Re: Mayor, nonprofit respond to residents as they organize against Kelowna supportive housing building (Castanet, Jun 21)
(https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/557356/Mayor-nonprofit-respond-to-residents-as-they-organize-against-Kelowna-supportive-housing-building)
According to the article, “‘There was (sic) 50-plus people there for sure. This isn’t happening in the Lower Mission. If this is happening in Tom’s [Dyas] neighbourhood…this would have been rectified already,’ [Tyler] Zeeman said.
“(Kelowna) Mayor (Tom) Dyas did not attend the meeting. Zeeman says the only politician in attendance was Kelowna Centre MLA Kristina Loewen.”
In his June 2 column, Dyas wrote: “Public safety is the number one priority for myself, council, and the City of Kelowna.”(https://www.castanet.net/news/Opinion/553803/Investing-in-community-safety-to-better-serve-Kelowna)
If public safety is the number one priority, why are there no residents’ patrols in the various areas of Kelowna? For example, several years ago, Rutland had a residents’ patrol. Why did it end? It’s another question for which the current city council doesn’t provide an answer.
Kelowna is an outlier. It’s the only community in the Central and South Okanagan without a residents’ patrol program. Volunteer residents’ patrols operate in Osoyoos, Oliver, Keremeos, Penticton, Summerland, Peachland, West Kelowna, Lake Country and Vernon.
In at least some of those municipalities, patrol members are provided with marked vehicles for their rounds. Members work in teams and act as extra eyes and ears for the RCMP. Patrol members are not allowed to get involved in situations directly but, instead, report their observations by cellphone to the RCMP or emergency services.
The City of Kelowna recently published, online, an update to the city council priorities for 2023-2026. In the document, the six priorities presented in order are:
• City & Safety
• Affordable Housing
• Homelessness
• Transportation
• Agriculture & Environment
Since economy is discussed sixth, is the reader expected to assume the local economy is sixth in terms of priority and importance? In practice, I think the local economy is the council’s top priority.
In a June 20 interview Dyas saidKelowna is still one of the fastest growing communities in Canada. That is well-known but Kelowna didn’t even make the Top 100 in The Globe and Mail’s 2024 data-driven study of Canada’s most livable cities. Why not?
Prioritizing economic gains from revenue-generating events, such as the 2025 Montana’s Brier and the 2026 Memorial Cup, over fully addressing homelessness can be seen as a failure to fulfill the city’s social responsibilities.
(U.S. filmmaker) Michael Moore said in his 2007 documentary Sicko, “They say that you can judge a society by how it treats those who are the worst off.”
That creates the perception of a city that mainly focuses on tourists and event attendees, not on the people who actually live here. For example, the City of Kelowna is looking for public input to try and make transit fares more affordable for those facing financial challenges. But since the city’s accumulated surplus for 2024 was $2.75 billion, why isn’t city transit free for every resident?
Is our city council effectively balancing economic prosperity with social responsibility? I don’t think so.
David Buckna, Kelowna