Accountability
For me, accountability at the Islands Trust operates at three levels: Trust Council, our South Pender Local Trust Committee, and our own community.
Are we getting good value for the tax dollars we spend on the Islands Trust?
I don't think we are.
Over the past four years, the Islands Trust budget has continued to grow while it has become increasingly difficult to point to measurable results from that spending. The current Trust Council increased its budgets by an average of roughly 5.5% annually, and has now approved an 8.1% increase for 2026–27.
By comparison, during the 2018–2022 term—when I served on Trust Council alongside Steve Wright, Cameron Thorn and a number of other environmentally focused and fiscally cautious trustees—annual budget increases averaged closer to 3.5%.
Keeping costs under control does not mean weakening the Islands Trust. I believe the opposite is true. We should be putting as much of our limited resources as possible toward the work that actually advances the Trust's mandate: good land-use planning, freshwater protection, ecosystem protection, climate adaptation and meaningful work with First Nations.
The Trust Policy Statement is a good example of where things have gone wrong.
During the previous term, Trust Council undertook a substantial update of the 2003 Policy Statement. By 2021, an environmentally focused draft had reached an advanced stage and was nearly ready to move forward.
Brooks Point Regional Park - South Pender Island
Mt. Norman - Gulf Islands National Park - South Pender Island
The current Trust Council then spent much of the following three years revisiting that work. A substantially revised Policy Statement received first reading in July 2025, followed by a consultation process that generated considerable opposition across the Trust Area. The process ultimately stalled, and the issue will now be inherited by the next Trust Council.
Whatever your position on the Policy Statement, that is not an example of effective governance. Years of staff time, trustee time and public money were spent without producing a finished result.
The independent Great Northern Management Consultants Governance Review, commissioned by the Islands Trust itself, identified many of these same underlying problems: cumbersome processes, weak strategic planning, unclear priorities and insufficient measurement of results.
I believe the next Trust Council should take that report seriously.
If elected, I will work to return Trust Council to a simple principle: set achievable environmental priorities, spend carefully, measure the results and report those results openly to the public.
The goal isn't simply to spend less. It is to accomplish more with the money we already spend.
Mt. Norman Trail - Gulf Islands National Park - South Pender Island
Accountability at the South Pender Local Trust Committee
Has our Local Trust Committee made meaningful progress protecting South Pender's natural environment?
I think the answer is much less clear than it should be.
Much of the last three years was consumed by revisiting the house-size and setback regulations contained in Bylaw 122, which had already been adopted in 2022. That process eventually resulted in Bylaw 129 and generated considerable disagreement within the community.
People can reasonably disagree about the details of those bylaws. What concerns me more is the amount of time and energy consumed by repeatedly reopening the same issue.
Meanwhile, South Pender faces some very real environmental challenges: freshwater availability, shoreline protection, climate change, ecosystem fragmentation, invasive species and the long-term protection of our rural character.
Those are the issues where I would like to see more of our attention directed.
Public confidence in the Islands Trust depends on people believing that decisions are transparent, that community input matters and that the organization is concentrating on the things it was created to do.
If elected, restoring that confidence will be one of my priorities.
At Trust Council, I will push for realistic goals, measurable outcomes and responsible spending.
At our Local Trust Committee, I want us to concentrate on a manageable number of South Pender priorities, developed through genuine consultation with the community, and then actually get them done.
Greenburn Lake Trail - Gulf Islands National Park - South Pender Island
Accountability in Our Community
There is another kind of accountability that doesn't belong to trustees or staff.
What are all of us doing as stewards of South Pender?
The Islands Trust cannot preserve and protect these islands through bylaws alone.
South Pender has extraordinary natural assets, but we also have environmental problems that require community participation. Invasive species are a good example. Gorse, broom, thistle, daphne and other invasive plants continue to spread across the island, threatening native ecosystems and creating additional wildfire concerns.
Government can help, but this is also something neighbours, landowners and community organizations can tackle together.
The same principle applies to water conservation, shoreline stewardship, habitat restoration and wildfire preparedness.
I would like the Islands Trust to become better at supporting this kind of practical, community-based environmental work rather than assuming that every environmental problem requires another regulation.
If elected, I will support community-led efforts to remove invasive species, restore habitat, protect freshwater and strengthen the ecological health of South Pender.
Ultimately, accountability is pretty simple.
Set clear priorities. Spend carefully. Listen to people. Measure what we accomplish. And keep our attention on the reason the Islands Trust exists in the first place: preserving and protecting these islands for the generations that follow us.