The City of Williams Lake City Council held a special Council Meeting to receive a report from City Staff and reflect on a letter from the Provincial Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General that brings more police resources to Williams Lake.
At the May 27 Council Meeting, the City Council asked City Staff to ‘investigate options’ to gain resources, or declare a State of Local Emergency (SoLE) in Williams Lake to address ‘growing concerns of public safety.’
In the time between meetings, Williams Lake City Staff wrote a detailed report that ‘acknowledges the considerable complexity of this matter,’ and that Council is looking for a ‘timely response.’
City Staff’s report details the reasons for declaring a SoLE, what a municipality can and cannot do, as well as considerations and concerns a declaration of a SoLE has on agencies within the municipality.
In the end, City Staff wrote that while the City of Williams Lake, and City Council can declare a SoLE, Staff report that all the agencies they talked with when making this report said ‘that declaring a SoLE is not required.’ Staff also wrote in the report that the local emergency response stakeholders Staff asked ‘stressed’ that the challenges the community of Williams Lake faces, and the declaration of a SoLE, ‘require more than temporary measures’ and that a SoLE would not solve the issues. The stakeholders saying instead ‘coordinated systemic reforms are needed.’
Amongst the responses from the fallout of May 27’s meeting, Williams Lake City Staff and Council received a letter from Karin MacMillan, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
The letter from MacMillan says that she has ‘reviewed the challenges’ to the community, and based on the information, has sent additional policing and programs to Williams Lake. The Chief of Staff says the Provincial Director of Police Services has directed that the ‘immediate supplement’ to local RCMP’s crime efforts be bolstered.
The RCMP has committed to sending the Cariboo–Chilcotin Crime Reduction Unit has been deployed to Williams Lake. Chief of Staff MacMillan writes that the Crime Reduction Unit has been instructed by RCMP senior leadership to ‘assess the situation and develop operational plans as required.’
Additionally, the Ministry has contacted the RCMP offices responsible to the SITE and C–STEP programs to reach out to the Wiliams Lake RCMP and ‘offer advice and support’ should the Williams Lake detachment submit a report to receive additional targeted policing funding through the programs.
Mayor Surinderpal Rathor said he saw the arrival of more policing from the Ministry “a step in the right direction,” and put forward the motion to wait and receive a report from City Staff on what the Crime Reduction Unit advises to council.
“I have no issue asking the Council at this point in time, based on the Ministry’s email, to lets wait,” says Mayor Rathor. “This is a big step forward, a step in the right direction. Let’s wait and see what the more policing has to say when they see the situation of the town.”
Each of the Councillors took turns speaking on their thoughts and concerns with declaring a SoLE and receiving the Ministry’s Chief of Staff’s letter.
Councillor Joan Flaspholer stood her ground, repeating she remains “flat out against” declaring a SoLE. Flaspohler reiterated the Staff report that a SoLE was unnecessary. She also spoke that she understood the reasons for investigating the options for public safety. She cautions though, that declaring a SoLE has rules and reasons for their declarations, saying “they are not to be taken lightly, and it is not a tool.”
Having put forward the motion to declare a State of Local Emergency, Councillor Scott Nelson was pleased with getting more policing sent to Williams Lake. However, he was still adamant that the City declare a SoLE.
“We’ve heard what the Council, what the province, and police want, we need to listen to what the public wants— and they don’t want to live in fear,” Nelson said. “That’s not old news, because we have seen the excalation that has taken place inside this community.”
He reiterated his stance that “drastic and unprecidented measures” were needed in this situation for public safety. Nelson saying that many people are living in fear while living in Williams Lake. Nelson also mentioned that in the Staff report, Staff indicated that many of the emergency response stakeholders are at their resources limit. He argued that declaring a SoLE would bring more resources to the stakeholders to take action.
Councillor Nelson also had concerns about the costs associated with the additional policing. Nelson said that part of declaring a SoLE to have an inject of police into the Williams Lake community would have the province “front the bill” for police. Nelson asked whether the police that are being sent up to Williams Lake are also covered by the province.
Councillor Jazmyn Lyons agreed to not declaring a SoLE as well. However, Councillor Lyons did say her reasoning for agreeing to declare one in May 27’s meeting, was to get a response from the province, and she is happy to have received the letter via email from Chief of Staff, MacMillan.
“We are seeing those resources coming out way,” Lyons said. “That’s what I wanted to see happen.”
Councillor Michael Moses, also opposed of declaring a SoLE. Moses said the council has “looked at this from every direction, but those from the equity–deserving groups.” Moses saying that consultation from the 2SIALGBTQ+ communities have not been consulted. Nor did the Staff report consult with local First Nations on the impacts a SoLE would have on their communities, as the Indigenous also make up a large portion of the unhoused communities in Williams Lake.
“We would have been making decisions for equity–deserving groups, where the input we are receiving are against the actions we would be doing.” Moses said.
Moses also pointed out that declaring a SoLE required “meaningful consultations” with First Nations is mandated before and after declaring a SoLE. He reminded the Council that Xatsull Chief Rhonda Phillips wrote a letter to the Williams Lake Council on May 27, advising that no curfew or SoLE be put in place. Moses cautioning the repercussions from “hearing feedback” and going against it, is not meaningful consultation.
“It’s time that we take time to consider how this will affect the people that you are targetting,” Moses addressed the Council. “If we preceed with this against the will of the First Nations and other margainlized peoples in our community, then I want you to be wary of this path of discrimination that this Council will be choosing, and the repercussions of it.”
After the discussions, the City Council approved receiving the report from City Staff and the letter from the Chief of Staff of the Ministry. There was an amendment put forward by Mayor Rathor that no additional steps to declare a SoLE be taken until after the Crime Reduction Unit has arrived in Williams Lake, and a report from City Staff can be done on what the Crime Reduction Unit can do in the community as soon as possible.
The motion with the amendment was carried, with Councillor Nelson the sole opposer of not declaring a State of Local Emergency immediately.
Mayor Rathor was hopeful at the end of the meeting, that the Cariboo–Chilcotin Crime Reduction Unit, would be in Williams Lake soon, and “work can get start getting done immediately.”
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