A long discussion on the legalities and options on whether a State of Local Emergency(SOLE) can be declared led to the motion being split into two amendments being brought to the Williams Lake City Council table.
In the end, the City of Williams Lake’s Council carried the motion to ‘investigate options’ on declaring a State of Local Emergency, and what can be implemented based on the provincial government’s approval.
However, there were some amendments to the initial motion.
The nearly two-hour discussion went over in detail an aggressive motion put forward by Councillor Scott Nelson to declare a SOLE for public safety due to rising crime rates and types of crimes the community of Williams Lake is facing.
Chief Administrative Officer, Gary Muraca, was asked to detail some of the more recent calls the RCMP, Interior Health, and City Staff and Bylaw have received and gone out to since the last council meeting. Muraca said that encampments have been found with the intent to start fires with wooden pallets. He said there was a break-in on Tuesday morning where two men were arrested, and the two were known unhoused community members.
More was listed, with Muraca saying that Bylaw Enforcement spends close to “40 to 50 per cent of their time dealing with the unhoused population, and street issues.” Staff have been responding to fires lit in front of businesses, saying in the downtown core, they are “not uncommon now.”
Councillor Scott Nelson spoke on the amount of community outreach he has received, and supplied to the City and other sources, on the damages, vandalism, and arson across Williams Lake’s downtown core.
“These types of activities are occurring and they’re starting to endanger the lives of other people and they’re starting to harm an environment that we live in, and it puts fear into a community…”
“ I’m asking counsel to take a serious look at this because what we’re doing right now isn’t working. In actual fact, it’s out of control. And if we don’t recognize it’s outta control, as elected leaders of this community, we’ve got big problems.”
Councillor Angie Delainey opposed the motion and asked CAO Muraca what the City of Williams Lake can actually enforce when declaring a State of Local Emergency.
Muraca said that the Council can declare a SOLE through a bylaw resolution, and has seven to fourteen days in the SOLE. However, the provincial government’s Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness will determine what resources can be approved and allocated to the appropriate authorities in Williams Lake.
Councillor Delainey, while understanding the intent and the reason behind the motion being brought forward, could not get behind some of the aggressive nature of the motion.
“I see this as a reactionary measure,” said Delainey. “I’m more apt to look at and ask for support in funding a position and bringing our partners together.”
Councillor Joan Flaspohler spoke next. First, mirroring Councillor Delainey’s sentiments on understanding why the motion was put forward, and agreeing that something like it “is needed” in Williams Lake. She worried that declaring a SOLE would be an overstep.
Flaspohler listed some of the reasons a SOLE is declared, such as natural disasters, certain types of technical failures, rioting that poses security threats, and terrorism. Flaspohler worries that the reasons for a SOLE in the motion would not count to the provincial government.
She also worried about the negative impact declaring a SOLE could have on the Williams Lake. That it would divert traffic, communities, and events away from coming to the town. Severely harming the immediate tourism market, right as the City prepares for the Stampede.
“ I think it’s gonna actually be very negative for our municipality. I just cannot do that. It that scares me,” Flaspholer says. “I wanna be a community that people wanna come to, not one that declares a state of emergency for public safety, because we are experiencing the same thing as everyone else.”
Flaspohler also explained that Interior Health and other Health Authorities already have the ability to admit individuals involuntarily if they are deemed to have a mental illness when arrested, and in need of detox. She also said that allowing this motion to pass, could open the City up to be liable for going against the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Councillor Jazmyn Lyons agreed that a SOLE is needed with the crime and concerns to the public. However, she did not like the idea of a curfew being established. She brought forward the idea that the Staff look into the CCTV cameras, similar to the kind that the City of Pentiction installed in their municipality.
Strongly opposing the SOLE motion was Councillor Michael Moses, who pointed out that the ability to install a curfew is, and was, only for minors, and it has also been repealed by the provincial government since 1992.
Moses fears implementing a SOLE would “make issues worse”, by potentially more the chances of isolation of drug users during an overdose alert. He further cautioned of the harm to First Nations people, who make up a majority of Williams Lake’s unhoused population.
“This resolution asking for a state of local emergency makes a mockery of our Emergency and Disaster Management Act, and is asking for something that would be against our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” Moses said.
“The way out of this mess that we have created ourselves over these decades is to start ensuring that housing positions and mental health services are available for our whole population. Not to misuse an act intended for natural disasters to attack the human rights of people in our very own community.”
Community members had chances to speak after the Councillors said their pieces. One man in the community said the Council risks potentially “losing the town”, concerned about more local businesses closing down.
Another community member spoke against the SOLE motion and imposing a curfew will harm other communities in Williams Lake, such as the 2SIALGBTQ+ community. A third speaker also spoke against imposing a curfew.
Xatśūll Kúkpi7 (Chief) Rhonda Phillips wrote in a letter that was read after the Councillors’ discussion, that strongly opposed the declaration of a SOLE and curfew in Williams Lake.
The motion was eventually split into two motions. The first, that the City Council directs Staff to ‘investigate’ options of declaring a State of Local Emergency. This motion was passed with a majority vote. The mayor and Councillors Nelson, Lyons, and Boehm voted for the motion. Councillors Flaspohler, Delainey, and Moses opposed.
The second motion that was split took a few reiterations for the Council to finalize what they were going to direct Staff to investigate. The controversial curfew between 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. was removed, and changed to direct Staff to ‘investigate any options’ on how to monitor unlawful activities in Williams Lake, and arrest individuals. This motion was carried with the same three councillors and the mayor voting for the motion, and the same three councillors opposing.
Councillor Flaspohler put forward a motion that would create a committee that can review data and make recommendations to City Staff and Council. The motion was defeated with three votes for and four votes opposed.
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