We would like to respond to Les Leyne鈥檚 column (鈥淚slanders yearn for independence,鈥� Aug. 3), which dealt in part with our goal to have Vancouver Island manage its own affairs as an independent province.
Our goal requires some thought, but it鈥檚 entirely positive and clearly described on our website, viprovince.ca.
Our work to have Vancouver Island proclaimed a province revisits the original plans of our founders, which would have seen two colonies evolve into two provinces. Much has changed over the past 150听years, however, so we think it entirely reasonable to take another look at our circumstances, as well as the demands of living on an island.
For instance, the sa国际传媒, with its 1858 origins in the early settlement of Vancouver Island, exemplifies the honest inheritance of Islanders with big dreams 鈥� those who dared to take new approaches and to challenge our West Coast communities to do so as well. The Daily British Colonist鈥檚 first publisher, Amor de Cosmos, was elected to the legislative assembly of Vancouver Island, where he pressed for unification with the Colony of British Columbia, a goal that many called unrealistic and impractical at the time.
So, too, is our initiative a similarly sincere and honest effort to effect change that will secure our common future. Except we鈥檙e calling for Island self-governance. We want growth and prosperity that benefits Islanders for the long term, in partnership with British Columbia, within the confederation of sa国际传媒.
With two provinces on sa国际传媒鈥檚 West Coast, we believe that many new opportunities will present themselves, and we plan to fully examine all socio-economic considerations in annual conferences over the next eight years.
We鈥檙e confident that the more we know about the Island鈥檚 assets, infrastructure and foundation for sustainable development, the more certain we鈥檒l all be to embrace a new governance model that promises greater accountability, as well as a quality of life that benefits Islanders and mainlanders alike.
In short, we believe that Vancouver Island has come of age, and that Islanders are best able to manage Island affairs. And we鈥檙e sufficiently impertinent to imagine that Amor de Cosmos would agree with us 鈥� that our initiative for a democratic solution to Island challenges is a responsible Canadian approach to the issues of our time.
Although we can鈥檛 predict what Vancouver Island will grow to become in another 20 or 30 years, our proposal to establish Vancouver Island as a province of sa国际传媒 is, in fact, worth serious second thought, and some heartfelt consideration.
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Laurie Gourlay is co-organizer of the Vancouver Island Province movement.
