City council voted four to three in favour of two motions asking city staff to report on options available to the city for dealing with safety concerns in the downtown.
There was a lengthy council debate based on a memorandum brought forward by Coun. Scott Nelson during the May 27 regular meeting at city hall. The memorandum proposed declaring a state of local emergency, implementing a curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. and for any individuals displaying public intoxication or severe mental health issues to be escorted to the hospital for review of involuntary treatment, as well as RCMP arresting anyone breaking the law and escorting unhoused persons to shelters or other facilities.
But council voted to split the memorandum into two parts, though there was some confusion over the final recommendations as a result.
In the end, council passed two motions with some amendments to the initial proposal.
The first motion adopted by the council is for city staff to look at the possibility of the declaration of a state of local emergency or S.O.L.E. and to call for the transport of individuals displaying signs of public intoxication or severe mental health issues to the hospital for review of involuntary treatment.
The second motion calls for staff to provide a report on options the city might undertake in collaboration with local stakeholders and RCMP including arresting individuals engaged in unlawful activities and escorting unhoused individuals to a
shelter or other facility for appropriate support. The use of the term curfew was removed after it was decided this was likely not a legally accessible option for the city to pursue and there was no clarification on how calling for RCMP to arrest individuals engaged in unlawful acts differs from normal police practice.
There were around 25 individuals in the audience, three of whom spoke when this agenda item came up. Some audience members left after waiting for an hour for the discussion item to even reach the table and as the debate among council on the topic went on for over an hour more.
All of council agreed the issues around crime and drug use in the downtown leading to concerns around safety for both people and property need to be addressed, however, there was disagreement around what steps should be taken and whether or not the suggested measures were legal. Some called for more collaborative approaches by working with community partners or longer-term solutions including building up the vibrancy of downtown, while others believed the proposed measures could draw the attention and support needed from other levels of government.
According to the B.C. government guide, declaring a S.O.L.E. can give emergency powers to local authorities "if they are satisfied that an emergency is present or appears imminent."
Gary Muraca, chief administrative officer for the city, after being asked for an update by Nelson, gave a verbal report including what he said were record numbers of RCMP files in two days. While he used the numbers in a public meeting he warned the audience not to quote him on them but said Emergency Health Services were "overwhelmed" by the number of overdose calls and this resulted in RCMP also being called to overdose events, taking them away from their policing duties. Muraca mentioned other RCMP incidents which he said had been impacting businesses, including one which led to the arrest of two people he said are members of the local unhoused population. Muraca said the accused did "considerable damage" to a business during an overnight break in the night before the meeting. He said an encampment taken down in the River Valley involved people who became "very violent" when the encampment was taken down and also led to the arrest of two local unhoused people.
After their debate, council allowed members of the audience to speak to the council.
One community member, who did not identify himself, but Mayor Surinderpal Rathor called by the name Rick (Gertzen), warned the city if they do not take action, there would not be a city. He suggested citizens may take action of their own if council did not.
Billie Sheridan and Cianna O'Connor also spoke, both expressing concerns about possible violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, with Sheridan advocating for vulnerable members of the community. O'Connor said the proposed tactics are reminiscent of the Holocaust by taking away the freedoms of marginalized communities and accused Nelson of abusing social media platforms and called for an update to the city's code of conduct.
A letter from Xatsull First Nation Kukpi7 (Chief) Rhonda Phillips was also read out at the meeting. The letter expressed strong opposition to the declaration of a state of local emergency and increased enforcement against the vulnerable unhoused population and offered to meet with the city to work to find solutions.
Phillips said the proposed measures risk further marginalizing and criminalizing people in the city already struggling and would do nothing to address the underlying issues.
"These punitive approaches do not reflect the values of compassion, inclusion and evidence-based governance," stated Phillips.
The more than hour-long council debate included impassioned arguments on both sides and resulted in the removal of reference to a proposed curfew from Nelson's original memorandum, however, the rest of the parts of his motion were passed by a majority of council.
Coun. Sheila Boehm, Coun. Jazmyn Lyons, Nelson and Rathor all voted in favour of both motions.
Coun. Joan Flaspohler, Coun. Angie Delainey, and Coun. Michael Moses all voted against both motions.
The Tribune reached out to Interior Health and the RCMP earlier in the day for comment on the proposals and whether or not the resources exist to support the measures being called for. Neither had responded in time for the initial story, but it will be updated if further information is provided.
