History of the Howe Sound Community Forum 2000-2013
In 1996 the Howe Sound Round Table on environmental, economic & social sustainability produced a report entitled Howe Sound 20/20 The report was a call to action and the result of two years of public forums and community consultations. Over and over the Round Table heard there was a need to establish a Watershed-wide perspective for Howe Sound and a need to coordinate activities both at the government level and the community level.
By the end of the 1990s, Brenda Broughton, Mayor of Lions Bay, was envisioning a new Howe Sound Regional District and began to discuss this with staff at the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). The GVRD funded a process that brought together the Squamish and Sechelt First Nations, the elected officials of the three Regional Districts, and the Islands Trust. Staff from Provincial and Federal Ministries and Municipalities, societies such as the Fraser Basin Council, industry, environmentalists, recreational leaders and the public at large were also invited. It was an inclusive and transparent process.
The Howe Sound Community Forum was established in 2000, with an initial “Coordinated Planning for Howe Sound” meeting taking place on June 29 at Furry Creek. Brenda Broughton was elected the Charter Chair and it was determined that the Chair would change every year, led by a different community. GVRD Planners Ken Cameron and Hugh Kellas acted as recorders at the inaugural meeting. The Squamish First Nation Chiefs Bill Williams and Gibby Jacobs indicated that it was the first time in their history that their Nation had been invited to participate at a first table. The Sechelt Nation Chief Stan Dixon also attended. The meeting included the elected officials at the main table and approximately 35 observers. Each Council was well represented. Among the Municipal Council representatives who participated in the inaugural meeting were West Vancouver Councillor Bill Soprovich and Bowen Island Councillor Alison Morse.
The name Howe Sound Community Forum was adopted at the second meeting on November 1, also at Furry Creek. Forum Director Adrian Belshaw, former Sunshine Coast Regional District Chair, led an envisioning session at that meeting. The media had been invited and were in attendance.
Hugh O’Reilly, then-Mayor of Whistler, proposed that members of the Forum travel to and get to know something about each community, and suggested this be done by boat. All communities agreed. Brenda chaired the tour planning sub-committee and with the GVRD’s support, the 100-foot Gulfstream II was chartered. Conference calls January 15 and February 5, 2001 planned the April 5th boat tour ‘A Floating Symposium, A Journey to Understanding' with Mayor of Gibsons Barry Janyk, West Howe Sound Port Authority Bill Lasuta, Peter Moonen from the Howe Sound Round Table, and Marino Piombini, GVRD Planner and recorder.
The boat tour was open to elected officials and observers, with approximately 95 on board. Many presentations were made throughout the day, including the 'Natural Step" which guides Whistler Planning, Chief Bill Williams discussing Squamish First Nation history focused on the Defense Islands, and the GVRD Director of Parks discussing Howe Sound becoming a park." Scientists, policymakers and environmentalists were also on board. Brenda Broughton led the program on the boat and each Mayor and Council acted as on-shore hosts at each stop. Howe Sound Pulp and Paper had asked to be one of the stops and it was incorporated into the tour.
The itinerary began at Horseshoe Bay, with the first stop Bowen Island, followed by Gibsons, Port Mellon (Howe Sound Pulp and Paper), Lions Bay and Squamish. The group was then bused to the Squamish First Nation Community Centre, led by Chief Ian Campbell, for a dinner and First Nations drumming and dancing before the return to Horseshoe Bay. Each community provided a presentation and refreshments.
The April 5 boat tour provided significant learning experiences related to the environment, the economy and the value of social and cultural considerations. The day laid the framework for developing the Howe Sound Community Forum Principles for Cooperation document.
A meeting held May 30 at Furry Creek discussed a draft protocol proposal prepared by the Islands Trust. There were further meetings on October 24 at the Gibsons Yacht Club and another in June 2002.
It took two years from the first Forum meeting to the issuing of the final Principles for Cooperation document, including preparation, review, finalization, and votes passed by the Regional Districts, Municipal Councils, the Squamish First Nation and Islands Trust prior to signing. Ultimately the Sechelt Nation and the Town of Sechelt were not signatories, since it was understood their territories were not included in the Howe Sound Watershed. The signing event took place on September 20, 2002 on Bowen Island and was chaired by Bowen Island Municipality’s Mayor Lisa Barrett.
From 2002 to 2013 elected Councils turned over and Howe Sound’s environmental recovery continued with the closure and upgrades of major industrial operations. New threats motivated a renewed interest in the Forums.
The Future of Howe Sound Forum
In April 2013 the Future of Howe Sound Society brought together stakeholders and Squamish Nation members to discuss our common values for Howe Sound and what is important for planning in the future. This was the start of many subsequent forums that have been moving the planning goal forward. Since 2013, the Society has been working with many other groups and communities to host an ongoing series of forums for advancing understanding and dialogue.
In 2013 Ruth Simons, the Executive Director of the Future of Howe Sound Society, took on a volunteer support role of coordinating the Howe Sound Community Forums. Working with the elected officials, the current elected representatives updated and renewed the Principles of Cooperation.
The original concept of creating a Howe Sound Regional District faded due to a number of factors, but the need for a comprehensive land and marine use plan for the Howe Sound region remained.
Also in 2013, the Howe Sound Community Forum members supported a motion the Sunshine Coast Regional District put forward to delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities Conference. The resolution passed quickly by the delegates Friday, September 20.
LR 9 Howe Sound Management Plan Sunshine Coast Regional District
WHEREAS all local governments around Howe Sound are currently dealing with recent multiple referrals and applications for gravel, liquid natural gas, coal and bitumen;
AND WHEREAS Howe Sound is a sensitive, ecologically significant area of unparalleled scenic beauty, and provides important ecosystem services for various First Nations, senior and local governments, and is without a land and marine use plan to facilitate a coordinated approach to land and marine use planning;
AND WHEREAS there has been no discussion between the local governments and the Squamish First Nation regarding the cumulative potential impacts;
AND WHEREAS there is a growing concern regarding the future of Howe Sound as commercial, industrial and recreational uses expand without an approach for assessing the cumulative impacts of those increased uses, thereby putting recent progress of significant ecosystem recovery at risk:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM urge the provincial government to support the development of a Comprehensive Management Plan for Howe Sound that facilitates a coordinated land and marine use planning process between First Nations, senior and local governments, and other local bodies to ensure ongoing recovery and responsible land use planning within Howe Sound.
In meetings with Provincial Minister Steve Thomson, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations at the September 13 UBCM conference, Minister Thomson said a moratorium on existing projects would not be supported, but he would commit staff resources to start discussions about planning for Howe Sound. Minister Thomson indicated to the 18 Municipal and Regional District representatives present that he personally did not want to see the recovery of the marine life in Howe Sound go backward. MLA Jordan Sturdy, West Vancouver, Sea to Sky was present in the room. See the official Provincial response to the UBCM resolution on page 169 here.
See the archive of Howe Sound Community Forums from 2014 to the present day, and the continuing story of the need for a comprehensive Land and Marine use Plan for Howe Sound.
Mayor Brenda Broughton, Lions Bay, Councillor Bill Soprovich, and Councillor Trish Panz, District of West Vancouver. September 25, 2013