Public input suspended again
Following council’s pause on public inquiries and changes to the process, early use of the new system came in the form of a prank against council at its May 27 meeting.
After an obviously fake name ended up on the speaker’s list, Coun. Margot Middleton called to remove that portion from the agenda until council can reevaluate the process once again.
With a 7-2 vote in favour, the process will now go to council’s governance committee for review.
Homeless count done
In May, council heard the results of the point-in-time homeless count held in October over two days.
The count, which measures the minimum number of homeless on the streets, found 204 people sheltered, 89 unsheltered and 20 “hidden,” marking a 229 percent increase over the past decade based on previous counts.
Survey data shows those experiencing homelessness are mostly male (68 percent), with the biggest age cohort between 35 and 44 (31 percent).
Community plan meetings
The city is holding a series of engagement sessions as part of its work updating the official community plan (OCP).
Residents can drop in any time between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on the following dates:
• June 11 at the Yacht Club (1140 River St.),
• June 18 at West Highlands Community Centre (1185 Links Way),
• June 19 at the Kamloops Sports Council office (101-1550 Island Parkway) and
• June 24 at Valleyview Community Hall (2288 Park Drive).
More information can be found online at letstalk.kamloops.ca/kamplan.
Council adds voice to calls for cancer centre redesign
Five of the region’s MLAs have reached out to Kamloops city council requesting their support for urgent alterations to the long-promised cancer care centre at Royal Inland Hospital.
The MLAs, which include both Peter Milobar and Ward Stamer of Kamloops, as well as Tony Luck (Fraser-Nicola), Lorne Doerkson (Cariboo-Chilcotin), and Rosalyn Bird (Prince George-Valemount), called upon council to help in advocating for changes, including the addition of a PET-CT scanner.
“These inconsistencies create inequitable access to cancer care for residents in our region compared to other areas of the province and will also create major challenges for proper recruitment and retention,” the MLAs’ letter reads.
Council voted to send its own letter in support of a redesign.
Federal housing funds missed again
Council’s second application to the CMHC housing accelerator fund has been rejected, according to an update from staff on May 27.
The $11.9-million request was not approved by the federal government, denying the city federal funds a second time, leaving councillors disappointed.
“I don’t think there’s more that staff could have done to make it successful. When you look at the map and you look at who received funds, it’s hard for me to believe that this isn’t politically motivated,” said Coun. Katie Neustaeter.
“The needs of communities are not defined by which party represents them on Parliament Hill.”
The city first applied in July 2023 for $16 million. After that was denied, the city applied again in September 2024.
Council opted to send a letter to various government officials stating its disappointment and asking for an explanation for the rejection.