The Islands Trust has requested the provincial government conduct a thorough review of how the organization conducts itself, including its governance structure and overall mandate.
Trust Council Chair Peter Luckham wrote to the province last month with the request, after Islands Trust council voted overwhelmingly to carry out the move. “Over the past few years, we have heard many different viewpoints around how to best carry out our special mandate to preserve and protect the unique amenities and environment in the Islands Trust area,” Luckham said in a news release.
“However, we can’t do this work alone. As an agency of the Province, we require provincial leadership, direction, and support to ensure that we are honouring the preserve and protect vision, while also addressing the new realities and challenges facing the Islands Trust Area today.”
The move follows a sobering independent review of Islands Trust completed this year which contained numerous recommendations for improvement within the organization.
Great Northern Management Consultants (GNMC) was tasked with the job, following a push in March 2021 by Trustee, and Bowen Island Councillor, Michael Kaile. His request narrowly passed a Trust Council vote, triggering the review.
GNMC conducted their review by examining documents, attending committee and council meetings, and interviewing all 26 trustees, along with senior staff such as the chief administrative officer. Areas of focus included Legitimacy and Voice, Direction and Purpose, Performance and Stewardship, Accountability, and Fairness.
While GNMC noted those interviewed were “unequivocal in stating their commitment to the Trust and their belief in its potential to safeguard the area’s unique physical environment and enhance the quality of life of its residents,” ultimately, “current Trust Council practices, however, do not meet the requirements set by good governance principles.”
There were no shortage of reasons this was the case. “First, there is a leadership deficit,” the report reads, calling the leadership selection process “flawed, impairing informed choice and buy-in.” GNMC said their critiques were not with specific people currently in Islands Trust leadership positions, but rather the expedited process used to select leadership positions.
While trustees are elected by voters, the chair and three vice-chairs who make up the Islands Trust executive committee are subsequently selected by trustees.
“Somewhere around half of the newly-elected trustees have no previous experience on council, and an even greater number have little or no real acquaintance with their fellow trustees… Yet, within little more than a day of their first meeting, trustees elect the Trust Council Chair and the other members of the Executive Committee. Almost all trustees cited this process as unsatisfactory and an impediment to effective leadership,” GNMC found.
These issues extended to the many committees within the organization. “Trustees are not required to serve on committees, there is no limit to committee membership size, nor are there any criteria regarding qualification for membership committees… In most cases, Trustees simply ‘sign up’ for one or more committees based on their interest, with the option of resigning from a committee or joining another committee at any time.”
Trustees don't share unified vision of Islands Trust mandate
One of the most serious issues identified went to the core of the organization itself: what does the Islands Trust’s ‘Preserve and Protect’ Object actually mean. Every trustee interviewed said they personally had a strong grasp of this mandate, before going onto note “there is a significant lack of agreement among Trustees as to what the Object means.”
GNMC says while healthy discussion about an organization’s role is generally good, it is difficult for a group to function if every member is determinately working toward fulfilling their own goals and visions of a project.
“The differences that exist at Trust Council pertaining to fundamental questions about policy direction and the role of Council have proven near-intractable. Trustees speak of a ‘dysfunctional’ situation that is getting worse; most describe a regularly divided Council and a disturbing decline in collegiality and civility,” reads the report.
Trustees had different opinions on most everything Islands Trust does, including strategy directions, policies, financials, general operations, tax policies, performance metrics, accountability and advocacy efforts.
One thing trustees did find agreement on was finding enjoyment in their roles on Local Trust Committees (LTC), which they described as more fulfilling and less frustrating than Trust Council work.
Province also called out for lack of support for the organization
The provincial government’s role regarding Islands Trust, and their refusal to take part in GNMC’s review, didn’t escape scrutiny either. “The absence of any instructions to the Trust by the BC government on this subject (BC-wide interests)… may suggest the Ministry of Municipal Affairs has no appetite to take on questions regarding the Islands Trust mandate and its future… This contributes to a sense of provincial neglect.”
Bureaucratic inefficiencies added to the list, such as briefings running hundreds of pages which trustees rarely read, meetings which are “more focused on punctilious attention to detail, and ensuring appearance to what appear to be over-elaborate procedures, while leaving little opportunity for a meaningful exchange of views and ideas,” and now attempting to amend a Policy Statement that hasn’t been changed in 25 years in one attempt. LTC Official Community Plans haven’t been updated in decades either.
Islands Trust strategic planning in general, including annual preparation of the budget, is described as “lacking a strategic dimension that connects initiatives and strategies with overarching goals and objectives.”
GNMC noted recent positive moves made on the Reconciliation front, including Islands Trust advice to LTC’s on building relationships with First Nations groups. But an absence of Indigenous voices on council dulls these efforts. A recent amendment pledging to cooperate with First Nations groups “does not meet the spirit of what is envisaged in DRIPA (Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Act) for First Nations participation.”
Islands Trust advocacy efforts were also seen as shortfalls, including a low social media presence across all online platforms, and putting their focus into projects that are outside their jurisdiction.
Several issues regarding Local Planning Services were highlighted, such as insufficient preparations for current and future growth, poor communication between different planning groups, lack of planning for climate emergencies such as wildfires or rising sea levels, and a habit of continually passing model bylaws for LTC’s, which the LTC’s in turn rarely ever adopt.
But there was some optimism in the report, based on the dedication of Islands Trust staff and trustees who are “unequivocal in stating their commitment to the Trust and their belief in the Trust’s potential to safeguard the area’s physical environment and enhance the quality of life of its residents.”
GNMC developed 15 core recommendations based on their findings to help Islands Trust put themselves on track to function better. “Trust Council can make many of the changes discussed up to this point… it already possesses… the capacity to actively and independently choose and effect change.”
But a warning, as well. “Without reform, the ability of Trust Council to effectively respond to these challenges will be severely impaired. Trust in the Trust will continue to erode. The relevance of a much-needed institution will continue to be questioned.”
The full report and final recommendations can be found on the Islands Trust website. Bowen Island voters will answer a question on the October municipal ballot on whether they’d like the municipality to renegotiate the amount of tax revenue Islands Trust collects from Bowen each year.
