At the February 2, 2022 Council meeting, North Cowichan Council voted on a series of grants for local groups. THe total amount awarded was just over $227,000.
Chemainus groups, those with the term Chemanius in their name, account for 32% of the total count, 7 of a total of 22. However, they received all together $94,000, or about 41% of the total funds.
North Cowichan lists the population of Chemainus at about 4,000, higher than the 3,000 listed in Wikipedia, while the population of North Cowichan is just over 30,000, leaving Chemainus at about 13% of total population. Again, despite having only 13% of the population, they got 41% of the available funds.
Some arithmetic. Based on a share of total applicants Chemainus groups got 11% more than expected (41% funds vs 32% of groups). Based on a share of population Chemainus groups got a whopping 27% more than expected (41% vs 13%).
The range of incremental disproportionate funding is $22K to $64K. That’s a lot of extra money, enough money to ask why the south end of the municipality got relatively short-changed. More importantly, the question is why Chemainus gets so much? Given that the problem spans different councils with diverse backgrounds, it’s nothing nefarious. But still, even systemic historic patterns need to be adjusted. Perhaps it’s time Council set a process for a fairer distribution of grant money.
The chart below lays out the numbers. You be the judge.
