Homelessness

Tax dollars have been spent on the homelessness issue in Smithers while showing little return on investment.

A request for how much the town has spent on the homeless issues has yet to be answered.

Financial audits on the town's homeless efforts and travel budget should be considered before an increase in taxes.

Siren Parades

The Town of Smithers has sat idle for years while siren parades during the fall fair parade have endangered the residents of Smithers.

BC Civilian Oversight is seldom involved in City or Municipal Governance.

Smithers and Surrey are the exceptions at this time.

A response to a comment, Councillor Sam Raven made on Facebook concerning Homeless Tent purchases asked how much the town has spent on the homeless issue without resolving anything.

Still no response.

02/17/24 - Gladys Atrill Now I've had a chance to absorb your ramble, my response. My question regarding how much the town has spent on the homeless issue was put to Councillor Sam Raven in a post and yes I am still waiting for an answer. As for the situation table, the town and others are involved in I'm still looking into a couple of constitutional issues around that. As for the warming centre, the question is, how many people does it take to change a lightbulb or erect a tent? In the lower mainland shelter beds are provided when it freezes yet up north we have a warming tent that promotes sleep deprivation and I am sure you know the dangers of that as I have explained to you. You may think I am wrong but you would be mistaken. Yes, the town has done a lot but most of its efforts have missed the mark of helping the homeless who can't afford the quote low-income housing. An example was Annette Morgan blasting Goodacre Place to promote her housing project which turned out to be family-orientated so the homeless at Tent City lost out again. Now, how much has the town spent addressing the homeless issue, the costs of meetings, photocopies, wages, and travel? You can answer my request now or at election time it doesn't matter to me as it's not going away. You should know Smithers and Surrey both have civilian oversight web services in place and my question will be posted there.

Still no answer.

In one of your meetings, you posted about the town paying its share for Northern Health. Could you explain what that is about?

It seems the Mayor doesn't want to be responsible to the people she serves.

There are no public reports at this time.