Prince George city council surprised over ministry response to Millennium Park

Members of Prince George city council say they are surprised, confused and disappointed in the Ministry of Housing’s response to the city’s decision to clear the Millennium Park encampment.

The city released a statement on Aug. 31 notifying the public that occupants of Millennium Park encampment have been informed that they must remove all personal property from the site by Sept. 9 citing safety concerns.

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon then issued a statement stating he was disappointed in council’s decision and urged council to reconsider its choice.

The city said it signed a Memorandum of Understanding, called Heart and Hearth, with the province regarding supports for the unhoused in Prince George in June. 

Coun. Tim Bennett said that council was excited for the opportunity to sign the MOU, but noted the situation at Millennium Park has become increasingly dangerous.

“We've seen the situation at Millennium Park has just continued to deteriorate. We've recently heard from our frontline staff about conditions at Millennium Park and concerns that if something was to happen, the risk of how that would impact those living there, and the risk to the community.”

Coun. Cori Ramsay said that from RCMP patrols, Prince George Fire Rescue and city staff, that there are serious safety concerns for the occupants living in Millennium Park, but also on first responders due to the increased density.

“The reality is that first responders cannot enter the encampment anymore. It's just too unsafe due to the density.”

Disagreement over resources offered

Kahlon also said in his statement that he had offered Prince George new resources like dedicated encampment response staff and deployment of temporary housing units to the community, but council chose not to access those resources.

“We have been working closely with our staff and our legal counsel on identifying housing solutions for the individuals camping at Millennium Park, and elsewhere in the city, in conjunction with Heart and Hearth, so I'm just really surprised and quite confused by the province’s remarks,” said Coun. Ramsay.

“I will accept any resources the province is willing to offer us, we are in a dire situation here. We have been begging for resources and support. That if the province is offering those services and supports, I welcome them to the city of Prince George.”

Bennett said that if those resources are available it would help provide supports to all unhoused individuals in the city.

“As a councillor, I would ask that the minister step forward with those resources that he mentioned in his statement,” said Bennett. “Through his announcement, that was the first time as a councillor I heard that those supports are available.”

Coun. Kyle Sampson said he was "incredibly disappointed" in the minister’s statement.

“We've been short of begging the province to come to the table for years, but especially in the last few months, to provide resources and supports for folks experiencing homelessness, mental health issues, and addiction issues here in our community.”

Sampson also said he hadn’t seen the offers of support in the minister’s response made available to the city.

“If those resources are available, we'll take more, we'll take all the resources the province can provide to the city of Prince George, and to the residents of Prince George, that helps in their execution of their jurisdictional responsibilities.”

Coun. Brian Skakun said both the province and the City of Prince George share responsibility.

"The city cannot simply blame the province for this situation and not accept any responsibility," he said in an emailed statement. "The city should never have allowed any of the folks in this encampment to get so entrenched that it got us to this point in time. We committed to working with the province on this matter and now can't just throw them under the bus for political purposes."

In an interview with the Citizen, Kahlon said that his BC Ministry of Housing staff, and BC Housing staff has been talking with city staff about some of the solutions they believe can be deployed.

He said they were prepared to fund rapid housing to ensure people had shelter and were in discussions about locations where housing could be deployed.

“All these conversations have been happening for six weeks and that’s a surprise that council is surprised because that's the purpose of the MOU,” he added.

“For us to get a surprise call on Wednesday saying council in-camera decided that they're going to go ahead unilaterally was a surprise and a real disappointment, not to mention the fact that the courts have stated repeatedly that you must have a shelter available for individuals before you move an encampment, and so that's our frustration.”

He said he had a conversation with Mayor Simon Yu and agreed they have a mutual interest which is wanting to support individuals that are needing housing but also wanting to keep the community safe.

“I reiterated my point to him, which is we agree with them and we agree with council, that this camp is not safe for the individuals there and not safe for the community at large. But you got to move methodically and just moving one encampment down the street does not solve the problem. Moving them to a different part of the city does not solve the problem.”

Decampment Day

Occupants of Millennium Park will be required to leave on Saturday, Sept. 9. Ramsay said the last update she received from B.C. Housing was that there was enough shelter spaces in the city for those at the encampment.

“But obviously, not everyone is going to want that solution. There have been significant improvements made at the Lower Patricia encampment to ensure that first responders can access, and egress can be achieved,” she added.

“This is a really challenging situation. It's a really hard decision. The council doesn't make it lightly.”

Sampson said that although not ideal, the encampment on Lower Patricia known as Moccasin Flats is a safer situation.

“My hope for how to encampment day goes is that it's peaceful, smooth, and well run. We're giving folks notice ample notice to find alternative means. There's outreach workers down there all the time, including city outreach workers, and we're going to try to get them tapped into any resources that they want and or need.”

He added council will to continue to ask the province to provide support on the decampment day, and for them to provide BC housing resources and other provincial resources to ensure smooth operation.