Penticton mayor John Vassilaki is irate after the province乌鸦传媒檚 minister of housing, David Eby, called out the city乌鸦传媒檚 decision to reject an application to keep a temporary winter shelter open longer than originally planned.
Eby has been vocal critic of Penticton乌鸦传媒檚 decision, stating that he fears it will lead to the creation of a tent city.
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Mayor Vassilaki clapped back at Eby乌鸦传媒檚 remarks today (March 3).
乌鸦传媒淚 think that it乌鸦传媒檚 the most irresponsible thing that a minister of the crown would say to any community, especially using fear-mongering in order to get his way,乌鸦传媒� Vassilaki said in a phone interview with the Western News. 乌鸦传媒淚 will not be intimated by him or anyone else when it comes to the safety and the welfare of the City of Penticton.
Vassilaki voted in favour of rejecting BC Housing乌鸦传媒檚 application to extend Victory Church乌鸦传媒檚 use as a shelter for those experiencing homelessness for an additional year Tuesday (March 2). The mayor has repeatedly said the safety and security of the Penticton citizens remain among his top priorities.
He said he did speak briefly with Eby this morning but was only given ten minutes to speak and was repeatedly interrupted, leading the mayor to end the call.
Moving forward, Vassilaki is concerned that the housing minister has not stated his intentions to council.
Eby has said that Eby plans to use statutory immunity, which would give BC Housing the power to exempt themselves from local government rules and keep the shelter open.
乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 know what his motivation is, I know that that he乌鸦传媒檚 very passionate about the homeless people,乌鸦传媒� Vassilaki said.
He went on to say that the city has done 乌鸦传媒渁 lot乌鸦传媒� to help the city乌鸦传媒檚 homeless population and that he and council care deeply about Penticton乌鸦传媒檚 vulnerable population.
The mayor said the city is still hoping to receive an independent, third-party audit of existing BC Housing sites in Penticton. The mayor has no plans to work with BC Housing until the audit is complete.
乌鸦传媒淯ntil they do that there乌鸦传媒檚 no use talking to him (Eby) because every-time we do he spins it so it sounds like we乌鸦传媒檙e the ones causing problems,乌鸦传媒� said Vassilaki.
He hopes an audit will help determine if BC Housing facilities are having a positive impact in helping people work through mental health and addiction problems.
Vassilaki insisted that he and council didn乌鸦传媒檛 create a problem by denying the application from BC Housing. He believes the city has not put itself at risk of a homeless encampment becoming established.
The mayor pointed to last April when winter shelters closed yet no encampment was established.
乌鸦传媒淲e didn乌鸦传媒檛 create no emergency (sic),乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭he emergency was created by BC Housing by coming forward with an extension without a plan in place.乌鸦传媒�
The mayor said the city hopes to find a permanent solution to the homelessness issue. It乌鸦传媒檚 estimated there are upwards of 150 people living in Penticton without access to shelter 乌鸦传媒� 42 of which are currently housed at the Victory Church shelter.
The city is starting to look into areas more suitable for shelter space than the downtown Victory Church location. Vassilaki hopes to establish a permanent shelter space rather than a rotating door of temporary winter shelters.
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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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