Lək̓ʷəŋən, METULIYE/Victoria, B.C. – At its quarterly meeting in September 2024, Islands Trust Council voted to request that the Province of British Columbia undertake a review of the Islands Trust’s mandate, governance model, and structure. The Islands Trust Council made the same request in 2022.

It is Islands Trust Council’s recommendation that the Province conduct a comprehensive review of the Islands Trust Act, similar in scope to the work of the parliamentary committee that led to the creation of Islands Trust 50 years ago. Islands Trust Council believes it is essential that the many Indigenous peoples with interests in the lands and waters of the Trust Area be involved through their governing bodies, not only as participants in the review, but also as partners in the development of its terms of reference.

Islands Trust Council is seeking alignment with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and believes it is of paramount importance that Islands Trust decision-making processes appropriately acknowledge the rights and interests of the Coast Salish Peoples for whom the Trust Area has been home since time immemorial.

“Islands Trust Council believes that the Province of British Columbia needs to confirm its vision for the Trust Area in consultation with Islands Trust, Indigenous Governing Bodies, the communities of the Trust Area and other interested parties,” said Peter Luckham, Chair of Islands Trust Council. “Following that confirmation, the Province should amend the Islands Trust Act to give Islands Trust the structure and authorities necessary to fulfill that vision.”

Islands Trust Council is also requesting that the Province of British Columbia provide a clearer definition of the Islands Trust’s mandate as set out in the Islands Trust Act, to assist its assessments of the relative importance of environmental protection versus the facilitation of thriving human communities within the Trust Area. In addition, the Islands Trust Council is requesting that the Province reassess whether having equal representation from
each area on the Islands Trust Council remains an appropriate structure, given modern-day challenges in the Islands Trust Area.

The Islands Trust Council is also asking the Province to re-consider the Trust’s funding model to acknowledge that the Islands Trust exists to preserve and protect the Island Trust Area for all British Columbians. Details of the specific request made by the Islands Trust Council to the Province of BC can be found in the Chair’s letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs here.

The Fall 2024 Heron Newsletter is published!

Included in this issue:

• Stewardship Tips for Fall
• William’s Story: Islands Trust Conservancy’s Youngest Donor
• First Nations Engagement at ITC
• Species at Risk Word Search

Read it now islandstrust.bc.ca/conservancy/heron-newsletter/.

In September 2023, the Islands Trust Council reflected on its interpretation of the Islands Trust mandate and released a statement about its interpretation. The Islands Trust mandate is set out in Section 3 of the Islands Trust Act, which states:

The object of the trust is to preserve and protect the trust area and its unique amenities and environment for the benefit of the residents of the trust area and of British Columbia generally, in cooperation with municipalities, regional districts, improvement districts, First Nations, other persons and organizations and the government of British Columbia.

BACKGROUND:

The 2022 Governance Review emphasized that there was a deep division amongst both Trustees and constituents on the meaning and implementation of our “preserve and protect” mandate. Such division was described as a fundamental existential challenge. The current Governance Committee, appointed in December, 2022, decided that it was a priority to review the mandate and report back to Trust Council on that review. Today’s presentation summarized and clarified all previous legal opinions with the intention to assist the current Trust Council to find consensus on which to build our strategic direction. Our strategic planning policy initiatives, project priorities, and efficiency of operations and accountability and performance measures, will follow.

Frequently a mandate is created by an organization but since the Islands Trust was created by Provincial legislation, therefore the mandate is an enacted law: it may be interpreted and such interpretation may be challenged, but it can only be changed by the Legislative Assembly.

Over the years, as various issues have arisen, Islands Trust has asked for and received several legal opinions about how our mandate relates to specific situations. Islands Trust staff have collated those opinions, the Governance Committee has studied and discussed them, and today there has been a presentation and discussion by Trust Council. The legal opinions referred to were in response to specific questions and therefore were and are subject to solicitor-client privilege and as such needed to be discussed in closed meetings.

This report is to make public the results of our discussions and share with our constituents how the current Trust Council intends to interpret our mandate, which in turn will help inform our strategic planning.

The process of creating a strategic plan was another recommendation of the 2022 Governance Review and is another priority of the Governance Committee. That effort has been championed by a subcommittee of the Financial Planning Committee which has been endorsed and encouraged by the Governance Committee, and will be subject to separate and future discussions.

CONSENSUS:

The object of the Islands Trust is to preserve and protect three specific elements:
     a) the trust area;
     b) its unique amenities; and
     c) [its unique] environment,

for the benefit of the residents of

     i) the trust area, and
    ii) of British Columbia generally,

in cooperation with municipalities, regional districts, improvement districts, First Nations, other persons and organizations and the government of British Columbia.

Trust Council’s determination is that every decision must include a reasoned recognition of all the elements specified in the mandate. While one element may gain priority, reasons for that decision must be clear and have considered the other elements.

There has been some debate in the past about the meaning of unique amenities. Trust Council’s view is that unique amenities are broad-ranging and may include issues such as, but not limited to, housing, livelihoods, infrastructure and tourism. However, land use planning in the Trust Area must always
include a focus on preserving and protecting the environment and communities of both local trust areas and the Trust Area generally and in a manner consistent with Reconciliation.

In any given decision-making situation, there must be recognition of the importance of each of the essential elements and where there is competition between those elements there must be a careful and reasoned balancing of the importance of preserving and protecting the Trust Area, and its unique amenities and environment.

The Trust Council’s consensus statement is also available here.