[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:06] Hello, and welcome to the District of C-Sheldt Committee of the Whole for Wednesday, May 13th.
[0:13] It's now three o'clock. I will call meeting to order. Start with a land acknowledgement.
[0:19] The District of C-Sheldt is located on the traditional and unseated territory of the Shishal Nation.
[0:24] We respect the history's language and culture of the people of the Shishal Nation whose presence continues to enrich this community.
[0:31] And I'll note that Mayor Henderson is online battling a cough.
[0:38] Councillor Inkster is away and Councillor Bell is away.
[0:43] So, call the meeting to order.
[0:46] See, ask if there's any declaration of conflict and seeing none as per an adoption of
[0:52] the agenda.
[0:54] Jerry?
[0:55] Jerry?
[0:57] Can I jump in?
[0:58] I'm just wondering if we should reverse five, two, and five, one.
[1:03] I think having that conversation and the update of what's going on there might well
[1:08] factor into some of the priorities.
[1:14] What does the rest of Council think about that?
[1:20] No objection certainly will reverse five, two, and five, one.
[1:25] I've got an adoption of the agenda as amended.
[1:29] We have no delegations of proclamations,
[1:32] so we will start with 5.2 on going work
[1:36] at the unhoused in-campaign.
[1:40] I wonder, Mayor Henderson, you've still got your hand up?
[1:46] Okay.
[1:47] This item is sort of proceeding
[1:51] because Mayor Henderson receives the emails from, I believe, local residents who are alarmed
[1:58] at what was happening in the unhousing camp and over the last few weeks.
[2:07] And I wonder if I could go to Director Roberts for a quick update on what is happening every week
[2:15] there in terms of staff, public works, RCMP visits, and so forth. Thank you.
[2:23] Thank you for the question. So the senior management team, most of us have been there every
[2:29] Thursday since the news of the underground services that was going to be coming through
[2:34] with the community services building. In that time there was two or three tents and as noted,
[2:40] there has been a serious increase in tents and so we continue to go and make sure that the
[2:47] cleanup was happening. Even before we were there every Thursday, the cleanup involves
[2:53] RCMP by-law public works and then rain city also attends and comes out and we've had BC housing
[2:59] there in the last three weeks as well. And the intention of the encampment cleanup is to
[3:05] Remove tents where folks also have another place to shelter.
[3:10] Remove tents that are used for storage or like a living room space,
[3:16] and then decline at the general area.
[3:19] And most of the folks that are living in the encampment are also helping us with that cleanup effort.
[3:23] It has been for the most part quite easy to communicate with,
[3:28] and are happy to be still having that space.
[3:32] With the underground services, we still don't have a date.
[3:34] one that will be happening, but I spoke with BC Housing just before this meeting and there are
[3:40] aware that they also have people living on the lot one on the BC Housing Lot that was purchased.
[3:46] So they have put in a situation report that will go to the minister to talk about the imminent
[3:53] danger that we have on that lot one with a fire risk. So we will be there again tomorrow or
[4:00] we'll be joining us and we'll be with the community to do that cleanup again in Council and Mayor
[4:07] are welcome to join and I think that's it for the update of what's happening on the Thursdays.
[4:14] Thank you. That's helpful. I think for everyone I'm going to flip it back to Mayor Henderson.
[4:20] I wonder if you could go into a bit more detail on some of the comments that we're coming from residents.
[4:28] Certainly, Chair, I guess this has been an ongoing thing, it's certainly not in the last month.
[4:35] There are people that are afraid of their position, they have been very clear with me
[4:45] in some situations that they don't want to be identified because of concerns around whoever
[4:54] is some bad actors or unhoused or they just don't know who they are. So they've chosen to
[5:00] reach out to me. I think in some cases they've reached out to other members of council
[5:05] expressing the concerns and the most recent comments are in fact from this morning.
[5:13] I guess there are more tents now on lot one and of course the broom and the the the
[5:24] since we instructed the former owner to remove or clear that area, but they excuse me.
[5:31] So, I think it's fair to say that the neighbors are desperately worried, they're worried about their physical safety, they're worried about their ability to sleep at night and I'd like to be sure that we're doing everything we can,
[5:48] which perhaps in the case of lot one, it's, you know, it's good that it's going to the minister,
[5:56] but we need that brush, it is a fire hazard, and we need that removed,
[6:03] maybe we need to remove today. So if a BC housing is the private owner,
[6:09] is not prepared to move on that very, very quickly, then I would certainly encourage
[6:15] I'd like to know what our options are to clear it, and if necessary, you send a bill to the province.
[6:26] So, I mean, I've certainly seen the area, the growth in the tents, both on the high tide road.
[6:37] And it appears the fence into a lot of one is open, and I guess I'd like to hear what staff or
[6:44] proposing we do about the growth and how are we going to manage it in the next three months
[6:51] during the summer season when everybody likes to come to Seashell.
[6:58] Okay, thanks for that. Back to Dr. Roberts.
[7:02] Thank you for the question, Chair. So we did the walk today and there's the
[7:07] We're down tents on lot ones.
[7:09] There used to be three tents that were quite close to the residential area.
[7:12] The folks from last week said they were moving farther north.
[7:16] And that does appear to be where they went.
[7:18] I confirm that with BC Housing today.
[7:21] We were saying that if folks were going to be on that lot,
[7:23] that to be adjacent to the current encampment,
[7:25] where there is less brush would be more ideal.
[7:28] So there is one tent.
[7:30] There, but we are down from five-tenths down to two tenths on that lot currently. BC Housing, when they talked about making this an imminent situation that they would be talking to the minister about, it is immediate. They are working on getting fencing repairment on that, along the lot because there is the break-in defense to discourage folks from going in there and they are looking at the brush removal quite quickly. So we will be there with that in mind, also tomorrow, so whatever we can do to create a safer,
[8:00] space on that, a lot, one, but certainly our focus will be on the encampment.
[8:05] Okay, thanks for that. I'll turn it over to Council. Councilor Roe.
[8:10] Thank you. Through you, do we track the number of tents every week just so we actually have data?
[8:18] Like, the number of tents that are there after we do remove the ones that people aren't living in?
[8:25] number one. And number two, have we done anything with to let MLA nail know about this
[8:33] escalation to the minister with regards to safety?
[8:38] Thank you for the question. Yes, being invited MLA out to the last cleanup and so Lori
[8:44] I believe her in this consistency advisor is going to join us tomorrow if she's able to.
[8:50] So there are aware of the situation as well as that outreach worker and we are
[8:55] tracking the tents so the we're down I don't know we're counting souls not
[9:01] tents there was 21 and now there's 19 from last week but again that is a
[9:07] a big difference from a month ago but it is going down they're looking at
[9:10] shelter we have the person from rain city who was often leave she's returned
[9:16] as a two weeks ago so that's creating quite a difference as far as placement
[9:20] for folks. Yeah, so the biggest focus is getting people off of the street into a safe space
[9:26] and then they feel pretty hopeful that that's happening. But we are tracking the amount of
[9:31] tents and MLA kneel is aware and has seen the photos.
[9:38] Any other opinions from council?
[9:43] Hi there. I'm Slayer Maghalka.
[9:49] I'm going to have a picture. No, thank you. The juror. I'm just wondering
[9:52] And what time does it start and do we need to bring like gloves or, you know, if we're going to be doing work in there?
[10:01] Thank you.
[10:01] Thank you.
[10:02] The question.
[10:04] The objective of being there tomorrow would really, so that we all have the same amount of information.
[10:09] You know, it's not.
[10:11] We don't, we want to connect with the community and make sure that people are feeling comfortable both the residents that live there and yourself.
[10:17] So we're not looking for you to be a part of the cleanup but to come and meet the folks that are down there, as well as the rain city workers and the outreach workers.
[10:27] So if you're to attend the objective from a staff perspective is just to make sure we all have the same information. There's a lot of misinformation happening and I am trying to cut down the amount of catastrophizing because we really deeply care about that neighborhood.
[10:40] And we're doing the best that we can for the residents both the ones in the town homes, the ones in the rain city, the shelter and the encampment.
[10:46] So we'd love for you to attend at the 930 tomorrow every Thursday,
[10:50] we're at there at 930, and you can stay for as long as there is little
[10:54] if you like, and nothing else is done there, thanks.
[10:58] Thanks, Mayor Henderson.
[11:01] Thank you, the, I guess I've heard that, you know, we're monitoring what's been
[11:06] happening, but I think I'd like to know that we have a plan in place perhaps
[11:12] what are next steps are because I think it's fair I believe I'm right and
[11:17] saying it happened in the previous summer and it's very likely it'll happen
[11:21] again that we were at what were 18 or 19 tenths and you know what do we do if
[11:29] we have enough demand if that's the right word for 30 tenths like can we put them
[11:37] on a lot one, and if so, do we handle that and keep it separate from the townhouses and the neighbors?
[11:45] And generally speaking, what do we do to control the flow of these people, so that they're not imposing on the neighbors?
[11:54] Just to be clear, it is not 18 or 19 tenths. It's 18 or 19 people. So that's a fairly big difference.
[12:02] This is a cyclical thing that happens every summer.
[12:05] There are folks that are either attached to the shelter in some way, shape, or form, or in some other situation when the warm weather comes.
[12:13] It's easier for them to live outside than to be going in and out of the shelter on a daily basis.
[12:17] There's a whole bunch of different conditions that allow people to be in the situation that they're in.
[12:23] There's obviously no simple solution to this if there was somebody else in the world and everybody else would be doing it by now.
[12:29] So everybody's just doing the best they can.
[12:31] And that's agencies working with each individual,
[12:34] getting to know each individual,
[12:35] trying to found out what their needs are,
[12:37] where they're at, health-wise, and mentally,
[12:39] and everything else, and doing their best to house them.
[12:42] So that's really what it's about.
[12:44] And it's a cycle that we just continue to go through.
[12:47] There is no solution that's going to end this tomorrow
[12:49] that I'm aware of.
[12:52] Thanks for that comment.
[12:55] Councillor Rowe.
[12:57] And it just started to add to that and you can correct me if I'm wrong because maybe
[13:02] provincial legislation has changed.
[13:05] But I believe that we are still living under the rules of no matter what somebody is living
[13:11] in, yet their car be at a tent, be at a car bar box.
[13:15] You cannot remove them from it unless you have somewhere for them to go.
[13:21] So, that's the crux of a lot of this.
[13:25] We can't just, you know, I have a lot of people would love
[13:29] for the district decision to get their magic school
[13:32] bus and take everybody to the ferry.
[13:35] That's not a real thing
[13:38] and that's why this is such a complex problem.
[13:43] So, unless we want to put the district in sort of a
[13:47] I carry a position legally and with the province.
[13:51] We can't just be shooting people away without having
[13:57] somewhere to offer them as a home.
[14:03] So in my opinion, that's why the work that's
[14:06] more relational is the most critical.
[14:14] And I wish, again, I mean, we all
[14:16] probably obviously wish we had an easy answer to this, but we don't, but my other question
[14:22] that just popped into my head on our technical work in group, do we have anybody from the
[14:29] CAT team?
[14:30] We're just going to start to shine, we're involved, or anyone from the CAT team, because
[14:35] that team actually could probably be helpful in a lot of this work if he's got capacity.
[14:43] So it was, uh, turn that over to council all over it.
[14:48] Thanks.
[14:49] We do not, but we could certainly put that invite out.
[14:52] There's been a few suggestions.
[14:53] It's sort of we start up with a pretty small nuclear screw, but we could reach out.
[14:57] That would be a great addition.
[15:00] Yeah, I agree with what you said, and we attended a webinar that was given to us from community services last. We just about that community connection piece. And I think that's what we're really focused on. It's what I felt today with BC housing, as we're all from a sympathetic, harm reduction human rights component, considering with that lens. And then also thinking about the neighborhood and how that's affecting our, the rest of the citizens and the district of C-shelves. So I am hopeful. They have a response plan that seems like it's going faster than typical. They talked about the fencing coming in for this year.
[15:30] shelter and even reopen the conversation about having some of the encampments filled around
[15:36] to the shelter parking lot that was previously not something they were willing to talk
[15:39] about.
[15:40] So I'm feeling hopeful, but I also think that the connections need to continue to happen
[15:45] and to work together because this isn't just a district to see shelter response.
[15:52] Thanks for that.
[15:53] I'm from my own part, I'm concerned that this, I understand that this is the regular
[16:03] cycle in the summer, more and more people appear in that area, and it's going to decrease
[16:10] by the fall, but I also think we have to be ready to take action unless the province
[16:16] is moving quickly, and that seems, I'm not sure if that's going to happen or not.
[16:21] So what I'm going to propose to Council, and ask your opinion on this, is that we put
[16:27] this as an item on the next Council poll in two weeks, but also ask staff about the merits
[16:37] of one contracting out to cut the broom ourselves unless the province is prepared to do it
[16:46] quickly. And second, consider other measures, for instance, any of the tents that start showing
[16:55] up on the provincial property that we consider bylaw asking those people to take down the
[17:03] tents each morning and allow them to put the tents back up in the evening. That's a sort
[17:08] of step further from what's happening right now. But in essence, I'm asking that consider this
[17:16] issue again in two weeks. We'll see if we have a response back from the province and see if
[17:22] Council has to take further steps in the matter.
[17:28] Is there any opinion of the Council in
[17:30] McAulacan? Yes, thank you. We've talked about the problem of broom before that it's very
[17:37] almost impossible to find a way to dispose of it. We have other site that have been
[17:43] a reason for redevelopment that are covered in broom, so they are equally a huge fire hazard
[17:49] with this warm weather we have coming in. So, I don't know, I mean I wish there was
[17:55] a solution there, maybe we can come up with something, ship it off to somewhere that does
[17:59] have a proper burner, if that's what we have to do, and it's the same, we don't have a proper
[18:02] burner, we can't do it. I think we have to at least prepare it in this particular location,
[18:08] probably come up with another solution. So it's really, I'm really worried about the weather
[18:13] their, um, you know, encampment.
[18:17] But our conscience and the village area for people,
[18:20] if we could find some people in the encampment
[18:22] that are easier to house.
[18:24] I know some people in the village
[18:25] will actually accommodate them in their shed
[18:29] or whatever, because, you know,
[18:30] they're worried that they're just not getting any treated
[18:33] like, you know, they're not really treated like people.
[18:39] So they want to at least provide some shelter
[18:41] in some sense of community and space for them probably you know have a washroom I don't know
[18:47] the washroom we have at Prenchett Park it has a shower I don't know it's just a cold shower
[18:51] but if it was at least a warm shower I think that would help you know but I think it's mostly
[18:57] a Prenchett Park just to wash the sand off you after you're bathing typically but
[19:02] enhance that a little bit and just give some services and try and move some of the easier to house
[19:09] for some, you know, somewhere else for some temporary time. Thanks.
[19:15] Thanks, Mayor Henderson. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Yeah, you're going in the,
[19:22] perhaps more eloquently than I put it, but the idea that we have,
[19:27] get a very fast response from the province. I think that it is a fire risk and how we deal with the,
[19:36] the brush in the broom and whatever it comes, we've got to get rid of it and we've got to get rid of it soon.
[19:43] So I'd be supportive, I'd be supportive of one week rather than two, but you know we've got to make that.
[19:50] And that's part of what I was asking, the do we in fact have a plan of what will we do, should we if we when we get more people coming in,
[20:04] whether it's as you describe, removing the tents every morning,
[20:09] excuse me, or where do we put them in the evening?
[20:13] Is it a strip along the so-thin of lot one?
[20:18] Or what do we do with these folks?
[20:20] I think we'd like to know that we are anticipating
[20:23] and planning ahead rather than reacting.
[20:28] Okay, thanks for that.
[20:31] So I'll sort of return to my idea to see if there's council
[20:35] support for asking that this issue be brought up again within two weeks. We should have a response
[20:44] from the province and then in the meantime we asked staff to consider some actions that Council
[20:54] can take if if there is no response from or no action being taken on these items from the province.
[21:06] That's what I wrote.
[21:10] Well, yeah, it's probably over the summer almost going to be a standing item.
[21:17] To be honest, I'm interested though the impact that asking by law to do that,
[21:24] it's not like they're not going to walk in and say we need you to remove your
[21:27] and that's going to be a big part of their day.
[21:31] when it from what I understand when I've seen other places attempt that.
[21:42] So I guess I'd like some input from staff on what they think that would look like.
[21:50] So maybe we can do that for as part of the discussion in two weeks.
[21:55] I mean I wouldn't be prepared to vote on asking them to do that at this time without understanding that.
[22:01] No, thank you, Councilor Rout. No, and that's not my intent. It's really to make sure this is on the agenda coming up in two weeks.
[22:11] I think staff now know what our concerns are and they're saying that we should have response back from the province.
[22:18] So let's get some commentary back from staff on what other actions can take and you're quite correct.
[22:27] Maybe it is. It would just take up too much of violence.
[22:30] It's time to do that, but it'll give staff some time to come back with.
[22:40] I guess that's just, and I don't mean to be a naysayer to every idea that comes up.
[22:44] That's not my intent. We have to think about where those people are going to go during the day, and they're going to be downtown.
[22:50] So my biggest concern is the fire piece and having some response in the province on that and giving us some direction that we can take.
[23:08] But with this population and any vulnerable population,
[23:14] and everyone thing that you think of has three more arms
[23:19] that come out of it that you need to consider.
[23:21] And that's one of the things when we tell people they have to pack up
[23:25] for the day is where do they go?
[23:29] Unless we actually had somewhere that was identified
[23:33] that they could go hang out here for the day.
[23:36] So, anyways, just for consideration.
[23:39] Okay, thanks.
[23:40] Is there any more?
[23:41] So I'm putting that forward as a motion
[23:43] that it be coming back within two weeks and we look for response from the province, and that
[23:51] we have some staff commentary on what to do about issues like fire prevention, a second
[24:01] that's what's off. All in favour?
[24:09] That's carried. Thank you. And we will move to item 5.
[24:17] which is now 5.2 RCMP priorities 202627. I will look to Council to shout out what they would like to see the RCMP focusing on.
[24:33] Councillor Roe. Well, I think the mayor is quite correct in saying the one conversation
[24:38] leads to the other. I want to see them stay engaged with this population with that area
[24:45] have a high presence in that area. They're doing tons of work dealing with all sorts
[24:55] mental health on the coast, and, you know, people don't see that, and that is, I think,
[25:06] critical work that needs to continue as well.
[25:15] Otherwise, I think the more the public can see them out doing their job, the better.
[25:21] Thanks, Councillor Tawth.
[25:23] Thank you, Chair.
[25:25] Unfortunately, I don't have my notes from the 22nd when we first were going to talk about this,
[25:30] But I think for me sort of three priorities that I had
[25:33] revolved around going after predatory behavior,
[25:39] whether that's crime, whether that's drug trafficking,
[25:42] things like that, traffic enforcement in schools
[25:48] zones specifically.
[25:51] I know we keep hearing about speeding issues around
[25:56] I'm sure we get it around the elementary schools too, and the third one that I had was
[26:07] increased foot patrols in the downtown.
[26:10] It got the C step funding to allow for some overtime work to do foot patrols, and I think that's been really positive.
[26:18] I think the community's responding well to that.
[26:20] And I was really surprised to find out that that C-step funding was only like $25,000 or something like that.
[26:27] Like, it's not a significant amount of money.
[26:30] And so I think if it's something that...
[26:33] It's really expensive for us to add officers.
[26:37] You know, if they come to us looking for a full FTE.
[26:40] But if there's something that we can do leading into budget 2027 to approve, you know,
[26:50] I think those are conversations we definitely should have because I think $25,000 is a good bargain to get those foot patrols.
[26:58] Those are my thoughts.
[27:00] Thank you.
[27:01] Anyone else?
[27:03] Mayor Henderson.
[27:06] I'm trying to time my coughs when I'm on mute.
[27:10] Yeah, I echo that about the visibility of the police officers.
[27:18] Whether it's foot patrols, bike patrols, but being seen out in the community, I think is reassuring.
[27:26] And that overall is kind of my goal out of all of this.
[27:30] How can we help the community feel safer?
[27:33] Because a lot of the things we're confronting are the consequence of people feeling unsafe in our community.
[27:41] So, fight patrols, foot patrols, maybe more visibility, I noticed, I think, as it was a face-work post today of somebody that's got more and so outstanding, and the RCMP are being proactive and putting that out there.
[27:59] And the other one is, to me, we're very different consequence between people feeling unsafe, perhaps, because somebody is being noisy in the nighttime.
[28:13] and the other group in our community that are malicious
[28:19] thief's and worse.
[28:21] So this serious crime, the theft, the premeditated
[28:24] plan crime, and theft is, I'd like to see that on our list
[28:30] of, I know we've only been given three, but perhaps certainly
[28:34] in the top four or five, that we do focus on whatever the police
[28:39] can do to help prevent some of the terrible crime, terrible theft that is happening much more
[28:49] often than I gather than it's reported.
[28:52] So visibility of officers, whatever else we can do to make people feel safer and dressing
[29:01] the serious crimes.
[29:04] Oh, and I suppose I don't know how this would happen, but I think it would be helpful for
[29:07] community to understand after somebody is arrested, it might be, three months it might be
[29:15] a year later, but follow-up, like what happened to that situation, did Crown pursue charges,
[29:23] if so, what happened and kind of closing that loop because we tend not to hear the results
[29:31] from from that process. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to the chair.
[29:43] Just to support what I have said. I think it's really important that if we could get more
[29:48] foot patrols, have a presence and just have an attitude really of kindness because I think the
[29:55] a lot of people don't really have that.
[30:00] I think if you look at people in your neighborhood or you talk to anybody that used to be on the street, that you could actually look them in the eye and say something and they would hear you.
[30:12] And then you could hear them. But in a bigger place, if we're getting crime from Vancouver and a lot of visitors, that level of friendliness of anonymity doesn't exist and that allows more crime to happen.
[30:25] So I think it's really important to stay friendly and caring.
[30:29] It's really important.
[30:30] I hope that message carries through.
[30:32] It's also good for our reputation as a community because a lot of people are here,
[30:36] there's crime, but I mean, sometimes the crime can be somewhat overblown because along
[30:42] with more crime has been things like a population increase or wealth inequality and the cost
[30:51] food. So that causes for people that don't have much money. It causes a lot of stress. So again,
[30:58] trying to destress situation, be kind to people. I think it's really important. Also, in terms
[31:04] of our parks, I think it's important to show respect for the laws that we have. For instance,
[31:11] maybe we need some dog, unleash signage on beaches and parks and some more limited parking
[31:18] signs to remind people that there is bylaws regarding these things so that if people start
[31:25] lingering or hang showing up they know that it's posted and that they know that these
[31:31] bylaws will be enforced and that it's clear that if there are bylaws officers of the police
[31:37] coming along and see infractions that they can clearly say, look, here it is
[31:43] deal with it right on the spot. So I find that really is going to help us through the summer
[31:48] I hope, thanks.
[31:50] Hey, thanks.
[31:51] Yeah, most of what I have has already been mentioned.
[31:55] In terms of the C-step funding, Councillor Toss Point,
[31:59] I think one thing to ask the RCMP is, I think they've mentioned in the past,
[32:04] that it's a program that they can keep applying for funding for.
[32:08] So we should be asking if they've applied again.
[32:10] I think they have, but whether they've been successful.
[32:13] The only item that I didn't hear was a request for more BC highway patrol visits from
[32:23] their Vancouver detachment, so I think that would be helpful.
[32:30] That's I'm hoping that all of those items the corporate officer is being able to record.
[32:38] So I think that covers that item, and is there any other business?
[32:49] Yeah, please,
[32:53] and the seconder to that list, Councillor McLACHLAN, the seconded, all in
[32:58] favor, and that's carried.
[33:01] Thank you.
[33:02] So I'll ask for a motion to adjourn.
[33:07] Seconded, all in favor?
[33:10] Great, our meeting's adjourned.
[33:11] Thank you.
[33:31] Recording stopped.