Campbell River plans to remove tax exemption to 2 non-profits for being 'poor neighbours'

The city council in Campbell River, B.C., has voted to remove a property tax exemption for two non-profits after one councillor described the organizations as bad neighbours and harming the downtown area. 

If the bylaw is passed at council's next meeting, both the Campbell River Art Gallery and Vancouver Island Mental Health Society — which runs an overdose prevention site — will have to pay property taxes next year. 

The executive director of the gallery, Sara Lopez Assu, says that means the gallery will have to cut programming and jobs. 

Local governments in British Columbia are able to create bylaws that exempt certain organizations from property tax for up to 10 years at a time. Such exemptions are often made for museums, recreation groups, and community housing. 

At its most recent meeting, council gave a third reading to several motions related to the permissive tax bylaw, approving full or partial exemptions for Campbell River Seniors' Centre Society, Storey Creek Golf Club, and Campbell River Guru Nanak Sikh Society, among others.

Coun. Ron Kerr then spoke up to suggest removing exemptions for the art gallery and the overdose prevention site.

He said an exemption for the overdose prevention site would be "rewarding poor behaviour and poor neighbourhood conduct." 

Speaking about the art gallery, he said it is "having an extreme detrimental effect to our downtown businesses." 

He did not give concrete examples — but another councillor, Ben Lanyon, said the art gallery was letting people who are unhoused sleep under the awnings. 

The art gallery is located at Spirit Square, a public plaza in the city's downtown.

Lopez Assu says the area has been a gathering place for unhoused people for years. 

Speaking to host Gregor Craigie on CBC Radio's On the Island, she said there was no evidence of Lanyon's claim of allowing people to sleep outside, but that the gallery has worked to include unhoused people in its programming. 

It runs a weekly program where people dealing with homelessness, addiction or mental illness can come and create art. 

"We haven't chosen the location we're in, and we certainly haven't contributed to the crisis we find ourselves in," said Lopez Assu. 

"But we do want to act in a way that is respectful, shows humanity, and elevates folks — and as such we're trying to, in fact, be good neighbours."

CBC News was not able to reach the spokesperson for Vancouver Island Mental Health Society, which operates the overdose prevention site.

Work with, not against

Shawn Decaire manages Kwesa Place, a warming shelter and gathering place for people who are unhoused in Campbell River.

Speaking to CBC News, he said his city struggles with homelessness and drug use, but not more than other municipalities.

He said council was elected with a promise to clean up the city — but to do so it should be working with non-profits like the art gallery and the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society, not against them. 

"Campbell River has some amazing non-profits that are trying to help people deal with historical trauma of residential schools," said Decaire, pointing out that Campbell River is an Indigenous community. 

According to data from Statistics Canada in 2016, 12.8 per cent of the city's population is Indigenous.

Decaire credits the art gallery with programs that help diversify the community by including Indigenous, LGBTQ, and Black artists. 

Public safety concerns

Earlier this year, the city became the first in the province to propose a ban on the use of illegal drugs in public spaces, citing a concern over public safety in its downtown core. 

In September, city manager Elle Brovold told the Union of B.C. Municipalities that in a survey this year, 36 per cent of people said they felt very unsafe downtown, compared to seven per cent in 2019. 

"The No. 1 reason people cite is result of public consumption of drugs. Whether or not there's a fair correlation, that's the perception out there," she said.

Just this week, the provincial government introduced a ban on illicit drug use in many public spaces. 

In a statement to CBC News, the Campbell River city manager said staff are working to implement the proposed tax bylaw changes, and that groups wanting to provide feedback or request changes can send an email to alan.ha@campbellriver.ca by 4 p.m. on Oct. 11, 2023.

Councillors Kerr and Lanyon did not respond by deadline to CBC's requests for comment.