By Cheryl Jahn

Intergovernmental Affairs decides what issues to take to Victoria

Apr 1, 2025 | 3:34 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Intergovernmental Affairs Committee tackled an issue that came up during the regular budget discussions of Council in January; the number of medical calls the city’s fire department responds to.

“But there’s this concern over time about the costs attached to that,” explains Eric Depenau, Director of Administrative Services for the City. “And so that was a bit of today’s conversation and where the committee came back to is continuing to push for things like naloxone and nasal naloxone and these other medicines that are used in addressing some of the social challenges, not just in the downtown but across the city.”

One issue that came up is the fact the City has to pay for naloxone kits, whereas any member of the public can get a kit for free. The City has already spoken to the Province about that fact.

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“They were surprised at that and they made a commitment at that time that they would provide it for free for the city,” explains Garth Frizzell, Chair of the Committee. “That’s still in process. An election has happened since. And so we’re going to go back and remind them at the same time, there’s a pilot project on providing nasal naloxone for free. So don’t know what that looks like yet.”

The issue of health care and municipalities’ roles in providing health care services was also on the table.

“In Colwood and in Dawson Creek the municipality is administering health care clinics,” says Frizzell. “And that means that the staff are actually employees of the municipality. Don’t know what that looks like, don’t know what drove it, but it’s really interesting. So we’re going to dig deeper, find out what this is all about. You never want to just take a model from somewhere else and immediately implement it in Prince George. But you sure want to find out whether it works. And if it works, would it work in Prince George?”

Housing was also broached during the meeting. There’s a proposal in the Clean BC Roadmap that looks to prohibit the sale and installation of gas water heaters and new gas furnaces unless installed as part of a hybrid dual fuel system for new home construction, effective 2030. A renewed call for a meeting with the government will be issued. And the question of whether the city should get into the business of providing affordable housing. A renewed call for a meeting with the government will be issued and the question of whether the city should get into the business of providing housing was also discussed.

“This came out of councillors looking at other models that are effective in other jurisdictions. This one came out of Ontario where municipalities actually administer a wide range of different social programs, including housing. So looking at what the region of Peel does with their five-pillar approach, it’s great, it’s effective, but it responds to an Ontario problem, not a B.C. one.”

Frizzell noted that, unlike the BC Government, the Government of Ontario no longer handles housing, leading to that particular model. It was not something the Committee will recommend investigating for Prince George any further.