Trust Council advocates for Coastal Marine Strategy be enshrined into law

Hope Lompe Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder Islands Trust have joined several other local governments and advocacy groups in pushing the British Columbia government to enshrine the Coastal Marine Strategy into law. In 2024, the...

Hope Lompe Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder Islands Trust have joined several other local governments and advocacy groups in pushing the British Columbia government to enshrine the Coastal Marine Strategy into law. In 2024, the province published the 20-year plan, guiding policy on B.C.’s expansive coast, the first of its kind in B.C. The document was praised at the time by advocacy groups as an important step in coastal and marine projection commitments, however it was not enshrined into law, leaving the commitments with little judicial weight.

Charles Short, executive director of coastal marine stewardship and fisheries at the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship gave a presentation to trustees before they passed the motion. “We’ve been working for the last year and a half or so to get up to speed and progress on some of the implementation priorities,” Short said. He explains the strategy was not released with a dedicated budget.

As a result, provincial budget constraints have meant they have had to triage implementation activities and commitments in the document itself. Gabriola Trustee Susan Yates made the motion following the presentation that Trust Council write a letter to the Minister of WaLRS, advocating for the Coastal Marine Strategy be enshrined into law. The motion passed with 14 in favour and three abstain.

“Advocating that it be enshrined into law is consistent with applicable Islands Trust policies,” writes Islands Trust Chief Administrative Officer, Rueben Bronee, in a staff report. Islands Trust was also an advocate for the development and creation of the Coastal Marine Strategy that includes a legal component. In 2020, Trustees passed the motion to write to the Premier and all relevant Ministers of the B.C. government on behalf of Trust Council, to request development and enact a coastal strategy and law.

Three years later, Islands Trust Executive Committee provided its feedback on the draft policy, which included a request for resources to put toward enforcing coastal laws, taking the pressure off bylaw staff. “We have learned there are inadequate provincial staff to properly enforce the proliferation of unlawful private docks and marine infrastructure in the Salish Sea,” they write. “The lack of provincial staff resources for enforcement puts pressure on our bylaw enforcement staff.”

So far, the B.C. government has not said if they plan to legislate the Coastal Marine Strategy . BACK TO TOP