City asks for stiffer sentences

Photo: BC Gov Flickr

Attorney General David Eby at UBCM last week

The Mayor of Penticton says the provincial government was receptive, but non-committal to the city’s lobbying for reform to the criminal justice system during the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention last week in Whistler.

Andrew Jakubeit said during brief meetings with Attorney General David Eby and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, the city raised concerns about the use of intermittent  — weekend only — jail sentences for repeat offenders.

“I know in 2017, there was more than 25-odd times where there were people with 20 charges or more — prolific offenders — that served time during the weekend and were out continuing with the nefarious activities, when we have a corrections centre 20 minutes away,” Jakubeit said.

He said there were also weekends when the dozen cells at the Penticton RCMP were nearly completely filled with people serving weekend jail terms.

Intermittent jail sentences can be ordered by a judge on sentences of 90 days or less and typically are used so the offender can maintain employment.

Jakubeit said they also asked the province to push judges for stiffer sentences for repeat property-crime offenders.

“They were receptive, they certainly took notes, and said they were going to follow up on things,” he said. “No definitive ‘yes we are going to fix this’ but there certainly was an acknowledgement that those scenarios shouldn’t be happening.”

He said the provincial ministers indicated Penticton was far from the only community to raise the concerns, which is part of the power of the UBCM.

“For them to hear from a collection of municipalities and districts on what the key issues are, and obviously the court system and prolific offenders is probably one of the higher ones,” Jakubeit said. “We sometimes focus on the RCMP, but a lot of it has to do with the court system… we really need the province to step up and help.”

Jakubeit said city staff also had meetings with the Minister of Housing Selena Robinson to discuss ways to bring more affordable housing to the city. The agency is already funding four projects under construction in Penticton, totalling 200 subsidized units — with about half set aside for the working poor and the other half for the homeless.

Jakubeit said the city suggested having BC Housing fund the construction of homes on top of new infrastructure projects. For example if the library was ever replaced, affordable apartments could be placed above.

The mayor said the province was less receptive to concerns about the new employer health tax, with the city’s request it be deferred to 2020 shot down by Finance Minister Carole James.

Penticton also lobbied the provincial government on bringing more addictions and mental health resources to the community, cutting red tape on flood recovery, support for inter-community bike paths and remediation of contaminated properties.