Reverse order by date. I've found that organizing my thoughts with related links for further reference is essential for this aging, routinely distracted, rather overloaded mind (yes, I did my Wordle this morning, got it in five). It's also something of a community service, I believe, as I'm doing my learning in public and hopefully providing something of value for my colleagues and our successors. My views and perspective keep evolving (as with us all I was so encouraged to discover years ago on first learning about neuroplasticity.) Dive in if and as you wish.  

PS Please note the unfortunate fact that many links in older posts are now dead given new website launches in 2025 by the District of Sooke and the CRD as well as ongoing website updates/deletions at other levels of government. I will endeavour to revise them if and as possible when I find time in future. 

(Local Government 101 education and refresh here and here.) 

* First Nations Relations (March 11, 2026)
​* BC Legislation and Report Tracker 2025/26 (March 3, 2026) 
* Rx for Ever-Improving Sooke Health Care (Feb. 23, 2026) 
​* Budget 2026 (Feb. 16, 2026) 
* Ayre Manor (Feb. 15, 2026) 
* Community Wellbeing ~ Sooke Arts (Feb. 3, 2026) 
* Update: Economic Development & Land Use Committee (Jan. 27, 2026) 

* Adoption Paperwork - Sooke's New OCP (Dec. 11, 2025)
* Simon Fraser University: "Renovate The Public Hearing" (Dec. 4, 2025)  
* Update: Community Economic Development & Land Use Committees (Nov. 29, 2025) 
* Three-Year Review: 2022-2025 (Nov. 11, 2025)
​* Calling 911 On (Seeming) Provincial Downloads (Nov. 9, 2025)
* OCP - Picture Sooke: The Final (?) Frame (Oct. 27, 2025)  
* Sooke School District #62 Update (Oct. 25, 2025)
* Supporting #Sooke Community Organizations (Oct. 19, 2025)
* Union of BC Municipalities 2025 Convention Prep and Follow-Up (Sept. 20, 2025) 
​* #Sooke Gathering Places and Spaces (Sept. 19, 2025) 
* AVICC Convention 2025 (April 10, 2025) 
* Arts File - CRD, West Shore, Sooke (March 20, 2025) 
* Promise and Potential: Sooke Region Tourism (March 2, 2025) 
​* The Road to Referendum (Feb. 23, 2025) 
​* Bill 44 Update: SSMHU Redux (Feb. 17, 2025) 
* Budget 2025 (Jan. 19, 2025) 

​* Twenty Five Years: District Anniversary (Dec. 7, 2024) 
​* Vote! (Oct. 8, 2024) 
* Preparing for the UBCM 2024 Convention (Aug. 28, 2024) 
* Hwy 14: Condensed & Updated (June 13, 2024) 
* Hwy 14 Revisited: Congestion & Safety Edition (March-June, 2024) 
* CRD’s Proposed Transportation Authority (May 23, 2024) 
* Budget 2024 (Feb. 28, 2024) 
* Living With BC’s New Housing Regulations (Feb. 27, 2024)
​* Responding to Homelessness In Sooke (Feb. 2, 2024) 
* Dealing With Our Own Biosolids in the CRD (Jan. 31, 2024) 

* Sooke Food Security (Oct. 25, 2023)
* UBCM 2023 Convention (Sept. 14, 2023)
* Wildfire Season and Disaster Preparedness (Aug. 22, 2023)
​* Council's Last Call This Summer (July 24, 2023)
​* Patience and Process: Back to the OCP (June 18, 2023)
​* Building/Developing Sooke (May 30, 2023)
* Capital Regional District Overview 2023 (May 12, 2023)
​* Housing 101: Preparing for the UBCM Housing Summit (March 31, 2023)
* Budget 2023 Starter: Police, Fire, Climate Action (March 15, 2023)
* Sooke Policing Overview (Jan. 12, 2023) 

* Sooke Selfie: Census 2021 Snapshot (Dec. 21, 2022) 
* Service Agreements: Supporting Sooke Community Organizations (Dec. 12, 2022) 
* #Sooke Gathering Places & Spaces (Dec. 2, 2022) 
* R/x for Sooke Health Care (Nov. 28, 2022) 
* Sooke Lions Centre: Paws & Reflect (Nov. 26, 2022) 
* Years In Review: 2018-22 (Oct. 13, 2022)
* All Candidates Meeting Speaking Notes (Oct. 12, 2022)
* Bathroom Reading: Sooke Sewers (updated: Oct. 8, 2022 & March 29, 2023) 
* Campaign 2022 Q&A Responses (Oct. 5, 2022) 
* OCP Public Hearing Preview (Sept. 27, 2022) 
* Next Step for the Official Community Plan (Sept. 7, 2022) 
* Sparking #Sooke Community Development (Aug. 31, 2022)
* Our Up-Sooke-Sized Building Boom (Aug. 26, 2022)
* Highway 14 Revisited: Summer 2022 Edition (Jul. 22, 2022) 
* BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) Sooke (May 12, 2022)
* Opening Day + Saga of the Sooke Library (Feb. 25, 2022)

* District 101: Facts & Figures from the Citizen Budget Survey (Nov. 30, 2021)
* Budget 2022 (Nov. 25, 2021)
* Draft OCP: My Appreciative Inquiry (Oct. 20, 2021)
* Addressing Homelessness (Visible, Invisible, Pending) in the Sooke Region (Oct. 15, 2021)
* Help Wanted: Interim Climate Action Coordinator (Oct. 12, 2021)
* OCP Update - Fall 2021 (Sept. 4, 2021)
* Paws In Ponds Corridor (July 26, 2021)
* Proposal: Sooke Lions Community Centre in the Park (July 9, 2021)
* Sooke Elder's Complex (aka Gathering Place) Update (June 21, 2021)
* Back to Basics: Food & Shelter Essentials (June 15, 2021)
* State of Sooke's Youth Nation (March 15, 2021) 
* Climate Action: Link Frenzy! - Sooke, Regional, Provincial, National, Global (Feb. 24, 2021)
* Context for Sooke Climate Action (Feb. 19, 2021)
* Help Wanted: Sooke Committees Update (Jan. 24, 2021) 
* What's Next for Sooke's Evolving Road, Sidewalk and Roundabout Network (Jan. 20, 2021)

* Sooke Fiscal 2021 and the BC Restart Fund (Nov. 22, 2020)
* Team OCP: Introducing the Advisory Committee (Aug. 8, 2020) 
* Parks & Transportation Masterplans (July 13, 2020) 
* Burning Issue: Fire Protection Services Bylaw (May 19, 2020)

* Masterplanning Sooke's Smart Growth: OCP Preview (Dec. 20, 2019) 
* The CRD Share of Your #Sooke Tax Bill (Nov. 13, 2019)
* $$$ (Start of a New Five-Year Financial Plan Cycle) (July 29, 2019)
* Climate Cha-Changes (May 17, 2019)
* Notes from Local Government Leadership Academy Seminars (April 10, 2019)
* Climate Change, Pot Shops and Four Lanes (April 7, 2019)
* Highway 14 Revisited: Spring 2019 Edition (March 29, 2019)
* Timbites Sooke (March 26, 2019) 
* Calling All Monopines: Cell Phone Towers (Jan. 27, 2019)
* Seeking Solutions in Saseenos: Lewers/Driver 2 (Jan. 16, 2019)

* X homes + Y people + Z cars = ? (Dec. 18, 2018)
* Council Report: 5 Hours, 47 Minutes Later (Dec. 6, 2018)
* Fresh Paint, Familiar Refrain for Sooke Road (Nov. 17, 2018)
* Learning Curve: Council Dynamics & Respectful Workplaces: Orientation Session (Nov. 6, 2018)
* Proposal: A Forest and the Trees Bylaw (Oct. 16, 2018)
* Verbateman Answers to the Voice News (Oct. 15, 2018)
* Fire Department Overview (Oct. 15, 2018)
* Me & Ms. Reay (Oct. 14, 2018)
* Quoting Myself: All Candidates Debate (Oct. 12, 2018)
* Lemons = Non-Conforming Lemonade: Lewers/Driver 1 (Oct. 11, 2018)
* Thoughts on the Arts (Oct. 10, 2018)
* Zero Waste Version of My 2018 Brochure (Oct. 8, 2018)
* Campaign 2018: Back to the Blog (Oct. 8, 2018)
* No More Tankers: A National Energy Board Submission (Oct. 4, 2018)

* Tonight @ Council (April 13, 2015)
* My CGI Dreams for Sooke (April 13, 2015)
* It Takes A Community (Nov. 11, 2014)
* Looking Glass: Sooke News Mirror Q&A (Nov. 6, 2014)
* Cycling Forward (Nov. 3, 2014)
* Sooke Voice News Questionnaire (Oct. 29, 2014)
* CFAX Candidates Survey: My Responses (Oct. 20, 2014)
* More on the Subjective Sooke News (Oct. 13, 2014)
* The Good (Oct. 9, 2014)
​* First Thoughts (Oct. 6, 2014) 
​

T'Sou-ke Nation
* New website launched June, 2025
* T'Sou-ke First Nation Newsletter, March 2026 
* New Comprehensive Community Plan (CCP) nearing completion + Indigenous Service Canada CCP guidelines 

* Opening of Community Complex & Health Centre (Sept. 16, 2025) 
* T'Sou-ke Elects Larry Underwood As New Chief (Sooke News Mirror, Feb. 16, 2024) 
​
- Indigenous Relations & Northern Affairs Canada - T'Sou-ke home page 
- BC Assembly of First Nations - T'Sou-ke home page 
​* Registered Population (368) + Census Data 2021 
​* Audited Financial Statement, March 2025
* Governance 
- T'Sou-ke First Nation Land Code (2006) 

Te'mewx Treaty  
- Currently in stage five of six. Process began in 1995 and has followed the BC Treaty Commission negotiation schedule. The sixth stage (implementation) will deliver modern treaties to each of the five Te'mewx member nations.

* Te'mexw Treaty Association (TTA) home page + this 2022 video featuring T'Sou-ke Councillor Rose Dumont, celebrating the collaborative work of bringing "power and independence" to the five nations through modern treaties. 

* This follows the 2023/24 public engagement period and its resultant report, which includes the proposed treaty land map on page 15. The new treaties with the five nations will co-exist with the Douglas Treaties so as to maintain fishing and hunting rights. Summary from the Province here. 

* T'Sou-ke proposed treaty lands are parcels at Sooke Mountain Provincial Park and Broom Hill crown lands along with small tracts in Otter Point and at French Beach. No privately held or District-owned land in Sooke is involved. 
 
* Sooke Mountain Park ~ "Sooke Mountain Provincial Park is being considered to become public Treaty Lands as part of the T’Sou-ke Treaty, subject to successful conclusion of the treaty negotiations, and ratification by all parties. Te'mexw Treaty Association and B.C. have a shared interest in maintaining public access and continued recreational opportunities to the park, while protecting the ecological and conservation values. These interests will be detailed in the treaties’ terms and conditions."

 
SKA'PEȽ I'SOT ALEṈ T'Sou-ke Community Complex and Health Centre
- T'Sou-ke Nation announcement upon centre's Sept. 15, 2025 opening. <clip> "The CCHC serves as a cornerstone for community life with a spacious hall for large gatherings and community events, a fully equipped kitchen for providing meals and training opportunities, and several meeting and community rooms to conduct business and host community activities. The building is home to the Nation’s administration, children and families, health, and lands and environment departments. A key highlight of the CCHC features brand new doctors’ offices and laboratory and medical equipment required to provide holistic health services to T’Sou-ke community members. It provides a well-equipped space to deliver programs to address the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health needs of the community ... The Community Complex and Health Centre stands as a powerful testament to the T’Sou-ke Nation’s strength, resilience, and vision. It will serve not only as a place for governance and health, but also as a vibrant heart of culture, learning, and connection for generations to come." 

- News Mirror coverage of opening
​- T'Sou-ke website health centre page 
- "$14m T'Sou-ke Nation Centre Takes Inspiration From Sooke River" 
- Health Services website home page 


Truth and Reconciliation: Calls For Action 
* TRC Calls to Action (94 actions) 
* Indigenous Watchdog - TRC Calls to Action Status, March 2026
* Federal Government: Delivering on the TRC Calls to Action (December, 2025 update) 
* Progress Too Slow (Global News, June 2024) 
​* A Decade of Disappointment (Yellowhead Institute) 
​* Beyond 94 (CBC tracker, 2021) 


District of Sooke 
- First Nations and Indigenous Relations website page 
- New Official Community Plan adopted on Dec. 8, 2025: 
- Land acknowledgement (pg. 3) ~ 

​"Central to Sooke’s history is the acknowledgment that Sooke
occupies the unceded traditional territories of T’Sou-ke Nation and
Sc’ianew First Nation, and acknowledgment of these Nations’ ongoing
presence, influence, and rights within the community. The ancestors
of the T’Sou-ke Nation and Sc’ianew Nation have lived in and
stewarded these lands and waters since Time Immemorial.
 
The District of Sooke makes this land acknowledgment to raise
awareness of ongoing Indigenous presence and land rights in the
territory that includes and encompasses Sooke. It invites us, a local
government, to reflect on how colonial processes are ongoing – and
from which we have benefited – as well as the changes we must
make to honour the Indigenous peoples and their lands that we
inhabit." 


- OCP Steering Committee comments from the preamble: " The fourth message that emerged from the engagement process is the importance of continuing to build and enhance Sooke’s historic and productive relationship with the T’Sou-ke Nation. This coincides with the opportunity to work with T’Sou-ke Nation to develop Neighbourhood Area Plans. Together with the T’Sou-ke Nation, Sooke will need to focus on infrastructure development in this area to address existing issues with high water tables, seasonal flooding, and the ecological health of the harbour and basin. Honouring and amplifying T’Sou-ke cultural knowledge and presence in our efforts to develop meaningful policies and actions towards environmental stewardship and compact growth is integral to our future as a community."

- Equitable Community Policies and Actions (pp. 145-147)
4.11 Equitable Community 
"Sooke strives to be a vibrant place where everyone is respected, belongs and thrives.

Sooke’s diversity of identities and cultures, and our relationship with Indigenous partners, is key to realizing the community’s vision. Currently, however, structural inequities mean that not everyone in our community has access to the same opportunities or experiences.

To support a more just and equitable community, the District will analyze current policies to understand who benefits and who is excluded, and take meaningful action to supporr more positive outcomes. Sooke commits to a strong relationship with T’Sou-ke Nation and other Indigenous communities through initiatives and processes that advance and support reconciliation.

Objective 4.11.1 - Continue to strengthen relationships with T’Sou-ke Nation and other Indigenous communities through initiatives and processes to advance and support reconciliation.

Action 4.11.1.1 - Review and implement applicable Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reports and Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered
Indigenous Women and Girls.

Action 4.11.1.2 - Through the MoU Working Group between the District and T’Sou-ke Nation, commit to developing an action plan to implement UNDRIP locally.

Action 4.11.1.3 - Collaborate with T’Sou-ke Nation and other Indigenous communities on initiatives that reduce systemic inequities and support self-determination."


Sooke School District #62 
- BC First Nations Education Act (2007) 
​- SD 62 Indigenous Education home page 
​- Equity In Action 
- NA’TSA’MAHT Enhancement Agreement  (pp. 17-37, May 27, 2025 board agenda) 
"A five-year working agreement developed by our school District, all local Indigenous communities and partners, and the Ministry of Education. The goal of the agreement is to maintain and enhance our collective ownership to improve the success of Indigenous students, create safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments, and provide learning opportunities based on the First Peoples Principles of Learning for all students, staff, and communities. There are two goals: i) One Mind Goal: To progress individual Indigenous student success K to 12, leading to a Dogwood diploma and supporting pathways to employment beyond graduation that reflect student choice and voice; and ii) One Spirit Goal: To build understanding of Indigenous histories, cultures, and ways of knowing and being, for the purpose of creating safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments K to 12." 
- Traditional Territory Acknowledgements (2025 working paper) 

T'Sou-ke Truth For Reconciliation 
- Sooke Truth for Reconciliation Group (founded 2018 by Edith and Victor Newman, Margaret Critchlow, and the late Linda Bristol; monthly meetings on T'Sou-ke territory with guest speakers) 

- "If you would like to have your name included on an email list to be notified about the monthly book club meetings at the Sooke library, email [email protected]." Newsletters include links to videos, presentations, film nights (at VIRL Sooke) and recommended reading. Examples ... 

* How Indigenous Law Can Transform Canada's Justice System (BC First Nation Justice Council, 2025) 
* 2025 in Review: 25 Good News Stories from First Nations (Coast Funds) 
* Governor General's Address: Survivors' Gathering (Dec. 16, 2025) 
* AFN: Accelerated Action Needed Now On Canada's Implementation of UNDRIP (Oct. 29, 2025) 
​* Mr. Carney, About That Pipeline Deal, We Need to Talk (The Walrus, Dec. 2, 2025) 
* What is the Doctrine of Discovery? and The Indian Act: Its ongoing impact on First Nations| TVO – Jul 31, 2024

Community Walk and Gathering, Sept. 30, 2025 
- First such walk in Sooke and event at John Philips Memorial Park on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, organized by Katherine Strongwind and friends + Sooke News Mirror and Victoria News coverage 

Cowichan Tribes Decision 
The BC government and others are appealing on the grounds that private property ownership is sacrosanct. The resultant legal process will take many years. Private property rights remain entirely valid under the BC Land Titles Act. No question this is a complicated matter that will take time to resolve. In the meantime, current fears are stoked by the fringe One BC party and its vocal supporters. 
 
- Province Considering A Pause on DRIPA (Times Colonist, April 2) <clip> "Premier David Eby says he will stake his government on suspending sections of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act for up to three years, calling it the "least invasive" way of mitigating its potentially sweeping and unintended impact on the province's laws.Speaking after a meeting with First Nations leaders on Thursday, Eby said his government would pass legislation this session to suspend certain sections of the law that place the province at the greatest legal risk."

- Province of BC: Cowichan Nation land-title legal action update (March 2, 2026). <clip> "For transparency, neither the Cowichan Nation nor British Columbia are seeking to invalidate any privately held fee simple titles on the Cowichan Title Lands throuogh the negotiation or appeal processes."  

- Poor Long-Term Governance Led to Cowichan Decision Chaos - Times Colonist, April 1. <clip> "A closer look at the Cowichan decision reveals a deeper source of this chaos. In the 19th-century the Cowichan people had a long-standing settlement at Tl’uqtinus along the Fraser River. Crown authorities were aware of their presence in that territory. The Cowichan and their lands ought to have been protected by the Crown. The land should have been set aside as a reserve. Instead it was surveyed and sold by the very Crown agent responsible for administering the Crown lands – to himself. That parcel of land is now held by private owners, municipalities, government agencies – all operating under the assumption that the land had been legally obtained by the Crown. They, wrongly, trusted that previous governments had done their due diligence. Courts are being asked to solve legal land issues that governments should have resolved, not exacerbated, a long time ago. The Crown has skirted its responsibility, everyone else is stuck trying to clean up their portion of a mess they didn’t make." 

* Musqueam Agreements Are A Good Step (Adam Olsen, The Tyee, March 2026) 
​* Cowichan decision in 'rock-solid law,' won't affect private landowners, expert says (UBC, Feb. 19, 2026) + PDF
* RAVEN Trust: What We Know To Be True (Feb. 4, 2026) 
* "Trevor Howard Is Wrong About Land Title and DRIPA" (Adam Olsen, The Tyee, Jan. 5, 2026) 
* BC Premier Meets With Indigenous Leaders Amidst Cowichan Tension - CBC, Nov. 4, 2025) 

* BC Supreme Court Decision - Aug. 7, 2025 (case first filed on Sept. 9, 2019) 
* Cowichan Tribes website statements on the decision + technical backgrounder 
* City of Richmond: Notice to Registered Owners - Oct. 2025 
* Legal Panel Discussion at UBCM Conference, Sept. 23, 2025

* Coverage of the UBCM discussion (Resource Works) <clip> ""The panel agreed on two points: the Cowichan case is measured, not catastrophic, and it is also massive in significance. Appeals are already underway, and the process could take seven years or more. In the meantime, municipalities, lenders, and governments will be navigating uncharted territory."

* ​The Cowichan Ruling Doesn't End Private Property, It Tests Our Honour - Vancouver Sun, Oct. 24
* Correcting Misconceptions: The Cowichan Tribes Decision - Kate Gunn, First Peoples' Law 
* "It's A Big Deal," says BC Premier - Les Lyne, Vancouver Sun, Oct. 20 
* Related: Rising Tide - Haida Land Title Agreement, April 14, 2024 

* Fraser Institute - Indigenous Policy (note: "The Fraser Institute is widely characterized as a right-of-centre, conservative, or libertarian think tank. While it describes itself as an "independent, non-partisan research and educational organization", its work consistently advocates for free-market principles and limited government intervention." - Google AI)  Its counterpart is the BC Society for Policy Solutions (formerly the BC office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives). 


Miscellaneous 
* First Nations Tell Aaron Gunn, 'Chillax, Bud.' (The Tyee, March 11, 2026) re: Gunn's Facebook call for governments to stop offering land acknowledgements. Chiefs in the North Island-Powell River area wrote: “Land acknowledgements have never seized private property, cancelled a mortgage, repossessed a pickup truck, or altered a single title deed anywhere in Canada. They are simply people recognizing the history of the place where they are standing.”

​* The Tyee - Indigenous Relations news archive 

* Environics Institute: Canadians on Reconciliation and Relations With Indigenous Peoples (2025 update) + PDF (latest follow-up on survey first conducted in 2016).   Key findings: 

"i) Growing Awareness & Support: There is increased awareness of the injustices, such as residential schools, leading to stronger support for specific actions like ensuring clean drinking water, adequate housing, and equitable funding for Indigenous education.

ii) Government Action: A majority of Canadians believe that governments have not gone far enough in advancing reconciliation. 

iii) Optimism vs. Realism: While roughly two-thirds of Canadians are optimistic about meaningful progress, there is also a recognition that relations are currently strained or negative.

iv) Role of Citizens: A majority of non-Indigenous Canadians acknowledge that they have a personal role to play in reconciliation.

v) Impact of Interaction: Non-Indigenous individuals with close Indigenous friends are more likely to have positive views on relations and be optimistic about reconciliation.

vi) Barriers: Major obstacles identified by both populations include persistent stereotypes, a lack of awareness, and inadequate political leadership." 

*************************************************************************************************************************


United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) + PDF 
"The Declaration addresses both individual and collective rights, cultural rights and identity, rights to education, health, employment, language and others. It outlaws discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them. It also ensures their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic, social and cultural development. The Declaration explicitly encourages harmonious and cooperative relations between States and Indigenous Peoples." (from media advisory) 

Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada (Canadian Geographic) ​

British Columbia Assembly of First Nations website 
​
Assembly of First Nations: It's Our Time Toolkit
22 learning modules including ... 
- Pre-Contact
- Impacts of Contact
- Treaties
- First Nations Holistic Life-Long Learning
- Residential Schools 
- Timelines and Maps 
- First Nation Social/Health Performance Indicator Checklist 
- Economic Growth and Employment 

- Climate Emergency - 20 Urgent Calls for Action (2022) 
- Economic Development Policy Papers - Towards a new GDP for BC 
- Housing and Homelessness - 2024 Annual Forum report 

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation  - Learning Centre 

* Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future (summary of the final report) 
"The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was a commission like no other in Canada. Constituted and created by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, which settled the class actions, the Commission spent six years travelling to all parts of Canada to hear from the Aboriginal people who had been taken from their families as children, forcibly if necessary, and placed for much of their child- hoods in residential schools ... Getting to the truth was hard, but getting to reconciliation will be harder. It requires that the paternalistic and racist foundations of the residential school system be rejected as the basis for an ongoing relationship. Reconciliation requires that a new vision, based on a commitment to mutual respect, be developed. It also requires an understanding that the most harmful impacts of residential schools have been the loss of pride and self-respect of Aboriginal people, and the lack of respect that non-Aboriginal people have been raised to have for their Aboriginal neighbours. Reconciliation is not an Aboriginal problem; it is a Canadian one. Virtually all aspects of Canadian society may need to be reconsidered." 

* TRC Calls to Action (94 actions) 
* Federal Government: Delivering on the TRC Calls to Action (December, 2025 update) 

- What We Have Learned: Principles of Truth & Reconciliation 
- The Survivors Speak 
- Canada's Residential Schools: The History Part 1: Origins to 1939 + Part 2: 1939-2000
- Missing Children and Unmarked Burials 
- Canada's Residential Schools: The Legacy 
- Canada's Residential Schools: Reconciliation 

- Independent Assessment Process: 2021 Final Report 
- National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: 2021 Annual Report 

- Residential School Settlement (2007)
- Statement of Apology by PM Harper (June 11, 2008) 

National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
- Reclaiming Power and Place: Final Report Volume 1A + Volume 1B 
"In this report, we use hard words to address hard truths like genocide, colonization, murder and rape. To deny these hard words is to deny the truths of the families and survivors, front-line workers, and grassroots organizers. We used hard words because the violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people is a difficult, critically important crisis to address and in which we all have a role." - Chief Commissioner Marion Buller

"The truths shared in these National Inquiry hearings tell the story – or, more accurately, thousands of stories – of acts of genocide against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The violence the National Inquiry heard amounts to a race-based genocide of Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis, which especially targets women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. This genocide has been empowered by colonial structures evidenced notably by the Indian Act, the Sixties Scoop, residential schools and breaches of human and Indigenous rights, leading directly to the current increased rates of violence, death, and suicide in Indigenous populations."

​Red Dress Day (May 5 annually) 
aka National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People 
- Prayer from T'Sou-ke Elder Jackie (Sooke School District #62 video, 2023) 
- Canadian Encyclopedia 
- Jaime Black's REDress Project Installation
- REDress Project Artwork Gifted to the District of Sooke by Rotary Club (Nov. 2022) + news article 
- Native Women's Association of Canada - REDress educational toolkit 

National Indigenous History Month (June) 
Weekly themes (2023):  

• June 1 to 6: Women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people
• June 5 to 11: Environment, traditional knowledge and territory
• June 10 to 18: Children and youth
• June 19 to 25: Languages, cultures and arts
• June 26 to 30: Reconciliation

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day (September 30) 
"National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day for all Canadians to commemorate the history and legacy of the residential school system. It’s a day to honour the resilience, dignity and strength of survivors and intergenerational survivors and remember the children who never came home. It's a chance to engage and educate people about B.C.'s colonial history and how it has and continues to impact Indigenous communities." (Province of BC) 

Government of Canada page: "The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process ... Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”.  The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations."

- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation funded projects across Canada 


T'Sou-ke Nation 
"The word T'Sou-ke (tsa-awk) is the name of the stickleback fish (found in the estuary of the Sooke basin) in the SENĆOŦEN language of the T'Sou-ke Nation. The anglicized name of T'Sou-ke is Sooke." (from signage for the District of Sooke's Stickleback Urban Trail). 

​T'Sou-ke website home page 
- Chief and Council
- Fisheries and Marine 
- Lands, Forestry and Environment 

​Government of Canada - T'Sou-ke Nation page 
T’Sou-ke IR 1 - 26.3 hectares
T’Sou-ke IR2 - 40.9 hectares

~ Memorandum of Understanding with the District of Sooke first drawn up in 2007 (updated since; the current council has met with its T'Sou-ke counterparts four times since 2019 with alternating visits hosted by each local government)

T'Sou-ke Solar City
~ Towards Total Transition: The Tyee, 2018
~ Trailblazer: T'Sou-ke First Nation Solar and Greenhouse Initiatives (KAIROS Canada) 
- Solar Energy to Strive for Net Zero (2012 video)
- T'Sou-ke Solar presentation by Andrew Moore (2012 video; no longer available online) 

~ T'Sou-ke Indigenous Housing Solutions Lab: IISAAK OLAM Foundation (2021) 

​~ T'Sou-ke Health and Community Centre (Times Colonist story; construction begins in 2023/24)  

~ T’Sou-ke Centre for Sustainability Housing Innovation (skills training in the creation of energy efficient housing for BC indigenous communities)

~ Transport Canada's Maritime Awareness Situational Analysis Initiative is a monitoring and data-collection partnership with coastal First Nations, T'Sou-ke and Pacheedaht included. The T'Sou-ke station will monitor maritime traffic, identify sensitive habitats, track orca and salmon populations, document weather, tides and currents, and chart marine hazards and navigational aides. 

~ Oceans Networks Canada and the T'Sou-ke are collaborating on water-quality monitoring in the basin, which is currently home to 4 million oysters following nearly a decade of aquaculture development. The T'Sou-ke wish to again harvest clams, oysters and crab.

~ T'Sou-ke vision of a 100-year managed forest agreement with TimberWest in the Sooke Hills. Chief Planes notes that elders have always spoken of the need to "enhance the forest environment every year"

Salmon Conservation and Enhancement
- T'Sou-ke Chief Gordon Planes on significance of wild pacific salmon (Save Our Salmon SOS video, 2023) 
​~ Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society 
-  Jack Brooks Hatchery (Gov. of BC press release) 
​~ Charters River Salmon Interpretive Centre 

Videos 
- Site of Significance: T'Sou-ke Nation's Connection to Long Spit (District of Sooke)
​- Connection to Local Food Sources on T'Sou-ke Nation Territory (District of Sooke)
- Connection to Land and Forest on T'Sou-ke Nation Territory (District of Sooke)
​- T'Sou-ke Territory Shoreline Clean-Up (Coastal Restoration Society) 
- T'Sou-ke First Nation Trailcam Seminar (Coexisting with Carnivores Alliance)
- T'Sou-ke Nation First Solar City, Housing and Innovation (Creatively United presentation by Larissa Stendie from Clean Technology Community Gateway)  
- University of Victoria Environmental Studies Class Visit to T'Sou-ke Nation (2016) 


Treaties 
​Government of Canada: About Treaties 

​https://temexw.org
"The First Nations of British Columbia are in a unique situation with regard to treaties. Most of the province (about 95% of the land base) is unceded, non-surrendered First Nation territories. In 1871, when B.C. joined Confederation, the government of the colony of B.C. declared that Aboriginal title had been extinguished. 
Note: Aboriginal title refers to the inherent right to land or a territory.
 
The Canadian legal system now recognizes Aboriginal title as the unique collective right to the use of and jurisdiction over a group's ancestral territories. And the courts have been increasingly firm that the Crown in B.C does not have clear title to the land and its resources.

Treaties signed with First Nations in Canada between 1701 and 1923 are commonly referred to as historic treaties. In BC, there are Douglas treaties, signed with First Nations on Vancouver Island, and Treaty 8 covering a portion of northeastern BC. 

Treaties signed today are called modern treaties, and cover where there are no historic treaties, and can also deal with matters not addressed in historic treaties. 

65 self-identifying First Nations, representing 109 current and former Indian Act bands out of all 200 Indian Act bands in BC, are participating in, or have completed treaties through, the treaty negotiations process. This is 54.5% of all BC Indian Act bands."  

Resources: 

• BC Treaty Commission’s interactive map - https://www.bctreaty.ca/map
• Treaty 8 Tribal Association http://treaty8.bc.ca/
• Nisaga’a Treaty https://www.nisgaanation.ca/understanding-treaty

HISTORICAL TREATIES
"James Douglas of the Hudson’s Bay Company made 14 purchases of First Nations land between 1850 and 1854 at the request of the British Crown. These transactions are known as the Douglas Treaties and were made with the following tribes: Teechamitsa, Kosampson, Whyomilth, Swengwhung, Chilcowitch, Che-ko-nein, Ka-ky-aakan, Chewhaytsum, T’Sou-ke, Saanich (South), Saanich (North), Saalequun, Queackar, and Quakiolth. Many of the descendants of the signatories of these communities continue to proudly assert and exercise their Douglas Treaty rights."

• Treaty Texts – Douglas Treaties

"Sooke Tribe - North-West of Sooke Inlet
​Know all men, we, the chiefs and people of family of Sooke, acting for and on behalf of our people, who being here present have individually and collectively ratified and confirmed this act. Now know that we, who have signed our names and made our marks to this deed on the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, do consent to surrender, entirely and for ever to James Douglas, the agent of the Hudson's Bay Company in Vancouver Island, that is to say, for the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Committee of the same, the whole of the lands situated and lying between the Bay of Syusung, or Sooke Inlet, tot he Three Rivers beyond Thlowuck, or Point Shirringham, on the Straits of Juan de Fuca, and the snow covered mountains in the interior of Vancouver Island.

The conditions of our understanding of this sale is this, that our village sites and enclosed fields are to be kept for our own use, for the use of our children, and for those who may follow afer us and the land shall be properly surveyed hereafter. It is understood, however, that the land itself, with these small exceptions, becomes the entire property of the white people for ever; it is also understood that we are at liberty to hunt over the unoccupied lands, and to carry on our fisheries as formerly.

We have received, as payment, Forty-eight pounds six shillings and eight pence.
In token whereof, we have signed our names and made our marks at Fort Victoria, on the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and fifty.

(Signed)
Wanseea his X mark
Tanasman his X mark
Chysimkan his X mark
Yokum his X mark
Chiefs commissioned by and representing the Sooke Tribe here assembled."


MODERN TREATIES
Many nations are at different stages in the treaty process. Look up a specific nation to see where they are at in the process - https://bctreaty.ca/negotiation-update. 

• Douglas Treaty
  Te’mexw Treaty Association is a non-profit society formed of five Coast Salish Nations – Beecher Bay (SC’IA⁄NEW), Malahat, Snaw-Naw-As, Songhees and T’Sou-ke. The Te’mexw five member Nations joined to support one another and to work together under one organization to negotiate five Nation-specific modern treaties with the federal and provincial governments in the British Columbia Treaty Process.
  
  
• Maa-nulth Treaty
  The five First Nations, were former Indian Act bands, and become self-governing through the Maanulth Treaty, which is being implemented by the five independent governments: Huu‑ay‑aht First Nations, Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nation, Toquaht Nation, Uchucklesaht Tribe, and Yuułuiłath Government (Ucluelet).

 

• Council of the Haida Nation
  The Council of the Haida Nation (CHN) table is negotiating tripartite reconciliation agreements. On August 13, 2021, CHN and the governments of Canada and British Columbia signed the GayG̱ahlda "Changing Tide" Framework for Reconciliation agreement.

 

Capital Regional District: First Nations Relations 
- CRD First Nation Relations home page 
​- Special Task Force on First Nations Relations Final Report (2018)
- Modern Treaties 
- CRD Statement of Reconciliation 
​
- Territorial Acknowledgement Guidelines 
- Committee Terms of Reference
- Indigenous Employment Project + wise practices (April 2023)

- Indigenous Relations Operational Update (Sept. 2022) 
​- First Nations Communications Framework (April 2022) 
- Ecological Asset Management Plan (Feb. 2022) 
- Inclusive Governance and Decision Making + Honoraria policies (May, 2021)
- First Nation Relations Mandate Refresher (slide deck) + FN Inclusion in CRD Governance + Economic Development Partnership Model (Sept. 2020) 

- Economic Development Model Feasibility Study (2020) 
- Forum of All Councils (Nov. 2019 - CRD directors and First Nations joint session) 
- FN Inclusion on CRD Standing Committees (Nov. 2019) 
- Overview of Neighbouring First Nations + Archeology Policies & Procedures (Feb. 2019) 
​

Declaration of the Right to a Healthy Environment
~ Sooke's Finn and Chloe Unger on the Declaration of the Right to a Healthy Environment (the BlueDot initiative passed by DOS council in February, 2015 as a relatively early adopter to a document now signed by more than 300 municipalities across Canada). 
- United Nations Declaration of the Right to a Healthy Environment (July 26, 2022) 

* Sooke Family Resource Society - Reconciliation Statement 

​
Miscellaneous Extras 
Canadian Public Opinion on Aboriginal Peoples (Environics Institute, 2016)
"Five groups of non-Aboriginal Canadians with a distinct worldview. Two of the groups (making up 41% of the population) have a distinctly positive orientation, one of which is well-informed (Connected Advocates) and one notably less so (Young Idealists). Two other groups (35%) are much more negative in their perspective, one of them being generally knowledgeable about many of the issues (Dismissive Naysayers) and the other mostly uninformed and disengaged (Disconnected Skeptics).

The fifth and final group (Informed Critics – 23% of the population) includes among the most informed non-Aboriginal Canadians when it comes to Aboriginal peoples, while their orientation is mix of positive and negative opinions. This typology sums up the spectrum of non-Aboriginal perspectives about Aboriginal peoples, and provides a valuable foundation for future communications and education initiatives."  + 2021 update 

- Recognition and Implemention of Indigenous Rights Framework: Engagement Guide (Government of Canada, 2018)

Previously unpublished post circa 2019/20
Doing my research and preparing notes for tonight's intra-council meeting between Team Tait and the T'Sou-ke Nation council of Chief Gordon Planes and his cohorts Rose Dumont and Allan Planes. The T'Sou-ke council hosted us in the spring in the band hall at Reserve #1 (the beautiful red blanket I received that night is doing excellent service around my knees as I type now that the winter damp is creeping in). Now it's our turn at the Municipal Hall to return the favour and build more of a collaborative listening/working/co-creating relationship with a neighbouring local government.

During our Strategic Plan sessions, we discussed how Sooke/T'Sou-ke has the potential to be a model reconciliation community for a number of reasons: i) We have a long history of cooperation between settlers and First Nation; ii) the T'Sou-ke have much to show us in leading the way forward; iii) the times we live in call for us to return to stewardship, sustainability and sanity on multiple levels. 

We also can build on the foundation established these last three years by the Sooke Reconciliation Group led by Edith Newman, Jackie D and Margaret Critchlow. Its third season got underway last week as Chief Planes shared unscripted thoughts in the Lazzar Building, then led 50 or so of us over to Pemberton Pool, a T'Sou-ke Village site on the Sooke River (aka Big River) purchased in 2016 by the Capital Regional District for use as a capture spot by the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society.

Some of the season's first returnees were jumping in the slow-moving river when we arrived in a light rain by the pools, which as the Chief told us are effectively unchanged from when he was a boy who took great delight in plunging into the river after sliding down a rock wall. 

I scribbled notes as he spoke and trust I captured his word accurately. Links here results from research after the fact. 

* Forest Conservation: The Chief shared a moving vision of a preserved Sooke Hills that see managed forestry operations and a re-established/revitalized forest that balances safeguarded old-growth with selectively harvested second-and-third growth (cut after a minimum of 60 years, not half that as is currently sometimes the case.)

- The Chief is concerned with logging in the Sooke Hills off Butler Main. He'd like to see (effectively unprofitable) forestry operations stopped, pockets of old-growth protected and the creation of a managed second/third growth forest that allows the forest to re-establish itself. 

T'Sou-ke have three woodlots
- Muir Creek
- Big Mountain 
- Bluff Mountain (Sacred Mountain)

- Calls for a 30 year moratorium on second/third growth
- Currently a 30-year harvest on some trees -- these are relative toothpicks
- Vision of a 100-year managed forest
- T'Sou-ke elders spoke of the need to "enhance the forest environment every year"
- "Long-term view - take the greed out of it."
- "If you're not making any money out of it, then give it back ... and we'll turn it into a park, enhance it." 
- TFL licenses surrendered in 2006

- Timberwest have so far honoured an agreement with the Chief not to log old-growth in the Sooke Hills 
- Odd to log a vast area for half-a-dozen jobs 

First Nation Crown Lands Gathering, first week of November: In partnership, the Province of British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council, have reserved November 5 & 6, 2019 to hold the 5th annual BC Cabinet and First Nations Leaders’ Gathering in Vancouver at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

* Ocean Guardianship: Transport Canada's new Maritime Awareness Situational Analysis Initiative is a monitoring and data-collection program involving 10 First Nations on the west (T'Sou-ke and Pacheedaht included) and east coasts, in the Arctic and along the St. Lawrence River. The T'Sou-ke station will monitor maritime traffic, identify sensitive habitats, track orca and salmon populations, document weather, tides and currents, and chart marine hazards and navigational aides. 

* Water quality in the Sooke harbour and basin: Oceans Networks Canada and the T'Sou-ke are collaborating on water-quality monitoring in the basin, which is currently home to 4 million oysters following five years of aquaculture development. The T'Sou-ke wish to again be able to harvest clams, oysters and crab as in the past. Chief Planes noted that a sewer extension eastward across the Sooke River is essential in guaranteeing a clean harbour. 

 * Sewers to Kaltasin to protect environmental health of the harbour
- 4 million oysters in the basin
- desire to harvest clams, oysters and crab as in the past
- The Olympia Oyster is endangered 
- learning centre and light footprint park 

Static data does not change significantly over time. It could include:
- nautical information such as marine hazards and navigation safety marks
- charts showing sea bottom topography
- sensitive habitats
- cultural sites
- vessel and port databases

Dynamic data which changes over time. It could include:
- weather, tides and currents information
- information about movement of vessels
- information about potential pollution events

- Collaborations with ... 
DFO
Transport Canada
National Energy Board
Trans Mountain Pipeline
Conservation groups

Miscellaneous subjects ... 
- Meetings around rocks ... big rocks are gathering places
- Camp Bernard - council rock
- Little River rock near future crossing  
- "Rock-onciliation"

- Pronunciation: Tsaaaaa-ouk
- "Our language came from the nature - the sound of the the river, a salmon's jump, the breeze in trees. The elders say that if you want to reclaim the language, go to the forest." 

- Burning question: "What kind of world will we leave our children?" 
- Coast Salish see the natural world as animate; a great divide in this mechanistic modern world. 
 
- Deer driven out of mature forests ... leading killer and cause of accidents on our roads
- 11,000 animal-related collisions in BC annually 
- 650 people injured; 3 killed  

Kudos to ... 
- Bob Hansen, Parks Canada
- Coexisting with Carnivores Alliance
- Wild Wise Sooke 
 
- Pemberton Pools is a village site
- Seals come up as far as here
- As a child, the Chief would slide down the rock into the river
- "Nothing has changed, the environment is intact -- how will these trees look in 100 years?" 

- Spring Salmon Place
- old growth
- blasting and punched a road further in 
- Dr. Nancy Turner, ethnobotanist

- Muir Creek 

British Columbia 

Standing Items
- BC Government news portal  
​- Progress of Bills 
- Office of the Premier 
- Legislative Assembly 
- Parliamentary Calendar
​- BC Government Directory 
- Prime Minister of Canada news portal 

Spring 2026 Legislative Session 
February 18 to May 28 (41 working days) 

Budget 2026
- Budget 2026 announced by Minister Bailey on Tues. Feb. 17
- budget and fiscal plan (PDF) 
- budget highlights 
- budget speech 
- estimates for fiscal year ending March 31, 2027 

- Analysis by CRD Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chan - see Item 6.3 of the March 4 Financial Committee meeting agenda. 

News Coverage 
- BC Budget Includes Tax Increases, 15k Public Job Cuts, Projected #13b Deficit - CBC News, Feb. 17
- BC Budget Brings Cuts - Times Colonist, Feb. 18 
- More Money for Health Care, But Long-Term Care Projects Face Delays - Times Colonist, Feb. 17
- BC Budget Brings A Record Deficit and No Big Changes - The Tyee, Feb. 18
- Miscellaneous: RBC + Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives + Fraser Institute

* Legislative Assembly explainer 
* "BC Budget Must Cut Government Spending" (Canadian Taxpayers' Federation) 
* Austerity Budget Expected (CHEK News, Feb. 3)
“Absolutely we’ll be reducing spending in the next budget, but the reductions will be focused on administrative costs and bureaucracy, while we’re preserving frontline services,” said Premier Eby. "British Columbians will actually see an increased investment in services like education and health care.” ... Bailey confirmed she’s taking a hard look at spending, and said the current eight per cent annual growth in health care (which makes up almost 40 per cent of the province’s entire budget) is unsustainable when the B.C. economy is only projected to grow around 1.5 per cent in the coming year." 


March 2026
- New Police Training Centres in Vancouver and Victoria (March 6) - Addressing the fact that police recruitment is 20% behind needs. "Budget 2025 invests $235 million in new funding over the next three years to improve community safety through various public safety and justice programs. This investment is increasing access to the justice system and supporting court operations, including sheriff recruitment, legal aid and Crown counsel." 

- Look West: The Tourism Sector Action Plan (March 4 + announcement) 
"B.C.’s Tourism Sector Action Plan sets a clear path to double visitor spending to $48 billion by 2036. The plan is built on five pillars: marketing B.C. as a top-tier destination; improving access through expanded air services and provincial corridors; leveraging events; mobilizing private-sector investment; and creating a supportive business climate for tourism operators and investors." 

- Amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act to improve health and safety in supportive housing (March 4). Highlights: "Keep weapons out of supportive housing; provide operators a continuum of options to temporarily restrict the access of tenants to a supportive housing site to de-escalate critical health and safety risks to other residents and staff." 

​- Permanent Daylight Savings Time (March 2 press release)

- Cowichan Nation land-title legal action update (March 2). <clip> "For transparency, neither the Cowichan Nation nor British Columbia are seeking to invalidate any privately held fee simple titles on the Cowichan Title Lands through the negotiation or appeal processes.”


February 2026
- BC Greens Won't Renew Accord (Times Colonist, Feb. 10)  "The New Democrats have 47 members in the 93-seat legislature, while the Greens have two. The Opposition B.C. Conservatives have 39 seats, having lost five members from their caucus who are now sitting as Independents."

- Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) to establish new HQ in Vancouver (Feb. 9) 
- Community Gaming Grants Update (Feb. 5) - $53m distributed to more than 2,500 BC organizations in 2025 + recipient list (includes $470k approx. to 20 Sooke region organizations - Sooke Fall Fair, Sooke Region Historical Society, Sooke Philharmonic, school PACs, Sooke Fine Arts, etc. Top awards: $250k to the Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue and $85k to JDF Marine Rescue Society.) 

January 2026
​- First Ministers' Joint Statement (Ottawa, Jan. 29) 
- Premier Eby on Alberta Separatism (Jan. 29) 
- Announcement of five more Foundry youth centres (Jan. 27) 
- Western Canada Critical Mineral Strategy + web page (Jan. 25) 
- Results of 2025 BC Hydro Call For Power - 14 proposals, 13 wind/1 solar; five proposals from the southern Interior, two from the central Interior, four from the North Coast and three from the Peace region + BC Hydro page + 2024 Call for Power results (Jan. 21) 
​
- Heritage Conservation Act update - postponement of proposed amendments (Jan. 19) 
- Addiction Hot-Line Service Improvements (Jan. 14) 
- BC Trade Mission to India (Jan. 12-17, 2026) 

Developing ... 
- BC Conservative Party Leadership Race (official)  
- Emily Lowen on Next Steps for the BC Greens (The Tyee, Jan. 8) 


Fall Legislative Session 
Oct. 6 to Nov. 27 
* UBCM Executive Advocacy With the Province - UBCM statement, Dec. 3
* Fall Session Focus - Province of BC, Oct. 6
* What To Expect from BC Legislature's Fall Session - The Narwhal, Oct. 6 

​* BC's Population Has Dropped (Times Colonist, Jan. 1, 2026). "Between July and October of this year, more than 26,000 non-permanent residents left B.C. as part of a trend that dropped Canada’s overall population by 0.2 per cent ... B.C. gained large numbers of people in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and its population soared from 5.3 million to just under 5.7 million. Losses in the first quarter of 2025 were due to a decline in natural population growth and interprovincial migration. But decreases in the past two quarters, making up the vast majority of the decrease, have been due to out-migration." 


Ministry of Finance - Second Quarterly Report (November, 2025) 
"The updated fiscal outlook for 2025/26 forecasts an operating deficit of $11.2 billion, $390 million lower than the projection in the First Quarterly Report." 

Bill 25 - Housing and Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 (Nov. 28) 
- Policy bulletin issued by the Ministry 
- Relatively minor changes to Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing and Short-Term Rental regulations 
- Backgrounder 

Special Committee on Democratic & Electoral Reform (Nov. 26)
​- Committee home page 
- Report (first of two) Toward A Stronger Democracy in British Columbia (Nov. 26, 2025) 
"The Committee makes 36 recommendations to strengthen BC’s democracy by supporting British Columbians’ participation and engagement, examining the efficacy of legislation and policy, and enhancing the responsibilities of and resources for Elections BC, political parties, and MLAs."
​- submissions 
- Proportional Representation Won't Be Revived on Eby's Watch (Rob Shaw, Dec. 16, 2025). <clip> "I think British Columbians are done with that conversation," said the Premier. 

CleanBC Independent Review Panel (Nov. 26)
Rising To the Moment: Final Report 
"CleanBC is, for the most part, working. Its policies and programs are measurably reducing climate pollution while creating jobs, improving community health, and lowering everyday costs for British Columbians. Yet, despite these successes, the plan is not yet reaching its full potential. The government now has an opportunity to adjust and close gaps in CleanBC—improving outcomes for all—while acknowledging current challenges."

Priorities for Action
1. Accelerate clean electricity production and electrification as the foundation of energy security and economic growth
2. Make it easier for British Columbians to cut energy bills and climate pollution
3. Leverage B.C’s clean energy advantage to create more jobs in the energy transition
4. Support B.C.’s industries to become cleaner and more competitive
5. Increase production of clean, made-in-B.C biofuels and renewable natural gas
6. Deepen partnerships with First Nations and local governments
7. Focus on delivering effective, achievable and fiscally responsible outcomes

- engagement home page ~ "Over the course of the review we met with 157 organizations in 41 engagement sessions, received 279 written submissions from 232 different organizations and 47 members of the public and/or experts, and received 2,650 public engagement survey forms." 
- review led by Merran Smith from Clean Energy BC and Simon Fraser University's New Economy Canada; and Dan Woynillowicz from the consulting firm Polaris Strategy + Insight.  

DASH, Digitally Accelerated Standardized Housing online platform (Nov. 20) 
"A new BC Housing online platform called DASH is helping developers and non-profit organizations design and construct three- to six-storey buildings more quickly and at lower cost using products manufactured in B.C." 

Look West Workforce Development Strategy (Nov. 20) 
- Home page
"Look West is a targeted plan designed to deliver major projects, create good jobs and strengthen B.C.'s and Canada’s economic security in the face of economic threats." 
- Accelerating Maritime Industry's Shift to Clean Energy 
- COAST Innovation Challenge  
- Innovate BC + 2024/25 Impact Report 

​Proposed Private Members' Bill M-216 - Professional Reliance Act (Oct. 27) 
- Draft legislation introduced by MLA George Anderson ... approval required by the Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Bills before advancing to the legislature. Public input welcome until Jan. 6, 2026; Standing Committee likely to address it at its meeting of Feb. 2 

- UBCM expresses concern (Nov. 7) 
"UBCM views the proposed legislation as continuing a trend towards sweeping, centralized legislation that impacts local governments, developed without meaningful local government input. If adopted, Bill M216 would prohibit local governments from requiring a standard technical peer review during housing development applications. Instead, local governments would be required to accept any certified submission of a registered professional (in accordance with the Professional Governance Act) hired by the developer. If passed, any local government that disputed the submission would have to appeal the certification with the Office of the Superintendent for Professional Guidance."  

​- Metro Vancouver Mayors Outraged (CBC) 
- The Quiet Revolution in BC Planning (City Hall Watch) 
- Professional Reliance Review (2019) 

- North Cowichan Considers Joining Judicial Review of M-216 (Chemainus Courier, Jan. 8, 2026) 

Cowichan Tribes Decision 
* BC Supreme Court Decision - Aug. 7, 2025 (case first filed on Sept. 9, 2019) 
* Cowichan Tribes website statements on the decision + technical backgrounder 
* City of Richmond: Notice to Registered Owners - Oct. 2025 
* Legal Panel Discussion at UBCM Conference, Sept. 23, 2025
* Coverage of the UBCM discussion (Resource Works) <clip> ""The panel agreed on two points: the Cowichan case is measured, not catastrophic, and it is also massive in significance. Appeals are already underway, and the process could take seven years or more. In the meantime, municipalities, lenders, and governments will be navigating uncharted territory."
* ​The Cowichan Ruling Doesn't End Private Property, It Tests Our Honour - Vancouver Sun, Oct. 24
* Correcting Misconceptions: The Cowichan Tribes Decision - Kate Gunn, First Peoples' Law 
* "It's A Big Deal," says BC Premier - Les Lyne, Vancouver Sun, Oct. 20 
* Related: Rising Tide - Haida Land Title Agreement, April 14, 2024 

Miscellaneous
* Zero Emissions Vehicles Framework Update (Nov. 18) 
* North Coast Transmission Line - Oct. 20 + BC Hydro project map 
* 900 New Child Care Spaces (including Choo Choo, Let's Go/Sooke) - Oct. 17
* Clearer Short-Term Rental Rules - Oct. 9 
* Holding Vape Manufacturers Accountable for Public Health Costs - Oct. 8
* Province to make way for more child care at schools - Oct. 7 

Media Coverage
* Eby Stands Against Proposed Pipeline as First Nations Vow It Will Never Happen - Times Colonist, Nov. 28
* Carney's Energy Deal Went Down Differently Depending On Who You Ask - CBC, Nov. 27 
* David Eby Says He Will Not Support A Pipeline From Alberta. Can He Stop It? - Vancouver Sun, Oct. 7 
* Pipeline Push: Majority of Canadians, Including BC Residents, Support a North Coast Pipeline - Angus Reid, Oct. 9
* As Smith Pushes New Pipeline Plan, Eby Says No Way - The Tyee, Oct. 2 

* Eby Takes A Beating At Hostile Developer (UDI) Luncheon - Rob Shaw, Business In Vancouver (Oct. 7) 
* What Does David Eby Have To Be Thankful For? An Amateur Opposition in Utter Turmoil - Globe & Mail (Oct. 9) 


Spring Legislative Session 
* Press Release 
* Archive of New Legislation (Spring 2018 to Spring 2025) 
* Parliamentary Calendar 2025 - Next session - Oct. 6 to Nov. 27

Housing Legislation 
* Local Government Housing Initiatives - one stop overview 
* Inclusive Zoning and Density Bonusing Comprehensive Guidance
​(updated June 13) 
* New Local Government Tools 
* Housing and Municipal Affairs guide for local governments - Proactive Planning Guide 
* From the blog: Bill 44 Update + BC's New Housing Regulations
+ Housing 101 + X Homes + Y People + Z Cars = ?

Homelessness Point-In-Time Count Provincial Data Released 
* press release 
* homeless counts in the 20 communities in which BC Housing did the count 
* CRD conducted PIT counts in Greater Victoria in association with the Community Social Planning Council + results released on Sept. 24 + data + technical appendix <clip> "The 2025 PiT Count was conducted on March 25 and 26 and identified 1,749 people who were experiencing homelessness compared to 1,665 in March of 2023." + CRD Housing Data & Analysis 

Fiscal Plan Update (Sept. 15, 2025) 
* Report from the Ministry of Finance + press release

Infrastructure Project Acts (July 2025 to March 2026)
* Engagement process - three-part survey  

Heritage Conservation Act Transformation Project (July 9) 
* Home Page 
* Updating the Act 
* Ministry of Forests press release (July 9) 

* The Act applies to 64k sites listed in a provincial registry, 90% of them within First Nations territories 
"The Heritage Conservation Act (HCA) encourages and enables the protection and conservation of sites with historical, cultural and/or archaeological value in B.C. These sites hold physical evidence of how and where people lived. Many of these sites in B.C. are culturally sensitive, contain ancestral remains, and have important sacred and spiritual value to First Nations in B.C. Altering these protected sites without a permit is prohibited under the Act."

UBCM press release - Sept. 24   "“We want to be very clear, UBCM recognizes and supports the importance of archeological conservation, particularly as it relates to Indigenous values,” said UBCM President Trish Mandewo. “But while the Province took seriously its obligation to work with Indigenous groups in developing the legislation, engagement with local governments was largely disregarded.”

- "BC Pushes Heritage Act Reform Amid Concerns of Development Slowdowns" - Globe & Mail, Sept. 26
- "UBCM Blasts Province for Lack of Consultation on Heritage Conservation Act" - Vaughan Palmer, Vancouver Sun, Sept. 24 

Province of BC Responses to UBCM 2024 Resolutions (July 2) 
* Resolutions Reply Book (includes original resolutions adopted in Sept. 2024 and Provincial response) 

Development Cost Charge Amendments (July 2) 
* ​Housing and Municipal Affairs Press Release 
* About Development Cost Charges 
* DCC Best Practices Guide (April 2025)
* DCC Guide for Elected Officials (April 2025) 

* Amenity Cost Charges: Best Practices Guide (March, 2025) 
* Amenity Cost Charge Guide for Elected Officials (April, 2025) 

Times Colonist - "The British Columbia government is loosening the rules for payment of development fees in a bid to jump start home construction that has been hampered by upfront costs.

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says among the biggest changes will be more flexible and extended payment timelines for homebuilders, so instead of paying development fees up front, they will pay 25 per cent at permit approval and 75 per cent when the building is occupied.

Developers will also have four years, rather than two, to pay the charges, in rule changes that Kahlon says are needed because the current market conditions have stalled projects in the province.

While some municipalities want letters of credit from a bank as a promise the work will be done, that can restrict a developer's access to credit, so the government will also change the regulations provincewide to allow for the financial guarantee of on-demand surety bonds."  

Declaration On The Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (June 25)
* Sixth Annual Declaration Report (June 25, 2025) 

BC Coroners' Service (June 24) 
​* 2025 summary to date as of April 30 (with 10-year trend charts) 
​* Ministry press release 
 
Municipal Liabilities Regulation Amendment (June 24) 
* Housing and Municipal Affairs Press Release 
* Municipal Liabilities Regulation (amended) 
* BC Municipalities Allowed To Take On More Debt For More Projects (CBC News) 
<clip> "On Tuesday, the province announced changes that will:

• Allow municipalities to borrow up to $150 per person without a referendum or AAP if the term of the borrowing is less than five years, up from $50.
• Raise the borrowing limit without a referendum or AAP from five per cent of annual general revenue to 10 per cent for projects with a longer repayment schedule.

The changes won't allow municipalities to bypass public input for their biggest projects, but will allow more small projects to be approved quickly, said Kahlon.
"This is something local governments have been asking for for more than 30 years and we believe it is time for them to be able to catch up," he said."

Innovative Clean Energy Fund 2025 Performance Report (June 24)
* June 2025 Update + Report .... "Since 2008, the ICE Fund has committed over $124 million to support pre-commercial clean energy technology projects, clean energy vehicles, research and development, and energy efficiency programs."

Ease of Doing Business Review (June 5) 
* Jobs, Economic Development & Innovation Press Release + Backgrounder 
“We are listening to B.C. businesses as we work to ensure our province is an easy place to do business,” said Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation. “This review will help us to continue to modernize our regulatory and permitting systems, as we secure B.C.’s position as the economic engine of Canada’s new economy.”

New Funding for Building BC: Community Housing Fund (May 30) 
* Press Release 
​* Community Housing Fund backgrounder 
* Homes For BC - Completed Projects Map 

Cooperation & Responsible Government Accord (CARGA) 
​* Quarterly report (Jan. 1 - April 30) on NDP and Green Party accord 
* Full CARGA agreement signed March 12, 2025

CleanBC Accountability Report 
* 2024 accountability report 
* CleanBC 2025 Review announced (May 7)  
* CleanBC review - survey/deadline Aug. 1

Provincial Forest Advisory Council (May 22) 
* Ministry press release 
"Members of the newly formed Provincial Forest Advisory Council are tasked with providing recommendations to government on advancing forest stewardship, while supporting communities and workers that rely on forests." 
​* Terms of Reference 
* A New Future For Old Forests: Strategic Review (2020) 

Clean Power Overview (May 5) 
* Energy and Climate Change Press Release 
* BC's Clean Energy Action Plan 2025
* Frequent Calls for Power to Be Expected (Bennett Jones Law Firm) 

Infrastructure Projects Act - Bill 15 (May 1) 
* Office of the Premier Press Release
* Legislation (assent on May 29) 
* Technical Briefing (slide deck) 

* UBCM Perspective ~ "UBCM notes that the process leading to the drafting of the legislation has been rushed, and did not include meaningful consultation with UBCM or member local governments. As has been proven in the past, a fast-tracked approach that skips over consultation is more likely to lead to unintended consequences." + May 21 update + UBCM and First Nations Leadership Council Call For Withdrawal 
* Kill The Bill: BC First Nations Leadership Council 
* Legislation Narrowly Passes (CBC News, May 28) 
* Legal perspective (Beale&Co, Toronto) + Clark Wilson Law, Vancouver 

Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act - Bill 14 (April 30) 
* Legislation in full 
* Press release 
* BC Energy Regulator 

Mental Health Act Review Announced (April 30) 
* BC premier announces review of mental health legislation (CBC News) 
​* Mental Health Act home page 

Carbon Tax Eliminated (March 31) 
​* BC Ministry Press Release 
* Federal government removes carbon tax (March 22) 
"Cancelling the tax and the credit will have an estimated impact of $1.99 billion in the coming fiscal year. The Province will restructure programs funded by carbon tax revenue to minimize the impact on B.C.’s budget, while supporting people in British Columbia in achieving climate goals. The Province will continue to ensure big polluters pay through the B.C. output-based carbon pricing system. The system supports decarbonization efforts, incentivizing industry to lower their emissions to avoid paying the tax." 

* BC Output-Based Pricing System (Province of BC guidelines) 
​
* BC Officially Kills Tax (CBC News) 
​* Statement from Fortis BC 
​* Clean Energy Canada response at federal level 
* Carbon Pricing and Consumer Myopia: Why Carbon Taxes Fell Short and What We Should Do Next (University of British Columbia) <clip> "Carbon pricing was poorly understood and poorly communicated. Although most of the revenue was returned to households—through rebates or tax cuts in places like B.C.—many people only noticed higher fuel prices and ignored the money coming back. The policy felt like a tax, and that made it unpopular. Ironically, now that it’s gone, many lower-income households will be worse off ... Yet the reality is, the consumer carbon tax wasn’t strong enough to meet our climate goals. So, scrapping it isn’t quite as damaging as it might seem. It opens the door to rethink climate policy in a way that’s both more effective and politically durable." 

BC Budget 2025 (March 4) 
* Ministry of Finance Home Page + slide deck 
* BC Budget Pushes Deficit to $10.9 Billion (CBC News) 
* Budget Highlights (KPMG) 
* What Do You Need to Know About the BC Budget (The Tyee) 

Speech From The Throne (Feb. 18) 
* Text of Lt. Governor Wendy Cocchia's speech 
* Release from Office of the Premier 

Ministerial Mandate Letters (January 17) 
* Cabinet and Parliamentary Secretary mandate letters in full 
* BC mandate letters focus on affordability, public safety, economic growth (CBC News) 
* Letters summarized (Capital Hill Group consultants) 
* Pembina Institute response - linking climate action and community economic development 
* Mandate Letters: Post-Secondary Institutions (June 2025) 



Other Provincial Parties

Conservative Party of BC 
* 2025 news and commentary portal

BC Green Party 
* Media releases  

OneBC
​* Website 

​Federal Government 

Build Communities Strong Grant Stream
Announced April 7, 2026 + launch announcement - formerly known as the Canada Community Building Fund  
- Build Communities Strong Fund home page 
- British Columbia Community Grant Stream 
​- UBCM related website 

Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy (Feb. 2026) 
Vision: "A robust Canadian defence industry that provides technological and operational advantage to the Canadian Armed Forces and its security partners in their mission to defend Canada, and maximizes growth, job creation and economic benefits for all Canadians." 
- Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy (backgrounder 2025) 


- Canada's Trade Diversification Strategy 


- Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (Jan. 26, 2026) 
"The benefit will be paid quarterly, at the start of the quarter, to permit timely access to the funds to help families with day-to-day expenses. These amounts are additional to existing benefits such as the Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Disability Benefit, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement." 

- Is Canada Ready for an American Civil War? - The Walrus, Jan. 2026
- Disruptions on the Horizon - Canadian Policy Horizons (Government of Canada), April 2024
- On Hybrid Warfare - Canadian Armed Forces Special Operations Forces Command (2016)


- Davos 2026 Speech by PM Carney (Jan. 21) + text 
<clip> "Canada is a pluralistic society that works. Our public square is loud, diverse, and free. Canadians remain committed to sustainability. We are a stable, reliable partner – in a world that is anything but—a partner that builds and values relationships for the long term. Canada has something else: a recognition of what is happening and a determination to act accordingly.We understand that this rupture calls for more than adaptation. It calls for honesty about the world as it is. We are taking the sign out of the window. We know the old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.
But we believe that from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, and more just.  This is the task of the middle powers, the countries that have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and the most to gain from a world of genuine cooperation."


Federal Budget 2025 (Nov. 4) 
- Canada Strong: Budget 2025 + Our Plan infographics 
- What's In The Federal Budget For You (CBC) 
- Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer 

Misc. 
​- Introduction of Colour-Coded Weather Alerts (Environment Canada, Nov. 26) 


Build Canada Homes (announced Sept. 14, 2025) 
"Build Canada Homes is a new federal agency that will build affordable housing at scale. It will leverage public lands, offer flexible financial incentives, attract private capital, facilitate large portfolio projects, and support modern manufacturers to build the homes that Canadians need ... A Special Operating Agency within Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada." 

- About Build Canada Homes 
- Prime Minister Carney's announcement 

"Build Canada Homes is ready to engage with partners who are committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing across Canada. We are especially interested in opportunities that can:  

• Deliver housing at scale 
• Expand non-market and community housing 
• Demonstrate financial viability and leverage other investments 
• Use innovative building methods and Canadian-made materials 

We will be releasing more details on our investment policies in the coming months." 

​- Investment Policy Framework (Nov. 22) 

Perspective: 
- Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness 
- "BC Builders Skeptical" - Business In Vancouver, Sept. 16 
- "Carney Unveils Plans to Double Pace of Home Building" - CBC, March 31 

Major Projects Office 
Mission: "To get nation-building projects built faster, accelerating sustainable growth, strengthening national unity, and putting Canada on a stronger path to long-term economic prosperity." 
- Home page 
- First set of five on-track projects (all well-advanced in their respective processes) 
​- Future "transformative strategies" 

- "BC Tapped for Two Nation-Building Projects" (Business In Vancouver) 

- Long list of 32 projects (internal document acquired by the Globe and Mail, Sept. 4) 
"The eight mining projects on the list include the Teck Strategic Minerals Initiative and the Red Chris Copper and Gold Mine expansion in B.C.; Saskatchewan’s Foran McIlvenna Bay and Rook Uranium projects; the Minago Nickel Project in Manitoba; the Crawford Nickel Project and the Ring of Fire in Ontario; and the Strange Lake Torngat Metals Ltd. rare earths mine in Quebec.

The 14 energy-related projects feature a heavy focus on Western Canada. The list includes a 750-kilometre transmission line linking Yukon and B.C. Other B.C. projects include LNG Canada Phase 2, which would expand the liquefied natural gas facility in Kitimat, B.C.; Ksi Lisims LNG, backed by the Nisga’a Nation; the North Coast Transmission Line that would help power critical-mineral mines; a dredging project at the Port of Vancouver that would accommodate fully loaded oil tankers in Burrard Inlet; and the Northwest Coast Oil Pipeline.

Five other projects are in Eastern Canada, including the Gull Island Power Plant that is part of the Quebec-Newfoundland and Labrador new energy partnership; Newfoundland’s Bay du Nord offshore oil and gas project; transmission lines linking Prince Edward Island to the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia power grid; and proposed wind energy projects off the coast of Nova Scotia.

The five ports projects on the list also include the construction of a deep-water port and all-season roads linking Yellowknife to the Arctic Ocean, and a new Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project at the Port of Vancouver. 

Rounding out the list are five projects related to transportation. They include the Mackenzie Valley Highway project in NWT; various proposals to twin the Trans-Canada Highway; rehabbing the century-old New Westminster Rail Bridge in B.C.; the Alto High-Speed Rail project linking Toronto and Quebec City; and the proposed Western trade and economic corridor." 


Tariff Response 
- Full list of measures to be undertaken to address tariff impacts 
- Canada's Response to US Tariffs (Sept. 1, 2025) 
- List of US Products Subject to Counter-Tariffs (effective Sept 2025) 

- Support for Strategic Industries, including steel and softwood lumber 


The One Canadian Economy Act - Bill C-5
* Royal assent granted (June 26) 
* Intergovernmental Affairs backgrounder 
* Bill C-5 as adopted 

Perspective
* First Nations Opposition Draws Comparisons to Idle No More Movement (CBC News, July 1) 
* The Public Interest Need to Reconsider C-5 (Canadian Environmental Law Association, June 11) 
* What The One Canadian Economy Act Is All About (Globe & Mail, June 6) 


​Federal Government Mandate Letter - Office of the PM (May 21) 



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