On one hand, Bowen Island is represented at the Islands Trust along with other island communities, some of them quite different in location and character. On the other hand, our municipality belongs to Metro Vancouver. Both governing bodies receive a huge chunk of Bowen taxpayers' money. At the March 12 council meeting, mayor Jack Adelaar raised the question whether belonging to the Islands Trust is still relevant for Bowen.
Councillor Andrew Stone is an Islands Trust trustee as well as a director for Metro Vancouver. Stone sees many commonalities between island communities. "One important thing is the ferry. The transportation issue is huge," he said, "All islands deal with the same major issues like gentrification, an aging and decreasing population and diminishing economic opportunities. And affordable housing is also an issue." Councillor and Islands Trust trustee Wolfgang Duntz said, "The political climate [of the Islands Trust] is dictated by the 60 and 70-plus crowd and there is little appetite for any type of growth. If you don't have growth, the results are no jobs, businesses close down and families move off the islands." Duntz said that this leads to the closure of schools and an aging population.
Duntz said, "The Islands Trust is at risk of becoming irrelevant if they do not address the underlying challenges. If you don't have any local economic base, you are dependent on money coming from the outside. There is no housing policy and very little local food production."
But rather than pulling out of the Trust, Duntz wants to make changes. He said, "The Islands Trust needs some rebels from Bowen Island who question what it is doing. Its relevance is by being a regional force."
Duntz said, "Do we get value for our money from the Islands Trust? No. But the more I watch our financial situation, the more I wonder if Bowen Island is sustainable as a municipality. The reason the other islands are still ticking along is because they are not municipalities."
Adelaar said, "We are in the stage of working on a budget and we have to start thinking whether we are spending our money properly. I want to know if being part of the Islands Trust is relevant financially. When I look at the problems you've presented, the thing that comes to the fore is that we need to increase the tax base. We are the only municipality that is paying money to both Metro Vancouver and the Islands Trust."
Stone said that the payment to the Islands Trust is determined by legislation. Councillor Alison Morse clarified, "We are required to belong to a regional body of government. If we leave the Islands Trust, we would become part of the Sunshine Coast Regional District."
In a follow-up interview, Stone explained why he believes that the Islands Trust is relevant. "It provides a level of governance that allows us to defer to regional concerns that deal with living in a maritime environment," he said.
Stone says that many islanders are concerned about environmental changes and he suggests looking at Lasqueti Island for ideas. He said, "Lasqueti presents an archetype for creating a self-sustaining community. There, the power is generated on island; the food is grown on island. Out of necessity, the full time residents have to be self-sustaining." Stone thinks that Bowen should take notice. He said, "We will see an increase in transportation and hydro costs. Ferry costs have already reached a tipping point. I know of some people who considered moving [to Bowen] but cannot afford it. For some long-time islanders, their income was stretched to the limit five years ago and there is no room to absorb higher costs."
From his work with the Islands Trust, Stone has also learned that municipalities of Bowen's size are destined to face challenges. "When [this council] took office, we knew that the finances are in a troubled state. It has become apparent that roads, which are paid for in totality by the citizens of Bowen, are our single biggest expense. In other island communities the infrastructure is underwritten by the province. They don't have to worry about sewer, roads signage, maintenance all that is taken care of."
"We have to recognize our responsibilities for the region," Stone said. "Another unseen benefit [of belonging to the Islands Trust] is the work on extending the marine protectorate that the Trust has established north of Bowen Island and all around Gambier and around the in Nanaimo estuary." The establishment of the protectorate is a fall-out from the positive outcome of the clean up of Britannia Mine north of Lions Bay, according to Stone, that resulted in the return of pods of orcas and dolphins to Howe Sound. "Bowen holds a unique position in the region," Stone said. "We are not only a member of the Islands Trust but also a member of Metro Vancouver. We are in this nexus of influence where we can be of benefit to the Islands Trust as well as to Metro Vancouver. We can easily identify similar concerns of both governing bodies and aid the decision making."
"What's going to be remembered is the revitalization of Howe Sound," Stone said. "The rebirth of the marine environment could be our legacy or we can choose to be narcissistic and worry only about our own battle." Stone suggests taking a leadership role both in the Islands Trust and Metro Vancouver and "doing good things for the region."
Adelaar also clarified his position. He said, "We pay TransLink $602,000, the Islands Trust $221,000 and Metro Vancouver receives $102,899. The total comes close to a million bucks and we have to ask ourselves, what are we getting in return?" Adelaar said that even though Bowen is an island, the fact remains that it is only 20 minutes away from the mainland. He added, ""Someone needs to hammer out the relevancies of the various governing bodies, especially the Islands Trust."
