Outgoing qathet Regional District (qRD) board chair Patrick Brabazon has taken an incremental approach to resolving issues in his time as an elected official.
Brabazon became involved in regional district politics 20 years ago when he was first elected. He did not seek re-election in 2022.
He said 25 years ago, he came to the qathet region to retire with his spouse Jane, from a civil service job, after his years in a flying career, and he became involved in the community in the north side of the regional district, which is Electoral Area A.
“I soon became involved with the controversies of Area A and I opened my mouth once too often, and people said ‘you should run,’” said Brabazon. “So, I did and to my surprise, I got elected.”
Brabazon said the election was contested and his predecessor had been the representative for 22 years. It was a very narrow victory, he added.
Brabazon said after being elected, he did not fit in with the regional district board at first.
“I moved very much into an old-boys’ network and I was not an old boy,” said Brabazon. “There were disagreements but we handled them well. They [other directors] recognized I was not going to go along quietly with everything that was going on, but at the same time, we were all civil to each other.”
Oyster wars
In the early days, an important issue was one that Brabazon called the oyster wars, which was the issue that got him elected. He said it was a conflict between the Okeover Inlet aquaculture industry and the residents. He decided, when running, to advocate for the residents.
“A few years later, the province came in with what they called a coastal plan, and I was able to secure the southwest side of Okeover free of leases,” said Brabazon.
That meant recreational harvesters could go and pick oysters at that location.
“It is essential to the way that I conducted business, in that it was incremental. We were never going to kick aquaculture out of Okeover, but in my negotiations with the province, it quickly became clear to me that the whole south end of Okeover was not going to be clear, so I went for what I could get and it was eventually achieved.”
Brabazon said this incremental methodology has long been a part of his successes with the regional board.
“I take it one step at a time,” he added.
When asked if it was characteristic of his leadership with the regional district, he said it was quite likely. For example, the regional district’s beach access issue came about this way.
Brabazon said early in his mandate he attended a Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention and heard a presentation from Columbia – Shuswap Regional District regarding denial of access to the lakeshore at Shuswap Lake. Private property was encroaching on crown land. The regional district reached an agreement with the department of highways to take over the beach access as long as it maintained them.
“I thought: what a brilliant idea,” said Brabazon. “So, I came back and said I had a brilliant idea, but it was a non-starter, so I waited. The parks and greenspace issue became more important, and it was decided that we were going to have to form an advisory committee. I volunteered to chair it. I got beach access put on the agenda.
“We got 18 of them when I was finished. That was fun and now they are there for the public.”
He said the regional district is responsible for brushing them and keeping them clean, plus making sure there is proper signage. It was another matter of waiting out the opposition, he added.
There was also a waiting game with the Savary Island official community plan (OCP). Brabazon said the regional board was indifferent and didn’t want to do it. Islanders volunteered to write one and the board agreed, according to Brabazon.
The OCP was shelved, but a couple of years later, Brabazon asked if the regional district planner could extract enough material to get an OCP through and the planner did.
“We got it through,” said Brabazon.
Increased workload
He became regional board chair eight years ago. He said he had thought about running for chair, but again, he is incremental, and he waited for the right opportunity.
“In the 2014 election, there were two new municipal directors and I counted heads, which means votes, and I thought I’d take a run at it,” said Brabazon. He said his allocation of time to the regional district multiplied significantly after being elected chair. He said he enjoyed the increased workload for the most part.
“I’ve taken great satisfaction from my time,” said Brabazon.
He said he thought a significant accomplishment in the role of chair was the name change from Powell River Regional District to qathet Regional District.
“I had believed we needed a name change,” said Brabazon. “Quite early on, I had suggested to the board that we should change the name back to what it was originally, which was the Malaspina Regional District. That didn’t last very long because the city took over the regional district, essentially, and it became the Powell River Regional District.
“The whole issue of reconciliation was becoming more important, so when I was counting heads about whether or not I could be chair, I was also thinking about reconciliation and the problems we had with the confusion between the regional district and the city.”
He said after being elected to chair, he approached the municipal directors and asked what they thought about a name change if something could come from Tla’amin Nation.
“They thought it was a superb idea,” said Brabazon. “I approached the hegus and he went to a group of elders. He said they had proposed qathet, which means working together, and I thought, great. That was the start and I just had to carry the board with me through the entire process.”
When the name change went through the proper channels in Victoria and was enacted, Brabazon said it was a great day for him.
Looking back on his time as an elected official, Brabazon said there is a high level of satisfaction.
“In the main, I’m walking away thinking I’ve done the best I can, and in most cases, I think it was enough.”
