Make Climate Emergency Declaration Central to Official Community Plan and Bylaws, Concerned Citizen Tells Islands Trust

1:20 - A concerned Gabriola Island citizen, Deborah Ferens, reads a letter to the Islands Trust Committee, emphasizing the need to incorporate the Trust's 2019 climate emergency declaration into the upcoming review of Gabriola's official community plan and land use bylaw. In her presentation, Ferens expresses her disappointment that the staff report for the review did not mention the climate emergency, stressing that it should be integral to all aspects of the review, including project charter language, communication, and engagement processes.

She highlights the climate emergency's fundamental role in shaping community planning decisions and urges the Local Trust Committee to signal a commitment to climate justice and the rights of nature. Ferens also notes that the Climate Cafes organized by Sustainable Gabriola have been informative and relevant to the official community plan.

4:30 - Then, in an interview with Life on Gabriola TV's Theresa O'Leary, Ferens reveals that the climate emergency declaration of 2019 was driven by a recognition of the urgency of climate change and a commitment to intensify efforts to address it. The declaration aims to inform policy work, develop toolkits, and influence discussions within the community.

A former trustee herself, Ferens believes the declaration should be integrated into the official community plan, allowing it to guide the development of procedures and bylaw language. She stresses the need for strong, high-level statements about the climate emergency in the official community plan and discusses the importance of becoming a climate-resilient community, a topic the community is eager to engage with.

Life on Gabriola TV is generously sponsored by:

    The Gabriola Arts Council
    The Haven, Gabriola Island

Journalist: Theresa O'Leary