The recent extreme weather event, while relatively short in duration, must have felt like an eternity to people who are unhoused. I did a search to find warming centres or shelters in the region and, while finding several in Victoria and one in Saanich, none in the rest of the Capital Region.
Living in Sidney, I contacted our CAO to ask about the town’s policy for extreme weather. The town works with partner agencies, in particular the RCMP, to regularly check on unsheltered persons within the community. The CAO informed me that BC Housing has overall provincial responsibility for sheltering.
Provincially, since last year, BC Housing has converted 1,652 temporary shelter spaces into permanent shelter spaces, providing continuity in funding to support a more sustainable approach to managing capacity pressures. Shelter programs are made possible through partnerships with communities and non-profit groups throughout the province to provide immediate places to stay for anyone who is experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Additionally, through the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, the province provides reimbursements to local authorities and First Nations for opening emergency-warming centres during extreme weather. Communities may be reimbursed for costs to establish warming centres, including facility rental and incremental utility costs.
I would argue that protecting an unhoused person’s life is as important in the rest of the Capital Region as it is in Victoria. It seems a cohesive strategy of delivering emergency services in the region is lacking in this regard.
It seems that collaboration between municipalities, for example, the Western Communities or the Saanich Peninsula could provide economies of scale to establish regional centres for cooling/warming centres. Agencies like Beacon Community Services and Island Health with presence across the region could be encouraged to manage and oversee the centres. Or should we wait until we have more tragic deaths?
Brian Losie
Sidney
