The Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce held a town hall meeting on Thursday (Feb. 24), inviting local businesses to attend and ask questions about rising crime rates and homelessness in the city.
Guest speakers for part one of the town hall series included Conservative MP Rob Morrison, BC Liberal MLA Tom Shypitka and Cranbrook Mayor Lee Pratt. The meeting was moderated by Chris Botterill, President of GenEx Marketing.
There will be a second town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 2, with guest speakers from ANKORS and the RCMP. The Chamber says they have also requested representation from BC Housing and Interior Health to attend.
Thursday’s meeting was an hour and a half, and focused on a myriad of questions from business owners.
The outcome of the meeting saw that the Chamber of Commerce and the City will work to create a task-force group made up of local stakeholders, to help identify the exact issues that are happening in the community and how to create actionable solutions.
The group will focus on which types of crime are taking place (petty versus organized crime), as well as how best to help those who are experiencing homelessness and/or drug addiction.
READ: Cranbrook businesses vent frustration with rise in crime
Morrison, Shypitka and Pratt all agreed that crime rates and homelessness have risen, especially in the past two years.
It was made clear that there is little that the RCMP can do when it comes to repeat offenders.
“The City has been concerned about this for a number of years, especially the last two, and I can tell you that the crime rate in Cranbrook in 2021 for personal property offences is up 32 per cent. We don’t like to hear that,” Pratt said, adding that the local police force has gained an additional five officers in the past seven years.
Pratt says that he and Council have met with Staff Sgt. Graham of the local police force several times, and also invited the head of Crown Counsel in Cranbrook to a closed meeting. Pratt says “the police’s hands are tied” and that it’s not up to Crown either, when it comes to incarcerating repeat offenders - they are typically arrested and then let go.
“It’s not up to crown counsel, it’s up to the solicitor general or the attorney general,” said Pratt. “So [City] Council and I have been working behind the scenes and doing as much as we possibly can. We’re not just ignoring the problem and hoping it’s going to go away. We’re trying to come up with solutions. And I’m really glad we’re having this meeting and that people are coming and able to express themselves.”
Morrison says there needs to be a better plan in place for enforcement. He said he is sympathetic towards addiction, but said: “when it comes to criminal behaviour, if you break the law, guess what? Done. If you have an addiction, let’s try and help you but after the 50th time of breaking into a business it’s time to pay the piper…”
Shypitka said “the system is fundamentally broken.”
“We can throw all kinds of money at it, but if the system is broken, we need to fix it,” he said.
Later on in the discussion, Shypitka questioned whether the majority of crime is stemming from career criminals, homelessness, addiction, or all three.
“Statistically, throughout B.C., addiction is spread straight throughout the province. This has been going on for quite some time and has accumulated to a critical mass right now; we’re seeing it everywhere,” Shypitka said. “These aren’t stereotypical people that you’d think you see on the street. These are moms and dads and people who have lost their jobs, brothers and sisters. Nobody wants to see this. But it’s a reality, it’s happening. We’re losing seven people a day [to toxic drugs] in British Columbia. They’re dying alone. If we don’t realize it for what it is, we’re in trouble…we have to have a ground up approach… Is this a spike of career criminals that are coming into town? Is this a homeless issue? An addiction issue? I think it’s probably a smattering of all three. We have to identify the problem first of all.”
Morrison, Shypitka and Pratt briefly discussed housing. A question arose as to whether or not the City was involved in the decision to erect a temporary homeless shelter, to which Pratt said no. The three politicians went back and forth about BC Housing, the need for a proper treatment centre, and the new proposed homeless shelter.
In terms of the proposed shelter, Pratt says he would prefer to “put the project on hold” and work with BC Housing on plans for a permanent shelter. He suggested that residents write a letter to BC Housing with their concerns.
READ: BC Housing provides details on proposed homeless shelter
A question also arose about what to do if a person finds a needle near their business, or anywhere else for that matter.
“Let’s get ANKORS to do it,” said Morrison. “We have, I prefer to call it, a controlled injection site - did they come and do that CPTED study? (crime prevention through environmental design). Did they do that when they put the controlled injection site where it is right now? I doubt it.
“Have they come back after a year or two and done an assessment on how successful the controlled injection site has been in Cranbrook? Obviously not, or we wouldn’t be here today…”
Cranbrook does not currently have a “controlled injection site.”
Polly Sutherland of ANKORS confirmed via phone call on Friday (Feb. 25) that ANKORS does not run a controlled or supervised consumption site, but rather a harm reduction site, which offers harm reduction supplies. This includes needles, safe sex supplies, naloxone kits and drug checking.
ANKORS also has a sharps program that they refer to as the Needle Ninjas. Anyone who finds a needle is encouraged to call 250-426-3383 and a trained volunteer will come to properly dispose of it.
The East Kootenay Network of People Who Use Drugs (EKNPUD) offer emergency overdose prevention services in conjunction with Interior Health. Sutherland explained that EKNPUD does offer a safe supply, which is “very limited” and a prescription is required from a physician or nurse; intended to assist with treatment and recovery.
Nancy Reid, Executive Director of Community Connections Society of Southeast BC (CCSSEBC) explained in an email to the Townsman that there are harm reduction and overdose response services at the Travelodge Covid Response Shelter in Cranbrook. It is not a supervised consumption site.
“By this, I mean that shelter individuals who need supplies to use substances as safely as possible can access supplies at the shelter staff office. Staff are trained to respond to overdose, encourage safe use practices, and frequently check in with individuals who are known to be using. Our partners at ANKORS and Interior Health support us in doing this aspect of supporting individuals as this is their area of expertise,” Reid wrote.
City Councillors John Hudak and Wayne Price were in attendance at Thursday’s meeting. Hudak offered an explanation on the difference between supervised or controlled injection sites versus harm reduction sites.
“ANKORS is not operating a safe injection site… They’re two different things,” Hudak said.
According to the province of B.C.’s website, Overdose Prevention Sites are managed by health authorities and community partners. They provide on-site monitoring, harm-reduction supplies, as well as being a low-barrier point of introduction to health and/or social services.
Supervised consumption sites provide clean, safe environments where people can use substances under the supervision of trained staff without the risk of arrest for drug possession. They help reduce disease transmission, offer safe disposal options and facilitate referrals to mental health and substance use services.
READ: BC Housing, ANKORS respond to crime, homelessness discussions in Cranbrook
The town hall discussion continued on for some time, and the question again arose as to whether most of the crime taking place is through career criminals or petty crime.
Several business owners spoke up, recounting different degrees of crime that have affected them. One person mentioned that it was obvious that local people are stealing from their business, and it’s often the same few people. Another said that “trucks from Alberta” have been dismantling bikes beside her business for several years, suggesting more organized or transient crime.
Hudak agreed that both are an issue.
“This has taken on a life of its own in regards to some of these things. I want to make this perfectly clear, yes - our homeless people are committing crimes, there’s no doubt about it, but, if you talk to the RCMP, and you’ll hear this next week when the RCMP have an opportunity to talk, we actually have organized, travelling criminals coming through here. We’re on a major highway in southern British Columbia,” said Hudak.
The discussion touched again on housing and a few other topics. The politicians were asked if they have been working at all with the Ktunaxa Nation, to which they all responded saying there should be representation from the Nation in these discussions.
Pratt suggested that residents write letters to Mayor and Council, and to Shypitka and Morrison, so that all levels of government can see the concern from citizens.
“The only way to get results is to have fire power,” he said. “We need those letters to back it up.”
Businesses interested in attending next week’s town hall can sign up through the events page at cranbrookchamber.com.
corey.bullock@cranbrooktownsman.com
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