Petitions

Petition to the Islands Trust Council

Friends of the Gulf Islands has obtained over 800 signatures on the following petition and has presented it in delegations to two quarterly Islands Trust Council meetings.

The Gulf Islands, one of British Columbia’s natural wonders, are in crisis due to over-development, deforestation, freshwater depletion, pollution, foreshore degradation and climate change. Hope that the islands will survive as a rural area, distinct from the urban centres that surround them, is fading fast as people-pressure mounts and the health of both land and marine ecosystems deteriorates.

The Islands Trust, the unique local government created by the BC legislature in 1974 to stop unrestrained development and protect the islands for ALL British Columbians, continues to approve more development despite widespread water shortages, repeated warnings of unsustainability, and a large number of yet-to-be-developed lots throughout the archipelago.

Trust Council, the political branch of the Islands Trust, is currently amending its Policy Statement, the document that is supposed to protect the islands into the future. Unfortunately, the new draft document is full of contradictions, conflicting objectives, and escape clauses. Most notably, it no longer makes environmental protection a top priority; social, economic and environmental goals are on an equal footing, just like in any unprotected area.

Please support our vision for the Gulf Islands by signing the petition.

To: Elected Members of the Trust Council of the Islands Trust

AN ENVIRONMENT-FIRST PETITION

We request that the Trust Policy Statement effectively implement the following policies:

  • That the Islands Trust’s top priority is to protect the natural environment of the islands and surrounding waters, and to preserve rural character.
  • That no further rezoning be allowed in areas where overall ecosystem health is threatened, or where the quantity or quality of freshwater supplies for already-approved development may be adversely affected.
  • That all decisions relating to more intensive use of land and water be guided by independent, up-to-date scientific data and traditional Indigenous practices.