Hey Folks,
There’s been a lot made about Bill 18 which gives the authorities the power to take people to shelters.
Here, Michael questions how well this proposed law may actually function.
Food for though.
2009 Legislative Session: First Session, 39th Parliament
HOUSE BLUES
This is a DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY of debate in one sitting of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. This transcript is subject to corrections, and will be replaced by the final, official Hansard report. Use of this transcript, other than in the legislative precinct, is not protected by parliamentary privilege, and public attribution of any of the debate as transcribed here could entail legal liability.
DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
(HANSARD)
HOUSE BLUES
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
Afternoon Sitting
HSE – 20091116 PM 001/llm/1330
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
M. Sather: I rise to address Bill 18, Assistance to Shelter Act. A couple things I’d like to just focus on real quickly. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
One is: how will this legislation, in fact, work? So the police find somebody on the street. They believe the person is in distress and should be in a shelter. So they’re going to say: “Hey, buddy, let us help you go to a shelter.” But if the person doesn’t comply, there is going to be, or very well may be, a conflictual situation where somebody — i.e., the homeless person — is going to get injured. So the intent of the bill may actually backfire, and we’ll have people injured that otherwise wouldn’t be. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
So then when the police get to the shelter, they have said that they won’t try to force the person to go inside the shelter. Now, the person might go in. They might have changed their mind. They may have been taken a fair distance from their home territory and feel that they have no other choice, and for them their home territory might only be a few blocks. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Or they may be afraid of the police. However, they may not choose to go inside, at which time they end up in the strange territory, on the street. It’s equally as cold as it was in the place that they were taken from. They may not have their belongings. Again, they’re going to be at greater risk than they would have been in the beginning. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
The effect of scaring people, also, because a lot of the homeless people do have mental health issues. They’re very afraid of the police, and they will be in areas where they’re less likely to be found and so could be in greater danger that way. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Finally, I just want to focus on what the situation is that I’m concerned about in my community of Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows. I want to thank the minister for his involvement in us trying to get a supported-housing development in Maple Ridge. There is a lot of opposition, as one might imagine, to this centre. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
People in Maple Ridge believe that the homeless — although it’s, up to now, not been accurate — are being bused in from everywhere else. But what’s going to happen now? Tri-Cities has no homeless shelter. If we end up with a lot of these folks being dumped in Maple Ridge, the animosity towards the homeless is going to grow. The difficulty of us actually getting that supported-housing unit in the ground and functioning is going to be diminished. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Those are my concerns, Madam Speaker: the fact that it’s very likely going to backfire and make it more dangerous for many homeless people, and that it’s going to be more difficult in my community to sell to the community the need for supportive housing, which is really what we should be doing rather than a draconian bill to force people into shelter. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
[1805]
