It was the second community safety forum in 10 days, taking place at Kelowna’s Revelry on Thursday, Feb. 5. The event drew almost 100 more attendees than the first.
Hosted by the B.C. Conservatives, Kelowna-Centre MLA Kristina Loewen, Kelowna-Mission MLA Gavin Dew and West Kelowna-Peachland MLA Macklin McCall took the stage to discuss solutions for growing issues of property crime throughout the city.
While the points of discussion were similar to the community safety forum hosted by the City of Kelowna on Jan. 27, this time, attendees were given the microphone to voice their opinions and concerns.
The crowd discussed concerns surrounding the need for an increase in night patrols by RCMP and bylaw, more attention to the Rutland area in respect to property crime and the unhoused, as well as provincial policy surrounding mental health access and long-term addiction treatment, and housing.
The elected officials promised to deliver Kelowna residents’ concerns to Victoria as soon as next week.
“(There) were so many different opinions, ideas, concerns, kindness. We really have an amazing community,” Loewen said. “I believe we can be the spearhead for change here in Kelowna because we represent such a beautiful community that is so vibrant. We’re not the only ones experiencing this; it’s in every city across the province.”
Loewen told Capital News that more access points to mental health treatments and the addition, combined with an increase in Crown prosecutors, are two urgent issues that need to be tackled in regards to community safety.
“For treatment streams, we need to be able to access them. And that’s what we’ve been hearing repeatedly that there’s no access to streams,” Loewen said.
She believes that the province needs to build more beds and facilities for those impacted by substance use and homelessness.
Lowen also addressed the concern of repeat offenders, a focal point of Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas when he spoke in front of Members of Parliament in Ottawa, on Wednesday.
She said the new Chronic Property and Public Disorder Intervention Initiative (C-POII) being piloted by the B.C. government is a good start, but needs to expand.
Last fall an advocacy paper titled Chronic Offenders – Closing the Revolving Door reported that 15 people accounted for 1,335 police files in Kelowna in 2024.
Police files for these 15 people dealt with both violent and non-violent offences.
The MLA noted that a key element of the B.C. Conservatives, if the party formed government, would be to address the BC Energy Step Code, saying it has created an increase in regulations and costs for housing developers, which is creating an unaffordable housing market.
The BC Energy Step Code allows “builders to meet higher, voluntary efficiency targets, with many local governments requiring compliance to enhance comfort and sustainability.”