A presentation on the work of the Prince Rupert Hospice Society opened the final Prince Rupert City Council Session for May that part of the Committee of the Whole process, while a range of reports charted the course ahead for the Regular Council session that followed.
Among the reports a look at the city's plan to submit its rebranding program for a UBCM award, as well as some direction for a potential local bylaw and the challenges the city faces towards addressing some of the cannabis grow op situations in the community.
Prior to the meeting Council had hosted a Public Hearing towards a rezoning of a Fraser Street property for a proposed Small scale distillery, with Council picking up that theme as part of their regular session.
Council also received a petition on health care concerns, a document which provided for some extensive discussion towards the end of the session.
Some background on the work of Council for the night can be review from the Regular Council Agenda.
Council also hosted a Closed Meeting, making for the eighth of the in camera sessions for 2022.
The details related to the reasons for the behind closed door gathering can be reviewed here.
Further information from our overview and placement in the video archives can be found below, with the permanent record of the council minutes added as they are posted to the city website.
In attendance Monday, May 30, 2022
Mayor Lee Brain -- Present Councillor Nick Adey -- Present Councillor Barry Cunningham -- Present Councillor Blair Mirau -- Absent Councillor Reid Skelton-Morven -- Present Councillor Wade Niesh -- Present Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa -- Present
( 0:00 - 2:30 ) Committee of the Whole Session for Monday, May 30, 2022
( 2:30 - 14:00 ) Ms. Susan Crowley from the Prince Rupert Hospice Society provided an overview of the work of the Society in the community. -- She noted of the support of council in the past for their work and observed of her long time association with the Mayor on other volunteer projects in the community.
As part of her presentation she explored some of their strategic plan, the return of face to face exchanges with their clients and the scope of their outreach programs in the community, including that of the Green Sleeves project of information for emergency responders.
She also noted of the need for volunteers to lend the Society a hand with those many ventures that they have underway in the community.
Of note on their work is the mounting demand for end of life care options in the community, with the Society looking to move the Hospice care sector forward, towards that Ms. Crowley noted of their work to try to take Hospice out of the volunteer process and move the program into the larger health care system and advocacy for the province to deliver a commitment to palliative care.
Councillor Adey spoke to the importance of the work that the Society conducts in the community and recounted his own personal experiences with his own parents towards the end of life situation and how the Hospice system is powerful, he added his voice to their quest to become part of the Health Care system.
Councillor Cunningham concurred with much of what councillor Adey had stated, sharing his own experiences with the Hospice Society and agreed with Mr. Adey towards how Council could offer some assistance in their process towards securing a spot in the Health Care system.
Mayor Brain noted of the limitations of what the City can do, observing how it can be more of an advocacy role adding that health care is out of the city's jurisdiction.
The Mayor also spoke to the importance of their worship plans towards the care planning themes that the Hospice is introducing in the community.
( 14:00 -- 19:00 ) Public Comment period
Only one member of the public gallery came forward with comments, that was Larry Golden who spoke on the topics of zoning bylaws and whether they were still relevant without any LNG plants under consideration, he also raised some of his concerns towards climate change issues and developing more self-sufficiency in growing food in the region.
With no other members of the public coming forward and no items of note from the Council members, The Mayor moved the evening on to the Regular Council Session.
One final item for the committee of the Whole consideration came from the City's Corporate Administrator Rosa Miller, who provided the Council members with an overview of a petition on Health care that has been received by the City,.
Ms. Miller noting that concerned members of the public were expressing their concerns over Health Care Services at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital and the need to maintain them locally.
The Corporate Administrator observed for Council that 1,027 residents had signed the petition.
( 19:00 -- 20:00) Regular Council Session for Monday, May 30, 2022
Mayor Brain called the session to order, adopting the past minutes and Agenda for the evening's session, with the addition of one item for the night, that related to a temporary land use for a property on Cotton Street.
Reports and Resolutions
( 20:00 - 21:30) Report from Communications Re: Application to UBCM Awards for Branding project -- Council received a verbal report from the Corporate Administrator on behalf of the Communications Office that outlines the plan to submit the City's Municipal branding program for consideration as part of the UBCM Awards process. The City will be introducing their rebranding for consideration for the Community Excellence Award. Ms. Miller observed that It will be submitted to celebrate the city's unique approach to developing the community identity, as well as the work of Russell Mather, Will Creative and the feedback provided by the focus group of community members. Council adopted the recommendation without any discussion. (see page 8 of the Agenda package)
( 21:30 - 22:30 ) Report from Planning -- Re: DVP 22-12 -- Council received a report from Planning related to a proposal for window signs for a property at 255-257 Third Avenue West, the property holder is seeking a variance towards those signs. It was noted that the public will have opportunity to proivde feedback in the consultation period. Council approved the motion with no discussion (see page 10 of the Agenda package)
( 22:30 - 37:30) Report from the Corporate Administrator - Re: Cannabis Regulation -- Council received a report from the Corporate Administrator related to the research and preparation of bylaws to regulate, prohibit or impose requirements on controlled substances and to lobby the Federal government to address the issue of regulation through Federal legislation.
From her report, Ms. Rosa Miller outlined the history of the cannabis issue locally and the scope of the challenges that communities such as Prince Rupert have had towards the medicinal grows.
She noted of some of the Charter of Rights elements that city has to consider, but outlined that the recommendation of staff was towards creating a Bylaw that includes the use of nuisance considerations as well as imposing Business code, Electrical code and Fire safety regulations.
However she observed that any bylaw drafted would have to ensure that it did not conflict with the federal or provincial legislation and recognizes the supremacy of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
She also recommended that council continue to advocate with upper levels of government towards addressing the issue further
Ms. Miller also noted how the city of Prince Rupert is not in a position to take complaints or answer questions related to the legality of medical grows in the community as the city receives no notice and has no opportunity comment to Health Canada on that process.
She did direct residents to take their complaints directly to Health Canada and noted that the city would provide a link to that agency through the civic website.
Towards discussion, Councillor Adey observed how the topic has been one of public discourse for some time and that some in the community will welcome the council's arrival at this point and wonder why it took so long. He also noted of the volume of calls he has received on the issue and how it has provided for the frustration for him that it's an area which the City had very little control over with no recourse to take.
He then outlined how the public discussion had shifted to steer the conversation towards things that municipalities could do, what other municipalities had done, he then offered his support towards the creation of a bylaw that addresses people's concerns around the issue but noted that one of the challenges will be to design something that is enforceable and practical and will deliver the impact the public is looking for.
Mayor Brain provided some thoughts to the topic, observing of some of the challenges that he finds towards creation of a bylaw considering the range of parameters in place for the medicinal grow operations that are making for many of the issues.
The City Manager noted that there is some debate as to how the City could provide for bylaws seeking compliance with electrical safety codes and building codes, observing that there may be some legal ability to enforce a bylaw, though noting that the challenge is to find out where the operations are in place, as Health Canada does not tell the City where they are located.
He admitted that it could be problematic in implementing the bylaw process but that the City should go forward anyways. He also spoke to the ongoing advocacy work towards the Federal government, with the City having recently spoken to the MP for the region to that topic.
The Mayor noted that the city could go forward with the actions, but that there is no guarantee that there will be results, that as well as to how the lack of information from Health Canada are both things that he stated that the public needs to understand.
Mr. Brain, counselled a step back and observed as to a range of issues that need to be addressed when it comes to how the medicinal grow operations are handled and how it's going to be a long term process full of complex issues and is one that won't find a quick solution, one that will continue on long after he has left the Mayor's office.
He made note of the recent fire in the downtown area, though observed that he could not comment on that, despite the speculation in the city over it, as it is currently part of an investigation process.
Councillor Cunningham highlighted the work of a BC MP Marc Dalton, who has a bill in front of Parliament that could provide some relief, urging residents to write to their MP to show their support for that initiative.
He noted of the importance of the issue, highlighting the safety issues facing the fire department as they respond to such incidents that could be related to the grows in the community.
Council then voted to adopt the motion. The Mayor thanked staff for doing what they can on the issue. (see page 17 of the Agenda package
( 37:30 - 38:30 ) Temporary Use Permit for a property on Cotton Street-- Council received a report from the Corporate Administrator who outlined that the applicant wants to use a container for storage, and is seeking a temporary use permit for a period of one year. Ms. Miller observed that the city did not receive any comment towards the public notification process and that there would be a cash bond held by the city until the container use is discontinued.
Councillor Cunningham used the opportunity to note of a growing problem of containers being placed on city streets and some of the dangers that could provide for, adding that it was something that the Bylaw office should look into towards enforcement.
Bylaws
( 38:30 -- 40:00) City of Prince Rupert ZoningAmendmentBy-law 3492-2022 -- Having held a Public Hearing earlier in the evening, Council considered the proposed amendment for the zoning of a property on Fraser Street to allow for a Distillery and Tasting room.
Councillor Adey noted that from the Public Hearing there was a strong level of support for the proposed use of the property in question. Councillor Cunningham also observed of the support expressed by letters for the proposed idea and outlined how it was an idea from four entrepreneurs that the city should support.
Mayor Brain also put his support behind the proposed zoning change, observing that one of the comments of support came from a property directly behind the location. Council then provided third reading for the proposed zoning amendment. (see page 20 of the Agenda package)
Questions, Comments, Reports or Inquiries from Council
( 40:00 - 48:59) The receipt of a petition towards the issue of health care in the community made for the bulk of the discussion in the final moments of the council session.
Councillor Cunningham led off that discussion, and noted that it shows Northern Health that there is a real concern over what is happening with the local hospital, recounting some of the lost specialists, surgeries, and procedures that were once done here.
He observed how the City can't dictate terms to Northern Health, adding that they have a mind of their own, but that the city can make them aware of the concerns, as well as to the Minister of Health, and how that could see the local Health Authority make some changes to future plans, observing over his concerns that more services could be removed from the local area.
Council will further address the topic of the petition at their next council session, with the original document to be directed to the Minister and letters sent to the MLA and Northern health about the community concerns.
The Mayor made note of the volume of local residents that signed the petition, at more than 10 percent of the population with little in the way of advertising.
Councillor Cunningham, then thanked Margaret Lester Lorette for spearheading the petition and hailed her work, noting that if they had expanded that outreach he believes that they could have had even more names attached to it.
Councillor Adey also spoke to the topic, noting the concerns he has heard in the community about the status of the health care situation; observing that that those comments are not a reflection of dis-satisfaction with those providing the health care, but more that of the declining amount of service available.
Councillor Cunningham response to that by noting of the frustrations he has heard from of those in medical care in the community in addressing the situation in Prince Rupert.
On a different topic, Councillor Adey called attention to the Saturday night performance of Rock Stock and the 4,800 dollars that it provided to the Lester Centre, hailing the work of the Ring Studio in both its community work and to the development of music and performance and volunteerism in the community.
He also shared his experience on the weekend at the Salt Marsh over the weekend and recounted the volume of residents taking advantage of the recreation area and paid tribute to the work of the City and the Port in developing the site and making it a successful endeavour.
Councillor Randhawa recounted his attendance at an event to raise awareness of Victims and survivors of crime, offering his thanks for those who organized the event.
With no other comments from the council membership the May 30th Council Session came to an end, with the Council members then returning to their adjourned Closed Session of earlier in the evening.
As always, our Council Timeline is only a reflection of our observations from the Council Session of the night. Be sure to consult with the official minutes from the City, when posted to their website for further review.
Official minutes of the Regular Council Session from May 30th, 2022 (not available yet)
The Next Session for Prince Rupert City Council is set for Monday, June 13, 2022.
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