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General News · 4th October 2024
Mark Vonesch
Hi Everyone,

I hope Monday’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was an opportunity for us all to reflect as we learn about the past and better understand our part in building a better future - to recognize the historical and present day harm done to Indigenous people and join together in a commitment to reconcili-ACTION.

I was grateful to be able to join an event at Klahoose MultiPurpose Building on Friday with all of the students and staff from the Cortes Island School. It was encouraging to see how students on Cortes are getting an education that has truth and reconciliation embedded in it. Thank you to Klahoose youth, elders and leadership for hosting the event and committing to host the event in future years.

For those of you looking to support a local reconciliation project, I have received a request for support of Klahoose Tribal Journeys, which helps youth, elders, and community members in reclaiming and revitalizing their cultural traditions through summer canoe journeys. Contact canoefundklahoose.org or call 250-9350 6536 ext 305 to make a donation.


BC Ferries

As most of you are aware, BC Ferries is upgrading the ferry terminals at Heriot Bay and Whaletown as they are nearing the end of their service life and to prepare for a higher capacity ferry. The new island class ferry, scheduled to arrive in 2026, will accommodate up to 47 vehicles and is designed to be able to eventually operate as electric.

The terminals are scheduled to be closed February to April, 2026 and many of you have expressed concern about how we will travel to Campbell River during that time. Businesses of all sizes are concerned about getting supplies, families with medical appointments are concerned about not having a way to get their personal vehicle to Campbell River, and people who need to drive for personal or business reasons are wondering how they can get their vehicle to Campbell River.

BC Ferries has a webpage that describes the engagement they have done and their plans for accommodating our needs during that time:
https://www.bcferriesprojects.ca/cortes-island

Although it’s not entirely clear yet, this appears to be the current plan:
⛴️ Water taxi for foot passengers from Manson’s Dock to Heriot Bay
⛴️ Shuttle from Heriot Bay to Quathiaski Cove
⛴️ Barge for commercial and dangerous goods providers

There are still a lot of unanswered questions and I am concerned the alternative service BC Ferries is suggesting will not be adequate. I am meeting with BC Ferries and Michele Babchuk (our local MLA) shortly to advocate for our needs. In the meantime, I encourage you to write an email to the following people to share your concerns:

1) The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure who oversees BC Ferries:
Rob.Fleming.MLAleg.bc.ca
2) Our local MLA, Michele Babchuk: Michele.Babchuk.MLAleg.bc.ca
3) Tamara Olson, Community Relations Manager at BC Ferries: tamara.olsonbcferries.com
4) CC me: mvoneschsrd.ca


Cortes Zoning Bylaw Review

SRD staff recently visited Cortes with an update to the Cortes Zoning Bylaw Review. Our zoning bylaw assigns zones to land and water within Cortes Island and specifies what kind of development and activities are permitted within each zone.

The summary presented was based on input from previous in person and online meetings, as well as emails many of you sent to the SRD planning department. Here is a link to the summary:
https://srd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Poster-Boards_revised.pdf

I am encouraged by the progress that has been made and am grateful there is still more opportunity for input. There will be a public hearing (hopefully this fall) to present the draft bylaw and receive feedback and I will also be able to provide further feedback when it is presented to the SRD board.

You are welcome to email planningsrd.ca with your feedback at anytime and more details about the process can be found here:
https://srd.ca/cortes-zoning-bylaw-review/


New funding from the Strathcona Regional District

Part of my role at the SRD is to help advocate for and direct funding to Cortes. Here’s a list of projects from this year:

✅ $140,000 from Community Works Funding to the Cortes Housing Society to help build an access road into the Rainbow Ridge site.

✅ Grant in Aid increase from $25K - $30K per year. It has been a long time since the Grant in Aid budget has increased and, at the same time, nonprofits have faced inflation and increased demand for their services. A new request for applications will be announced after the Cortes Community Foundation releases their Community Vital Signs report this fall.

✅ $112,500 from the BC Growing Communities Grant for the supply and delivery of four water storage tanks that have been strategically placed around the island so that the Cortes Fire Department can re-fill their tanks quickly in case of an emergency.

✅ $287,000 from the BC Growing Communities Grant for a new (to us) fire truck replacing our old truck that was many years past it’s expected usable life.

✅ New Pickle Ball Courts?! I am working with the SCCA and The Cortes Island Pickleball Society to explore using Community Works Funding to support the construction of a new multi-use sports court in Manson’s. We are hoping to build it with a covered roof for all season use and be available for a variety of sports. It’s still early, but I hope to have some good news for you by the end of November.


Cortes Burning Bylaw

In the late spring of 2023 the provincial government lifted the fire ban on Cortes during a time when we had not received any additional rain and I received a lot of messages of concern from you about the decision.

Upon further investigation, I discovered that Cortes is part of the Sunshine Coast fire district and because the Sunshine Coast had received rain, the province decided to lift the ban. When I inquired about maintaining the ban on Cortes I was told that the only way we could do that was to create a new bylaw that would allow us to enact open burning regulations.

I’m happy to announce that the bylaw is now complete and has been approved by the SRD board. The Manager of Emergency Services at the SRD will consult with the Cortes Fire Chief on making fire ban decisions. This bylaw provides Cortes with further protection against wildfires by allowing local expertise to weigh in on whether a fire ban is appropriate. Thank you to the Cortes Island Fire Fighting Association and SRD staff for supporting me in making this bylaw a reality.

Read the staff report and full bylaw here:
https://agenda.strathconard.ca/SRDAttachments/SRDBoard/Open/BRD/21-Aug-24/20240809-Bylaw-No-557---Cortes-Island-Open-Burning-Restrictions.pdf


UBCM

In mid September I participated in the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) annual gathering that brings together local government representatives for meetings with the provincial government, workshops and panels, and voting on resolutions to advocate to the provincial government.

One resolution that passed with local relevance was that UBCM request the Province review the Hospital District Act to provide enhanced authority to regional hospital districts, so that they may provide small ongoing grants to non-profit community health clinics like we have on Cortes. This is something the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital District board continues to advocate for, to support rural and remote community facilities.

Here is a list of all the resolutions that were passed at the convention:
https://www.ubcm.ca/sites/default/files/2024-09/2024%20UBCM%20Resolutions%20Disposition%20-%20Friday%2C%20September%2020.pdf

And a complete list and description of the resolutions that were considered:
https://www.ubcm.ca/sites/default/files/2024-08/2024%20UBCM%20Resolutions%20Book%20Final.pdf

I was nominated to be the Electoral Area representative on the Executive Committee for UBCM so during the conference I gave a few speeches and did outreach to BC’s rural representatives. I didn’t win the election, but it was a great experience and opportunity to learn more about the diverse needs of rural BC.

Fall always feels like the beginning of the year for me and I’m excited for what’s ahead. Thank you to so many of you that reach out with ideas and feedback and for everyone on Cortes working to make things better.

Please reach out if you have any questions or comments. I always love hearing from you!

Mark Vonesch
Regional Director - Cortes Island
mvoneschsrd.ca
Call or Tex - 250-202-4422

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