The City of Parksville does not plan to reinstate its liaison with the Oceanside Task Force on Homelessness any time soon.
Council members voted against a motion that requested the appointment of a liaison to the group which works to address homelessness and issues related to homelessness across the region.
The decision to withdraw from the task force was made during a closed meeting in October 2024.
“Since then I have spoken with both [Society of Organized Services executive director] Susanna Newton and [Island Crisis Care Society executive director] Violet Hayes in depth, whether they would like us to be back at the table, what benefit this would give to the task force," said Coun. Amit Gaur, who brought the motion to council. “They acknowledge that the mistakes were made in the past. Lessons have been learned. They are very eager to have a liaison back.”
He added the task force has made changes that include work towards a strategic plan.
"It’s my opinion that it’s important for the City of Parksville to be at that board when those important considerations are made,” Gaur said.
Appointing council liaisons is a responsibility of the mayor, and not something decided by council, according to Mayor Doug O'Brien.
He added the liaison position was eliminated because the member was not "feeling respected" at the task force meetings.
“This reason did not come lightly to remove a member of council from this liaison position," he added. "I would never let any persons in our community, or outside our community, disrespect or mistreat our council members. Unfortunately it happened numerous times at the task force meetings.”
O'Brien added that "certain other members of their committee" publicly berated him at an event to celebrate the anniversary of the Orca Place supportive housing facility, where O'Brien was a speaker.
The mayor continued, noting the task force is "very adamant" about the establishment of a homeless shelter in Parksville.
“They constantly say we need a homeless shelter in Parksville and that goes exactly against what we want to incur in Parksville," O'Brien said. "Because it's been suggested in municipalities in British Columbia that there should be no homeless shelters actually in any municipality of less than 30,000 people because we simply don’t have the resources to accommodate that."
In a statement to the PQB News, task force co-chairs Hayes and Newton said it was "unfortunate" that some members of council "appear to have significant misinformation about the task force and its members".
"Most notably, there were two incidents mentioned during the council meeting that were misstatements," the statement added. "One was the personal attack that the mayor said he received by a task force member, but neither the person nor the organization were members of the task force."
The mayor said that when an overnight winter shelter was hosted at the Parksville Community Centre two winters ago, it was “nothing but chaos".
He pointed to Orca Place, which is operated by Island Crisis Care Society on city-owned land, as one way the city helps unhoused people.
The Oceanside Task Force on Homelessness statement also clarified it did not run the 2022 to 2023 winter shelter, and at the time the operator, Risebridge, was not a task force member.
"It was also disappointing to hear that the council will not consider a shelter, a life-preserving necessity for our local unhoused population, given that the numbers continue to grow due to unaffordable housing options," the co-chairs' statement said.
Coun. Mary Beil, who has previously served as council liaison to the task force, pointed out that the group does work such as co-ordinate with the tourism association to manage rent subsidies for workers who would otherwise not be able to afford rent in the area.
“There’s room for some education as to what exactly the task force, where it came from, and I do realize you understand that but also what it has been working on and what it has been successful in doing over the past period of time,” Beil said.
Several councillors said the Oceanside Task Force on Homelessness can apply to bring an issue to council as a delegation.
“For me, personally, it’s going in circles,” said Coun. Sylvia Martin, who has served previously as a liaison.
The task force has been going through a strategic planning process, according to the co-chairs.
"We are moving towards focused action tables with specific goals and have made strong efforts to ensure that all members are respectful of others in meetings," the statement said. "We are committed to moving forward in a positive way to ensure that those in our community who are unhoused are given support and options."
Gaur's motion to reinstate the task force was defeated with O'Brien, Beil, Coun. Adam Fras, Coun. Joel Grenz, Martin and Coun. Sean Wood opposed.
The task force was started by the City of Parksville in 2010, and covers an area centred on Parksville and Qualicum Beach and extending from Nanoose Bay to Deep Bay and inland to Whiskey Creek.
A point-in-time count in spring 2023 found 103 people experiencing homelessness in the region, up from 87 people in 2021.
