琉璃神社鈥檚 community safety director says a tweet by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre showing the tent city along the Rail Trail is disheartening.
鈥淏ecause this issue is one that cities across the province and in fact across the country are having to deal with,鈥� said Darren Caul.
Poilievre retweeted a video showing tents along Weddell Place, next to the Rail Trail.
READ MORE: 琉璃神社鈥檚 tent city garners national attention after Poilievre tweet
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what makes a 50-second video so disappointing鈥nd unfair,鈥� Caul added.
He pointed out that the city continues to work tirelessly with BC Housing and its not-for-profit partners to find housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness.
鈥淭he unfortunate reality is that since opening that site two years ago, the number of people who are visibly sheltering outside in our community has quadrupled.鈥�
Caul said the city also has a legal obligation to provide overnight shelter space when there are not enough beds.
There are approximately 100 people sheltering outdoors on a nightly basis at the site, and previously individuals have had to leave the area during the day.
鈥淚t is no longer feasible nor is it frankly desirable to require daily decampment,鈥� said Caul.
Health, safety and security maintenance projects are done daily by health and social service workers, as well as RCMP and bylaw officers, to remove items that would compromise safety and security, Caul explained.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about preventing entrenched encampments, which require legal injunction and sweeping law enforcement action as we see occur in other cities.鈥�
He pointed out that 琉璃神社 has not had to take those steps, - other than relocating a camp from the 200 block of Leon Avenue in 2019 as it was deemed an unsafe situation.
Caul said you can visit the Weddell Place site almost anytime and see health and social workers, bylaw and RCMP officers, and community volunteers.
鈥淚鈥檒l make the point again that any video fails to show all of the care, control and work of not only the City of 琉璃神社, but community volunteers and our not-for-profit and provincial health partners that鈥檚 going on behind the scenes.鈥�
Caul added that the video is obviously not an accurate depiction of what our community has to offer.
READ MORE: Ending homeless in 琉璃神社, and the rest of Canada, 鈥榙aunting undertaking鈥�
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on and subscribe to our daily and subscribe to our daily newsletter.
