Thank you to all who came to the meeting on the Trust Policy Statement (TPS) at Harbour House last week. We had a great turnout.

Note: The deadline for comments on the TPS is February 2, 2026. 

We apologize to those of you who have already written to the Trust or Minister for repeating this request; however, this is a matter of urgency that requires immediate action. The Minister MUST hear from us directly. Since the Trust is unlikely to significantly strengthen the TPS, we expect to ask the Minister not to sign it and send it back for revisions.

Letters to Trust Council go to islands2050@islandstrust.bc.ca.
Important: cc your email to Christine Boyle, Minister of Municipal Affairs, HMA.Minister@gov.bc.ca and
Rob Botterell, MLA  Rob.Botterell.MLA@leg.bc.ca

The Trust Policy Statement is the key Trust-wide document that sets minimum criteria for Bylaws and Official Community Plans to be passed by Local Trust Committees.

Items in the TPS Draft to be Addressed 

Limiting Growth

  • The TPS draft refers to “managing development.”
  • This language is weak and inadequate.
  • Protecting the islands from over-development requires limiting growth and development.
  • Formally recognizing and respecting growth limits is essential to protecting the environment and rural character of the islands trust area.

Directives

  • Directives in the TPS are supposed to be mandatory.
  • However, the introduction to the draft TPS states that Executive Committee can approve exceptions if “adequate justification” is given.
  • Unless Directives are mandatory, the TPS is little more than advice that Island Local Trust Committees can choose to disregard.
  • A Directive is needed to assure that rezoning for more density for affordable housing will always include binding agreements to assure affordability.

Terms Regarding Housing

  • Terms related to housing, such as “attainable” and “affordable” must be defined.

Definition of Environment

  • “Environment” should be defined as referring to the natural environment.
  • Although used throughout the document, this word is not defined in the glossary.

Protected Areas

  • The current TPS draft identifies only a limited number of ecosystems to protect.
  • Wetlands, riparian areas, all types of marine ecosystems and forests and all natural ecosystems should be protected against further degradation and adverse impacts of development.

If you have not already done so, also fill out the TPS survey. Tips on this can be found on our website.

Please forward this webpage to anyone who might be interested in these important island issues.