell River." "So all those things are benefits, but there are dozens of communities and probably hundreds of offices across British Columbia that are short doctors at this point." Cortes Currents: Is there anything you would like to add? Marc Doll: "Just a big thank you to everybody on the islands that stepped up, put their money forward to make this make this program a success and hopefully the program itself will be a success. Then I think a word of appreciation to the hard work of the volunteer board of the Health Society and the volunteer board of the Quadra Island Foundation that put in a lot of hours to get to this point."

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - On Friday, May 29, 2026, Chief Kevin Peacey of the Klahoose First Nation came to the Cortes Radio station, where he was interviewed by Manda Aufochs Gillespie.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - At the May 27 SRD Board Meeting, Mayor Kermit Dahl of Campbell River accused Regional Directors Mark Vonesch, Robyn Mawhinney and Gerald Whalley of bullying Regional Director John Rice:     “For example, when Director Rice was outvoted on a development in Area D by three electoral area Directors who wanted to show him, ‘Stay in line or else we'll show you.' They could stop him from succeeding in moving Area D forward.” This is not the first time Campbell River Directors have made this allegation. Directors Rice and Whalley also discussed the matter in the chatter from the opening of this Board Meeting's YouTube video. It is difficult to make out what Director Rice was saying, but Regional Director Whalley clearly states he was supporting Area D's Official Community Plan (OCP): Director Rice: "The point being that ... ( his words were lost in the surrounding noise)." Director Whalley: "Well, I don't agree with that and that's fine." Director Rices's reply is muffled. Director Whalley: “No, we were trying to support your community plan because it included 2 hectares and you had 1 hectare; that was wrong. Then the community plan was revised, and I said, ‘Okay, now it's right,' and now that's history.” It was relatively easy to find the application they were talking about. A search of SRD minutes found 16 applications since February 2023; 15 of these passed the first time through. In all but one of these15 cases, there were no opposing votes. The accusation of 'bullying' arises from the rezoning application associated with Bylaw No. 519, submitted by Peter Zaschke and seven other Area D residents, which was turned down at the October 11, 2023 Board meeting. As it was held in Kyuquot, there is no YouTube recording. This was an electoral-area-only decision and far from the situation Mayor Dahl described. Directors Rice and Vonesch voted for the application, while Mawhinney and Whalley opposed it. When the topic was reintroduced at the November 8, 2023 Board meeting, Director Whalley explained that his opposing vote was cast in support of Area D's Official Community Plan (OCP): "It says, new lots shall have an average minimum lot size of 2.0 hectares. Just that simple. Applicants wanted lot sizes of 1.0 to 1.3 hectares. In my view, that wasn't right."

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - Mark Vonesch was removed from his position as vice chair of the SRD through a non-confidence vote, and Campbell River director Susan Sinott elected in his place. The voting followed what is becoming a familiar pattern: with the five Campbell River directors and their allies voting to remove Vonesch, while the directors from Gold River, Tahsis, and electoral areas A, B, and C supported him. The Alleged Plot It was preceded by a roughly two-hour-long in-camera session, after which Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl addressed the meeting. Mayor Dahl: "I gotta say, Wow! I've watched the Strathcona Regional District meeting from April 29th and I think 'Wow' best describes the performances of the day. Some were Gemini Award worthy. From listening to directors talking about strategically quorum busting, Directors Whalley and Vice Chair Director Vonesh plotting a strategic walkout to collapse quorum at 3 hours and 4 minutes into the YouTube recording. I can listen to it, watch it and it's clear their intention. I encourage anyone from the public listening or watching this meeting to do the same."

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - The Cortes Island Food Bank has a new Executive Director. Filipe Figueira retired last November, and Angelica Raaen has been at the helm since then. In this morning's interview, she responds to five myths about food banks and also talks a little about her new role. Angelica Raaen: “I think it's really important that the stigma around food banks and food assistance be addressed, and that everyone who needs to access the food bank—or could use help—feels comfortable doing so. We're here if anyone needs us.” The Myths #1: Is it true that everybody misuses the food bank? Angelica Raaen: “No, that's not true. People tend to underuse the food bank. They usually exhaust all of their other resources first before reaching out, and the stigma surrounding food bank use tends to make people wait even longer. They may feel they don't deserve it, think other people need it more than they do, or worry about what community members might think.” #2: Why don't they just go out and get jobs? Angelica Raaen: “A lot of people who use the food bank already have jobs, but minimum wage often isn't enough to cover the cost of living. Some people also face extra expenses that they can't manage with their income alone. For those who don't have jobs, there can be many barriers to employment, such as disability, intermittent work, seasonal work, or other challenges. You never know someone's full story or what they're going through.” #3: Can't they just learn how to budget their money? Angelica Raaen: “Telling people to budget their money assumes they have extra money left to budget. So much of people's income is taken up by rent, medical bills, clothing, and other essentials. For Canada's lowest-income earners, shelter alone now consumes two-thirds of their disposable income. That leaves only one-third for everything else: food, transportation, clothing, medicine, and so on. The total ends up being 123% of their income, which is obviously more than they have. No amount of budgeting can fix that deficit.” #4: Aren't food banks part of the problem? If you didn't have this crutch, people could take steps to leave food insecurity behind. Angelica Raaen: “Food banks have a very high turnover rate, which shows that people use them and then, in many cases, no longer need them. Having that extra time or financial relief can help people free up energy to address health issues, settle into a new living situation, or earn credentials for a job. Food banks allow people to take those steps and move out of whatever difficult situation they're in.” #5: If we didn't have food banks, wouldn't society have to address the problems that cause hunger in the first place? Angelica Raaen: “It's part of our mandate as a food bank to recognize that food banks aren't a long-term solution to hunger—we're just a band-aid for a much bigger problem. We know food banks aren't a permanent answer, but they are definitely a necessary emergency service. All the food banks I know of are working to address the underlying causes of food insecurity, mostly by advocating for government policy change.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Inspirations: An interview with Ruby Singh Juno-nominated musician Ruby Singh recently returned to Cortes Island, both as a facilitator for the CASE Youth Leadership Conference at Hollyhock and to give a concert at Manson's Hall. In this morning's interview, he talks about his many forms of artistic expression, inspirations, and relationship with Cortes Island. Ruby Singh: "I find inspiration in a lot of different ways. I feel like we are all just small tendrils of creation, so the act of creation and the act of creativity are among the most natural ways of being. Other artists really inspire me. I am deeply inspired by ancestry and futurity at the same time, so finding ourselves where we are in this timeline of inheritance from our ancestors, and what we are thinking about leaving here when we leave. Long timelines really inspire me, and deep time is a very inspirational thing. I get a lot of inspiration from my community, from the people around me, and from this more-than-human world that surrounds us." Cortes Currents: What brought you to Cortes? Ruby Singh: "Years and years and years ago, I think it was Mook and Monique who invited our band to come up and play. It might have been the late '90s, maybe even '98, and we played over at the Gorge. We had a band called Sapna. Who was the fantastic woman who ran that bakery there for a long time? Truda baked us a cake on our first arrival, and then after the gig we were shuffled off over to Channel Rock, spent some time there, and instantly felt the gorgeousness of this place. In the '90s and 2000s, a few of us went to Carrington Bay and camped out there for a while because it was so beautiful." "We're looking back over 25 years now. Every August I'm usually back, because that was when we were doing the youth camps. I love coming here in August and just being here, close to the water and the forest, and having a great summertime on Cortes." Cortes Currents: I was reading the bio the Cortes Island Academy provides for the CASE Youth Leadership Summit. Tell me how your work is at the intersection of social justice, the arts, capacity building, and systemic change. Ruby Singh: "I have worked in social and ecological organizing and education for over 20 years—working within education systems, within detention centers, and within universities and colleges, running workshops. There's really something powerful about being able to express our stories and have them listened to. That moves into an idea of agency and being able to move in the world. My artwork has those things at the basis of creation, but I am also just coming off working with all the young people today."

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - Lately, Cortes Islanders have been frustrated by the number of large trucks appearing in the ferry lineups in both directions on the Quadra/Cortes run. In particular, the number of gravel-hauling truck/trailer rigs has been the subject of comment and complaint. These oversize vehicles take up as many as five regular car spaces, and when combined with the usual number of food delivery trucks and Quadra Builders' regular hi-ab flatbed runs, some feel the “commercials” are taking up more than their share of deck space. Certainly the morning lineups on Quadra, inbound to Cortes, are very long indeed and contain many heavy trucks. When the gravel trucks head for Cortes with a full load, they also weigh so much that the ferry may reach its weight limit before the car deck is filled, thus further displacing passenger cars from much-coveted ferry space. Residents say there have been an unusual number of gravel truck/trailer trips recently due to some major construction activity on the island. I travelled from Quadra to Cortes on Friday morning May 22nd, and (wisely) put my car in the line-up at Heriot Bay the night before. Even at 8pm on the previous night there were already two gravel haulers lined up. By 8am they had been joined by two large refrigerator trucks, a large flatbed, and two pieces of heavy earth moving equipment moving under their own power. These oversize and overweight vehicles took up at least three quarters of the ferry deck on that first inbound run, leaving a substantial overload behind. The situation is not ideal, but some BC Ferries staff believe relief is in sight. One BC Ferries worker told me that when the new Island Class ferry takes over the Cortes/Quadra run this summer, the “truck problem” will improve: Not only will the new boat have more deck space, I was told, but it has a much higher weight limit as well. The Island Nagalis will transition to Route 24 between Quadra – Cortes Island by summer 2026, replacing the Tachek and increasing vehicle capacity from 26 to 47 and passengers and crew space from 150 to 399.  The unpopular gravel truck/trailer rigs making so many daily trips in recent weeks may help to win community support for the controversial Whaletown quarry expansion proposal currently being reviewed by provincial ministries. Almost all Cortes Islanders acknowledge that it makes good sense to use local gravel and free up more ferry deck space for passenger cars, yet many remain critical of what they see as the disproportionate scale of the proposal and its lack of environmental review. Most recently, FOCI has gone on record as opposing the proposal as currently submitted. With some island builders choosing not to use Whaletown gravel due to quality issues or a preference for dealing off-island, and with construction projects apparently increasing in scope, islanders can only hope that the BC Ferries staff are right -- that the Island Class ferry will offer enough of a capacity boost to make sure passenger vehicles get their share of deck space.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - We're coming up to the 90th anniversary of the Vancouver Island Regional Library. In this morning's interview Beatrix Baxter, the new Circulation Supervisor at the Cortes Island branch, talks about the library, her love of books and how they are going to celebrate on Saturday, May 30th. Beatrix Baxter:  “The Vancouver Island Regional Library was established in 1936, and it started off with six library branches, 28 sub-branches, and seven van routes. Now we're up to 39 library branches and our online branch, which we say is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because you can go online anytime." “All 39 branches share what we call a floating collection. We all each hold part of the collection. When a library customer goes online to put a book on hold, the call goes out to all the branches that might have a copy of that book. The first one to respond sends the book off, and it goes through our system and ends up here on Cortes, or wherever the person is requesting it from. “I don't know how many books we have, but more than five million items are circulated annually. That's books, magazines, video games, DVDs, TV shows, audiobooks — it's everything that we have, which is actually quite a lot.” Origins of the Cortes Island Library Narrator: The first Cortes Islands Library is actually one year older than the Vancouver Island Regional Library. Beatrix Baxter: "The first library that Cortes had was started by the Whaletown Women's Institute in 1935. They were gifted or negotiated the use of the Farmers Institute building, which we now know as the Louise Tucker Library. That's our longest running library. The Whaletown School had a library at some point." "When Manson's Hall underwent a major renovation in 1980, they expanded it to include the space for the post office and the play school and the library. So we were up in the top floor of Manson's Hall for many years." Cortes Island Joins the Vancouver Island Regional Library System "May Ellingsen ran things over there before the museum was established. She used to keep all of her famous photo albums at the library. I don't know when it became part of the Vancouver Island Regional Library, but she was instrumental in making that happen." “In 2009–2010, a structural engineering assessment of the building found that it was no longer safe to house the weight of the books in that room. There were simply too many books. There was a lot of community engagement at the time. A lot of people were really concerned that we weren't going to have a library.”" The Move to Linnaea “They were looking for a new location for at least a couple of years, and in 2012 they made a new arrangement with Linnaea to use the space that had been the former Linnaea school. The building was renovated, and by November 2013 the library had moved into the new space and was open to the public again. “We added a self-checkout machine, which made lineups shorter — one of the concerns residents had about the old location. We've also gotten more hours over the years, which is great. We changed our hours in September, adding an extra evening and another daytime shift, so you're more likely to be able to drop by and find that the library is open.” Narrator: Jude Marentette was the circulation supervisor when the library moved from Manson's Hall to its present location in the Linnaea Education Centre, but she retired last fall. Beatrix has been the librarian since December 2025.

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - There have been a lot of concerns that the MOU with Alberta represents a step backward when it comes to reducing climate-change-causing emissions from big industry and advancing clean energy. In this morning's interview, Jennifer Lash, who was both a senior adviser at Environment and Climate Change Canada and a Liberal candidate in the last election, shares her perspective on these issues. Jennifer Lash: “I went through a bit of an existential crisis when the MOU was announced. That was a hard moment for me. I've spent many years arguing against pipelines and arguing for carbon pricing, but I had to step out of the old way I was looking at climate. I had to step into a new way of looking at it, one that took more into consideration the current global crisis we're in and the political situation.” “We've labelled what climate success looks like in one way, and we're shifting now. I really encourage people to take the time to try to understand what it is this Prime Minister is doing and to see the value in it before jumping to the conclusion that it's bad — and not just in terms of direct emissions reductions, but in terms of the long-term ability to work together as a country to address this very serious problem.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A new UBC led study of 111 peer-reviewed papers found that forests and biodiversity are better, or at least equally, protected if they are managed by Indigenous Peoples. Between 2005 and 2012, vegetation loss in native areas of the Brazilian Amazon was 17 times lower. In Australia, 60% of the nation's 1,574 threatened species were found on Indigenous lands. In the United States, Indigenous lands harbour more mature trees and higher tree volume. Close to two-thirds of the articles noted that Indigenous Peoples were themselves threatened, and some offered suggestions to either provide resources or strengthen their tenure over the land. While little of the material dealt with British Columbia, lead author William Nikolakis has worked with First Nations in the Interior and was prepared to comment.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The 2026 New Forest Act Roadshow will be coming to our area next month. The Sentinel Educational Foundation and Watershed Sentinel magazine are the sponsors of the Vancouver Island leg of its tour. Jennifer Houghton, Campaign Director of the New Forest Act Proposal, will be speaking at the Campbell River United Church at 7:00 on Thursday, June 11, and Quadra Island Community Centre at 7:00 on Saturday, June 13.  Jennifer Houghton:  "Right now we're seeing a decline in timber supply, mill closures, degraded lands, degraded watersheds, rising disaster costs, and less stable communities. The current system isn't even protecting the future of forestry itself. Ecosystem decline is a serious problem across BC, and the whole structure of forestry needs to be replaced. That's why we've developed a legislative proposal to restructure all forestry in BC." "It's a proposed replacement of BC's current forestry legislation, including the current Forest Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Private Managed Forest Lands Act. Right now, BC's forestry laws are built around maximizing timber extraction. The New Forest Act framework is a citizen-developed proposal to shift forestry towards ecological limits, stable communities, and long-term ecosystem function, instead of short-term liquidation."  "It's based on a simple framework. Protect what still functions, restore what's been damaged, and harvest carefully where the land can actually support it. Our goal is not to end forestry. The goal is to stop destroying the systems communities depend on: water, slope stability, biodiversity, and long-term timber supply itself." 

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The community orchard at the Rainbow Ridge affordable housing complex officially launched with a tree-planting ceremony on Earth Day. In this morning's interview, permaculture designer Witney Vanderleest discusses her role in the project, the process of planting the first 35 trees, and what the community can expect to see as the site evolves. 

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Daniel Lapp is the headliner for this year's Lovefest, which returns to Linnaea Farm on Saturday, August 8, 2026. He has played on over 100 albums and performed across Canada, the United States, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Finland, and Germany. Daniel is also a winner of the BC Fiddler Championship and is the Artistic Director of the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Benji Coey, who is organizing Lovefest, said, "This year I'm very excited to have booked Daniel Lapp, who is a nationally renowned folk and jazz musician. He's going to bring Adam Dobray—who the folks on the island are familiar with—a world-class guitar player, and Richard Moody, one of the country's best fiddle players. Those guys are going to do an extended set. When you get that sort of talent coming through, you have to give them room; you've got to give them time to play, and it's going to be a really mind-blowing set." "We're also going to have the return of Pablo Cardenas with his 'Latin explosion,' so we're going to have some good, vigorous dancing to all kinds of great rhythms. I actually had him last year, but the reason I brought him back is because he only had a short set last year. It was a really energetic, exciting show; the crowd responded terrifically and I thought, 'That's a great taster, but let's get him back this time to really hammer it home.'" "We have a really good lineup—a diverse mix of material—quite a bit of folk really going back to the roots of the festival." "Amy and Rick Bockner will be doing a full set. They didn't play last year, and Rick is part of the heart of the island music scene and, of course, Lovefest. It's going to be a really special occasion to have him and Amy playing a set. I think the island will be very receptive to seeing that beautiful family playing together, celebrating their love, their family, and the music." Cortes Currents: Any other acts that you wanted to mention? Benji Coey: "I won't mention too many right now. There are one or two confirmations which are still coming through, so I shan't release too much more. Daniel Lapp is definitely the big-ticket item. If you haven't heard of Daniel Lapp before, I suggest you go online and check him out. He is a highly regarded musician, multi-award nominated, and a very nice bloke." Cortes Currents: So when will this be happening? Benji Coey: "That's on August 8th at Linnaea Farm. Tickets will go on sale in June and you can, of course, buy them from the Friday market. We hope for another great event and a really good turnout. It's going to be, as ever, a really friendly, enjoyable, laid-back event with some high-energy moments and some beautiful reflective moments. Just those moments when you sit back, feel the early evening roll in, listen to the music, and feel grateful that this talent is coming all this way to entertain us."

Recorded by Roy L Hales

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Around 100 people packed into Mansons Hall on May 7, 2026, for a community meeting on the proposed expansion of the Island United Quarry on Cortes Island. While most appeared to be opposed to the project in its current form, some added that Cortes Island needed a smaller quarry more in line with the island's needs Neither Howard Nielsen, who owns Island United, nor his wife were present. Regional Director Mark Vonesch explained, " It's their 50th wedding anniversary and they're on a trip."  Mike Moore, who MC'd the event,  added, "First of all this is a meeting that is for information. We'll have a question and answer period at the end of a few little presentations. It's not a protest by any means. No profanity (audience chuckles); no derogatory comments. We're here to look at the Island United Quarry expansion in Whaletown."

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - As North America navigates the transition from traditional fossil fuel-based energy to renewable alternatives, various regions are exploring solutions like Distributed Energy Resources (DER). In this morning's interview, Catherine Jefferey from Clean Energy Canada discusses a program designed to reduce costs for Ontario ratepayers by an estimated $1.8 billion to $3.5 billion annually. The discussion also covers progress in utility-scale battery storage, Canada's adoption of renewables, and the prospects for transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The radio version of this story opened with a clip from  the 'Inky Dinky' round of a recent Benji's Pub Quiz night in Mansons Hall, Cortes Island. An Inky Dinky is a two-word phrase. Both the words have two syllables, and they rhyme, like Inky Dinky.  "So what?" asked show host Benji Coey. "Well, I'm going to give you a riddle and you're going to come up with an Inky Dinky as the answer. For example, if I said to you, Riddle me this: A church tower made out of human beings." What might I be looking for?" A number of excited voices piped up: "People; steeple."  Benji: "A people steeple. Good job. The people are the human beings, they normally are, and a steeple is a church tower. Good. Now, this is a creative thinking round, teams. If it's a good answer, write it down, and as ever, we will talk about all of the answers together, like normal people on Cortes island."  What the audio does not show is that every table in the Hall is occupied. They are filled with beer, nachos and all the other treats associated with pubs, but more importantly each table belongs to a team. They aren't supposed to have more than 5 members, but some include children and have 7. The teams have given themselves names like A Brick in the Wall, The Troublemakers, and Maya.  Someone asked, "Do you get higher marks for novel answers?"  Benji: "If it's a novel answer, you'll be rewarded with laughter and  great admiration from your colleagues, which is better than points."  All conversation ceased as Benji continued: "Right, here we go: here's your first Inky Dinky tonight. Riddle me this one, teams: Sweaty relaxation for all of the animals? Sweaty relaxation for all of the animals?" That was just one of the many dozens of puzzlers participants sought to unravel. Benji's Pub Quiz has become quite the event here on Cortes and, it turns out, in a lot of other places as well. In today's interview we sat down with Benji Coey to find out why.  

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U -

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - SRD staff are currently preparing a bylaw that will reduce the residential waste collection charge on Cortes Island from $112 to $86, effective this year. This change has been in development since last year, originating from a shift in the SRD's administrative policy. Staff estimate that $121 per user is required to fully fund the service, so the shortfall this year will be approximately $25,000. However, the service currently possesses $103,000 in reserves to cover such gaps. At the April 28, 2026 Board meeting, Regional Director Mark Vonesch expressed his support for the move, stating: "I just want to remark on the low cost and appreciate staff for working with our local contractor to do this. Efficient use of government resources to get services done is really important, and I am glad to see this part of it. Thank you." Solid waste collection on Cortes Island is performed by VEM Contracting. There are currently 681 registered users. While residents are not required to put out garbage for collection, every household on Cortes Island contributes to the service through their property taxes. 

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - Bringing Campbell River's Tyee Legacy to Vancouver's DOXA film festival A documentary about Campbell River's historic Tyee fishing culture will be screened at Vancouver's DOXA Film Festival on Thursday, May 7. In this morning's interview filmmakers Jevan Crittenden and Nate Slaco talk a little about 'In Tyee Country,' and how it came into being.  Jevan: "When we started this project we expected certain things and a lot of those assumptions were accurate, but there were some surprising things that came up. To me the community aspect is the surprising thing. Peter Wipper talks about having a greater sense of community and home in Campbell River than he does in his own hometown, and he credits that to the community that's come up around the Tyee Club. It really is a tight-knit group." Cortes Currents: Where is he from?  Jevan: He's from Nanaimo. (Note: Peter Wipper was hired by the city of Campbell River in 1989 and went on to hold several high level administrative positions before retiring in 2021.) Nate: "Making this film, we really tried to make Campbell River a character in itself and showcase the beauty of that area. I'm hoping that when people watch it, that really comes through. Even if you're not into fishing, being out on the water at that time of year is a beautiful thing." Cortes Currents: "Where are you both right now?" Jevan: "We're both in Vancouver." Nate: "I was actually born in Campbell River. My dad was in forestry, so I lived there until I was five before he was transferred to just outside Vancouver. So, there is a personal connection there as well." Jevan: "Nate and I met when we were 13 years old. We grew up making videos together; it became a passion for both of us. Fast-forward many years, and we got interested in fishing during the pandemic. Nate's dad had some contacts at the Tyee Club and mentioned it to us as we were getting into the sport. We very quickly realized there was an interesting film to be made about this community." Nate: "The whole premise behind the club—using these traditional fishing techniques—is visually intriguing. When we started meeting members, we realized there are a lot of personalities and a lot of passion there. It also branches off into other hobbies, like collecting tackle or woodworking projects. Beyond that, there is a deeper level of understanding regarding what has changed in the last hundred years with fish populations." Cortes Currents: "Tell me about the moment you decided you were going to make a movie." Jevan: "A friend of ours moved to Campbell River in 2022, and I helped her move. Through Nate's dad's contacts, we set up meetings with club members Jeremy Maynard and Norm Lee over coffee. Those meetings confirmed what we suspected: there was a story to be told here with compelling characters and a complex world involving ecological questions." Nate: "We shot for three years and took probably a year to edit. It was also a good excuse to 'write off' fishing! Jevan and I went there every summer for three years to fish on the Quinsam River for Pinks and other species. Combining our passions for filmmaking and fishing was a great motivator."

Roy L Hales/ Beach Clean-up - The 2026 Cortes Island Beach Clean-up is underway. Helen Hall, Executive Director of the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI), explained: "The campaign will start on May 1st and run until the end of the month. We're working in partnership with Comox Strathcona Waste Management and Klahoose Aquaculture. We will be placing large 'super sacks' at seven different locations around the island: Hanks Beach Regional Park The Recycling Centre Hollyhock Beach Mansons Landing Government Dock Hayes Road Beach Access Red Granite Beach Plunger Pass Beach Access (Seavista Road) "We are encouraging people to pick up any garbage they spot during their beach walks and place it in these super sacks. They will be available for the entire month of May, and we will collect them at the end of the month." "Klahoose Aquaculture will be hosting an Ocean Legacy bin—a large blue metal bin similar to the ones at the recycling center. All collected garbage will be brought to that central location." "On Saturday, June 6th, we are also offering residents the opportunity to drop off any beach garbage they may have collected at home. We will sort the waste into different categories on that day." "We collect a variety of items, including buoys, oyster trays, and rope. Once sorted, the waste is placed in the bin and transported off-island by Comox Strathcona Waste Management to be recycled." "This is our third year running this program. Last year, we collected over 1,000 kilograms of garbage, which was an amazing result. It was particularly inspiring to see people bringing entire truckloads of debris they had collected themselves."

Unedited audio from the Apr 29 SRD Meeting

De Clarke / Cortes Currents - This article addresses misstatements or deficits in the Management Plan document regarding streams and fish. The document states that "There are no permanent or ephemeral watercourses or wetlands located within the tenure. No water will be discharged to the environment during or post-operation. An unnamed creek runs 15m to the east of site […] There are no aquatic disturbances that will result in any fish habitat being affected by the development. " Local Streamkeepers Christine and Cec Robinson are not so sure. They feel that the Management Plan misrepresents the situation on the ground in the quarry area. Cortes Streamkeepers have been monitoring and collecting data on Cortes streams and fish spawning patterns for 40 years. This is what they have to say about the quarry expansion.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Ecotrust Canada will be giving a home energy workshop at Mansons Hall on Saturday, May 2, at 1 PM.  Max Thaysen, from the Cortes Climate Action Network, explained,  "We've got some folks coming over from Ecotrust to talk about heat pumps and help people get some rebates going so they can potentially get 100% of heat pump install and purchase costs covered by some grants that are available. You can just contact them if you want, but if you want to learn about the program and see if it's a good fit for you, there's an in-person meeting coming up." Michael Anthony Lutfy, Ecotrust's program manager for our area, emailed that since last year, "We have worked with over 50 Cortes Island households, in large part thanks to our Cortes Island partnerships." He went on to list the organizations that were either involved or are provided funding: Cortes Climate Action Network, Cortes Housing Society, Cortes Community Forest Cooperative, Cortes Community Foundation, the Support Our Seniors Society Better at Home Program, the Cortes Community Health Association Family Support Program, and Strathcona Regional District (SRD)." In a previous interview, Lutfy said, "Once you register for our program, you'll get an email from me asking for very basic information about your home, like the age of your home and the heating system you have, After that, you will receive a phone call from me and we'll go through more questions about your home. You explain what your desires are, what challenges you're experiencing around your energy bill, and then I can help guide you toward the right rebates and the right renovations or retrofit so that you can achieve that goal."  "We support households from the beginning of the process all the way to the very end when it comes to selecting contractors, following through with the rebates, ensuring that they received what was expected from the contractor. And we do financial planning, reminders, everything and anything a household needs to complete the process." Question: Are you selling anything? "We do not sell anything. Our objective is just to ensure that people are making an informed decision. I do not receive commission. I do not receive any form of financial compensation from contractors, and we do not provide leads to contractors either. We are working for the households while we help connect you with the right contractors because there are eligibility requirements around the rebate system with which contractors are allowed to use."  Max added, "One of the reasons why we're excited about heat pumps is that they can help people transition off of other more polluting forms of heating. So it's great to do all the things, make your house really efficient. From a climate perspective, which is where I'm coming from, the most important thing is switching from dirty forms of energy to cleaner forms of energy."

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Dr Teresa Ryan is a Tsimshian woman who combines the ancestral knowledge of her people with the cutting edge research coming out of the Mother Tree Project. Her association with Dr Suzanne Simard began when she applied for a postdoctoral fellowship in what is now UBC's faculty of Forestry and Environmental Stewardship. Simard was one of her four instructors and suggested, "We have to talk. I read your dissertation."  Ryan responded, "You did what?" Reflecting back on that today, she added, "Who would do that? It's 435 pages, but what she found was that I demonstrated how our indigenous social institutions are connected to our heterogeneous mosaic landscapes."  Ryan detailed the obligations for stewardship and explained how they were successfully fulfilled through the potlatch system.  "The missionaries, the early anthropologists and the colonial agents missed these connections, they were more interested in other things.  They had very objective intentions from each of their perspectives, but that actually overlooked the stewardship that was occurring in the forest and with the fisheries and how those stewardship activities increase productivity." The consequences of this oversight have persisted down to this present day.   "Now nobody is taking care of the resources. We're seeing declining numbers in everything, even in the forest industry. You often hear there's no fibre left, that's because it's all cut. The fibre is what contributes to reaching their annual allowable cut, and those numbers are falling because it's been harvested. Fisheries are declining, particularly salmon." She noted, wryly, that scientists have become so expert at collecting data that "we're counting the fish to extinction." Instead of looking at these issues as a whole: "It's all these silos. Forestry taken care of here. The salmon are taken care of here, and orcas: we just look at them."  "That's not the way these systems work. In order for us to have the balance return, we need to have all of these systems functioning." She used the plight of one of BC's best known Orca pods as an example of the interconnectivity of natural systems. "The Southern Resident Killer Whales are at risk, but we're not going to be able to recover the Southern Resident Killer Whales if we don't recover the Chinook Salmon, and we can't recover the Chinook Salmon unless we recover the forest."  "There's some complex things going on in our forests and there's some complex things going on in our waters, whether it's in the rivers, or the snow pack or the ocean. We're impacting those things as humans, but every little bit of learning is helping us to understand that we'll have those things in the future if we do a better job of taking care of them now."  Dr Ryan is one of Dr Simard's closest colleagues and a key figure in her new book: When the Forest Breathes.   "The ideas that are within the Forest Breaths come from decades of investigation into how forests function. What happens in the forest among the plants, among the trees, and how are these things growing? What is the premise behind their growth, and their cycles of renewal?" "It's been amazing to have a look at the forest at this level, particularly through the Mycorrhizal networks below ground. The connections that trees have through their root systems and the whole network below our feet in the forest is what gives us that strength in the forest." "I participate with professor Simard in most of our sites. There were originally eight in the interior Douglas Fir forests, and one at Malcolm Knapp, which was our first coastal forest. In the last few years we've been adding sites on the coast. Cortes Island is one of those sites that are added into the Mother Tree Project."

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Nawel Izard is the host of a popular radio program on Cortes Community Radio and the head of the Polaris Law Collective, whose head office is in Campbell River. She was born in Algeria, but lived almost her entire life in Canada. In this morning's interview Nawel describes her motivations and something of her legal practice.   Cortes Currents:  What motivates you, especially towards law? Nawel Izard: "A deep curiosity to ask questions, but more importantly I want to help people and if knowing where to find things is a way to help people, why not? Service plays into it as well in that I've always hoped that I would end up a lawyer." "It's been my focus ever since that citizenship ceremony moment where I see these lawyers participating in something that felt so grand. Making you go from being an immigrant with no status - to now you are Canadian with the pride and a sense of relief in knowing that you are now transitioned. The change was legal and if you have to be a part of that legal bracket, you were a part of this magical institution that made these types of things happen. I think that's where the hook came in." Cortes Currents: Tell us about the day you decided to be a lawyer. Nawel Izard: "I was five years old at my citizenship ceremony. My parents were put through all of the tests, paperwork, fingerprinting and whatnot. I remember standing on a chair and not really singing. I would really categorize it more as a toddler yelling the Canadian anthem, and was just so proud!" "Watching the team of lawyers do this paperwork, it was like live streaming wizardry to take you from being almost 'non status.' You've left your country and you're not really one of us yet and this ceremony makes you Canadian. I just remember thinking and looking at that female lawyer and saying, she's free. I want to be her. I want that." "As a teenager, I had a very short stray from my lifelong objective of becoming a lawyer. I thought pathology would be really cool and that if I was an autopsy doctor I could always figure out what happened to people. The math component shocked me right back to law. I said, "Nope, I will help people as a lawyer, keep your chemistry for yourselves, and then I carried on." Cortes Currents: How Algerian are you? You don't have an accent.  Nawel Izard: "You could never tell from my voice that I'm a polyglot and English is actually my fourth language. I also speak Algerian, I speak Arabic (and French), but I studied in Canada and I did all my post-secondary education in English." "I'm very close with my family actually, and was just at a cousin's wedding in the summer. They all joke that it's like I never left the village because I'm really down to earth and I love to cook from scratch."

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - Island United's proposed expansion of the Whaletown quarry locally known as “The Pit” became public knowledge via minimalist notifications in local media outlets earlier this month. The application to quadruple the Pit's current footprint seems to be sparking more local controversy as more residents become aware of it. While some residents welcome the quarry upgrade, others are questioning the scale of the proposed expansion and its impacts on environment and community. A public meeting to discuss these issues is planned for the evening of May 7th, Thursday, at 7pm at Mansons Hall. Organisers say they hope that Mr Nielsen or someone else from Island United will attend to answer some of the many questions being raised. This Cortes Currents special feature presents some background information on Island United, plus a closer look at some details of the application documents filed by Island United requesting government approval of the expansion project.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Three weeks ago the Toronto Star reported that "three Liberals privately suggested to the Star that Prime Minister Mark Carney may put federal money behind a new pipeline to the west coast ... Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, say Carney wants to see the pipeline built, and is realizing it may not happen without more public money behind it." Aaron Gunn, the Conservative MP for North Island-Powell River, emailed that he is not interested in discussing rumours. While he recently acknowledged the climate is changing, Gunn also stated Canadians have more important issues to deal with. The pipeline was one of them:  "I will say this pipeline should have been built ten years ago. Instead, the world remains beholden to oil from brutal, dictatorial regimes like Russia and Iran, while Canadian oil sells at a discount to the United States."  Jennifer Lash's response to the Toronto Star article was, "Ottawa is nothing if not a fish bowl of rumours." She did not know who the author was talking to, or how credible they were as sources. There were a lot of Liberal MPs and there was a lot of talk about the pipeline. Speaking as the Liberal candidate for North Island-Powell River in the 2025 election and possibly for the next, Lash said you need to go back to the MOU with Alberta and that clearly states the pipeline is to be privately financed.  "I would be very disappointed if he [Mark Carney] put financial dollars into a pipeline. There's other priorities that the Prime Minister should have and investing more in clean energy right now would be more beneficial for Canada." Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party pointed out that Carney did not say all the funding would all come from the private sector, or that there would be no public contribution. More importantly, there are no private sector proponents for any new pipelines in Canada.  Expanding Canada's Oil Sector "This particular government and this particular Prime Minister keep talking about how Canada will be an energy superpower. Expanding and increasing our exports of fossil fuels is very much part of what they boast they will do. Show us the business case, show us that this isn't going to lose money. Show us that those same dollars invested in solar and wind and protecting an old growth forest don't have a higher return in investment and are better for the Canadian economy than continuing down the road of 'drill baby drill.'" Lash reiterated, "The MOU says privately financed and if the government put in money, that would be publicly financed. So can he change his mind? Of course, we've seen that happen many times, but right now what he supports is a privately financed pipeline."  One point the two women agreed upon was that Alberta is named as the proponent and will undoubtedly put in money as well.

Roy L Hales/Cortes C urrents - Linnaea Farm's First Plant and Skill Share was on Saturday, April 18. It may be the first on Cortes Island.  Tamarra McPhail, who has been at Linnaea farm the past quarter century explained,  "I don't know if there's ever been a plant share before on Cortes."  She asked a group of Cortes residents, standing close to us, if they had ever heard of a plant share on Cortes?  Pierre Belcourt, replied,  "Cloud sale?  Tamarra: "A plant share, or plant swap?" Pierre: "I don't understand, appliance?"  Female bystander: "Swap, you swap."  Pierre: "Oh, swap. You wanna exchange my washing machine for your cookstove?"  Cortes Currents: "Yeah, except with plants."    Pierre: "No."  I'm not sure how long Pierre was pulling our legs, but that exchange provided the title for this article, 'Possibly Cortes Island's First Plant and Skill Share.' There were three workshops, tables full of plants and seeds and a choice of three menu dishes for anyone who wished to buy lunch. 

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - A short notice recently appeared in the Cortes Tideline, advising residents of the intention of Island United to quadruple the size of their quarry. The quarry (traditionally known as “the Pit”) is located in the Whaletown area, some distance into the bush on Jimmy Smith Grade. Island United is a rock, gravel and construction firm owned and operated by local resident Howard Nielsen, who bought the operation a few years ago from long-time owner Dave McCoy. Although the Tideline posting is undated, the appearance of the same notice in the British Columbia Gazette on April 9th suggests that it may have been posted simultaneously to various provincial/regional media on the same date. The gist of the proposal is as follows: 2385425 Alberta Ltd. is applying to update the tenure holder on the file, increase the size of the tenure from 1.25ha to 5.16ha and notify the Ministry of Forests of the application to the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals to approve washing as a permitted activity, introduce a concrete plant onsite and increase the annual extraction rate to 39,999 tonnes a year. […] There is no Official Community Plan for Cortes Island. The Electoral Area “I” (Cortes Island) Zoning Bylaw, 2002 governs the area and designates the lands as Forestry One (F-1). Quarrying is considered a compatible use within Forestry One zoned lands. Cortes Island's Vital Signs – 2024 Report dictates the need for year round jobs and new construction to feed sustainable employers. As such, the Cortes Island Quarry is integral to the economic growth of the Island.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - Forty-nine acts will be coming to the Gorge Harbour Marina this year, the same number as last year. The driving force behind the venue's success is Shannon Marks, who has been promoting the music industry since she was 16. In this morning's interview she talks about the coming season and her own life promoting music. Shannon Marks: "I really hope people enjoy the music we put on at the Gorge. There are so many good acts coming, and I've never been anywhere else where they offer free music five nights a week during the summer. Not only that, but it's high-quality music." Cortes Currents: "Tell us a little about your background. How long has music been a passion in your life?"

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - All things MicroGrants! Tune in for a group discussion about MicroGrants - the history of the granting program, event highlights, application tips, and more! This conversation features Connie Quayle, Mark Vonesch, Francis McKenty, Immanuel McKenty, Jemma Hicken, and your host Manda Aufochs-Gillespie. Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 p.m. and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @ CKTZ 89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.

UNedited audio from Aaron Gunn's April 9, 2026 town hall at Mansons Hall on Cortes Island. The recording starts at the point where Samantha Stori fe, Gunn's Office Manager, stepped up to the podium and ithe forst two minutes are crowd chatter.

Roy L Hales/ COrtes Currents - Aaron Gunn, the MP for North Island-Powell River came to Cortes Island on Thursday April 9. Jacob Mantle, the MP from York-Durham in Ontario, accompanied him. About 60 expectant Cortes residents showed up at Mansons Hall. The resulting town hall meeting covered everything from the cost of living to the future of the resource sector. The report that follows consists of highly edited audio clips from an hour and a half meeting. Cortes Island's Community Spirit  Aaron Gunn: "This is definitely the best turnout per capita that we've had of any of our town halls." " One thing that I really feel here on whether it's Cortes or Quadra, is there's a much stronger element of community. There's a much stronger element of volunteerism and there's a much stronger element of 'we're not going to rely on the government. We're going to go out and just do it ourselves as a community.' I think the whole country, quite frankly, could learn from that." "You guys have an absolutely amazing museum here, just an incredible group of volunteers. Then this (Rainbow Ridge) housing development that's getting put up here for families in need, I think that's just really incredible." Gunn's Team Samantha Storfie, Gunn's Office Manager, was the MC for this meeting. Mel, another one of his staff from the Campbell River office, was at the back of the room.  Aaron Gunn: "They're here to help you if you've got any issues with the CRA, with citizenship and immigration, veteran affairs, or any federal department. If you're running into a roadblock, we're here to try to help. Then if you're still running into the federal government not making a common sense decision, then that's when I come in to try to apply a little more pressure to try to guide them in the right direction for your guys' benefit. One thing I've definitely noticed is that Ottawa is very far from this riding and Cortes Island. We want to always put it on the radar whenever that can help." Format for the Evening The format for the evening was for Gunn to make his presentation, then he would accept written questions from the audience. His team believes this takes less time and is more efficient than having people speak out at meetings. Aaron Gunn:  "If you don't want to write your question down, I'm here as long as it takes. You can come up and ask your question. Also, if you want to have a private conversation, talk to Mel or Sam. We can arrange a phone call and of course, you're always welcome to come to our Campbell River office, and I'm sure I'll be back on Cortes this summer if you'd like an in-person meeting as well."

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Morgan Tams was an integral part of the Cortes Island community for eight years before he and his partner Carly left in 2024. He recorded part of their experience as members of the Blue Jay Lake Farm community on a documentary that will air at Vancouver's DOXA Festival on May 3 and 9, as well as the Knowledge Network later this year.  Morgan Tams: " It was about five years working on this, not exclusively but of my time. I've had some really great showings on Cortes, which was really fantastic."  "Now to have it play in Vancouver where I think there will be some crossover, some Cortes people in Vancouver, but I think there's a city where people are right now so interested in alternative ways of living. I think partially just the direction the world is going, ideas about community, about being more connected to our food sources, about being connected to one another and being connected to skills like building and growing food are really pertinent topics for our time."  "If this film can give some people some insight or some inspiration, or maybe even make them laugh within the context of all that stuff, then that's great. I'm just so happy that it can screen here in Vancouver and hopefully people enjoy it and we can talk about it after. It's always great to just to hear what people really think."  Cortes Currents: how long were you at Blue Jay Farm?  Morgan Tams: "We were at Blue Jay Lake Farm for almost eight years."  Cortes Currents: Why did you go there? Why was it important?  Morgan Tams: "This would've been way back in 2016. I was on a road trip with my partner Carly. We were driving from Victoria back to Toronto. Our car broke down. And our car was a 1990 Volvo station wagon and, in the middle of Manitoba, it's really hard to find parts. They quoted us three days for a new fuel pump to come. We were holed up in Brandon Manitoba. So we spent three days just hanging around the motel and wandering around town." "We got to talking about our lives in the future and neither of us were really feeling set on Toronto. It's a great city when you're young and we were feeling like as we got older, we weren't really taking advantage of being in the city. I happened to mention that I always wanted to spend time on one of the islands on the west coast of BC."  "Carly had spent a little bit of time at this place called Blue Jay Lake Farm, where she was a WWOOFer. She went for two weeks and ended up staying for two months. So she said, 'oh, well, we could always go to Cortes to Blue Jay Lake Farm and connect with Henry and the rest of the crew there.' So right then and there we decided we were going the wrong direction and we decided to head back out west. I think it was November 1st, 2016, we landed at Blue Jay Lake Farm and we stayed for eight years."  Cortes Currents: So what was it like? Was it a surprise? Morgan Tams: "It was for me. I had an inkling that it was a different way of life, the back to the land thing, the do it yourself thing, and these were all things I wanted to learn. I wanted to learn to build with wood and work on my carpentry skills, and I wanted to learn to be able to fix machinery. I love being in community and connecting with people on that level. I also just love the landscapes of the West Coast. So while it was a big departure from our lives in Toronto, it was a world that I really, really wanted to be in. And I knew from being there for half an hour that somebody had to make a movie about this place."

 Hi, this is Aaron Gun, your member of Parliament for North Island-Powell River. I'm reaching out to personally invite you to join me on Cortes for a public town hall this Thursday, April 9th, starting at 7:00 PM at Manson's Hall. Doors will open at six 30. As a member of Parliament, it is my belief that one of the most important parts of my job is listening to and engaging with the constituents I was elected to represent. These conversations matter because your experiences, your insights, your questions, and your feedback help shape the work I do every day in our nation's parliament, whether it's on issues relating to affordability, fisheries, or defending our local economy. I'll also be joined this evening by MP Jacob Mantle, member of Parliament for York, Durham. Jacob brings a strong background in international trade and economic policy, having previously worked as one of Canada's top trade lawyers and now serves on the House of Commons International Trade Committee. I'm looking forward to having him with us for what I know will be an engaging and lively discussion. I know many families across Cortes, Powell River and the North Island are worried about the rising cost of living the hollowing out of our resource sector in cumbersome DFO regulations that are causing uncertainty for those who enjoy or make their living from fishing in our communities. This town Hall is an opportunity to raise those issues, ask questions, and have an open and respectful conversation directly with your federal representative. It is an honor of a lifetime to serve as your mp your. Member of Parliament, and whether you voted for me or not, my most important job is to serve you and be your voice in Ottawa. So once again, I invite you to our town hall this Thursday, April 9th at 7:00 PM at Manson's Hall and for more information and to register in advance, please visit aaron gunn mp.ca. I hope to see many of you there.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery is asking for submissions to its 2026 Annual Member's Show. Artists may bring up to two pieces. To participate, you must be a member, which costs just $10 a year. The cut-off date for submissions is May 14, and the exhibition will run from May 29 to June 14, 2026.  "We would like to make it so nobody feels like, 'I don't know if I'm good enough to hang in the gallery.' If you are picking up paint or clay, that already is a good step. Your next step is to show it. That's important and that's why I've been volunteering and that's why we are all volunteering because it is our passion," explained Meinsje Vlaming, one of the Directors. "The showing isn't always about selling your art. Very few of us are actually commercial artists. It's way more of a community thing. From beginner to seasoned artist, we welcome everybody. Like we want to share our art. We want to grow as artists and there's nothing better than putting your work in a group show beside your peers." 

QXMC, the Klahoose management company, has received a grant to build a new restaurant at Gorge Harbour Marina. They also recently purchased a former manager's home for additional guest accommodations and are reporting the best season ever at the Klahoose Wilderness Resort Gorge Harbour's old Floathouse Restaurant was torn down in early 2023 because of infrastructure issues. Now, thanks to a one-million-dollar grant from the BC Government's Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP), a new restaurant will rise on the same site.  "The view over Gorge Harbor is spectacular. We're really excited because it's a really key piece of the marina and Cortes Island that was missing the last few years," explained Christ Tait, QXMC's tourism Manager. "As far as the menu, it'll probably be a little bit more elevated. Of course we're going to have burgers, steaks and traditional restaurant food. That's standard, but seafood is something we want to elevate using some of that seafood from the Klahoose themselves and other partners: mussels, clams, scallops, salmon, and that sort of thing. Whatever we can source locally." The new restaurant will have 10 to 12 tables and be able to serve about 60 guests. There is also a covered upper deck and an open lower deck. This will give them more flexibility when it rains and allow QXMC to extend their season during the spring and fall. Takeout will also continue to be a key service for guests, boaters and Cortes Island residents. The new restaurant will probably employ 5 to 6 staff. While some of these will be experienced personnel, there will be training opportunities for anyone who wants to work in the food and beverage sector. QXMC is in the final phases of the restaurant's architectural set and expects to break ground around May. Construction will continue as unobtrusively as possible throughout the summer, but the restaurant won't be ready until 2027. The Klahoose food truck will be serving guests for the 2026 season.   "We're hiring right now for that," Tait added. "I don't have the menu, but expect it to be burgers and that sort of thing. It'll probably be breakfast, lunch, and dinner." Guests can also purchase food in the store and some of the accommodations have little kitchen areas. Tait gave an overview of some of Gorge Harbour Marina's recent renovations. Glamping domes were added in 2024; The RV sites now have power. "Of course we'll still have summer music; we'll still do morning yoga for guests; the massage studio will be open again this year; We'll still have family movie night. We're going to be adding a few new things this year too. There's a dance class happening. I just got an email about some new things, we'll put those on the calendar at Gorge Harbour for people to see." QXMC has also purchased the adjoining house where former manager Bill Dougan and Tammy Allwork once lived. "That will be part of Gorge Harbour's accommodation for the 2026 season. It's a two bedroom house with a full kitchen, a big deck with a barbecue outside, another lower deck. What's really unique about it is a private dock, so you'll be able to moor your boat there." Business is better than ever at QXMC's other tourist venues as well.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Mark Winters will be performing in the Heriot Bay Inn at 3:00 PM on Sunday, April 26th. The Texan based singer/songwriter recently told Cortes Currents,  "I picked up music a little later than most, in my adult life after I got a degree in aerospace engineering, of all things. Music has always moved me as a listener, and I wanted to do something musical. In 2011, I picked up a guitar to play a song for my wife for our anniversary. It was the most joyful experience I've ever had in my life, and I became obsessed with the feeling of connection you get when you perform live for others. 
 "I've learned a lot about how you build a tour. Last year I did a spring and a fall tour, and both of them had Canadian legs. So I played a show in Vancouver, and that part of the country is phenomenally beautiful. I took a run along the little bay that wraps around up to the Children's Museum up there, and I felt like I was running in paradise. Then I heard about the island and the live music scene there—the Heriot Bay Inn has such a great vibe. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk to the booking people there to play a show, maybe write a few songs while I'm there enjoying the Bay."

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Construction on the BC Ferries Heriot Bay–Whaletown route will soon be coming to an end, and we will probably have a brand-new-to-us hybrid electric ferry this summer. Sheila Reynolds, Senior Communications Advisor with BC Ferries, explained: “Construction at the terminals actually began last spring to replace both berths at Heriot Bay and Whaletown, which were both nearing the end of their service lives and needed replacing.” “While the majority of that work over the past year didn't disrupt ferry service, the project did require that both terminals be closed for three weeks in February. Since March 2, both of the terminals have been replaced and are safely open to customers, with regular service between Quadra and Cortes operating as usual. During the closures, people would have noticed that there was water taxi service, shuttle, bus service, and barge service for essential goods and services.” “We're well aware that these disruptions and construction in the community can be unnerving or cause some anxieties for people, but your communities were very collaborative. It went remarkably smoothly, actually. There weren't any significant hiccups. Passengers seemed to get back and forth as needed. They did have a lot of lead times where people were pretty well prepared and aware, but the smoothness was largely due to the Quadra and Cortes communities, who are not only patient, but extremely collaborative throughout the planning, construction and during those temporary service changes. It was clear people understood and appreciated that this short-term disruption was going to result in long-term improvement.” Cortes Currents: How did they help out? Sheila Reynolds: “We are collaborating with all sorts of partners—residents, Indigenous partners, contractors, regional stakeholders. There were lots of conversations about how the closure period could be shortened, because originally it was going to be a longer closure period and potentially more disruptive. “With the upgrades, the load limit is now increased to the highway-legal limit of 63,500 kilograms. That's actually double the capacity of the old berths. Both berths also have hydraulic lifts, so they won't be subject to tidal restrictions that the route used to experience with very low tides. The ramps are much wider, so trucks will be able to maneuver at Whaletown much more easily. For foot passengers, it's a wider pathway, so people with bikes and luggage or other things will find it easier to navigate on and off of the vessels. And most importantly, the berths are designed to accommodate the arrival of the 'new-to-you' larger Island Nagalis.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Cortes Community Docks Cortes Community Docks has had a very busy winter. The projects in Whaletown and Squirrel Cove are nearing completion, and a new one is about to begin in Cortes Bay. Cortes Community Docks has a new website, and all the railings on its docks have been painted blue as a visible reminder that they are not a government organization. "We never have been. These docks are here for the community, they're utilized by the community and they're supported by the community," explained Harbor Manager Jenny Hartwick. Narrator: That was also the rationale behind their recent name change. Jenny Hartwick: "We wanted to choose a name that really reflected the direction we want the organization to go and why those docks exist." "Our biggest news is that the rebuild of the Whaletown dock is almost complete. Cortes Community Docks was extremely lucky. We got a $560,000 ReadUP grant to rebuild the Whaletown dock. There's been a lot of construction in Whaletown Bay recently, and the Ferry Construction has kind of overshadowed what we've had going on at the dock, but we've had a contractor there since about September of last year. There's been an extensive rebuild done, and the facility looks phenomenal." "The Whaletown dock is owned outright by us. So to obtain a contractor we solicited bids from several local Vancouver Island contractors, based on recommendations from engineers. We are extremely thrilled to have Rob Clarke of Coastal Marine Maintenance doing the work for us at Whaletown. Rob incidentally is also doing some Small Craft Harbours work on the other docks, but we didn't have a role to play in awarding those contracts." "Rob was the maintenance manager at the Comox Harbor Authority for well over a decade before he opened his own company doing dock maintenance and repair. He's now a familiar face up and down the entire coast at Harbor Authorities doing maintenance work. Rob incidentally also was the president of the Harbor Authority Association of BC, which is our umbrella organization for all of the harbor authorities on the coast." Rob Clarke, of Coastal Maintenance and Repairs, explained, "The Whaletown rebuild project went really well. We rebuilt 11 footings and nine separate pilings, reconstructed the top side and shortened the whole facility up a little bit." Jenny Hartwick: "The majority of the construction material for a marine structure is a very specialized type of material, which is treated with ACZA, which is not a standard pressure-treated material, and there's actually only one plant in Western Canada that manufactures it. So a large portion of our material was actually specially ordered, but outside of that, wherever possible, Rob made an effort to get everything he could locally. So the cedar decking for the railings, the upright posts, everything on the Whaletown dock that he could was specially ordered, milled through Klahoose at their sawmill."

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Microgrants 4 Neighbours program is out, and there are some changes this year. Jemma Hicken explained, "Our Microgrants 4 Neighbours is a super cool little grassroots granting program. It operates with the philosophy that our community knows what it needs, and that low-barrier granting really gives individuals a chance to get small chunks of money and make things that they're enthusiastic about happen in our community." "It developed out of Cortes Island Literacy's Seed Grant program in partnership with Folk U, but now Microgrants is run by the Cortes Island Community Foundation, in partnership with the Neighborhood Small Grants Island Network, which is a really cool program as well. It basically operates the same microgrants-for-neighbors program under the NSG Neighborhood name. Small grants exist in many other communities around BC, so it's happening all over the province, but maybe Cortes did it first." Cortes Currents: I understand that you've increased the potential amount of funding available for projects. Jemma Hicken: "Yes, we've increased our maximum to $1,000 this year. So you can apply for grants from $50 up to $1,000. The only consideration is that the Cortes Foundation has to issue you a T4A if you receive more money than $500. So that's something to consider when you're thinking about how much you'd like to apply for your project." Cortes Currents: Do you have to be a social-profit organization to apply? Jemma Hicken: "No, definitely not. In fact, this is actually the first year that we're opening it up to social-profit organizations to apply for microgrants. So organizations can apply this year, but individuals definitely can apply, and individuals have been the priority and focus of Microgrants 4 Neighbours all along." Cortes Currents: How much funding do you have available for Microgrants 4 Neighbours? Jemma Hicken: "That's a good question, and I can't answer it yet because we're still sorting it out, but we'll have upwards of $7,000 for sure, and it might be a little more than that." Cortes Currents: Can there be projects that are in the planning process, like this is what they want to do if they get the funding? Jemma Hicken: "Absolutely. You can apply for a project that is in process and that is dependent on the funding." Cortes Currents: Can you give me some examples of past projects? Jemma Hicken: "Past projects include the Cortes Skate Jam, which has received funding a couple of years in a row; the youth dance classes; the Death Care Collective, before they became an organization, received funding to do bereavement packages for the community. There have been cooking workshops, funding the picnic table at the Seniors Village; a youth kayaking trip. There's been sound gear for community events, tech support, drop-ins. There are endless possibilities." Cortes Currents: What happens if your project cannot be completed for some reason? Jemma Hicken: "We would love for your projects to be completed within the year, but if you need an extension, don't hesitate to ask. We really just want to support projects as they happen. I'm more than happy to lean in and help you finish your project. That being said, I'm also super happy to help anybody who needs it with their application." "If you need support, feel free to email me. My email is microgrants@Cortesfoundation.ca."

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Between the opposition MPs who crossed the floor and three by-elections coming up on April 13, Mark Carney's Liberal government is on the threshold of forming a majority government. Jessica Wegg, the Green Party candidate during the last two elections, observed, “We're two votes away from the Liberals having a majority. I don't know that it matters that much to Carney. His policies skew so far toward what Conservatives would want anyway, he is getting lots and lots of support. I think it would be risky for him to call a general election because it's not necessary. As he gets closer and closer to having a majority without a general election, it would be harder and harder to sell to Canadians that it would be necessary to call everybody to the polls again, spend all this money again on a general election when he's doing everything he wants and just ramming through bills without even having a majority.” Narrator: In another one of his social media posts, Aaron Gunn declared, "Mark Carney is currently attempting what is maybe the least democratic thing in Canadian history, cobbling together an illegitimate majority he didn't earn through backroom deals and who knows what else." Only this is not the first time MPs have crossed the floor. Most Canadian Prime Ministers have had opposition MP's join their party. The current record is held by John A MacDonald's Conservative government, which saw 9 MPs  join them. They are closely followed by Jean Chrétien's Liberals, who gained 8.  Stephen Harper, whose Conservative government benefited from 3 such crossings, once said,  "Members of Parliament should have that freedom and be accountable to their constituents for their decisions at the next election. But I will say this, Mr. Speaker: in my observation, the only parties that really had this as an obsession are the parties that no one ever crosses to." Cortes Currents: In addition to the floor crossings, there will be three by-elections on Sunday, April 13, 2026.  Jennifer Lash explained, “We've had two Liberal ministers step down as they've taken on different positions, so by-elections are required. Then in Terrebonne, Quebec, the Liberals had won by one vote and that had to go to a by-election. Of those three by-elections, two of them are Liberal strongholds and it's pretty much assumed that they will go Liberal again. The Quebec by-election is really up for grabs. I've listened to people saying the Bloc are going to put everything they can into it and win. I've also heard that the polling shows the Liberals are going to win. So who knows? If the Liberals win those two Liberal strongholds (University–Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest) that they have in Ontario, that will bring us to 172 seats, which gets us to a one-seat majority. If we win in Terrebonne as well, that will get us to 173 seats, which means a slightly stronger majority.” “I've never seen a situation like this in Ottawa before, but it's fascinating for political nerds like myself who love counting seats.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -Michael Manson started clearing the land for what is now Linnaea Farm in 1887. The Hansen family lived there during the early 1900s, and in 1998, the farm became a charitable land trust. In this morning's interview, Adam Schick and his daughter, Nola McPhail, talk about their experiences and the next generation of Linnaea Farm. Adam Schick: "One of the biggest challenges of the last few years is having people live here long term. Farming offers more of a lifestyle opportunity, but as our population ages, often the only thing left you have is to sell your property to ensure you can retire successfully. That's a real problem. Because this farm is a trust, we don't get to sell the property. We simply have the honor of looking after it. While I feel it is an honor, more and more, it seems that people see it as a burden; they want a job, or something that's paying you money." "We are at a place on Cortes where, to get anyone to even answer the phone, it costs $25 an hour. In the summertime, there are groups of landscapers making $40 or more. It is pretty hard to entice those people to come to the farm to work unless they have a personal interest in these things. To me, this represents a breakdown in our society where we've decided to value people's time only in this way. Personally, I never really got into this for the money. The things that don't show up on a spreadsheet are the things that truly make a community a good place to live." "The lifestyle aspect is harder to entice people with. Farming is sometimes very difficult, and community living can be equally challenging. We try to do both of those things here together. We can get people to stay for a year or two, but then when we ask them to commit further, they realize that committing more means taking on more responsibility without a pay raise. It is simply the responsibility of looking after the property. Maybe we should ask the young person in the room why she is here." Nola McPhail: "I'm Nola, the daughter of Tamara and Adam. I've grown up on the farm my whole life, but I left the island after high school and only returned last November. I've been back for a bit over a year now, full-time, which has been really nice. As my dad is saying, it's common in many places that the younger generation isn't returning to do this type of work. There are many other things happening in the world, so this is becoming a bit of a lost art. A lot of our work this year is focused on changing our methods and thinking about how we can better include the community—starting more activities and inviting more people here so we can find more interest and build more capacity." Adam Schick: "Nola is going to take on the role of interim manager. It's one thing to have people here, but you need to figure out exactly what they are going to do on the farm, and Nola has stepped up to take on that role. When it comes to the interns, Tamara and I will still be guiding them through the actual work." "Someone has to ask the human questions like, 'How are you doing? How is the house? How is your time?' Nola is a great communicator. Many of the interns are young, and because Nola is also of that generation, there is a natural relatability. She has a great work ethic and a real keenness for this work, so it seemed like a natural fit." "We are currently in the Ed Centre. I'm sitting at the table where we have our weekly farm team meetings. We talk about everything from the minutia—like needing a chain to fix a leaking toilet—to the bigger picture, such as talking to other organizations about how they manage their interns and business. We discuss how to host Lovefest, large community events, workshops, and literary afternoons with the seniors."

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - BC Hydro is replacing the switches on pole-mounted transformers set up beside private residences and buildings on Cortes Island.   They subcontracted this work to Allteck, an electric ransmission & distribution services company with a branch office in Nanaimo. A three-person crew arrived in Squirrel Cove on Tuesday, March 10. Two of them either use a bucket truck or climb the pole, while the third supports them from the ground. Once set up, the whole procedure typically takes about 15 minutes per transformer. There are close to 900 houses and unknown number of other buildings on Cortes Island. Most are tied directly in to the grid. Only about 100 structures have lines coming to a pole set up beside them. The crew will be staying at Gorge Harbour Marina over the coming days and hope to finish all the poles on Cortes by Saturday.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The BC's Seniors Advocate is calling upon the province to address a critical shortfall in long term care beds. There were 7,212 people on the waiting list during 2025 and the average wait time was 290 days. The number of seniors is increasing and the need for long term beds is expected to grow 49% by 2035. "We are in trouble," warns Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island and Health Critic for the Conservative Party, "This is why I am pushing for 'aging in place.' While Kindy maintains that the Campbell River Hospital should receive its long-promised long-term care wing, the project was one of seven hospital expansions deferred this year. Given the current state of BC's finances, she does not expect construction to begin soon. "We desperately need long-term care beds in Campbell River," Kindy stated. "Wait times can reach up to four years. Furthermore, 'alternative level of care' patients—those waiting in hospital beds for long-term care placements—often remain there for weeks or months. My husband was part of the transition team discussing a new facility as far back as 2017. It was in last year's budget but vanished this year. We need to know: is it canceled or simply delayed?" The provincial government claims the $1.8 million per bed cost to build the Campbell River wing and six similar projects is too much Kindy responded, "We have to remember that the Eby government inherited a surplus and now we are at a $13 billion deficit. So if you're looking at the cost, so I just pulled out some numbers for you. The Campbell River Long-Term Care project was 153 beds. The total cost of the build was $134 million that would mean each bed would be $875,000. When they're talking about $1.8 million, they're not talking about Campbell River ... It could be an average of the seven projects." She added, "Approximately 12.5% of residents currently in long-term care could have remained home with proper support. The cost of home support averages $15,000 a year, compared to $100,000 for a long-term care bed. It is fiscally responsible to keep people home, yet we only spend 18% of our long-term care budget on home support. In Denmark, that figure is 50%." Kindy argues that current support is "completely inadequate." She advocates for expanding home support hours and removing financial barriers. "We need flexibility. Sometimes support means someone to take the garbage out. We also need to support the 80% of caregivers who are family members by expanding respite care and adult day programs. If you are working, you shouldn't have to leave a senior unsupported all day." To advance this, Kindy is calling for better education and data transparency regarding waitlists. "We cannot put seniors last. Spending a year in a hospital bed waiting for a placement is unacceptable. Last month, our hospital hit a record 161 patients in a facility built for 95. These issues are linked; the debt interest alone—nearly $6 billion—could have funded the infrastructure we desperately need. We must prioritize our seniors now."