The City of Courtenay is updating bylaws that govern parks and open spaces.
At the Jan 10. meeting, council passed first and second readings for Parks and Open Spaces Regulation Bylaw No. 3121. The goal of the bylaw is to address trends, emerging challenges and needs of the population when it comes to the use of parks and open spaces in Courtenay.
The bylaw includes a section on substance use.
The section bans consumption of liquor, cannabis, smoking, e-cigarettes, and illicit drugs, unless the illicit drugs are consumed in compliance with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and applicable provincial enactments. At the moment, the province allows for possession of illicit substances up to 2.5 grams, in an exemption to the act that was granted for the period of Jan. 31, 2023 to Jan 31, 2026.
The bylaw also includes a section to allow the city to regulate the use of temporary sheltering within parks and open spaces. Sheltering would be contained to designated areas allowed by the bylaw, from 7 p.m. until 9 a.m., except for those in a location authorized by the city manager for daytime use.
In the bylaw, temporary shelters are banned at several sites. This includes anywhere within 25 metres of a playground, school or community centre, or within five metres of private residential property, and in a list of other areas, including on beaches, trails, community gardens, sports fields and courts, bleachers, and off-leash dog areas.
Councillor Evan Jolicouer voted against the motion, while the rest of council voted for the motion.
“I won’t be supporting,” said Jolicouer. “It’s not like a parking bylaw, where the person has a vehicle and goes home at night. This bylaw impacts people’s livelihoods and their well-being. And in many ways their dignity as a human being and their human rights.”
Coun. David Frisch voted in support.
“This doesn’t resolve any of the major issues that cause people to need a place to sleep,” said Frisch. “But it does draw a line in the sand, allowing us to say where that’s acceptable and how we can deal with things that we, as a community, can agree are unacceptable.
“It really is a difficult bylaw to even contemplate. But the fact is people are sleeping on the streets right now. They are sleeping in parks. And we need to do our part of managing that, I guess is the best way to put it.”
Coun. Wendy Morin voted in support as well.
“We know people need shelter,” said Morin. “But we really want to protect those environmentally sensitive areas as well. We have struck a balance, with still having places (for people) to shelter.”
The section banning the consumption of substances includes the follow-through of the city’s intent to ban cigarette smoking at many places in the city.
In September, when discussing the intent to ban cigarettes, director of corporate services Kate O’Connell told the Record cigarettes were mainly targeted for their threat of causing wildfires, litter, and secondhand smoke. If the bylaw is adopted at a future council meeting, cigarettes would become off-limits at parks and open spaces in Courtenay.