Skipsey campaigned on a platform of enhancing the town’s “coastal village” character, supporting development that is in line with the official community plan, ensuring all residents are connected to a family doctor and protecting Qualicum Beach’s urban forests and watersheds. The daughter of former Qualicum Beach mayor Art Skipsey, she earned a degree in business administration from Simon Fraser University and spent 15 years working for the City of Burnaby before returning to her hometown just over a decade ago. Official results will be declared May 19 after a review of ballots, and Skipsey is expected to be sworn in at a council meeting on May 27.
One example is a rezoning proposal for the Pheasant Glen Golf Resort, which would include 225 housing units in a mix of forms, with some hotel rooms and apartments. A brew pub, native gardens and trails are among its proposed features. The town is also dealing with a doctor shortage and considering a proposal for a temporary housing shelter on municipal land. Five candidates including a former stunt double for Arnold Schwarzenegger are vying for the seat on the council, which made headlines when a first-term councillor recently took a two-month medical leave of absence after describing the council atmosphere as toxic.
‘Struggle to come back will take years’: Vancouver Island Tourism CEO
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Of all B.C.’s economic sectors impacted by COVID-19, you could argue tourism and hospitality has been hit the hardest.
The numbers show just how much of a downturn the sector has taken because of the pandemic.
In a pre-COVID year, tourism generates $3.5-billion and supports 70,000 jobs in the Vancouver Island region
But domestic overnight visitation to the island is down 43 percent, since the most recent public health orders and guidelines were implemented.
Research collected by the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat also shows:
Only 17 percent of BC tourism businesses in the five regions have been operating as usual;