Mayors push to turn Oliver correctional centre into mandatory care facility
Mayors in the Okanagan are specifically pointing to unused capacity at the Oliver facility as a potential location for mandatory care.
Okanagan mayors and regional leaders, including First Nations, are urging the B.C. government to repurpose unused space at the Oliver Correctional Centre into a secure mandatory care facility. Concerns are mounting over the growing drug, mental health, and social disorder crises in the region. Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas emphasized that the need for action continues to escalate daily.
Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield urged communities to focus on providing necessary assistance and offered compassionate support, stating that leaving people on the streets is not compassionate. Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen acknowledged that the correctional centre operates below its full capacity of 401 cells, having an average of 200 inmates annually.
Despite the mayors' proposal, the province stresses that converting part of the facility into a mandatory care site requires more than just changing the space's use. Health Minister Ravi Kahlon emphasized that the solution must include adequate infrastructure and health-care professionals to provide essential support services. The push for this change will intensify at the upcoming Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, where the mayors will lobby provincial decision-makers.
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