By Regional Director Mark Vonesch
I hope this fall equinox finds you well. As we transition out of summer, I am excited to share some Cortes related SRD news and give you an election campaign update.
Continue reading Area B Regional Director report and Campaign Update
Originally published in the Birdâs Eye
The pins are small but mighty. Emergency Management BC sends them out through its regional offices, recognizing five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five years of service. On the afternoon of Saturday, August 29, Emergency Support Services Director Judy Hagen hosted the programâs 20th anniversary barbecue in her backyard on West Road. Thirteen volunteers were called up for twenty-year pins. A fourteenth, Joanne Hart of the Salvation Army, had earned twenty-five years and could not be there as she was just getting back from being on call with fires again. Those fourteen volunteers represented 285 years of service between them. And that was just the first round of presentations. Judy moved on to the fifteen-year pins next.
Continue reading Small but Mighty: 20 Years of Quadra Island Emergency Support ServicesBird joins Ian Paton and Peter Milobar, to become the third MLA to leave the BC Conservatives and sit as an independent since Kerry-Lynne Findlay took over.
By Kevin Gibson, The Rocky Mountain Goat, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Prince GeorgeâValemount MLA Rosalyn Bird announced Tuesday that she has left the Conservative Party of B.C., making a provincial political shakeup a local issue for residents of Valemount, McBride and the surrounding Robson Valley.
Continue reading MLA Rosalyn Bird Leaves B.C. Conservative PartyOriginally published in the Birdâs Eye
Tomorrow, one of the items on the Strathcona Regional District boardâs agenda is confirming the wording of four questions going to voters on October 17. Three of them state a maximum tax rate. The one that would add Quadra Island to the Strathcona Gardens recreation service does not.
Continue reading Four Questions, Three Numbers: What Quadra Voters Need to Know
Twenty-five-year old Emily Lowan was declared leader of the BC Greens on September 24. 2025. She is believed to be the first member of generation Z elected to office. Lowan was one of the three speakers in a session Activate 2026 dedicated to ‘Winning Campaigns: Stories & Tactics of Victories.’ She credited her success to the aggressive recruitment of youthful members, which close to doubled the size of the party. When the votes were counted, close to 61% went to Lowan on the first ballot.
Despite her youth, the press release announcing her election states that Lowan had already “spent over a decade building campaigns for climate justice, Indigenous solidarity, and democratic reform. She has led high-impact campaigns at Climate Action Network Canada, published critical climate research, worked at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternativesâ Corporate Mapping Project, and successfully fought for fossil fuel divestment as a student union leader.”
I approached Lowan during the break that followed her presentation at Hollyhock‘s Olatunji Hall. The next session was about to begin, but she graciously agreed to an interview. â
Continue reading Activate 2026: Interview with Emily Lowan, Leader of the BC Greens
