Okanagan mayors and regional leaders, including First Nations, are pressing the B.C. government to turn unused space at the Okanagan Correctional Centre in Oliver into a mandatory and secure care facility.
A handful of leaders gathered outside the correctional centre Friday, renewing calls on the provincial government to take action as communities across the region continue to grapple with the ongoing drug, mental health and social disorder crises.
“The need continues to grow on a daily basis. What is missing is action,” said Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas.
Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield said communities need to focus on getting people the help they need.
“Let’s start helping the people that need help,” Bloomfield said. “Let’s do it with compassion because leaving people on the streets is not compassionate.”
The mayors are specifically pointing to unused capacity at the Oliver facility as a potential location for mandatory care.
Martin Johansen, the mayor of Oliver, said he understands the centre is operating at less than half capacity.
“It’s not anywhere near the capacity it could be,” Johansen said.
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The Okanagan Correctional Centre has 401 cells.
The Ministry of Public Safety says the number of inmates varies, but the facility had an average daily inmate count of approximately 200 last year.
The calls come amid growing pressure on the province to address the complex intersection of addiction, mental health and public safety.
Bloomfield warned that continued inaction could have serious consequences.
“People are going to die,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot more suffering and there’s going to be a lot more unrest for the general public.”
While the mayors see the correctional centre as a potential solution, the province says converting part of the facility into a mandatory care site requires a lot more than just a change in use of space.
“It’s not about simply holding people,” said Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s health minister. “It’s about having infrastructure that helps enable the care that we need.”
He also said health-care professionals would need to be available at the site to provide the necessary support services.
The push will continue next week at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, where municipal leaders from across the province will meet with provincial ministers.
For the Okanagan mayors, the convention provides another opportunity to put the proposed use of the Oliver correctional centre directly in front of provincial decision-makers.
“I believe this is a viable solution,” Johansen said.
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