qathet Regional District (qRD) is a local government authority in British Columbia, and includes five electoral areas and one municipality (City of Powell River) in the traditional territory of the Tla’amin, shíshálh, Klahoose, Nanoose, and K’ómoks First Nation governments. Our services include, but are not limited to, land use planning, emergency preparedness, solid waste management, regional parks, and fire protection. qRD’s jurisdiction covers approximately 5,000 square kilometres of land including Texada, Savary, and Lasqueti islands, north to Toba Inlet and south to Saltery Bay. The population of approximately 20,000 residents live in the City of Powell River, Electoral Areas A, B, C, D and E, and on First Nations’ lands.

In June of 2017, Elders from the Tla’amin Nation gifted the word ‘qathet’ to the Regional District. The word, qathet, which is pronounced “KAW-thet”, means working together. qathet is intentionally lowercase as Tla’amin Nation traditional orthography does not include capital letters. Public engagement took place throughout the community, concluding in October 2017. Following engagement, the Regional Board made a formal request to the Honourable Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, that she recommend to the Lieutenant Governor in Council that the name of the Powell River Regional District be changed to the qathet Regional District. On July 5, 2018, the Province of British Columbia issued their official approval for the requested name change.