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Kelowna  

Protesting council decision

A sit-in is planned in front of city hall next Monday to protest a recent council decision banning the practice on city sidewalks.

The protest, "Sit down to take a STAND for People without homes," is hosted by a Facebook group called Homelessness in Kelowna.

The protest is being planned after council voted last Monday to amend a bylaw which would ban sitting or lying on sidewalks.

Council is scheduled to adopt the bylaw at this Monday's council meeting.

In a Facebook post announcing the protest, the group states:

"Do we, as a community, think it is okay to simply displace poverty because it is uncomfortable to witness? Let’s instead ask how our community can explore more compassionate and proactive responses!

"On Nov. 30th 2016, our City Council unanimously passed the third reading of a bylaw change that will make sitting or sleeping on sidewalks at any time of the day or night a bylaw offence warranting a $50 ticket. The change is an extension from the current bylaw, which bans sitting and sleeping on sidewalks between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm. The current bylaw seems to suggest that homelessness inconveniences people trying to access the downtown ‘restaurant district’. Council should have rejected the message endorsed by this bylaw: that some Kelownians don’t matter as much as others.

"Many people who sit or sleep on Kelowna sidewalks do so because they have nowhere else to go. Shelters are full and housing is not accessible for many. Even parks are closed at night. Most people who might be fined would not have a means to pay the ticket. The city’s homeless require mercy and assistance, support programs and opportunities – not a legal whipping.

"The bylaw will be considered for a fourth and final reading in December.

"Join us in voicing opposition to the original bylaw and its proposed changes!"

Colin Mayor Colin Basran has defended the bylaw, saying the city has a more vibrant downtown than it did 20 or 30 years ago when the original bylaw was crafted.

While the city also has a larger homeless population, Basran said council is working to find a balance between complaints about vagrancy in the downtown core while being respectful to people on the streets.

The protest is scheduled from 4:30 p.m. until 6 p.m.



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