By Cheryl Jahn

Downtown Bylaw Enforcement Working

Sep 26, 2018 | 4:13 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – During a presentation about the success of a downtown pilot project, Council recently learned about some of the good works of two seasonal Bylaw Services Officers.

Between May and August, they collected four tonnes of waste and broke up 571 camps in different locations in the downtown. And, in one month alone, they filled a five-gallon bucket with spent needles.

“Those numbers are just what we picked up in the downtown during the month of August,” says Fred Crittenden, Manager of Bylaw Services. “That does not include what private citizens picked up and disposed of, what the Downtown Clean Team picked up, what Parks picked up. That’s just our staff picking up in the one month.”

That raised the ire of some around Council.

“Northern Health has completely failed us,” remarked Councillor Brian Skakun at the time.

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There was also some discussion about how the Needle Exchange on Third Avenue has ceased to be an “exchange.”

Dr. Andrew Gray, Chief Medical Health Officer, says the Province did away with the exchange-style of managing needles years ago, saying that there are a number of faults with it. Should there be a stipulation that a used needle be returned to get a clean one, users may be forced to share needles.

“The best way to prevent [needles on the street], in addition to our efforts to get the needles back, is to have safe places for people to drop them off, that are convenient,” he says. “If that’s available to somebody, they’re going to use the drop box if it’s right there.”

Last year, Northern Health distributed 450,000 needles, and it is not the only agency to do so.

by Cheryl Jahn

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Downtown Bylaw Enforcement Working

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