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Mayors push to turn Oliver correctional centre into mandatory care facility

From Global News · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Okanagan mayors and regional leaders want British Columbia to use unused capacity at the Oliver correctional centre for mandatory, secure care.
  • Local officials say communities need action as addiction, mental-health and social-disorder problems continue, while the province says the site would require health-care infrastructure and staff.
  • The proposal will be raised at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention after officials warned that inaction could bring more deaths, suffering and public unrest.

Okanagan mayors and regional leaders, including First Nations representatives, are pressing British Columbia to convert unused space at the Okanagan Correctional Centre in Oliver into a mandatory and secure care facility.

A small group of leaders renewed the demand outside the centre on Friday as communities across the region continued to confront overlapping drug, mental-health and social-disorder crises. “The need continues to grow on a daily basis. What is missing is action,” Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas said.

The need continues to grow on a daily basis. What is missing is action.

· Tom DyasThe Kelowna mayor called for provincial action as communities face addiction, mental-health and social-disorder crises.

Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield said the focus should be on helping people who need support. “Let’s start helping the people that need help,” he said. “Let’s do it with compassion because leaving people on the streets is not compassionate.”

Let’s start helping the people that need help. Let’s do it with compassion because leaving people on the streets is not compassionate.

· Julius BloomfieldThe Penticton mayor argued that communities should focus on getting vulnerable people the care they need.

The mayors point to unused capacity at the Oliver facility. Mayor Martin Johansen said he understood that the centre was operating at less than half capacity. “It’s not anywhere near the capacity it could be,” he said. The facility has 401 cells, while the Ministry of Public Safety said its average daily inmate count was about 200 last year.

The province says transforming part of the centre would involve far more than changing how the space is used. “It’s not about simply holding people,” Health Minister Ravi Kahlon said. “It’s about having infrastructure that helps enable the care that we need.” Health-care professionals would also have to be available to provide support services.

It’s not about simply holding people. It’s about having infrastructure that helps enable the care that we need.

· Ravi KahlonBritish Columbia’s health minister said a mandatory-care site would require health infrastructure and professional support.

The proposal will be raised next week at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, where local leaders will meet provincial ministers. Bloomfield warned, “People are going to die,” adding that inaction would mean more suffering and unrest. Johansen said he believed the proposal was a viable solution.

People are going to die.

· Julius BloomfieldThe Penticton mayor warned of the consequences of continued inaction.
About this summary

Originally published by Global News. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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