City of Cranbrook council Nov. 14 approved the release of a letter to BC Housing advocating a review of policies and Acts around the Extreme Weather Response Program.

An Extreme Weather Response Plan for Cranbrook has been submitted to BC Housing for funding approval. However, some requirements under the BC Housing program do not align with the actual funding needs or capacities of Cranbrook, a city staff report to council outlined.

“If unaddressed, this could create a situation where agencies in Cranbrook are unable to provide a BC Housing funded extreme cold weather shelter option, and either operate without this funding assistance or do not operate,” noted Marcel Germer of Corporate Services.

“In Cranbrook, -10 degree Celsius is typical winter weather, not extreme weather. If agencies in Cranbrook had shelter sites with the capacity to be open most days of winter, we would have applied for temporary winter shelter funding.

“Agencies in Cranbrook do not have a site that can offer a winter shelter. There are facilities that agencies in Cranbrook are willing to open during extreme weather and when the weather reaches -15 Celsius. It is not an ideal plan, but is what is possible right now to keep people from dying.”

Germer’s report requested that council approve and sign a letter advocating BC Housing to review the Policies and Acts and allow individual communities have greater flexibility to determine what weather conditions qualify as “extreme weather conditions” in their unique geographical areas.

“Without an Extreme Weather Plan in place, the City of Cranbrook could experience an event similar to winter 2022 where there was a last minute scramble for agencies in Cranbrook to host extreme cold weather shelters, and similar financial costs associated with that event.”

Read the city report and Extreme Weather Response Plan draft.

e-KNOW file photo

e-KNOW

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