Drugs, Public Safety Among Issues BC Municipal Leaders Will Discuss Next Week

A woman prepares to smoke a cigarette in an alley after using illicit drugs at an outdoor supervised consumption site in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on May 27, 2021. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Leaders from municipalities across British Columbia will gather next week in Vancouver to discuss their priorities for the provincial government to act on. Drugs, mental health, homelessness, and public safety resolutions are among those announced ahead of the meeting.

Last year’s Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention got much attention for a resolution it passed calling on the government to prohibit drug use near places children gather and other public areas. 

The provincial government acted on that, successfully scaling back its decriminalization pilot project in the past year with the backing of Health Canada.

The UBCM will help gauge what new issues municipalities are seeing emerge and how they want the province to respond to the opioid crisis and public safety issues, among others. The conference will run from Sept. 16 to Sept. 20 and includes 267 resolutions; 25 percent more than last year.

Other resolutions on the agenda address taxation, transportation, and the environment. Some seek to help the ailing forestry industry, which impacts much of the province. 

Opioid Crisis and Mental Health

Funding to address drug addiction is a common request among municipalities this year. One resolution asks the provincial government to help expand and open more supervised consumption and overdose prevention sites, including inhalation services. Another asks for resources to open new detox centres.

Some municipalities are calling on the province to implement complex care centres, saying the increase in overdose cases has led to brain damage among those addicted. This, they say, often results in organ failure, mental disorientation, decreased motor skills, and behavioural changes.

Another agenda item asks the government to allocate resources to improve access to mental health supports, drug addiction treatment, medical services and affordable housing. It cites the increasing pressure on fire departments to handle first responder calls, as well as the impacts of the opioid crisis and mental health issues.

There is also a request for amendments to the B.C. Mental Health Act, under which, proponents say, police officers must accompany people with apparent mental disorders to hospital, and remain with them until they are seen by a doctor. The resolution says a growing number of police officers are being diverted from serving the community at large, and asks that trained hospital staff be allowed to take on that role.

A further resolution addresses community safety in relation to mental health and substance misuse, saying these social issues “impact the safety, security and well-being of residents.” Proponents say the provincial government does not respond as quickly as needs arise, which prompts local governments to take measures with limited resources. They ask that funding be given to municipalities for mental health and addictions services.

Housing and Homelessness

One of the proposals asks the provincial and federal governments to work with non-profit organizations to provide affordable housing. This could include below-market rents and financial tools like low-interest loans, long-term 25-year rates and expanded eligibility for tax credits.

A resolution put forward by the UBCM executives and categorized as a priority issue calls on the provincial government to fund the housing growth it has mandated.

“Local governments are increasingly taking on tasks that have historically been the responsibility of the provincial and federal government including providing lands and other financial supports for non-market and supportive housing,” proponents wrote, adding that municipalities have also borne costs related to medical emergency response and encampments for the growing homeless population.

Other resolutions directly target homelessness. One calls on the province to expand permanent and temporary shelters, and extend its current homeless reduction program, called Belonging in BC, beyond its “qualifying limitations.” Another asks the province to fund new dedicated shelters for asylum seekers –who, proponents say, are increasingly turning to them–to make space for the local homeless population.

Some municipalities request the province reevaluate its shelter system to address the “increasingly complex” needs of the homeless population, in part due to addictions and mental health, they said.

There are also calls for the province to prioritize housing for communities over that for temporary labour during major infrastructure projects.

Safety

One of the resolutions asks the province to enact the Community Safety Amendment Act, a legislation that allows citizens to file confidential complaints about properties they suspect are related to criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, gangs, or illegal weapons. The legislation followed the 2013 Community Safety Act and received royal assent in 2019, but it hasn’t been brought into force.

Other resolutions call for provincial help for residents affected by weather-related events such as wildfires and floods, including losses not covered by insurance, and help to rebuild their homes and businesses. Municipalities also ask the province to take responsibility for local flood protection and mitigation infrastructure like diking and pump stations.

Other Issues

There is a call to create a provincial ethics commissioner to provide “fair and unbiased guidance to local governments on issues such as legality, conflict, code of conduct violations, and bullying.” If endorsed, this resolution would make ethics training mandatory for all new elected officials.

Forestry is also a focus, with some municipalities asking for timber rights–the ability to harvest and sell timber independent of land ownership–to be tied to local sawmills, even if they close. This would allow local communities to inherit the company’s rights to the timber harvested on their land, rather than the timber being taken elsewhere for commercial purposes.

To reduce vehicle crashes in the province, some are asking the government to expand its Intersection Safety Camera (ISC) program. With this, remote municipalities could see red lights and speed cameras brought to some of their high-risk intersections to “save lives and reduce injuries.”