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Five Candidates in a Boat

Five Islands Trust candidates piled into my 18-foot motorboat on Sunday. What could possibly go wrong? We all returned alive, and, I believe, better for the experience. Where is Piers Island? It is the little island of waterfront homes on your right as the ferry approaches Swartz Bay. Why did we go there? As Salt Spring Island Trustees, our Local Trust Area includes over 34 smaller islands, including Piers. I was curious about these 130 residents and their unique island community, so asked if they’d entertain a visit. Piers Island Association (PIA) Secretary, Cara Hogan extended the invitation to all candidates, so there we were, scrunched up in the front of my boat, laughing as we searched for their triangular community dock. There, Cara and husband Martin, along with neighbour Bob Smith, tied us off and led us up to the dirt and gravel main loop road, 3.14 km mainly used by walkers and cyclists. We passed a flower stand, the old fire hall (now garage fo…
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Welcoming Elena of our Senior Centre

Fifteen joined this ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome Elena Dunn, Board Chair of the Salt Spring Senior Services Society located on Lower Ganges Road across from Country Grocer. After her Acknowledgement and a chance for everyone to introduce themselves, we learned what “excites and delights” Elena.

Italian through and through, deeply connected to her heritage and family who arrived in Canada with nothing in the 1950s, she knows that her Italian temperament provides a strong foundation for the drive and passion she puts into our Senior Centre. Also a passionate reader, she has a post graduate degree in literature from the University of Toronto as well as a current compelling passion for history to better understand our origins as well as other factors that have gotten us where we are today. She is deeply concerned about our youth and the world we are leaving to them.

This Senior Centre, a registered charity, began in 1989 when a few of our most promine…

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What's On This Week on CHIR-FM

Interviews with NDP candidate Kala Bryson, hip hop artists Emotionz and GotOne, Oscar-winning local gardener Jim Erickson, and poet and storyteller Brian Day are among the wide-ranging offerings on tap this week on CHIR-FM, the Voice of the Gulf Islands. Tune in to 107.9 FM (or 102.1 FM in the South End) or stream the station online to hear more than 25 unique local programs on your community radio station.

Highlights for the coming week include:

Monday-Friday 6-7 a.m. On Island Interlude this week hosted by Dan Miller, new music from Salt Spring's Andrew Ross Collins, Pender Island's Lauren Mann and others.

Monday-Friday 7-9 a.m. On Morningtide this week, host Dan Miller will feature a review leading into the election, including a new interview with Kala Bryson, NDP candidate for Saanich North and the Islands.

Monday (October 5) 9:30 a.m. On Coffee Break, host Damian Inwood will be interviewing Islands Trust candidate Bryan Young. All th…

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Stories of Inclusion & Belonging

We have been working on a video series with GIFTS to tell the stories of people we spend time with here on Salt Spring Island who have a lot to teach us all about what it means to belong. Through these videos you’ll meet people with disabilities, and the programs + partnerships at the heart of this work. We spend a lot of time listening and learning from people with disabilities and their parents. Over the next few months you’ll see and hear inspired conversations and moments that we hope will support creating spaces where everyone belongs makes our communities safer, stronger, and more connected. We are really happy to be sharing the first two videos in the series. The first one features our Monday sing-a-long, that’s been going strong for 10+ years with Bob & John. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tNnqaOnftM&t=103s
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Response to Financial Planner

I agree with Alexander Odas that I presented a narrative in my original post “Weathering the Next Recession.” Narratives are essential in investing. All banks, pension funds, and sovreign nations utilize narratives to make decisions. The people most likely to lose money in investing are the ones who have not posititioned themselves according to a fact-based narrative. The people most likely to make money investing have study the fundamentals of their investments, and/or follow where the big investors go, and/or practice chart reading. They make money because they have a good narrative. A poor narrative on-the-other-hand would be: “The stock market can't possibly crash when it's doing so well” or “my low-risk portfolio will be safe in a crash.” I also agree there might not be a total fiat collapse. Recession or depression are more likely. I mentioned being prepared to wait five years because markets are fickle. However, I also mentioned it's documented the big finacial pla…
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Gary Holman -- Proven Successful Collaboration

In Gary Holman’s first term as CRD Director one of his first — and most far-sighted — steps was to set up the Salt Spring Water Council. As its coordinator for six years I saw how It brought people working on water issues here on Salt Spring together with their counterparts from different levels of government, non-governmental organizations, and universities and how they collaborated to develop island-wide conservation strategies; monitor the quantity of our groundwater; map and monitor the levels of groundwater pollutants including arsenic through a geochemistry survey; offer a low-flush toilet rebate program; present research findings on algal levels in St. Mary Lake; present findings on aquifer susceptibility and develop sustainable water yield models for the island … the list could go on. My point is that as Island Trustee Gary will bring the same proven successful collaborative approach to issues like housing, environment protection and climate action, food security, and, …
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Obituary: Real Laurin

1952, December 8th - 2026, September 28th It is with great sadness I announce the death of my partner in life Real Laurin. Real and I have been so grateful to call Salt Spring our home for the past 7 years. Some of you may recognize Real as the man who repaired tools at Windsor Plywood, or perhaps you passed him while he was out for one of his walks up Cranberry hill. Real loved living on this island paradise, and when not in his shop, he was happiest enjoying nature whether it be on the ocean kayaking, ebiking, or sitting around a fire sharing a laugh. Real will be greatly missed by all of his family and friends. The love we shared together is something I will always cherish deeply. A special thank you to Dr. Gummeson and all of the doctors and nurses at Lady Minto that have assisted us over the past few years. Also to the team at Madrona Integrative Health and Salt Spring Pharmacy. Your care made the hard times a lot brighter. A celebration of life will be held at…
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Moving Forwards on Salt Spring

There’s a lot of electioning going on right now! As we look ahead to two elections this month it’s important to take a look back at some key issues and moments from the last 4 years. I want to share some recent history and also tip a hat to outgoing Islands Trust trustee Laura Patrick. Ms Patrick is a talented and honourable woman who served this community well, and to my mind received far too much grief for her efforts working on all of our behalf. In his recent articles local intellectual and activist Ronald Wright told a history of the last 4 years of Salt Spring in what I found to be a very biased and selective way. He once again painted those who tried to fix our housing crisis or evolve the mandate of the Trust to include community issues as mortal enemies to the original purpose of the Island’s Trust. I view recent events very differently. But in fairness, we do live in very confusing times. It would be difficult to understand what is roiling island politics in the…
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Community People Profile: Anna Szul

Tell us a bit about your background:

I am a mom of two, an artist, and, above all, a perpetual maker and learner. I have a degree in printmaking, but much of what I know has come from being curious enough to try new things and stubborn enough to keep going when I don't know how to do something yet.

In my early twenties, my father told me I needed to stop going to school and start doing. He said the difference between me and the knowledge I was looking for was five books and a few thousand hours of practice. It took me a few more years of school, travel, and real-life experience to understand what he meant.

Since then, I have made prints for leading Canadian artists, curated exhibitions, owned a maker studio and gallery, learned ceramics in Poland, and worked as the Executive Director of a nonprofit artist-run centre. I have taught art to adults and children, taught myself woodworking, and started and ran my own furniture-building business. Since…

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Community People Profile: Rob Pingle

Tell us a bit about your background:

I’m coming up on two decades of living on Salt Spring Island. I’m grateful to have raised my children here and found involvement in the community in so many places.

My first work on the island was with the Saturday Market in the Park which I coordinated for 12 years until the pandemic required it to take a season off. I also was the Tuesday Farmer’s Market Manager for six years until the pandemic which I continued to run as the health mandates allowed for market with food to continue to operate.

During all that time I met so many amazing and diverse people and a wide variety of challenges. I feel lucky to still have people stop me in the grocery store to thank me for the way I managed the issues that arose with fairness, clarity and diplomacy.

The pandemic resulted in me needing to find additional work and I transitioned to working at the Islands Trust. Working for the Trust is a lot like working fo…

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