On May 6, 2025, Islands Trust Council met in Committee of the Whole, to discuss the Statement on the Scope and Meaning of Section 3 of the Islands Trust Act (Object Clause) released on September 26, 2023 and a related publicly released legal opinion. At its December 2024 Trust Council meeting, Trust Council resolved to release that legal opinion and to hold a Committee of the Whole meeting to further discuss this topic in a public forum.
Islands Trust Council met in-camera in September 2023 to consider privileged legal opinions concerning the Object and its interpretation. At the May 6, 2025 meeting it was acknowledged that both the rise and report and subsequent public communication following that September 2023 meeting lacked sufficient clarity on the reasons for the in-camera nature of the discussion and the conclusions reached in that discussion.
It was recognized that the release of the Statement generated some public concerns about both the contents of the Statement and process that led to it. While there was general agreement that the interpretation arrived in September 2023 remains reasoned and balanced, the public communication clearly failed to adequately explain these issues.
The May 6, 2025 meeting was an opportunity to publicly discuss the issues around the process and interpretation in a forum that could be viewed live, and via recording on the website. The recording of the meeting and the related meeting materials are available online.