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Sampson calls on province to discuss city’s homelessness crisis with Prince George council

Coun. Kyle Sampson
Coun. Kyle Sampson

City council will decide December 5 whether it will ask the province for a formal sit-down to discuss Prince George’s issues dealing with homelessness, mental health and addictions.

Coun. Kyle Sampson brought forward a notice of motion Monday, which means the question will come back to council in tow weeks.

If Sampson’s motion passes, the city will request that representatives from The Ministry of Social Development & Poverty Reductio, the Ministry of Mental Health & Addictions, the Ministry of Health, the Attorney General and the Minister responsible for Housing, Northern Health and BC Housing come to Prince George to meet with council.

He want officials to “engage in meetings with council for an opportunity for the ministries to inform council, city staff, and the public of what steps and initiatives the provincial government is and will be taking to address the crisis our community is facing with respect to homelessness and the encampments, as well as with our severe addictions and mental health crisis; and for the city to further emphasize the increasing challenges our community is experiencing.”

In addition, he wants provincial officials information surrounding the provincial government’s plans to address prolific offenders, including how the recently developed independent BC Prolific Offenders Report will be used to support policing and law enforcement in the community, as well as the impacts the report will have on the provincial court system and how charges are/are not recommended to crown.

“The City of Prince George is facing a number of crises that are impacting the daily lives of all

residents in our community,” Sampson said in the notice of motion. “The need for our council to take further action towards reducing the impacts felt by those connected with these crises needs to take priority now. It is important to note, organizing meetings of this calibre with high profile Ministries can take time, and it is important that while staff coordinate these meetings, council continues to work towards building the framework for potential solutions and ideas pitched as ‘made in PG solutions.’

He pointed to the most recent BC Coroner’s report stating northern B.C. has the second highest overdose rate per 100,000 population of any area in B.C. In addition to this, the 2020/21 Report on Homeless Counts in BC indicates that Prince George, by far, has the highest number of individuals experiencing homelessness in northern BC. It also highlights that Prince George has the seventh highest homeless count within the reported municipalities.

“One could argue that although we have become the social service hub of the north (by default), Prince George has significantly fewer provincial resources than those peer municipalities located in B.C.’s southern interior and Lower Mainland,” he said. “The impacts of homelessness, the encampments, as well as the mental health and addictions epidemic are a growing concern and are impacting all residents of our community, including those living directly with these struggles. Although areas like health, housing, mental health, and addictions

are not under the jurisdiction of a local government, this is our community, and we need to take the next steps beyond simple advocacy and gain the supports necessary to resolve these issues.

“In addition to the mental health, addictions, and housing issues, our city is experiencing a crisis when it comes to prolific offenders and how their regular committing of crimes affects our community, including often targeting the vulnerable population. It is imperative that we continue to do our part as a municipality and provide the necessary police resources, however, we need more answers from the provincial government on their plans to help address these limited individuals who are causing the majority of crime throughout our city.”

The results of this meeting and the actionable items must be clearly communicated out to the public, he added.

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