Islands Trust mandate debated in court, and at Trust Council

Emily Carson-Apstein, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder

Since its creation in 1974, the Islands Trust has been mandated to “preserve and protect” the unique natural environment of the gulf islands.

The seventies were a time of rapid development in the Salish Sea, and the Trust was created out of fears that the islands might lose their “natural character” due to overdevelopment.

While there is belief the intent of this mandate remains important, much has changed locally and globally since 1974.

The global population has more than doubled, and the population of Gabriola has increased from 3200 to over 4500. In the past few decades there has also been a much overdue shift in the way we see Indigenous sovereignty over the land, including the creation of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. 

When the Islands Trust was created, the residential school which imprisoned Indigenous children on what is now called Penelakut Island was still in operation (it closed in 1975).

There is now a tension within the Islands Trust and gulf island communities between those who value environmental protections above all, and those who believe the Islands Trust also has a duty to address social issues facing our human communities, like the housing crisis and Indigenous reconciliation. This question was put to a legal firm, first in 2007 and again in 2020.

At a meeting on June 17, the Trust Council publicly released their response, which states: “Our 2007 opinion concluded that the policy options of trust bodies aren’t restricted to environmental conservation. Rather, the scope of the object clause is broader, and includes consideration of island communities as part of the trust area that is to be preserved and protected.

“Our September 2020 opinion concluded that it would be a reasonable interpretation… to include in the policy statement policies regarding housing and sustainable communities.”

The legal statement also addressed the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, quoting specifically: “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the Indigenous peoples concerned…  prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources.”

Some welcome the broadening of the IT mandate, but some disagree. The Trust Council also received a letter from community members on Galiano who want the IT to focus on the environment, stating: “If you are not prepared to carry out the mandate and these expectations, you should not be serving on this critical body.”