Dear Members and Subscribers
The Board of Directors of Friends of the Gulf Islands would like to wish you a joyous festive season. May you experience comfort and peace in the nature that surrounds us.
A special thank you to those members who have renewed for 2025 and to those who have donated funds. Your support is greatly appreciated and will help us in our efforts to hold the Islands Trust accountable to the “preserve and protect” mandate in 2025.
If you have not yet renewed or have yet to become a member, please consider doing so. Renewals can be sent via e-transfer to info@friendsofthegulfislands.ca. If you are joining for the first time, and want to mail in your renewal, please see our website for membership information. If you are not sure of your status, email us at info@friendsofthegulfislands.ca.
We are starting 2025 with an expanded vision statement to better explain our perspective. You can read Vision for the Islands Trust Area on our website.
The coming year will be a challenging one as the review of the Trust Policy Statement, the governing document for land use regulation on the islands continues. At each meeting, we see the trustees continue to further weaken the Policy wording and persist in using an inappropriate and problematic definition of the word “environment”. See our November newsletter – Update on the Trust Policy Statement Review – for tips on sending your objections to the trustees. Your feedback matters. Unwise developments continue to move forward, with their environmental risks taking a back seat. The most effective way to fight back is to elect better Trustees in 2026. In the meantime, Friends of the Gulf Islands, with your support, will continue to monitor, comment and report on Trust business, and advocate for the protection of our natural environment and the rural character of our islands.
Your Board of Directors,
Carmita de Menyhart
Peter Easthope
Maxine Leichter
Jennifer Margison
Julia Nicholls
John Ronsley
Alix Hodson-Deggan