A Williams Lake city councillor remains steadfast after proposing a motion on public safety, which has sparked significant online discussion and will be up for recommendation on Tuesday, March 24.<\/p>\n
At a Tuesday, March 10, regular council meeting Coun. Scott Nelson issued a notice of motion and said he would be putting forward a recommendation at the next regular council meeting regarding public safety tied to the \u201cprolific homelessness that is causing havoc in the community,\u201d and \u201chas burned down millions of dollars \u2019 worth of infrastructure,\u201d and \u201chas put fear into the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the most recent incidents he pointed to was a fire earlier this month on Mackenzie Avenue South on Monday, March 9. Upon arrival, the Williams Lake Fire Department<\/a> said there was a stack of pallets on the loading bay that caught fire and had spread to the roof of the building that houses Surplus Herby\u2019s and Praxair.<\/p>\n Surplus Herby\u2019s manager Sasha Baelinski told CFJC Kamloops<\/a> although no definitive cause of the fire had been made she believes the blaze was deliberately set.<\/p>\n Nelson said the B.C. government is failing to provide the appropriate services and the community needs to embark upon a \u201cnew path\u201d and a \u201cnew agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n His motion stated council formally acknowledging that, \u201chomeless prolific offending individuals that wreak havoc on our community streets and individuals with mental illness that continue to wreak havoc on our community streets that are known to the police and the Interior Health Authority and who live and remain on the streets are a major safety concern.\u201d<\/p>\n Nelson\u2019s recommendation includes that it is the policy of council that any of these individuals \u201cbe required to wear GPS or that jail time be sought and\/or that these individuals be provided appropriate wraparound services in a community where these services are provided.\u201d Furthermore, any \u201chomeless prolific offending person or persons with mental illnesses wreaking havoc on the streets of Williams Lake and have more than three charges be offered, encouraged and persuaded to a one-way bus ticket with $100 for meals to a space in the provinces of B.C. and Alberta, or the state of Alaska, with the appropriate wraparound services.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayor Surinderpal Rathor requested each and every council member to do their research on Nelson\u2019s motion that will be further discussed on March 24.<\/p>\n Following Nelson\u2019s notice of motion, debate continued on social media with some community members raising questions on its legality, ethicality and achievability.<\/p>\n B.C.\u2019s Ministry of Attorney General confirmed to the Williams Lake Tribune that only the courts can place an individual on electronic supervision.<\/p>\n \u201cAs such, B.C. Corrections\u2019 supervision, monitoring and enforcement activities are restricted to the conditions the courts place on a person. B.C. Corrections uses GPS-enabled technology, which allows for curfew monitoring and supervising geographic restriction conditions like \u2018no-go\u2019 zones,\u201d a spokesperson for the ministry said.<\/p>\n \u201cB.C. Corrections works collaboratively with law enforcement, community partners and the public when supervising individuals. A breach of court-ordered conditions can result in charges and possibly time in custody, at the discretion of the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n The Minstry of Attorney General added the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative (ReVOII), which was launched in 2023, continues to brings together police, Crown counsel and B.C. Corrections to manage complex repeat violent offenders through enhanced monitoring, streamlined information sharing, tailored release planning, and connection to supports such as income assistance, mental\u2011health, substance\u2011use and housing to help break the cycle.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Williams Lake, there are currently 23 individuals under ReVOII supervision,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n A Point-in-Time <\/a>(PiT) count taken in April 2025 by the Homelessness Services Association of B.C. identified 100 people experiencing homelessness in Williams Lake, with 49 experiencing unsheltered homelessness and 51 experiencing sheltered homelessness.<\/p>\n Most, according to Coun. Michael Moses are Indigenous and from local First Nations.<\/p>\n \u201cTrying to shift people away in this instance would be directly against reconciliation, it would be against our Human Rights Tribunal, it would be against everything BC Housing stands for, and everything the Assembly of First Nations stands for,\u201d Moses said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would be doing something that would be very detrimental to our neighbours, to our community members.\u201d<\/p>\n Moses confirmed he will not be supporting Nelson\u2019s proposed recommendation when it comes forward for decision on Tuesday, March 24.<\/p>\n He added that while he is in agreement with Nelson that changes and improvements need to be made to create a safer and healthier community, he does not believe his proposed motion is the route to it.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that this will potentially cause more harm than it will cause help, and I do believe that we have different routes we can take to achieve these same goals,\u201d Moses said.<\/p>\n Moses believes to achieve a healthier, safer community begins with recognizing the organizations within the community who are doing the work on the ground and have professionals who have an understanding of these scenarios, and determining ways to further assist them with their work.<\/p>\n The term \u201cwraparound service\u201d refers to an interdisciplinary approach of providing a variety of services with a focus on coordination at a system-level and remaining person-centred in its approach and delivery, noted a guiding document (Belonging in BC)<\/a> by the B.C. government to support systems coordination and planning to prevent and reduce homelessness.<\/p>\n Such services in Williams Lake are provided by organizations such as the Cariboo Friendship Society and Canadian Mental Health Association Cariboo Chilcotin branch, Moses said. He also noted that most individuals in need of rehabilitation services often have to leave the community.<\/p>\n \u201cI think every community in B.C. needs more resources in this regard, so to discount us from that would be a misleading, but we do have more services than any city that\u2019s a similar size to us,\u201d Moses said. \u201cIf we needed new services here, I would say the first services we need are to be able to support people who are coming back to our community from rehabilitation, so they can continue healing and stay away from those harmful cycles happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n Not the first<\/p>\n Williams Lake is not the first municipality in B.C. to bring forward a motion that would look to transport those experiencing homelessness to their original communities.<\/p>\n According to a CBC article, back on Sept. 12, <\/a>2023<\/a>, Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson put forward a notice of motion to give bus or air travel vouchers to unhoused people who want to return home. The money for the proposed program could come out of the city\u2019s $22,000 budget for catered meals.<\/p>\n The article also stated that Hamer-Jackson \u201coriginally hoped the idea to send unhoused people out of the city could be funded by the federal government\u2019s Reaching Home grant system for reducing homelessness,\u201d however, at the time, city staff said that money was no longer available.<\/p>\n Hamer-Jackson ended up withdrawing his motion, citing that \u201chopefully we can get them some help.\u201d<\/p>\n Councillor says province not doing enough<\/p>\n Nelson said the province does not provide adequate funding for community social supports. He pointed to the redevelopment of 845 Carson Dr., where BC Housing confirmed that a planned shelter component will not proceed following the recent provincial budget.<\/p>\n To fund his proposed recommendation, Nelson said he will be asking council to create an internal fund to assist the individuals to be relocated though Interior Health and the Ebus transportation system.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s also been a significant number of people prepared to put up money to assist as well,\u201d Nelson said, adding he spoke earlier with several people experiencing homelessness who want to go back to their homes in Vancouver, Kelowna and Vernon but can\u2019t find assistance. \u201cThe system is not working that we\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n In a March 13 letter to the province\u2019s Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson noted he has spoken about the loss of several programs, such as the Renner House and other community supports that have been recently reduced or eliminated, many as a result of the 2026 provincial budget.<\/p>\n He wrote that the loss of supports will only add further strain to communities like Williams Lake that are already struggling to address complex mental health, housing, and social challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cOur community has reached a point of extreme frustration and anger. The situation has escalated to the point where a city councillor now feels it necessary to introduce a very serious motion at an upcoming city council meeting to address these ongoing concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the garnered controversy surrounding Nelson\u2019s motion, Nelson said it is always a difficult discussion when you\u2019re having to deal with issues that will impact people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n A peaceful protest against his recommendation is being organized by Williams Lake resident Cianna O\u2019Connor, starting at 5:30 p.m. at Herb Gardner Park.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that, but we need to be defined, and these people that we\u2019re talking about should not be on the streets of Williams Lake \u2013 these people should be in institutions,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n Moses, meanwhile, has been working on his own proposed motion that he said he is continuing to try to improve for the Tuesday, March 24, meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hopeful that our council will recognize the harm that will be caused by this current motion, and that we can at least make some amendments to it so that it will be better,\u201d Moses said, adding he hopes the B.C. Rights Tribunal will provide some input. \u201cI truly believe that our council is continually stepping out of line and trying to achieve things that we don\u2019t actually have the power to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n The meeting on Tuesday, March 24, will be livestreamed online or can be attended in-person at Williams Lake City Hall starting at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n B.C.\u2019s Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs confirmed to the Williams Lake Tribune that it aims to provide people across all communities the support and services they need to have access to help during a vulnerable time.<\/p>\n \u201cTo help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Williams Lake, the province, through BC Housing, provides 68 shelter spaces,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cThere are also 51 supportive homes underway in Williams Lake.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Williams Lake city councillor remains steadfast after proposing a motion on public safety, which has sparked significant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558243,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-558242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}