(GLYNN BROTHEN / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kamloops city councillor called out Interior Health for vetoing a proposed sobering centre, but the health authority and the province both refuse to say whether the claim is true.

A Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions spokesperson said Interior Health was "not interested" in the city's proposal, according to Coun. Dale Bass who learned from a reporter.

Coming eight months after a second business case was sent to the province and closely on the heels of a coroner's inquest that called for such a facility, the comment sparked frustration from councillors who wanted an explanation from Interior Health.

"I think the fact that Interior Health is saying it's the ministry's decision, and the ministry is saying it's Interior Health's decision, shows how neither organization is taking our eight-year-long pursuit to get a sobering centre seriously," Bass said. "I think it was massively disrespectful to the city that if they have made a decision, whichever it might have been, they did not tell us."

Bass said she learned of the ministry spokesperson's comment from a reporter, but that same spokesperson, Marie Lapointe, did not respond to a request for comment on the quote when asked by iNFOnews.ca.

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City hall has been calling for such a facility for at least eight years. It would free up space in Kamloops RCMP cells and house people arrested that are intoxicated and need to sober up. Instead of a jail-like facility, it's proposed to have a healthcare focus. A renewed call came from a recent coroner's inquest that recommended immediate provincial funding go toward such a facility after examining the 2019 in-custody death of Randy Lampreau.

"We know the City has brought forward a proposal for a sobering centre in the past, and we’re committed to continuing to work with Interior Health, the City, and all partners to urgently expand mental health and addiction care for people in the area," the ministry said in a statement. "At this time, there are no plans for a sobering centre in Kamloops."

The ministry said it will review the recommendations from the inquest jury, while it "continues to urgently expand" mental health and addictions services in the Kamloops area "based on Interior Health recommendations."

City councillors questioned on July 30 whether the ministry or Interior Health is making decisions on such a facility, but the ministry did not answer iNFOnews.ca when asked to clarify the health authority's ability to veto such a project.

Interior Health, meanwhile, wouldn't comment on the suggestion that the health authority is "not interested" in the facility.

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In a written statement, Interior Health said business plans submitted to the ministry are approved by the province, adding that officials will "continue to have discussions" with the ministry about sobering centres and where they may fit "with the appropriate medical oversight."

"We are open to further discussions on a sobering centre and how it fits into the broader continuum of expanding substance use services offered in Kamloops," the statement reads.

When asked about the specific claim that Interior Health wasn't interested in the project, a spokesperson said they "have not seen it" and deferred to the written statement.

City council voted to send letters to both Interior Health and the ministry requesting a meeting and an explanation of where each sit on the idea of a sobering centre.

A renewed business case was brought forward in late 2023 that cost $30,000 to develop. The pitch to the province suggests renovating the Phoenix Centre near Royal Inland Hospital to house what would be a drunk tank with health and addiction services. It was estimated to cost around $2.6 million for the renovations and startup costs.

Bass said officials at city hall have been left in limbo since submitting the new business plan, waiting on any indication from the ministry that it would be going ahead with the project or not.

"They should have talked to us, and now they say they want to us a bit more? It took a reporter to find out that they need more information from us," Bass said. "That's not good governance... That's blowing off Kamloops yet again."

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