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In an April 2025 Driftwood article Saanich North and the Islands MLA Rob Botterell opined that the Islands Trust Mandate with respect to ‘unique amenities’ should not be reinterpreted from its original meaning. The Mandate, he said, should not include housing, livelihoods, infrastructure and tourism as aspects of the unique amenities of the Gulf Islands. Agreed. Salt Houses of Bolivia are unique housing worthy of preservation. Rickshaw driving is a livelihood in China that contributes to its unique culture. Roman aqueducts of Italy are unique infrastructure worthy of preservation. None of these have comparables in the Gulf Islands. What comes to mind when we consider the uniqueness of the Gulf Islands? Undoubtedly we think about the natural environment; the sea, the trees, the land mass, the rock, the birds, the mammals. This is what the Trust Mandate directs us to preserve and protect. There are very real human consequences to choosing this unique environment as worth…