mayor phil kent

At the City of Duncan Committee of the Whole meeting on 1 October 2018, a Motion was put on the Agenda by Councillor Roger Bruce which advocated spending up to $10,000 to purchase or rent a second hand shipping container which had been converted into temporary emergency shelter for the City of Campbell River and transport this unit to Duncan. The conversion of this shipping container was done by a Langley based company called Shadow Lines. This converted shipping container is owned by the City of Campbell River and was used by the City of Campbell River as a temporary emergency shelter for the homeless during the winters of 2013-14 and 2014-15.

The Cowichan Valley Citizen reported on this Motion on 7 September 2018, prior the the Committee of the Whole meeting on 1 October 2018. The Cowichan Valley Citizen reported on 3 October 2018 about the defeat of this Motion by Duncan Committee of the Whole.

If I had been on the Duncan Committee of the Whole, I would have voted against this Motion. My reasons are explained below:

The Motion read as follows:

“New Business

6.1 Notice of Motion – Councillor Bruce

That staff be directed to contact Municipality of North Cowichan, Cowichan Valley Regional District and Cowichan Tribes with an invitation to help acquire a Mobile Shelter to help those most vulnerable;

And That staff be directed to contact Campbell River and buy, rent or borrow their extra mobile shelter and have it transported to the Valley immediately;

And That, if funds are needed, the City will allocate up to $10,000 at this time;

And That, with the permission of the United Church, the mobile shelter will be located in the Duncan United Church parking lot and run by the United Church until a suitable location can be determined.”

The photo below shows what this converted shipping container looked like in Campbell River in 2013.

This photo of a shipping container converted into temporary shelter was published in the the Campbell River Mirror in September 2013. Campbell River used this converted container as a temporary emergency shelter. (photo: Campbell River Mirror)

Here are some Campbell River Mirror articles about Campbell River’s experience with these shipping containers converted into shelters:

Containers Could Provide Shelter For Campbell River’s Homeless – 26 September 2013 [Note: a copy of this article was provided to Duncan Council members in support of this Motion]
Homeless Shelter May Set Up Beside Fire Hall – 22 October 2013
Support Pours In For Homeless Shelter – 19 December 2013
Visiting Abbotsford Reps Check Out Campbell River’s Safe Shelter – 23 January 2014
Shelter Closes, But What Now – April 2014
Forum Explores Future Of Emergency Shelter – 10 June 2014
Innovative Homeless Shelter Is Back For Another Winter – 21 October 2014
Cold Weather Shelter Joins Ranks Of Homeless – 16 April 2015
Homeless Shelter Location Found But Where’s The Funding – 11 October 2016

Discussion of this Motion at the Duncan Committee of the Whole meeting on 1 October 2018 included the following:

City of Duncan CAO Peter de Verteuil advised the Committee that this converted container unit was in disrepair and would require an estimated $30,000 worth of repairs to be put into serviceable condition.;
Councillor Roger Bruce said this container would only be a temporary solution and that these containers are used to house loggers and miners in B.C. logging and mining camps [Note: I don’t think Councillor Bruce has been anywhere near a logging or mining camp recently if he thinks this converted shipping container is typical of camp accommodation for BC loggers and miners.]
Mayor Phil Kent said this unit was definitely not typical of accommodation used in BC Logging and mining camps, as Councillor Bruce had stated. {note: Mayor Kent is correct is saying that]. Mayor Kent also wanted to know more about the history of Campbell River’s experiences with this unit, noting that the City of Campbell River is not using the unit as shelter at this time;
Duncan United Church Minister Keith Simmonds addressed the meeting saying that Duncan United Church is not able to accommodate this container being placed on its grounds. Rev. Simmonds said the Duncan United Church does not have shower facilities or sufficient washrooms facilities to accommodate this unit being placed on its grounds and that Duncan United Church Community Outreach facilities are already stretched to their limit and Duncan United Church does not have the resources to handle this unit being placed on its grounds. Rev. Simmonds also highlighted the current condition of this converted container, saying the towing hitch was broken and the interior was contaminated with mould. Rev. Simmonds was also concerned that residents living near Duncan United Church would not react favourably to this proposal, which would negatively affect the good relationship Duncan United Church has with its neighbours.
Duncan United Church Minister Keith Simmonds also noted that BC Housing is not happy with the idea of housing people in converted shipping containers.
Three other members of the public, including one person who is currently homeless, addressed the meeting; their comments were unanimously against this Motion.

This Motion was defeated on a vote by the Committee of the Whole. I agree with the Committee’s decision.

My comments: this Motion was not adequately researched before being presented.

The Cowichan Valley Citizen reported on 7 September 2018 that the Motion suggested the unit be placed in the parking lot of Duncan United Church. Yet Duncan United Church Minister Keith Simmonds attended the Committee of the Whole meeting on 1 October 2018 and stated that Duncan United Church was not equipped to handle this and did not have the resources to do it. Wasn’t Reverend Simmonds contacted about this Motion by Councillor Bruce before the Motion was presented? It seems not;
The Campbell River Mirror has stated in various prior articles that this unit cost $10,000 per month in staffing costs. There is nothing in the Motion which addresses the costs of staffing this unit;
City of Duncan staff reported that the unit was currently inoperable and required approximately $30,000 worth of work to make it serviceable. Could this fact not have been determined by a simple phone call to the City of Campbell River prior to the Notice of Motion being presented on 7 September 2018, let alone prior to the Committee of the Whole meeting on 1 October 2018.

In short, I think this Motion was ill considered and inadequately researched prior to being presented. The need for a temporary emergency shelter is well known. This Motion did nothing to address this pressing problem; instead it presented a completely unviable and unworkable proposal which simply diverted resources and attention away from other potentially viable and workable solutions.

Mark Anderson – candidate for City of Duncan Council – 3 October 2018

Duncan Councillor Roger Bruce is a very vocal advocate of Amalgamation of the City of Duncan and the Municipality of North Cowichan.

In support of Amalgamation, Roger Bruce has recently released this video and posted it on Youtube:

DuncanTaxpayers.ca says No to Amalgamation of Duncan and North Cowichan

We disagree with Councillor Bruce’s pro-Amalgamation position and we urge Duncan residents to Vote No in the Amalgamation Referendum on 23 June 2018.

In the interest of clarification we would like to make some comments on another issue Councillor Bruce has raised while arguing in favour of Amalgamation.

In making various pro-Amalgamation arguments online – on Facebook and other platforms – Roger Bruce has repeatedly made statements to the effect that he is the only member of Duncan City Council who pays City of Duncan taxes.

He has also made this statement in the video shown above.

With regard to other members of Duncan City Council, we note that Councillors Michelle Bell, John Horgan and Michelle Staples are not residents of the City of Duncan and therefore do not pay residential property taxes in the City of Duncan. As far as we are aware, they do not own businesses in Duncan and do not pay City of Duncan business taxes.

City of Duncan Councillor Sharon Jackson (photo: City of Duncan)

Councillor Sharon Jackson was a Duncan resident until December 2017, when she sold her house in Duncan and moved to the CVRD. It can therefore be argued that she is not paying City of Duncan taxes at this time although we note that she was a City of Duncan taxpayer at the time of the last Municipal election in 2014 and she remained a City of Duncan taxpayer until December 2017. She has stated to us that she intends to move back into the City of Duncan as soon as she can.

Mayor Phil Kent and Councillor Tom Duncan apparently rent residential accommodation in the City of Duncan so, by Councillor Roger Bruce’s argument, Mayor Kent and Councillor Duncan do not pay City of Duncan taxes although they are City of Duncan residents. We will not address this argument here; readers can form their own opinions on that.

Councillor Bruce’s statements that he is the only person on Duncan City Council who pays City of Duncan taxes have given many people the impression that Councillor Roger Bruce lives in the City of Duncan. Apparently that is not the case; we have been informed that Councillor Bruce actually lives in the Municipality of North Cowichan.

But Councillor Bruce does pay City of Duncan taxes. He owns commercial property, on which he pays City of Duncan taxes, at the south east corner of Cairnsmore Street and Government Street. This property contains the buildings currently occupied by the 49th Parallel Grocery and the Fishbowl Cafe.

Here is a Google Street View image of this property in May 2015:

Councillor Bruce also owns adjacent properties to the south on Government Street between Cairnsmore Street and Herbert Street. In the past he has sought to develop these lots and has applied to the City of Duncan for variances for that purpose.

Here is a Google Street View image of these properties in May 2015:

City of Duncan Councillor Roger Bruce (photo: City of Duncan)

So there is no doubt that Councillor Roger Bruce is a City of Duncan taxpayer. He pays City of Duncan taxes on the commercial properties shown above.

But it seems he is not a resident of the City of Duncan. We have been told that he resides in the Municipality of North Cowichan. We have asked Councillor Bruce for clarification of this but, as of this date, we have not received an answer.

So for Duncan taxpayers and residents who have heard Councillor Roger Bruce’s statement and arguments in favour of Amalgamation and that he is the only member of Duncan City Council who pays City of Duncan taxes, be aware that, while Councillor Roger Bruce is in fact a City of Duncan taxpayer, he is apparently a resident of the Municipality of North Cowichan.

This is in no way meant as a personal attack on Councillor Roger Bruce. We are simply seeking to clarify his repeated statements that he is the only member of Duncan City Council who pays City of Duncan taxes.

We urge City of Duncan residents to Vote No on 23 June 2018.

Motion Proposing Shipping Containers As Emergency Shelters Rejected At Duncan Committee Of The Whole – 1 October 2018

Councillor Roger Bruce – Is He A City of Duncan Resident?