Report: Community Town Hall on IT 2050

This first meeting on the 2050 Plan last month on June 18th,  was an opportunity to step outside of the Islands Trust box to speak in person within a public group without the typical rules of an official meeting for the I.T.. As there are many groups and committees on the island it has been named the Lasqueti Community Public Response Committee or L.C.P.R.C. for the sake of documentation and to avoid confusion with other groups.

At next year's Lasqueti Community Association AGM we'll be applying to officially add this committee to the island's list of present committees.

The goal is that we are going to be able to gather more information in person from the community to offer towards the Islands Trust and other groups that are part of the process during the development of the 2050 Plan. It may also inspire us to come up with our own solutions as well.

The agenda designed for the first meeting was meant to give a chance to examine any of the main 8 parts of the Plan. This meeting focused mainly on Forestry and touched on how the Trust has been interacting with the community in the past as well as recently. Minutes of the meeting are attached below. There was approx. 55 people who attended that currently live on the island as well as our current Trustees that live on island as well as our Regional Director for the qathet Regional District.

The meeting opened up numerous conversations that could prove valuable while going through the process of the 2050 Plan. A copy of the agenda with minutes are attached below, and is only a starting point on how more Community Response Meetings could be organized which are the first of their kind here.

There has also been paper copies made available for those who prefer to read that way. You can find a copy at the Post Office and at Provisions. A copy is also due to be sent to our Island Trustees.

The feedback so far has been very positive and suggests that there is likely to be more meetings for the community wants to continue the process. Conversations have already been initiated to organize a follow up meeting, when the date is settled on you can expect a public notice of the time and location. The next meeting is going to be held in the evening so those who are busy in the daytime can attend. One of the main topics up for discussion next is housing with further topics to be added when the date is set. Food is going to be provided again. Details to follow soon.

All of the individuals who helped with the first meeting were only asked to assist on a one time basis so it is possible that if there is another meeting it may be made up of different members of the community. This could be a way to encourage everyone to have a chance to participate in their own way.

Thank you very much to the volunteers who chaired, paneled and took minutes for the meeting.
Much appreciation to the Trustees and Director for all of their help with questions beforehand.
Additional thanks to the Lasqueti Community Hall for renting the space for the meeting, to Lasqueti Island Hotel and False Bay Provisions for providing freshly baked goods and coffee as well as the attendees who donated prepared food for the reception following the first meeting.

best regards from Camino

on behalf of the newly formed

Lasqueti Community Public Response Committee