Abandoned encampments in Ladysmith will be cleaned up after council approved funding for remediation at two vacated sites.
Council debated how to proceed with the abandoned encampments during its June 2 meeting and agreed to use surplus funds from the previous year. Council also supported including a budget item in the 2027 financial plan to address similar costs in the future.
However, Coun. Don Paterson said the funding measures do not go far enough and argued the province should be billed for the cleanup costs.
“After we pay for the clean-up we should invoice the province,” he said. “It’s not our job to clean up other people’s mess when there’s an unsightly premises. Right now, it’s the province that’s responsible for this situation, and we should invoice them.”
Coun. Tricia MacKay said the issue extends beyond Ladysmith and suggested lobbying senior governments for a dedicated funding stream to help municipalities manage encampment-related costs.
“Cities are dealing with entire streets, and the clean-up is on them, we’re dealing with a growing problem and we’re all aware of it,” she said. “I agree the province needs to be stepping up, and I would suggest we work towards lobbying the province at UBCM and the federal government at FCM to have a funding stream.
“We’re at an exceptional time in history, and we should lobby to have a dedicated funding stream for this problem.”
Council approved an amendment directing staff to bill the province for encampment cleanup costs, with two councillors opposed. Council also approved adding a budget item to the 2027 financial plan, with one councillor opposed.
Councillors unanimously approved developing a remediation plan and spending $5,000 to clean up the two vacant encampments.
