Dear North Cowichan Mayor and Council:
RE: Council’s recent, arguably deplorable decision allowed Coun. Tek Manhas to nominate himself and gain a seat at our regional board table.
Details were posted June 10, 2025 on the Citizen’s website. Mayor Rob Douglas’ prudent idea was for council to at least define our strategic priorities before discussing swaps on our Cowichan Valley Regional District board.
Manhas' motion suggested council must take its shifting strategic priorities "as a unified group to the CVRD.” It now appears our divided council’s priorities are haywire, not unified.
Sadly, Coun. Chris Istace decided to step down from his CVRD seat, and usher Manhas into that post. Istace’s decision appeared unnecessary and premature.
Developer Findlay now becomes our first alternate at the CVRD. Manhas’ original motion proposed he and Findlay take CVRD chairs. We support environmentally aware Coun. Chris Justice remaining on our CVRD board — but not simply because Istace believes Justice is knowledgable about many threats to our precious watersheds.
Manhas also has the seemingly misguided belief that because Justice earned big votes in our 2022 election “he should sit at the CVRD’s board table.”
We allege these and other actions seem nothing less than a continuing power grab by our pro-business councillors.
As Findlay has stated, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
Peter Rusland
North Cowichan
