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BC's New Law Could Sink The Gulf Islands

BC’s Gulf islands, protected from over-development since 1974 by the Islands Trust Act, are facing manifold threats that have serious consequences for the future of their unique ecosystems and rural character—in short, everything that sets them apart from the urban sprawl of surrounding areas. Last year, the provincial government, by the narrowest of margins, passed the Infrastructure Projects Act, or Bill 15, a blanket law that allows the provincial government to fast-track core-service projects such as schools and hospitals, but also “provincially significant” projects that could include private development schemes, mining operations. and other commercial enterprises, depending on regulations yet to be finalized. Shockingly, the Islands Trust, responsible for 13 major islands and hundreds of smaller ones, was not excluded from the legislation despite its special “preserve and protect” mandate. The decision not to exempt the Islands Trust undermines the Islands Trust A…
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The Trust Must Be Stopped From Moving the Goalposts

As an Islands Trust candidate, I have been getting a lot of questions about Baker Beach since the matter came before the Local Trust Committee on August 27. I want to explain what happened in my own words.

This is not just a dispute about one property. It reflects a much broader problem at Islands Trust: requirements are not identified early, interpretations change without public explanation, and applicants and taxpayers pay for work that should not need to be repeated. That raises serious questions about transparency, accountability and whether residents can rely on the answers their local government gives them.

Looking more closely at how the Trust operates has shown me how deep these problems run and helped motivate me to become a candidate. The good news is that they are solvable, but it will take rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.

Let me explain. A recent Driftwood article reported the latest turn in the Baker Beach matter but left…

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What's On This Week on CHIR-FM

Interviews with Pitchfork Social’s David Youngson and Russel Barsh of the Kwiáht conservation biology lab, a discussion how to treat dilute urine in your pets, and a segment on the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program in Victoria are among the fascinating offerings coming your way 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:

Tuesday (Sept 8) 9-10 am. On Canada Fresh, host David Crouch plays a baker’s dozen of new music curated from across Canada. This week featuring 2 songs from 16-year-old Fredericton sensation Evan Cooper.

Tuesday (Sept 8) 1-2 p.m. On This Song, That Time, the show following the Labour Day long weekend is about work. Labour Day is one of the oldest secular holidays in Canada and it was implemented at a time when the 12…

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Robin Jenkinson for Islands Trustee; Serving the mandate. Sustaining island life.

There is a good reason why people marvel at the beauty of Salt Spring. The Islands Trust was created with a mandate to preserve and protect these extraordinary islands and their unique amenities and environment for island residents and British Columbia as a whole.

I believe deeply in this mandate. Preservation does not mean freezing the islands in time. It means helping human communities live within ecological limits so people and Nature can thrive together for generations.

Our forests, farms, wetlands, watersheds, shorelines and marine ecosystems provide water, support biodiversity and make island life possible.

I am a biologist, environmental educator and community-builder with over 20 years of experience in ecological restoration, research, planning and stewardship. My graduate work focused on ecology, and I hold certificates in Urban Design and Co-Management of Natural Resources.

My namesake, Robert Jenkinson, settled in Victoria f…

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Buried in the Agenda: Free Buses, a Harbourwalk, Crosswalk Lights & Other Things the LCC Is Talking About

The Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission meets again on Thursday, September 10 at 5 p.m., and the agenda package is 42 pages long.

We read it so you don’t have to.

Here are some of the things tucked inside that might actually affect life on the island — without the motions, appendices and approximately nine different ways of saying “staff will report back.”

You may eventually ride the bus to vote for free

The LCC is being asked to approve a new policy that would make Salt Spring Transit free for all riders on general voting days for federal, provincial and local elections.

Other BC transit systems already do this, and staff say the financial impact here should be minimal. If approved, the policy would also allow the LCC to add additional free-transit days in the future.

So: democracy, now potentially with complimentary transportation.

Rainbow Road Recreation Centre needs some expensive attention

Burie…

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New Pie Purchasing Policies

There's good news and there's bad news. Good news for the masses of disappointed Fall Fair-goers that couldn't get their much anticipated piece of pie after 2 pm because we were sold out. Bad news for anyone wanting to buy 6 whole pies.

We heard the clarion call from multitudes of people over the years who wanted us to change things. Solutions were suggested and many hours were spent at our Women's Institute meetings trying to find a workable one. We knew we couldn't please everyone but we did the best we could to find a fair compromise.

Our new policy is this:

Limit of one whole pie per customer. No exceptions. We can no longer offer the holding of pies; if you buy a pie, you take it with you. No whole pie sales before 10 a.m. at which time the food services open. All slices of pie to be served on a plate (no buying 6 slices left in a pie tin) Any arguments go to the Institute President and/or the Head Pie Lady. But be warned, you'll risk a …
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Public Feedback Sought on Draft Strategy for Private Marine Docks

Summary Public survey on the draft Strategic Management Plan will be open from Sept. 3, 2026, until Oct. 18, 2026 The plan proposes guidelines for the management of private marine docks on Crown foreshore areas in southern Gulf Islands and southeastern Vancouver Island Feedback will help determine whether the draft approach strikes the right balance and identify opportunities for improvement __________ Public feedback on a draft strategic management plan is invited to help shape the path for private marine docks in southern Gulf Islands and southeastern Vancouver Island. The B.C. government, in consultation with First Nations and an advisory group that included representatives of waterfront property owners, dock owners, science and conservation organizations, recreation groups, tourism and economic development organizations, and local governments, has developed a draft long-term strategy to manage private docks in the area, and is seeking public input. The draft pla…
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Let’s Bring The Rink Home!

LACE UP SALT SPRING AND HELP BRING THE RINK HOME! Generations of kids have grown up on Salt Spring without ever lacing up a pair of skates. Not for lack of wanting to. To skate, an island family has to catch a ferry, drive to a rink in another community, and come home late. That isn't an afternoon — it's an expedition. So mostly, it doesn't happen. Kids grow up here, move away, and have children of their own without ever having skated at home. Salt Spring is one of the largest communities in Canada without a rink. That is about to change. You may have read earlier this month that our rink project had lost its major donor. Here's the good news: the rink is still coming. The Salt Spring Island Healthy Living Society has secured the backing needed to keep the rink on track. Nobody has bought this island a rink. What we have been given is something better — time. Time for Salt Spring to bring the rink home itself. Here is how we finish it, together. Country Grocer…
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Convergence Festival Is Thriving Against the Odds, but for How Long?

It’s no secret that it’s increasingly difficult to present live music. News headlines are full of cancelled festivals, several of them local. From Salt Spring’s very own SOCS (Summer Outdoor Concert Series), to Rifflandia and Harbour Blues & Roots in Victoria, to Kaslo Jazz Fest and Vancouver Island Music Fest (Courtenay) regionally, to dozens more across the country and continent, the trend is rampant. With rising production costs, lack of available government funding, climate risks, and barriers to artist travel, these grassroots cultural events are sinking beneath their own weight at a time when society may need them most.

Amidst these circumstances, it feels like a small miracle that Salt Spring’s mighty little Convergence Festival is not only on the books, but growing to two full days this year. Started in 2022 by Tommy van Deursen, Convergence was initially conceived as a “parking lot takeover” - an off-the-cuff music festival in an unusual location to …

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Ferries Fixed, Webcams, Newsletters, Fall Fair & Apples Absolutely Everywhere

Summer Was Full. Now Comes the Harvest.

Well, that went quickly.

At the beginning of summer we announced that the tomatoes needed us more than your inbox did, paused the Saturday newsletter for a few months, and headed outside to try to keep up with the garden.

We’re not entirely sure we succeeded with the tomatoes, but somehow it’s September anyway.

Salt Spring did what Salt Spring does in summer: filled right up, got hot, got busy, put on approximately seventeen things at the same time every weekend, and made us all develop very strong opinions about ferries.

And now, almost overnight, we’ve moved into harvest season.

Apparently, the apples have taken over

For the second year in a row, Salt Spring is having a bumper apple crop. Trees are loaded, apples are dropping, and if you have an old tree in your yard you may currently be wondering what exactly you’re supposed to do with 400 pounds of fruit.

Fortunately…

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