Dana Young

For the first time, North Salt Spring Waterworks District will let every qualified landowner inside the District, whether connected to its pipes or not, vote in its elections and stand for one of its five trustee seats. The change will make the District accountable to a far broader public. For the first time, its governance will reflect the interests of all qualifying landowners within its boundaries, not simply those already connected to the system. For years the District required voters to hold an account in good standing and to have owned their property for at least 30 days before election packages were mailed. Neither requirement appears in the 1948 Letters Patent, the Local Government Act, or the Province’s guidance. Pressed for the legal basis, the District checked carefully. It wrote to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and obtained a legal opinion. District staff concluded: “residents who are in the NSSWD service area, and without a water connection, are eligible t…