Public notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors for the Strathcona Regional District may proceed with final passage and adoption of Bylaw No. 642, being Electoral Area Financial Assistance Service Establishing Bylaw 2026, at its meeting of Wednesday, October 28, 2026 unless at least 10% of the eligible electors within the electoral areas submit elector response forms not later than 12:00 noon on October 7, 2026.
Bylaw No. 642 proposes that the Regional District be authorized to award financial assistance to qualifying organizations that provide benefit to the public within one or more electoral areas provided the maximum amount raised by requisition for such purposes cannot exceed $0.05 per $1,000 of property assessments in any given year.
The number of eligible electors within the boundaries established by Bylaw No. 642 for the proposed electoral area financial assistance service has been fairly determined to be 8,969 and the number of valid elector objections required to prevent the adoption of Bylaw No. 642 without first obtaining the assent of the electors by voting is 897. Elector response forms must be in the form approved by the Regional Board and may be obtained online at srd.ca/gia-aap or in person at the Regional District office during regular office hours. Only persons who qualify as electors within Electoral Areas A, B, C or D are entitled to sign and submit an elector response form.
Further information regarding Bylaw No. 642 or this alternative approval process may be obtained at srd.ca/gia-aap or by contacting the Regional District.
T. Yates, Corporate Officer
Elector Response Form
Elector response forms must be in the form approved by the Regional Board which are available below or in person at the Regional District office during regular office hours. Only persons who qualify as electors within the Electoral Area D of the Strathcona Regional District are entitled to sign and submit an elector response form.
An Alternative Approval Process (AAP) is used to measure the level of support from electors for a bylaw, contract, or other initiative being proposed by the local government. The rules governing the AAP process are contained in the Local Government Act of BC.
The Regional Board will typically advertise its intent and high-level information on the nature of the initiative and the financial impact on the community should the approval process be successful. The initiative is deemed to be approved by the community if less than 10% of the eligible electors within the electoral areas submit a petition objecting to proceeding without a vote of electors.
The cost of an AAP is significantly less than seeking approval via voting at a referendum and is often preferred for that reason. If the AAP process isn't successful (at least 10% of electors submit written objection forms), the Regional Board then determines whether the proposal should be taken to a vote of the electors or dismissed altogether.
An AAP is truly an opinion poll in that the Board may either proceed to adoption if there is little opposition, or proceed with assent voting if ratepayer support is questionable.
Bylaw No. 642 would allow the Regional District to award financial assistance (grants in aid) to organizations located within Electoral Areas A, B, C or D independently of the financial assistance authority contained in the Local Government Act.
No, the decision whether an application can be considered under Bylaw No. 642 will be determined by the wording of that bylaw.
The maximum amount that may be raised by taxation in any given year is limited to $0.05 per $1,000 of property assessments. Based on the 2026 assessments for the electoral areas this would translate into about $215,900. It is expected that this amount will change from year to year as property assessments change.
The costs of the service will be shared according to the formula contained in Bylaw No. 642 which is Electoral Area A (5%), Electoral Area B (40%), Electoral Area C (40%) and Electoral Area D (15%). The amounts to be raised through property taxes will be calculated each year as property assessments and budgets change. Based on 2026 property assessments, the maximum amount that could be raised in each area would be $10,795 (Electoral Area A), $86,631 (Electoral Area B), $86,361 (Electoral Area C) and 32,385 (Electoral Area D).
To be considered eligible for financial assistance under this service an organization must be a society, institute or other non-profit entity with its registered address in any of the electoral areas. Organizations that are private or profit oriented, or have their address located outside of the electoral areas of the Strathcona Regional District would be ineligible to receive financial assistance under Bylaw No. 642.
Yes, the ability to consider awarding financial assistance to an organization from the service proposed by Bylaw No. 642 would not be restricted simply because that organization has already received a grant funded by another program managed by the Regional District.
Electors who are opposed to the Regional Board adopting this Bylaw without first obtaining assent of the electors by voting can submit a completed copy of the response form in person or by mail/courier to the Regional District corporate office at 990 Cedar Street in Campbell River not later than 12:00 noon on October 7, 2026.
The Regional District can only accept originally signed forms. Completed forms submitted by email or by fax machine cannot be accepted.
Following the deadline, each response form is reviewed by the Corporate Officer to confirm its authenticity and to verify the elector status of the person submitting the form. A report outlining the results of the alternative approval process is then submitted for consideration by the Regional Board.
Persons who support the establishment of this Bylaw need not participate in the AAP since, by not submitting a response form, they are assumed to be in favour of the initiative.
There are other ways they can show their support such as sharing their perspective with others and what it means to them, their family, and the community.
