Community Articles
General News · 23rd April 2020
Noba Anderson
The 4th weekly virtual community meeting was held Tuesday the 21st at 4:30 pm, both on zoom and broadcast live over Cortes Community Radio CKTZ 89.5 FM.
As usual, the meeting began with a few updates. The Cortes clinic is now testing anyone with Covid-like symptoms, but they ask that you call the clinic first before coming in. The Cortes Community Health Association and Southern Cortes Community Association are still working on developing a food accessibility/delivery funding proposal as well as one to assist people in navigating the myriad of government Covid-related assistance programs. The Community Economic Development folk said they were working to help impacted businesses and were exploring the possibility of piloting an alternative currency in conjunction with the food bank, stores and local farmers.
I then offered an update from last week’s meeting on the topic of how to seed wellbeing in the face of potentially long-term social distancing measures. A few people wanting to further this conversation met again on-line a few days later and asked that I convene a zoom meeting of all Cortes’ health and wellness practitioners and invite their thoughts and suggestions to you in these challenging times. The second half of that meeting with practitioners, which I am hosting tomorrow, will be recorded and shared with you on-line as well as offered to Cortes Radio.
Housing
I shared what I learned from speaking with the BC Residential Tenancy Branch. Cortes Currents has a great summary article about this matter which I highly recommend reading. https://cortescurrents.ca/no-more-summer-evictions/#more-84345
In short, I drilled further into the issue of ending a fixed-term tenancy lease. What I learned was in keeping with what I wrote in my last article on the matter of tenancy https://www.cortesisland.com/tideline/show12784a5s/Freeze_on_all_Rental_Evictions_due_to_Covid-19 with one key piece of additional information. If both the tenant and landlord sign box E in the RBT1 Form, the landlord, or their parent or child, CAN, under normal non-Covid-19 circumstances, indeed re-occupy their property for any period of time shorter than 6 month. However, although tenants are still asked to honour their fixed-term lease end-date commitments, if due to Covid-19 they cannot or do not vacate, the landlord has no recourse.
Labour-Force Redirection
Our second topic of conversation led to a much more lively conversation. Given the number of people currently out of work, many of whom may be financially compensated by the Federal and Provincial governments, and some of whom may want to re-direct some of their energy to community projects or to helping others, it has been suggested that community organizations could develop a list of physically-distancing-appropriate projects for which they would love some support. It was also suggested that money may also be found to fund, or at least supplement, some of this labour. I committed to bring this matter forward to a Cortes Island Community Foundation virtual meeting next week to which they have invited the island’s whole social profit sector.
Next Week – Same Time Same Place
Every Tuesday at 4:30 for the foreseeable future...
Please offer your ideas for discussion topics relevant to these times. Let me know!
Join us on-line here – no registration now required – same link every week.
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/uJMqfuCgqjsuyEF06kidrqQLxRtCjjJlww
OR call into the meeting from a phone. Call me and I will give you the call-in number.
OR listen live at Cortes Community Radio, CKTZ 89.5 FM and call into the station 250-935-0200 with any questions that can then be submitted to the Zoom call.
With all my love to all of you.
Noba Anderson,
Regional Director
directorcortesisland.com, 250-935-0320
As usual, the meeting began with a few updates. The Cortes clinic is now testing anyone with Covid-like symptoms, but they ask that you call the clinic first before coming in. The Cortes Community Health Association and Southern Cortes Community Association are still working on developing a food accessibility/delivery funding proposal as well as one to assist people in navigating the myriad of government Covid-related assistance programs. The Community Economic Development folk said they were working to help impacted businesses and were exploring the possibility of piloting an alternative currency in conjunction with the food bank, stores and local farmers.
I then offered an update from last week’s meeting on the topic of how to seed wellbeing in the face of potentially long-term social distancing measures. A few people wanting to further this conversation met again on-line a few days later and asked that I convene a zoom meeting of all Cortes’ health and wellness practitioners and invite their thoughts and suggestions to you in these challenging times. The second half of that meeting with practitioners, which I am hosting tomorrow, will be recorded and shared with you on-line as well as offered to Cortes Radio.
Housing
I shared what I learned from speaking with the BC Residential Tenancy Branch. Cortes Currents has a great summary article about this matter which I highly recommend reading. https://cortescurrents.ca/no-more-summer-evictions/#more-84345
In short, I drilled further into the issue of ending a fixed-term tenancy lease. What I learned was in keeping with what I wrote in my last article on the matter of tenancy https://www.cortesisland.com/tideline/show12784a5s/Freeze_on_all_Rental_Evictions_due_to_Covid-19 with one key piece of additional information. If both the tenant and landlord sign box E in the RBT1 Form, the landlord, or their parent or child, CAN, under normal non-Covid-19 circumstances, indeed re-occupy their property for any period of time shorter than 6 month. However, although tenants are still asked to honour their fixed-term lease end-date commitments, if due to Covid-19 they cannot or do not vacate, the landlord has no recourse.
Labour-Force Redirection
Our second topic of conversation led to a much more lively conversation. Given the number of people currently out of work, many of whom may be financially compensated by the Federal and Provincial governments, and some of whom may want to re-direct some of their energy to community projects or to helping others, it has been suggested that community organizations could develop a list of physically-distancing-appropriate projects for which they would love some support. It was also suggested that money may also be found to fund, or at least supplement, some of this labour. I committed to bring this matter forward to a Cortes Island Community Foundation virtual meeting next week to which they have invited the island’s whole social profit sector.
Next Week – Same Time Same Place
Every Tuesday at 4:30 for the foreseeable future...
Please offer your ideas for discussion topics relevant to these times. Let me know!
Join us on-line here – no registration now required – same link every week.
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/uJMqfuCgqjsuyEF06kidrqQLxRtCjjJlww
OR call into the meeting from a phone. Call me and I will give you the call-in number.
OR listen live at Cortes Community Radio, CKTZ 89.5 FM and call into the station 250-935-0200 with any questions that can then be submitted to the Zoom call.
With all my love to all of you.
Noba Anderson,
Regional Director
directorcortesisland.com, 250-935-0320