People experiencing homelessness in Kelowna were thrust into the spotlight of Canadian politics after the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre tweeted a video of a designated city-maintained encampment.
In Kelowna, all people experiencing un-sheltered homelessness are required to spend their nights at an encampment located along a popular bike path. Each morning, residents are expected to pack up their belongings and vacate the site, but as the population of people living without a home in Kelowna grows, it has been increasingly difficult for bylaw officers to enforce the requirement to decamp each day.
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Poilievre captions the tweet,B次元官网网址� These images are not from a faraway third-world country. This is Kelowna. After eight years of Trudeau and the NDP.B次元官网网址�
Capital B次元官网网址 has reached out to Poilievre for comment over Twitter and by email, but has not yet heard back.
estimates that there are approximately 1,000 unhoused people in the Central Okanagan.
I am a reporter in Kelowna. has been our conservative MP since 2019. How would you better engage our representatives take action and address homelessness in Kelowna?
B次元官网网址� Jacqueline Gelineau (@Rangers_mom)
Heather Friesen, an advocate for vulnerable people in Kelowna, spends most days helping those experiencing homelessness in the city.
She said that while homelessness has grown in Kelowna, it has also surged across the country, under Conservative, NDP and Liberal provincial leadership.
B次元官网网址淭his is not a partisan issue,B次元官网网址� said Friesen.
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Kelowna has been under the leadership of Conservative Member of Parliament for Kelowna-Lake Country Tracy Gray, since 2019.
During this time, the population of people experiencing homelessness within the city has grown. Gray said that she hears about the issues facing Kelowna including inflation, mental illness and addiction every day. She said that in Lake Country, food bank usage is up by 36 per cent in the last year.
B次元官网网址淲e see more homeless encampments which create safety issues for the greater community with potential fires and crime and are unsafe for those living there where criminals prey on the most vulnerable.B次元官网网址�
While Gray didnB次元官网网址檛 comment on what she is doing to locally to address homelessness, she did outline some specifics on what the federal Conservatives would do if elected, which included ending inflationary spending, getting interest rates B次元官网网址渦nder controlB次元官网网址� and halting all tax increases.
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From across Okanagan Lake, Dan Albas, the Conservative Member of Parliament for the Central Okanagan, Similkameen and Nicola, also weighed in on the situation. While KelownaB次元官网网址檚 encampment area is not a part of his riding, Albas is working to address the situation of homelessness in his riding.
He said that the toxic drug crisis and high rent are two of the primary drivers behind the increase in people experiencing homelessness in the Okanagan.
Albas said that many people are living paycheck to paycheck and are unable to afford the rising cost of living.
Kelowna is ranked as the fifth most expensive rental market in Canada with the rental market website
B次元官网网址淩ents have doubled and there are fewer options for (substance use and mental health) treatment available,B次元官网网址� said Albas.
He hopes to improve access to treatment centres with a conservative government, rather than expand safe supply, explaining that without social support, it is difficult for people to exit the cycle of addiction.
Capital B次元官网网址 reached out to the City of Kelowna for comment and was told Mayor Tom Dyas would be best to speak to the issue, however, is currently at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference in Toronto.
Jacqueline.Gelineau@kelownacapnews.com
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