the Bird's Eye — Quadra Island's weekly community newspaper
the Bird's Eye — Quadra Island

Strathcona Gardens & Quadra Island

Have Your Say — 2026

May 6, 2026

On April 29, the SRD board voted 7–6 to give Bylaw No. 643 all three readings. The bylaw, which would add Quadra Island to the Strathcona Gardens service area at 80% of property assessments, now moves to the Inspector of Municipalities for review and approval. The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs has confirmed that this review includes examining whether appropriate consents and approvals were obtained in accordance with BC legislation.

This is the window for residents to submit their concerns directly to the Inspector — before the bylaw is approved. If you have already written, please write again. This is exactly the moment it counts.

April 22, 2026

On March 25, 2026, the Strathcona Regional District board voted 7–6 to move forward with adding Quadra Island to the Strathcona Gardens recreation service area.

If approved, this would add an estimated average of $558 per household per year in new taxes for Quadra residents — a roughly 66% average increase over what households currently pay for all SRD services combined.

The Strathcona Gardens project itself now carries a total cost of approximately $131 million, with borrowing approved in multiple stages after federal funding was denied.

Quadra Island was not included in the planning, consultation, or approval processes that created this financial obligation, and residents have repeatedly requested a referendum. Over 1,200 residents have formally opposed the expansion, representing a significant portion of the community.

If Quadra is added, residents would be contributing nearly $1 million per year toward a facility in Campbell River that requires ferry travel to access, with no clearly established Quadra-specific usage data demonstrating how many residents use the facility.

The Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs and the Inspector of Municipalities both have the authority to review this process. The Minister has the power to order a separate referendum for Quadra Island residents, and the Inspector must approve the bylaw before it can be adopted.

This tool allows you to send a clear, sourced letter directly to them and their offices in just a few minutes. No data is collected or stored. This tool builds your letter directly on screen. Simply copy and paste the personalized letter into your email, add the recipients, add one of our suggested subject lines, or write your own, and send.

To read the Bird's Eye coverage and browse the full source material, click here.

Send your letters to: Inspector of Municipalities — LGGovernance@gov.bc.ca
Minister Christine Boyle — HMA.minister@gov.bc.ca
CC: Director Robyn Mawhinney — rmawhinney@srd.ca

Suggested subject lines

Step 1 — Who are you?

I am a Quadra Island resident, and I am also a/an: Select all that apply

Step 2 — Select your concerns

I have concerns about the following: Select all that apply. Each concern will appear in your letter with its source.

Step 3 — What matters to me about this

What matters to me about this These don't require sources — they're your voice. Select any that apply.

Step 4 — Personal note (optional)

Add your own words Why does this matter to you personally? Mention how often you use the ferry, what this tax increase means for your household, or anything else you'd like to add.

Your Letter to the Inspector of Municipalities

Copy and paste into an email to LGGovernance@gov.bc.ca. You can edit before sending.

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Your Letter to Minister Boyle

Copy and paste into an email to HMA.minister@gov.bc.ca. You can edit before sending.

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