District of North Vancouver council is wading into a jurisdictional dispute between the City of Penticton and the province over a homeless shelter.
In March, Penticton city council voted unanimously to reject a request from B.C. Housing to allow for the continued operation of a 42-bed shelter. Housing Minister David Eby responded, saying he would override council’s decision, a practice known as provincial paramountcy.
After a thorough debate, district council voted 4-3 in favour a motion from Coun. Lisa Muri to send a letter to the Union of B.C. Municipalities, urging Eby to reconsider invoking paramountcy.
Muri prefaced her motion saying she was not opposed to shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Earlier in the same meeting, she voted in favour of supportive housing project on district-owned land for women facing homelessness. But she said municipalities must stand up and defend their jurisdiction.
“Quite simply, for me, this is about the protection of our role as the third level of government and respecting the decisions that local government make on behalf of our citizens,” she said. “Our role and powers are clear, like all levels of government. There are always opposing views. That is a democracy.”
Mayor Mike Little said he took no position on the shelter in Penticton but he said their council was elected by their community to represent them in matters exactly like that.
“While I don't know if I would agree with Penticton’s battle with the provincial government, I would agree that it's Penticton’s decision to make, with consultation with their own community,” he said. “I think that we have a valid voice.”
Not everyone saw it that way though. Coun. Megan Curren said the matter was complex and she gave it lot of thought but she could not separate the motion before District of North Vancouver council from the life-and-death impacts it could have on homeless people in Penticton.
“I do not want to lose sight of the fact that the concern is about potentially displacing people into the winter in Penticton who don't have other places to go,” she said.
After looking into the matter, Coun. Jordan Back said there is a dysfunctional relationship between Penticton and the province and that district council should keep out of it.
“I understand the principle and how paramountcy works but I think in this case, this isn't for us to fight,” he said.
Coun. Betty Forbes countered that Curren and Back needed to consider that district council might find themselves in the same position one day.
“It might be tomorrow, so we should pay attention to it today and it's not about housing the homeless or anything else,” she said. “I just don't like this precedent and I wouldn't want them coming to our municipality and dictating to us.”
Coun. Mathew Bond rejected the notion that allowing the province to overrule Penticton council would result in a slippery slope, and he noted that under the law, municipalities are in fact the “children of the province.”
“We are accustomed to having certain powers and certain authorities but they do set the rules, and sometimes if your children don't make the right decision, then you have to step in and make a decision for them,” he said. “This specific situation is about people's lives and their safety and if the province needs to step in to protect those lives, then that I think that's a decision within their authority.”
Coun. Jim Hanson voted in favour of Muri’s motion but did not speak up in the debate.
