LETTER – Bass’ comments on homelessness reflect lack of ideas
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
Dale Bass did a follow-up interview on CBC Thursday morning regarding her comments from the recent City council discussion about homeless street-entrenched individuals. Clearly, she sees growing public concern about violence and disorder becoming an issue in the coming civic election.
To be clear, no reasonable person supports violence toward anyone, including vulnerable people struggling with homelessness, addiction, or mental illness. Violence and intimidation are unacceptable in any form. However, Coun. Bass appeared to rely on broad, unsubstantiated claims and isolated incidents to frame the discussion without providing evidence, context, or measurable data showing the scale of the problem.
More troubling was what happened when CBC’s Shelley Joyce pressed her on solutions. After eight years on city council, Bass admitted she had no suggestions on how to address homelessness, street disorder, or the tensions now growing in the community.
That is the real issue.
Kamloops residents are not simply looking for statements of concern or moral outrage. They want leadership, accountability, and practical solutions. Citizens have watched council spend years studying, discussing, and debating homelessness while conditions in parts of the city continue to deteriorate. Businesses are frustrated, taxpayers are frustrated, vulnerable people remain vulnerable, and neighbourhoods increasingly feel abandoned.
At some point, elected officials must be judged not by their intentions, but by their results. After nearly a decade on council, Ms. Bass saying “I have no suggestions” is not a strategy it is an admission that she and this council has run out of ideas while the problem continues to grow.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
I ran for Kamloops Council in 2008. There was a newspaper reporter named Dale Bass that apparently viewed me, as a Realtor and member of the business community, as uncaring or not concerned about the then-growing issue of homelessness, and came at me pretty hard on the issue at the first all-candidates forum. She perhaps caught me a little flat-footed, which was the obvious intention, however I tried to explain my thoughts on the issue and some possible solutions, including the need for involvement by senior levels of government. We did not, at the time, have Left Wing senior levels of government that actively promoted drug use and facilitated further and deeper addiction and mental health issues, as we do now. Interesting that she seemed very willing to take potshots from the cheap seats then, however now, by her own admission, has no ideas regarding solutions to homelessness and addiction. She did say during the last campaign at RHJ’s suggestion of a treatment facility at Rayleigh somrthing like “there wouldn’t be a concentration camp here on my watch”, however did a 180 and suggested just a few months ago using a wing of KRCC as a treatment centre, like somehow that was a new idea…One thing I am certain of, is that providing low barrier housing and facilitating drug addiction is not harm reduction, it is just harm. Harm reduction involves getting people well, off drugs, and helping them become functioning members of society again, not warehousing them in an ever-growing number of “wet” facilities. Another facet of the solution is giving the judicial system the teeth for rapid prosecution of charges and long prison sentences, or deportation, not “released pending consideration of charges” when they are caught red-handed with drugs and weapons, often times when out on bail on already-similar charges, or light sentences so they can avoid deportation, as we are seeing more and more.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We could start with a day space which all 9 members helped to close down on the north shore and we could follow up by demanding more street care workers which 8 councillors continually vote against. We should also demand more police on the streets but because we’re broke as a city we’re told we can’t afford more police but we can afford to hire more firefighters for a new Dallas fire station and next yr we can hire more firefighters for a new Rayleigh fire station.
Change starts with a new council, one which will listen to the community.
No Incumbents!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Here are some ideas for Dale and company:
Council has the power of zoning. They could make it known through bylaws and votes that certain types of “homeless” supports, like rehab, will be supported through zoning allowance while others, like temporary shelters in the main commercial districts, will not be permitted.
Council also has power relating to Community Service Officer duties. CSOs could be mandated to patrol the streets, much as neighbourhood police “walking their beats” used to do back in the day. A visible moderating presence can help reduce blatant social disrespect.
A previous council passed a bylaw allowing overnight camping on riverbanks, provided the camps were disassembled each morning. This bylaw is not enforced. As Cicero said centuries ago, never pass a law that can’t be enforced. So the city has a choice. Repeal this bylaw or enforce it. It seems counter-productive to allow a small segment of society to take over what are supposed to be shared spaces, especially in sensitive riparian zones bordering a Class 1 salmon stream.
Council could also mandate an audit of current supports for the homeless and substance addicted. Do we have too many “wet” shelters? Are there enough safe facilities for women and seniors? What about day spaces? Food? Sanitary facilities? We need to know what we’re already providing in order to properly address the gaps.
The city is responsible for spending millions on RCMP facilities and salaries. Thus, city hall should have the power to direct officers’ attention to problem areas. Business owners I know often call the police for help when substance users are blocking their store entrances or lighting fires on their properties. Often, the police refuse to intervene. The lifeblood of any community is small business. Why should a police force directly supported by taxpayers be completely autonomous in deciding where they should focus their efforts?
These are just a few ideas to start with. I’m sure city council and the many professionals in city hall could research and implement other solutions. We’re not helpless. Let’s stop acting as though we are.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Excellent letter Mr. Davis, excellent!
LikeLike