“One of the things I value most about South Pender is its rural character. There is a quietness here, a sense of space and privacy, and a close connection to the natural landscape that is increasingly rare.”
Rural Character
Whalewhych Farm - South Pender Island
Protecting that character isn’t simply a matter of preference. Islands Trust policy requires the Local Trust Committee to ensure that growth and development are compatible with the preservation and protection of our rural community character.
As your trustee, I will make sure that South Pender’s rural character remains at the centre of decisions about growth and development.
But community is about much more than land-use policy. It is also about knowing our neighbours, looking out for one another, and supporting the people who bring their ideas, talents and energy to island life.
We see that throughout South Pender. The Growers and Makers Market at the Church of the Good Shepherd brought people together to share what they had grown and created. Art off the Fence, the firehall exercise group, the Christmas Eve singalong and the Easter Art Walk are all examples of the small, local initiatives that help make this a real community rather than simply a beautiful place to live.
Gowlland Beach - South Pender Island
I want to support the community-led events and organizations that bring South Pender Islanders together.
Brooks Point is another wonderful example of what this community can accomplish. South Pender residents played an important role in protecting a remarkable piece of our island, and the Friends of Brooks Point continue that work today through stewardship, invasive-species removal and protection of sensitive and endangered species.
I will work with the Friends of Brooks Point and others in our community to protect the park’s conservation values and address threats to its ecological integrity.
The Islands Trust Policy (5.2.4) requires our LTC to ensure that growth and development are compatible with the preservation and protection of our rural community character.
If elected as your trustee, I will ensure that our rural community character is protected in the decision making process.
But preserving our rural community values is about more than policy; it’s about caring for our neighbours and respecting the diversity that community members contribute to our community.
Ultimately, I think our OCP says it very well:
“Our South Pender community is committed to preserve the rural nature and natural diversity of our island environment for future generations.”
That is a commitment I share, and one I would take seriously as your trustee.
Digging the pit for the traditional W̱SÁNEĆ pit cook and salmon bake at the Pender Islands School
There is another part of the job that I care strongly about: making the Islands Trust itself work better.
When I served as trustee between 2018 and 2022, I became concerned about the size and complexity of the Trust bureaucracy and about whether enough of our resources were actually reaching the work islanders expect the Trust to do.
I helped initiate the 2021 Governance Review because I believed the organization needed an independent look at how it was governed, how decisions were made and where the system could be made more effective.
I still believe that work matters.
The Trust should not measure success by the size of its bureaucracy or the number of policies it produces. It should measure success by whether it is protecting the environment, supporting Local Trust Committees, responding effectively to communities and using taxpayers' money responsibly.
I will work with other trustees who want to revisit the Governance Review, reduce unnecessary administrative complexity and direct more of the Trust’s resources toward its core mandate.
Fiscal accountability matters to me as well. Islanders should expect trustees to scrutinize budgets, question unnecessary spending and look for savings where they can be made responsibly.
That does not mean starving the Trust of the resources it needs to do its job. It means making sure those resources are actually being used to do that job.