Kamloops city council has approved a 20-month extension for the 44-bed Pathways shelter on Tranquille Road, following a six-hour meeting focused on the matter, with hundreds in attendance on April 21.
Feedback from those attending was divided, with about half speaking in favour of keeping the shelter open and half hoping council would not renew its temporary permit.
Ultimately, following statements from business owners and residents reporting street issues and social problems and from advocates and experts expressing concern about people being put out on the street, council opted to extend the permit for 20 months, short of the three years being asked for by BC Housing.
With ongoing social disruption concerns, some council members noted that they did not hear any definitive link between those causing the issues and the operation of the shelter or its residents.
“I didn’t hear a single iota of evidence that Pathways is the problem. The problem is what happens outside because there’s not enough room inside. Closing this place, putting 44 more people out on the streets, is not going to make it better,” said Coun. Stephen Karpuk.
Bob Hughes of ASK Wellness, the agency that operates the shelter, spoke about his past work on the North Shore and the “Tranquille Triangle,” which has seen social disturbances and street problems for decades.
“The closure of an emergency shelter on the North Shore today, in six months, in one year or in three years, will only result in more destructive impacts to the neighbourhood,” he said.
Hughes reiterated the need for a permanent shelter with wraparound services that would meet the needs of the North Shore and called upon those invested in the area to work with the agency to achieve common goals.
Cal Albright, executive director of the Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society, said the need for shelter space does not go away if the shelter’s permit is not extended.
“It simply becomes more visible, more urgent, and more costly,” he said “We’re going to rely more on the RCMP and more on first responders. That’s not the dignified approach to working with people who need support.”
Kat Mejia, the owner of Kamloops Art Party, located across the street from the shelter, was not in favour of extending the shelter’s permit.
“There are people who genuinely care and are trying, but the system around them is not supporting them properly and it’s not supporting our community, either,” she said.
Mejia said she was initially supportive of the shelter, but has changed her mind over neighbourhood disruptions, which she attributed to the shelter.
“It is not uncommon for my team and I to deal with violent behaviour and hard drug use directly outside our building,” she said, adding that she felt “burnt out.”
Jeremy Heighton, executive director of the North Shore Business Improvement Association (NSBIA), said the temporary use permit initially granted to the shelter was a test — one that has failed.
“Our members’ concerns are based on real impacts drawn from daily interactions,” Heighton said.
Prior to the meeting, the NSBIA polled its member businesses about the shelter, with 86 percent saying they did not support it.
“A new employee of a new business was assaulted on their first, and obviously their last, day of work. They quit because they felt unsafe,” Heighton told council.
The mayor repeatedly questioned some speakers, asking questions not directly related to their statements. Some refused to speak to him.
“Respectfully, I won’t answer any of your questions. Thank you,” Hughes said to the mayor after his statement, while inviting questions from the rest of council as the mayor continued to speak until he was cut off by corporate officer Maria Mazzotta.
“Mr. Mayor, this is not an opportunity for you to ask questions, given that the person at the podium has stated he won’t be answering,” she told Hamer-Jackson.
Hamer-Jackson sought clarity on the format of the meeting several times and repeatedly tried to question those speaking on matters unrelated to their statements.
The first speaker of the afternoon was Michael McDonald, who identified himself as a Pathways client. He spoke in favour of keeping the shelter open.
“If you put me on the street again, all you’re going to do is erase all the work that Pathways has done,” he said.
“There’s care, there’s concern, and there’s action. Don’t take it away.”
Hamer-Jackson said he has been talking to homeless on the street for years and had never seen McDonald, who said he has been homeless in the city for five years. The two went back and forth, with McDonald focusing on Pathways and the mayor bringing up other topics related to homelessness until his microphone was cut.
“I’m not talking about Pathways,” the mayor said before being cut off.
“This individual has come and provided his comments. He did not sign up for an inquisition,” Mazzotta said. The mayor continued his questions until McDonald was led away from the podium.
Mayor continues to deny conflict
The preamble to the public hearing portion of the meeting included declarations of conflicts of interest — in particular, the mayor’s.
While Couns. Mike O’Reilly and Katie Neustaeter declared conflicts of interest on the shelter as they have previously, Hamer-Jackson once again did not. The mayor is currently suing Joshua Knaak, a director of Arpa Investments, the company that owns the property on which the shelter sits.
Knaak and three other directors of the company delivered a letter to the city prior to the meeting, raising concerns about procedural fairness and asking for another member of council to chair the meeting.
Mazzotta pointed out the correspondence to the mayor, and past findings by an independent investigator that the mayor is in conflict, but he refused to declare such.
“I do have an open mind and I am not suing any company, I am suing Joshua Knaak,” he said. The mayor did not respond directly to Mazzotta’s questions on whether or not he had a current legal opinion of the matter.
Hamer-Jackson was the sole vote against extending the temporary use permit.