BC Court of Appeal rules in favour of Islands Trust over Mudge Island seawall

🎧 Listen in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts / Google Play

Listen to the News Update

New in this update:

Vaccine delay

Another delay in Pfizer vaccine deliveries means British Columbia will increase the time between first and second doses from 35 days to 42 days. The provincial health officer says the province already knew it would not be receiving any Pfizer vaccine this week, but expected it would be able to deliver second doses within 35 days. Dr. Bonnie Henry says that changed over the weekend, after being informed there may not be any Pfizer vaccine delivered next week either, and deliveries for the following two weeks in February remain up in the air. Henry says now, second doses will be extended to 42 days.

"This means we can use what little supply we have right now to finish our long term care home immunizations and to address the outbreaks that are happening in our hospitals and our communities. This is about putting out fires before they get out of control."—Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Meanwhile, Island Health has completed the first round of vaccinations of staff and residents at all long term care homes and assisted living facilities. However, a COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, where two staff and one patient on the east wing of the Fourth floor have tested positive for the virus. Over the weekend, the Island Health Region recorded 77 new cases of COVID-19 and one death. Province-wide there were 1344 new cases and 26 deaths.

Appeals court overturns a decision made over Mudge Island seawall

A fight over a seawall on Mudge Island has ended eight years later, with a ruling by the BC Court of Appeal. The court has ruled the Islands Trust has the right to create land-use zoning bylaws that may affect the rights of landowners to use or protect their property. The case went to court after the Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee ordered a landowner to remove a deck, fencing and seawall because they were non-conforming structures. The BC Supreme Court said the local trust committee bylaws applied to all but the seawall. Last week, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, ruling the bylaws apply to seawalls as well. The Chair of the Islands Trust Council, Peter Luckham, says the ruling is important both locally and province-wide.

"It's significant because of our mandate, which is to preserve and protect the Islands Trust area, which includes over 1200 kilometres of shoreline and so this decision has asserted that we do have that jurisdiction and it affects every coastline in British Columbia."—Peter Luckham, Chair of the Islands Trust Council.

Luckham says there are many soft shore protection designs that reduce erosion and preserve the natural shoreline. Owners can get more information through the Island Trust's document entitled "Landowner's Guide to Protecting Shoreline Ecosystems."