It was a rare chance for the local government leaders who make up the Howe Sound Community Forum to meet in the middle.
Gambier Island hosted the April 29 meeting of the Forum, which covered issues ranging from the Squamish Nation’s marine plan to the current state of the surrounding ocean.
The Community Forum includes municipalities and regional districts from around the Sound, as well as the Squamish Nation, and Islands Trust. West Vancouver - Sea-to-Sky MLA Jordan Sturdy, and West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea-to-Sky MP Pam Goldsmith-Jones also joined the 80 or so participants (Powell River - Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons was unable to attend).
Ruth Simons, executive director of the Future of Howe Sound Society, helped coordinate the meeting.
“Having her [Goldsmith-Jones] make the effort to come to this forum, and from what I already hear she thought it was a very worthwhile and productive day, I do believe her voice will be taken to cabinet and Howe Sound will be heard of,” Simons said.
In fact, Goldsmith-Jones was able to offer good news on the derelict vessels issue, telling the forum that federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau had scheduled a May 2 teleconference for the Liberal caucus on dealing with derelicts.
Kate-Louise Stamford, an Islands trustee for Gambier, was one of the meeting’s hosts. She says having the Forum meet on the island gave participants a different perspective. “It was valuable to have people look from the Island, out. It was a very literal and geographical way of representing how we perceive our role in Howe Sound.”
Stamford and Simons both point to the importance of having the Squamish Nation well represented.
“One of the challenges I think communities have on Howe Sound is we’re divided up with jurisdiction structures … It’s such a complex area geographically and politically, but they [the Squamish Nation] cover the whole of Howe Sound,” Stamford said.
“Getting the turnout from the Squamish Nation is really so important,” added Simons. “There’s a heightened realization of how important their voice is at the table.”
That importance was acknowledged by using traditional Squamish names when referring to the various Forum communities during the meeting.
Gambier residents have been on the frontlines of a few recent concerns over activity in the Sound: a proposed gravel mine at McNab Creek, woodlot licences, and the creation of the HCMS Annapolis artificial reef in Halkett Bay.
Stamford said those concerns came up, but her main focus was a presentation on assessing the cumulative effects of development in the Sound, something that’s been an outstanding issue for the Forum, and the Future of Howe Sound Society.
“One of the things that we’ve [the Forum] focused on traditionally has been the industrial expansion – the ‘reindustrialization of Howe Sound’. At the same time there’s other forms of development that are equally impactful,” she noted.
She cites 11,000-plus new residential units planned in the Sea to Sky Corridor as a prime example.
Simons said when it comes to the long-standing goals of completing a provincially funded cumulative impacts study, and developing a comprehensive land use plan for Howe Sound, some important milestones could be met soon.
“The next step will be a draft policy around how cumulative effects should be managed … This year will actually see some results from that,” she said.
