Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Cortes Island's second housing survey was launched on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. Like the first housing survey conducted a little more than two years ago, this was a joint endeavour between Regional Director Mark Vonesch and the Cortes Housing Society, who together provided a look at the first responses to the 2026 survey. There had already been 70 respondents whe...

Teen Takeover/Folk U -This episode of FolkU features an exploration of sovereignty by CIA student Tristan. What it is to be sovereign in relation to our fellow humans, and in relation to the land? How can we teach ourselves and others how to self-govern? Featuring two interviews, this podcast challenges us to think about our society a little differently, even if it’s just for an hour. This show is...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Cortes Community Foundation has once again shown how invaluable resource it is to the community. Regional Director Mark Vonesch has a budget of about $25,000 a year for Grants-in-Aid. When the time to disburse the funds arrives, he normally receives requests for far more money than is available. This year was no exception; however, thanks to the Cortes Island Com...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - In this morning’s interview we hear from Sara Stewart of Wildflower Produce and Cidery, near the southern tip of Cortes Island. Sara Stewart: “I’m not a religious person, but when you depend on the natural world you become deeply ingrained in it. I used to think I was building connections with the natural world when I lit a fire on Imbolc (Ancient Celtic beginning of...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -The Quadra Island Recreation Society is asking the community for their input into what the island’s Community Centre and a new pavilion at Blenkin Park should be used for. Marc Doll, Vice Chair of the Society, explained: “We started by looking at one desperate need for the community centre, which was the lack of a proper kitchen facility. We came up with some solution...

Teen Takerover/Folk U -In the first half of this episode, Cortes Island Academy students Elsie, Lacey, and Elias discuss the housing situation on Cortes, from three different angles. This includes tiny homes, Rainbow Ridge, the Seniors Village, and interviews with five different locals, as well as their own stories and observations on the topic. Travel with them as they learn about the challenges...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -The Cortes Island Academy offers an accredited 20 week experimental, project-based education for students in grades 10 through 12. They just wrapped up their fourth year and, on February 9, are about to start taking applications for 2026-2027. In this morning’s interview Executive Director Manda Aufochs Gillespie talks about the school and their recent annual showcase...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - In addition to being a former candidate in our area, Jennifer Lash is a former senior advisor to Canada’s Minister of Environment with a lot of insight into what motivates the Liberal government. So Cortes Currents recently asked her,  “Tell us a little bit about the tightrope that Mark Carney's been walking with separatism rising in Alberta and Quebec; environmental...

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents -With all the current hype about the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), Cortes Currents reached out to two rural politicians to ask how they see this legislation working at the local level. Mark Vonesch is the Regional Director for Area B (Cortes Island) and Robyn Mawhinney is the Regional Director for Area C, which includes Quadra and most of...

Desolation Sound/Folk U - Tune in on January 30, 2026, for this week's episode of Desolation Sounds, where student journalists of the Cortes Island Academy tackle some big topics: where is the line on climate change? What's the deal with UAPs? Is Queerness inherently a radical act? Journey with Dean, Dylan, Devin, and Lin as they interview experts on these topics, and report on their findings. Thi...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - British Columbia is currently navigating a widening divide. On one side, the courts are handing down historic decisions affirming Indigenous rights. On the other, a growing wave of anxiety over private property and economic certainty. Today, we look at the fallout from the Gitxaala and Cowichan Tribes decisions—and the political battleground forming around the Declar...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -The Quadra Island Salmon Enhancement Society grew out of poor salmon runs in the 1970s and 80s and has been a non-profit organization (and registered charity) since 1981. In this morning’s interview Lauren Miller, a director, talks about the 2025 salmon run, climate change and some of the projects her organization has undertaken.

Cortes Island Academy/ Folk U - Tune in on January 23, 2026, to hear student journalists Minton, Jasmine, and Willow, of the Cortes Island Academy, explore the topics of storytelling and play, and why they are vital and important parts of healthy culture, both in the past, and today. Journey with them as they interview experts on these topics, report on their findings, weave in their own stories,...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - It has been two months since Mark Carney survived a non-confidence vote and went on to sign an MOU in which he agreed to support a new bitumen pipeline across British Columbia. In this morning’s interview, Jennifer Lash, the Liberal candidate for our North Island Powell River riding in the last election,  explains why she still thinks Mark Carney is the right Prime M...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - In addition to being the MLA for our North Island riding, Dr. Anna Kindy is also the Health Critic for the Conservative Party of British Columbia. She recently had a conversation with Cortes Currents about the state of healthcare in British Columbia. Anna Kindy: “That portfolio has kept me quite busy, to be honest. There are issues throughout British Columbia, like w...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Over the past few years, the Quadra Island Foundation has channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy. Now, thanks to a change in their charitable status, they may be able to do a great deal more. Marc Doll, Vice President in Charge of Communications, explained: “We have had charitable status since our inception. The change is in the scope of th...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Two films by veteran journalist, educator, and NDP candidate Avi Lewis are being shown at the Linnaea Education Centre this weekend. At 7 PM on Friday, January 23, 2026, Lewis and his wife Naomi Klein tell the story of Argentinian workers who took control of a bankrupt auto plant and turned it into a cooperative. At 7 PM on the following night, their documentary ‘Thi...

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents -Strathcona Regional District (SRD) staff will be asking the Ministry of Forests about the possibility of obtaining two provincial lots on Quadra Island for development. Three of the four Regional Directors at the Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Electoral Areas Services Committee meeting voted to proceed. Meredith Starkey, Manager of Planning for the SRD, brought a list of...

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - 2026 is a municipal election year and some people hope Campbell River residents will use this opportunity to elect a city council that will help alleviate the homeless situation.  “We have an opportunity as a community to come together and actually create solutions with the support of the city, because they are the only ones that have the capacity to be able to do th...

De Clark/Roy Hales/Cortes Currents -DOne of Cortes Island’s longstanding traditions is the Christmas Bird Count; for almost 25 years, local residents have volunteered in a coordinated week-long audit of the island’s bird life. For many years this effort has been coordinated in the field by longtime islander George Sirk, host of the 'Nature Boy' Radio Show on CKTZ. Roy Hales interviewed George abou...

De Clark/ Roy Hales/ Cortes Currents -One of Cortes Island’s longstanding traditions is the Christmas Bird Count; for almost 25 years, local residents have volunteered in a coordinated week-long audit of the island’s bird life. For many years this effort has been coordinated in the field by longtime islander George Sirk, host of the 'Nature Boy' Radio Show on CKTZ. Roy Hales interviewed George abo...

De Clarke/Cortes Currents - In the second part of an interview with Emilia Belliveau from Environmental Defence Canada, she describes specific tactics Playbook, Environmental Defence has condensed the industry’s PR and political efforts into ten major categories, and provided a description and deconstruction of each one.  "We're laying out these 10 tactics that the fossil fuel industry is using, w...

De Clarke/Cortes Currents -Exposed. The report is playfully illustrated, but quite serious in concept; its purpose is clearly laid out on the first page: The goal of this report is to paint a clear picture of how oil and gas companies operate, how they generate support for the industry and leverage it against effective climate solutions. Some of their tactics, like greenwashing and lobbying, have...

De Clarke/ Cortes Currents - As of the end of 2025, Campbell River, RCMP reported a significant decline in crime within their jurisdiction. Roy Hales interviewed Inspector Jeff Preston of the RCMP and Campbell River’s Director of Community Safety, Jeff Fort, to find out what they think about these statistics, whether there really is a decrease in crime and what may have caused this.  A few weeks a...

Roy L Halesd/Cortes Currents - It has been nine months since Katia Sol took over the helm as Hollyhock’s CEO. She has also had more than two decades of experience working with nonprofits, starting as a volunteer in a Bolivian Indigenous community and going on to co-direct the Ecology of Leadership at the Regenerative Design Institute, founding her own coaching and leadership development business,...