‘It’s a Canadian disaster’: Homelessness skilled, metropolis react to nationwide highlight on Kelowna’s tent metropolis – Kelowna Information

The manager director of the Central Okanagan Journey Dwelling Society calls it “poverty porn,” whereas the Metropolis of Kelowna’s director of neighborhood security says it’s disappointing and unfair to single out Kelowna.

They’re reacting after federal Conservative get together chief Pierre Poilievre shared a TikTok video of the town’s homeless encampment alongside the Rail Path with the remark, “These photos should not from a faraway third-world nation. That is Kelowna. After eight years of Trudeau and the NDP.”

The video has been extensively circulated on social media.

“It seems completely different when a politician or a public particular person of curiosity goes to a neighborhood, meets individuals, learns their tales, good points consent to share that, versus simply grabbing a video off TikTok and utilizing it to level at different political events that aren’t his,” mentioned Gauthier.

Group security director Darren Caul says a 57 second video doesn’t inform the entire story of the strides Kelowna has made, contemplating it’s the quickest rising metropolis within the nation. He defends the town’s designated tenting web site for the unhoused.

“The benefit to a designating house; not withstanding that it meets our authorized obligation (to make public house accessible for out of doors sheltering), is that it permits finite sources from our not-for-profit companions, well being and social service companions, in addition to police and bylaw to concentrate on that web site and on the almost 100 individuals who shelter in a single day at that web site, in our bid to take care of well being, security and safety,” Caul factors out.

The subject was on the agenda for Mayor Tom Dyas in the course of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities convention.

I do know homelessness is prime of thoughts for many individuals.

I‘ve been on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities convention in Ontario the final a number of days to study what we will do as a neighborhood to handle this. The variety of people dwelling on our streets is unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/9Jrtx7xr83

— Mayor Tom Dyas (@MayorTomDyas) May 31, 2023

“I do know homelessness is prime of thoughts for many individuals. I‘ve been on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities convention in Ontario the final a number of days to study what we will do as a neighborhood to handle this. The variety of people dwelling on our streets is unacceptable,” wrote Dyas in a Twitter Publish Wednesday.

“Studying from different communities – their successes and errors – is likely one of the greatest methods we will deal with our points right here at dwelling. The Mayor of Edmonton, Amarjeet Sohi and I mentioned these points at FCM and I look ahead to bringing again options to Kelowna,” mentioned the mayor.

Gauthier provides if it wasn’t for the efforts of the town, social companies and different stakeholders there would seemingly be 800 extra individuals dwelling on the streets in Kelowna. Nevertheless, the continued rise in the price of housing within the Central Okanagan is making it more and more tough to get forward of the pattern.

“For therefore many, this can be a pure affordability problem. We’ve got so many individuals who don’t require psychological well being helps, that don’t require substance use remedy or these different companies that I feel most individuals affiliate with why persons are on the streets.

“We’ve got an enormous regarding variety of seniors on our streets. We’ve got veterans on our streets. We’ve got youth, we’ve got households, and simply affordability is the frequent theme.”

She says many years of federal and provincial authorities cuts and redirection in funding away from housing packages. “There are rising numbers of homelessness in all places. It’s not a localized disaster. It’s not a B.C. disaster. It’s a Canadian disaster.”