The town of Smithers is reviewing a 94-year-old bylaw regarding temporary overnight sheltering options in 12 areas of town-owned land. 

The areas are: Veterans Peace Park, Heritage Park, Elks Park, Pacific Street and Tatlow Road, Dogwood Park, Ranger Park, Tatlow Road North, The Fall Fair grounds, Central Park, Riverside Park, vacant lots at Queen Street and Alfred Avenue, and three vacant lots at 3873 4th Ave.

Residents who live within 60 meters of any of the aforementioned sites received a letter indicating this possible bylaw change.

You may be aware that a portion of the unhoused population of Smithers currently have been pitching tents in a fenced-off zone of Veteran’s park. Veterans Park is the grassy area between the town hall office and public library.

According to a homeless count conducted in 2021, at least 33 people in the city of nearly 6,000 are unhoused.

Of those, 93 per cent identified themselves as being Indigenous, compared to 10 per cent of the total population being Indigenous, according to the count. 

In notes from the February 2023 Smithers town council meeting: On July 18, 2022, Town staff sought a legal review of the current “tent cities” encampments that had recently grown in specific locations around the Town. The history prior to this is summarized below: 

• During COVID, there was a homeless camp set up on Town land “Tatlow Road” and multiple services agencies were involved in the operation of it. The camp lasted one winter season before one tent burned down. As the weather improved, all the residents moved on to other areas except for one occupant. There were various issues reported from local service agencies as to why the location and camp were not a success with primary factors being that it was winter, cold and too far for individuals to walk to the services they require.
• The Town has always had a homeless population that would camp in the summer months at what is known as the “Snow Dump” site (also known colloquially as the jungle). This area is located at the south end of undeveloped Broadway Avenue on Town-owned lands, flanked by Crown lands on both sides. 
• In 2021, occupants popped up at the “Snow Dump” again, but their tents and belongings were being attacked. The occupants did not feel safe in that location any longer and tents started popping up in new locations around Town.
• Tents appeared on the grassed area and stage of Bovill Square.
• Council allowed occupants to camp at the park across the street from the Town Hall, adjacent to Veterans Park, in order to try and mitigate the situation.
• Usually, the Town sees homeless tents in the spring and summer months until September/October, when many occupants find alternate means of housing, with a few battling out the winter in tents throughout the Town or in sheds. It appears that many occupants were able to find housing options outside of Smithers in nearby communities (for example; Houston, Fort Babine, Witset)
• 2021 winter came and there were about 5–7 occupants who had no alternative winter housing options. As such, the Town via Positive Living North worked with BC Housing to bring in a dry bunkhouse trailer and place it on the land adjacent to Veterans Park. Under a separate grant project, the Town provided 8 exterior vandal-resistant lockers for the residents. The temporary trailer was funded under the Emergency Winter Housing fund with BC Housing and the trailer was removed at the end of May 2022 once funding ran out.
• Following the recent ruling of Prince George (City) v. Stewart and Prince George (City) v. Johnny, and because of the limited emergency shelter spots available in Town, Council continued to allow this location to be used by people experiencing homelessness. 

For information about Prince George v. Stewart and Prince George v. Johnny, visit the BC Civil Liberties website. Briefly, In August 2021, the city applied for an injunction to evict unhoused residents living in Moccasin Flats. In October, the BC Supreme Court released its decision in Prince George (City) v. Stewart, 2021 BCSC and denied this injunction. The Court ruled that the tent city residents should not be evicted because there were not enough accessible shelter spaces for them. Then, the encampment was bulldozed.

• In 2022, the encampment on the land adjacent to Veterans Park grew to approximately 15 residents at its peak.
• Crime in Smithers has reportedly increased dramatically, and many incidents are directly identified as related to the individuals at the encampment on the land adjacent to Veterans Park.

However, according to Statistics Canada, The Town of Smithers saw significant decreases in its crime severity index (CSI), violent crime severity index (VCSI) and non-violent crime severity index (NVCSI) in 2021.

CICK News reached out to the local RCMP detachment to elaborate on the crime stats beyond 2021, but was not granted an interview.

• There are still occupants living in the “Snow Dump” and on Crown land in that area. In an effort to reduce crime rates in the downtown core, staff sought legal advice on where encampments could and could not occur within the jurisdiction of the Town. On July 20, 2022, the Town was provided with a legal opinion, referencing rulings to similar cases. The legal opinion indicated that the Town’s current Parks Bylaw No. 24 (adopted in 1926) is no longer sufficient or applicable to enforce today’s expectations and standards of Parks and Open Spaces uses.

As such, Town staff began drafting a new Parks Bylaw, taking into consideration the legal opinion provided, themes from similarly situated communities, and input from Town departments. Given the quickly changing legal circumstances and the ever-growing housing crisis across the province, it is important for the Town to consider this bylaw in order to adapt and remain in line with the Charter rights of homeless individuals and community park users. 

Will George, Smithers’ Economic Development Officer said “The town understands that this is a significant change in how parks and open spaces will be used, and are encouraging all residents to share their thoughts throughout this process. There is an open house town hall meeting at the smithers town offices on Monday March 27th from 5 PM until 8 PM that anyone can attend to voice their thoughts.”

You can also write a letter or submit an email to the town at general at smithers.ca before Tuesday, March 21 at 1 p.m.

Listen to the full interview with Will George in the link below: