qathet Regional District’s board will send correspondence to the provincial government, reiterating its opposition to Bill 45, regarding homelessness and encampments.
At the August 7 regional board meeting, Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said he believes the regional district sent a letter to the province last November, asking for the provincial government to rescind Bill 45 (amendments to the Community Charter and Vancouver Charter). Gisborne said the government has indicated it is not going to bring the legislation into force.
“My question is for the assembly: Do we want to send another letter to reiterate our position from last November, or request a meeting at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities?” asked Gisborne. “Maybe we can let the [provincial] staff know this is something that came before us in the past. Local governments provided a lot of pushback and now we have a letter that is saying Bill 45 is not going to come into force, and that’s great for now, but in a couple of years, they may enforce it.
“I’m wondering if we should send a letter or state our position in some way that we are opposed to this and we have requested it to be withdrawn and rescinded.”
Gisborne made a motion that the board direct the chair to send a letter reiterating the regional district’s position from its letter of November 2023.
Electoral Area A director Jason Lennox said the regional board has beaten the issue around the bush.
“We’ve heard from a lot of local governments around the challenges of Bill 45,” said Lennox. “It really is a big chunk of downloading from the province. There is not adequate shelter space, local governments can’t enforce their bylaws, and that has created all kinds of concern and legal challenges, potentially. The province is just saying they are not going to bring it into force.
“As someone who is also a politician, I wonder if you’re going to pass legislation and not bring it into force, why pass the legislation? That’s just creating a problem for someone else down the line. We should reiterate our position and maybe the province will rescind the legislation.”
City of Powell River director Cindy Elliott said she was in support of the motion and didn’t believe this type of legislation should be put in place without resources. She said the legislation puts local government in a position of having zero resources.
City director George Doubt said the government tried to put some rules in place so everyone would understand what the rules were if people were to be removed from an encampment and put somewhere else.
“They’ve admitted, basically, the legislation put in place didn’t work,” said Doubt. “That doesn’t solve the problem. It still leaves the problem that there are encampments everywhere.
“You see them every night on the Vancouver Island news, with people suffering and dying on the street in homeless conditions. Municipalities and regional districts are at a loss as to how to bring it to an end without using violence. There should be ways to do that.”
Doubt said provincial and federal governments should be able set up a reasonable regime under the law where people can be moved out of homeless encampments into housing paid for by the higher levels of government.
Gisborne said he concurred with Doubt’s comments and suggested the letter can also include the regional district’s sentiment that it does take these encampments and homelessness seriously.
“We are wanting to work and come up with solutions,” said Gisborne. “One of the big challenges of Bill 45 is that it has not been rescinded, but there is a pause on it. It seems like a heavy-handed approach by the province, saying it’s just going to shove this problem down on local governments. That’s where they got a lot of pushback.
“Our letter can be worded that we take this seriously and we want to work with them. There are many paths to the destination you want to go to.”
The board unanimously carried the motion to send the correspondence to the province regarding Bill 45.
Correspondence from Meghan Will, assistant deputy minister in the ministry of housing, stated that the purpose of Bill 45 was to establish criteria so when local governments go to the courts to remove people from encampments, actions and considerations regarding shelter are informed by a common understanding of what meets a person’s basic needs. Will stated that the government learned that the amendments did not provide enough clarity for a common understanding of reasonably available alternative shelter and the contexts under which the description should or could apply.
“As such, and after careful consideration of the feedback received, I am writing to inform you that Bill 45 amendments to the Community Charter and Vancouver Charter will not be brought into force at this time,” stated Will.
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