Hello, Keats Islanders!

My name is Ken White and I am running for Islands Trust
Council. After 25 years as UBC Professor of Economics
I started early retirement and now live in Gibsons
and on Passage Island, with frequent trips back and
forth in my own boat so I am quite familiar with all
the islands in this area. I got interested because
Islands Trust has completely ignored Passage Island
(except for taxation and a map) for 30 years and we
desperately need to be Preserved and Protected and
Islands Trust will not even let us vote on our island,
as they prefer to make us spend $16 to vote and go
to West Vancouver in small boats in gale storms.
Of course, while you might think this is not fair,
it is also not a Keats Island issue, so it is not
your problem.

However, as I researched Islands Trust (as an economist)
I found more and more instances of wasteful spending on
silly projects. There are so many of these that I am now
planning to write a book on the things I have discovered.
If you know of instances of wasteful Islands Trust
activities please let me know for my book.

I am a firm believer in Local Control. I think the current
system where we elect 2 trustees and the 3rd has to come
from a distant island (10 Ferry Trips from Keats to Hornby
and back) is archaic and colonialistic. This results in 
rather large ferry expenditures which could ge used for
better use. If this makes sense to you, then perhaps the
Mayors of Gibsons and White Rock should be on each
others Town Councils. It makes no sense to me, the reasons
are 30 years old and outdated. We have all heard a lot
about reform of Islands Trust governance but nothing
has happened except blame on the provincial government.
I do not expect to see any serious governance reform or tax
reform from Islands Trust in my lifetime. 

Islands Trust keeps talking of a FEDERATION. But that
only means that rules get standardized across islands
and local control is weakened. It also creates bureaucracy.
Our area is far and different from the Gulf Islands. 
If someone from Keats needs to talk to an Islands Trust
staff planner, it means 8 ferry trips. An Islands Trust
staff member could easily work from a desk at the
SCRD or Provincial Agent office in Sechelt and be much
more accessible to us. We need to plan for this since
someday Saltspring Island will become a municipality
and the major source of Islands Trust taxation will
crumble, leaving us with the crumbs and bills.

I do not expect to win this election partly because
Islands Trust refuses to have a voting opportunity
on my own island. I have even asked my own neighbors
not to vote until fair voting opportunities are provided.
I do not think Keats Islanders should vote for me either.
So I will come in 5th place, in fact, I expect to 
get zero votes. 

However, I would like all Keats Islanders to know that
I will be around and continue my research on Islands
Trust and will speak out when I find more examples
of their wasteful spending and silly projects.
As I mentioned, if you know of any, please email
me at ken.white@ubc.ca and I will investigate.
I will continue to suggest ways for Islands Trust
to improve themselves, and as we all know, they
need improvement. I hope the day will come when 
all islanders can Trust Islands Trust. It will
not happen as long as The Federation Strikes Back.