City seen as provincial leader on contentious municipal issues: Kozak
By Timothy Schafer
The city’s penchant to tackle tough municipal issues and wade into uncharted legislative waters is taking it to the forefront stages of bureaucratic debate.
Nelson city council and its staff have not shied away from work around marijuana legalization on a municipal level, short-term rental regulations and dealing with the local proliferation of street culture and mental health issues, putting them in the enviable view as leaders amongst B.C. communities.
Council and city staff have taken a proactive approach on many of the issues that were important in the community, said Mayor Deb Kozak, but the timeliness has not been for accolades and recognition, but for resolution.
The city has been asked to lead discussion panels on the local effect of marijuana legalization and short-term rentals on the housing market at the upcoming Union of B.C. Municipalities convention this fall.
They are also being asked to divulge the work done so far to support those with mental health issues, and the street culture itself, at a national Canadian Mental Health conference in the Lower Mainland next month.
Although sometimes when a community is viewed as a leader people are asking questions that haven’t even been addressed yet, Kozak said, but people are keen to see what Nelson has already accomplished and how it transfers over to other communities.
For such a small city Nelson is viewed provincially as a leader in many ways, she said.
“As a result of that (proactive nature) we are front runners on a lot of things that the rest of the province and sometimes the country are thinking about,” Kozak said.
“The amount of work we do here as a city is looked at by many people in the province, as well as other communities in the province, as a source of information and leadership.”
Kozak and city manager Kevin Cormack will be presenting on the marijuana panel at the UBCM convention, while on the short-term rental panel Kozak will join a panel of mayors to speak to the issue.
The city is currently working on a bylaw that will regulate short-term accommodations.
The Union of B.C. Municipalities representatives will vote on a Nelson-led resolution for the integration of federal marijuana legislation with regional and local regulation.
The idea arose out of the Liberal Government of Canada’s public declaration of its intention to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana with creation of a federal/provincial/territorial task force.
With input from experts in public health, substance abuse and law enforcement, the task force will design a new system of marijuana sales and distribution with appropriate federal and provincial excise taxes applied.
“What we are looking for is the federal government to work in tandem with provincial and local governments in formulating laws so that we have a say on what goes on in our communities,” said Kozak.
“Anything decided at the federal level will have impact at the local level. Once it is regulated how do local communities deal with the product, and all that comes with that.”
Council is also calling for its fair share of the revenue from the sale and distribution of legalized marijuana.
The new legal framework expected would not completely eliminate the costs associated with enforcement initiatives related to drugs in Canada, council felt, and, if anything, will be significantly reduced.
Council is asking the federal government for a sharing of the reduced enforcement costs with provincial and municipal governments, “given the marked impact that marijuana sales and distribution will have upon Canadian communities.”
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is having a conference on the coast with the desire to have greater attention paid to mental health issues in communities across the province.
With the city’s work with the street culture — through the community-established Street Culture Collaborative — the mayor has been asked to speak about what they are doing around issues of mental health in Nelson.
“Often times people with mental health issues have to wait for help; but it doesn’t go away, it sometimes gets worse, and (Canadian Mental Health) wants to raise awareness in communities, as well as health authorities and local governments and hospitals, to ensure that if someone is reaching out and is exhibiting issues around mental health, that they are treated in a timely fashion,” Kozak said.
Three groups have been working closely — the IHA, police and the city — to try and make progress on mental health issues in Nelson and something is beginning to happen, Kozak said.
IHA will add eight beds for addictions treatment into the community this year, while two street outreach workers are starting this month.
“The Street Culture Collaborative is an interesting approach and (CMHA) wants to learn more about that,” Kozak said.
