Penticton council mum for now on potential plans to challenge provincial government over homeless shelter

Photo: Contributed

Mayor and council at a special meeting Tuesday discussing the Victory Church emergency shelter.

Penticton council is staying tight-lipped as to whether they will launch legal action against the province at the end of the month, when a temporary use permit for the contentious emergency homeless shelter at Victory Church expires.

Housing Minister David Eby plans to override council's decision not to extend the shelter's permit, invoking paramountcy powers that give the province the ability to step in when it comes to provincial projects in municipal areas.

BC Housing sent a letter to council confirming that intention, which was received at a special meeting Tuesday convened specifically to discuss it.

"I am very, very disappointed that the minister continues to defy city council's opposition on this matter," Mayor John Vassilaki said.

Discussion on a potential legal challenge to the paramountcy move took place behind closed doors for now, during an in-camera meeting held following the public Zoom meeting Tuesday.

Vassilaki said he could not comment on legal matters at this time.

"I can tell you that we are working in the best interest of the public, their safety and their welfare. Whatever it takes for us to continue on that course, that’s what we’re going to do,” Vassilaki said.

He added that the matters discussed in the private meetings will be made public and further discussed at an open council meeting in the "early part of April" — after the shelter's temporary use permit expires on March 31.

At Tuesday's meeting, council voted to receive the letter and direct staff to continue working with BC Housing and the Penticton and District Society for Community Living, which runs the shelter, on "a transition plan" following the closure of the location.

Vassilaki said city staff have identified housing options around the community for the roughly 42 residents of the shelter to go to should the doors close, but that it's not the city's responsibility to help the individuals get there — rather, that falls to BC Housing.

Coun. Julius Bloomfield brought forward a motion to send a letter in response to BC Housing and include Interior Health, indicating council's willingness to "enter into negotiations with both agencies to form a long-term strategy for housing the homeless" in Penticton, which may help if legal action proceeds.

“We have issues right now, we are facing paramountcy, if we want to challenge that then we should let it be known to the courts, if it goes to court, in my opinion, that we are willing to talk about it. We don’t want to be seen to be the ones with the closed minds," Bloomfield said.

“Minister Eby has put it out there that he’s willing to talk. We’re the ones that have not said that we’re willing to talk."

But Vassilaki and others on council were not convinced, citing a desire to discuss the motion in more detail due to the scope of the issue, and an unwillingness to capitulate to the province.

Coun. Katie Robinson brought up an earlier request from council to the province for a third-party audit of BC Housing facilities in the city, which has not been fulfilled.

"Let’s bear in mind that it was this council that asked for an audit of these facilities in the first place,” Robinson said.

"All we’ve done is produce nothing better than a legalized drug den in our community. And it’s not working. That is the one solid thing that everybody can actually agree upon, it’s not working. That’s why we asked the ministry for the audit and from there we got off track with this ‘emergency’ shelter.”

Bloomfield defended his motion, saying the letter would not reflect any attempted abandonment of any position council has taken so far.

"It is not letting the provincial government off the hook for any of their obligations. We still expect them to do their housing audit and supply that to us,” Bloomfield said.

Ultimately, council voted 4-2 to delay the motion for further consideration at the next regular council meeting.

The Tuesday Zoom gathering also included a period for public questions and comments. PDSCL CEO Tony Laing took the opportunity to address some of the statements council members had made, including a claim Vassilaki had made that employees at the shelter were "paid by how many bodies are in there" using the facility.

"That’s totally inaccurate,” Laing said. “We get paid whether it's been full or empty, and it's been full since we opened. It’s not a question of squeezing more people in and getting more money, that’s not how funding from the province works."

Laing also reiterated he hopes to find solutions with council as they move forward, and said that some things about the shelter are, in fact, working.

"We have had successes. Our successes don't get talked about, but certainly our failures do," Laing said.

"There is really no place in Penticton that will make everybody happy ... There is no place in this town that is not going to be impacted by a homeless shelter. The only thing we can do is all work together to limit that impact."

Watch the recording of the full special council meeting here.