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(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

Three Kamloops city councillors united today in an effort to present a motion asking city staff to work with B.C. Housing and other local agencies to plan ahead before extreme weather strikes either in the winter or summer.

The motion was ultimately delayed until council's next meeting, Jan. 25, because the councillors didn't follow the accepted protocol for introducing a motion.

The notice of motion, which was a collaborated effort between councillors Sadie Hunter, Dale Bass and Kathy Sinclair, was presented verbally at council's meeting this afternoon, Jan. 11.

The motion proposed that city staff should cooperate with B.C. Housing, the Thompson Nicola Regional District and School District 73 to ensure that adequate shelter spaces, along with day spaces in both extreme heat and cold weather, are available in Kamloops. The motion proposed that B.C. Housing should present that season's solutions to council by April 15 and Sept. 15 every year.

"As far back as March and April, we started raising issues around day spaces and shelter requirements - that was before the heat dome and smoke. Here we are in January without adequate spaces and shelters, and it's not clear to me what the delay is," Hunter said. "What is clear is the systems in place... are failing."

Amid extreme cold in Kamloops this winter one person, who was known to use emergency shelters, died outside in November.

As temperatures plummeted in December, local homeless outreach group The Loop opened its doors as a winter shelter because there wasn't enough beds for the most vulnerable people who needed them. They hosted up to as many as 30 people when temperatures dropped below - 20 Celsius.

READ MORE: Senior dies amid homeless shelter shortage in Kamloops

An emergency shelter was opened at the downtown Stuart Wood Elementary school, but it's the only new shelter space planned by B.C. Housing that has opened its doors since they announced their plans this past fall.

Mayor Ken Christian did not entertain the motion as a constructive approach to address shelter and day space needs in Kamloops. Instead, he voiced his concern that the motion should have been presented as a written notice in the council meeting agenda, which would have postponed council's vote to Jan. 25, the next council meeting.

He also tapped the city's corporate officer Natalie Garbay to explain that the notice of motion process includes a written notice to be included in the agenda. It would be presented to councillors today, for example, then discussed and voted on at the next meeting, on Jan. 25.

Hunter read the motion aloud during the councillors' report segment of the council meeting, which is typically used to present information to council.

Bass told iNFOnews.ca that the three councillors that collaborated on the motion decided to present it so council could cast their vote on the same day because B.C. Housing is scheduled speak to council next week.

Bass added that it's not out of the ordinary in other municipalities to push motions ahead during the councillors' report segment in order to have decisions made more quickly.

"We accomplished what we wanted, and that's to get the conversation going," she said.

READ MORE: Motion to study recovery centre near Kamloops defeated by city council

The motion is not strictly oriented toward providing shelters for people that are homeless, but is also for people that are more vulnerable in extreme weather, Bass said.

She said cooling and warming centres are needed for seniors who live in an aging home that lacks air conditioning, or for families whose furnace might break down in the middle of a cold snap.

B.C. Housing officials are expected to speak with council at a committee of the whole meeting on Jan. 18.

Kamloops city councillors have had many discussions centred around shelters and vulnerable populations over the last year.

Councillor Mike O'Reilly said the motion would be an added burden for city staff already working with B.C. Housing and other agencies to coordinate services and supports for vulnerable populations. He said it does not take into account the efforts city staff have already taken to make plans with other organizations.

READ MORE: B.C. urban mayors renew call for complex care for vulnerable people across B.C.

"There is an Amazon Prime mentality that people want things now and they want things right away," he said. "We haven't given staff enough time to do the things we want. We need to allow staff enough time before piling on stuff."

Bass believes some councillors, and the mayor, misunderstood the motion as a criticism against B.C. Housing and other service providers, but that was not the intent.

"We don't want to piss off B.C. Housing," Bass said, adding that she, Hunter and Sinclair would like to discuss with B.C. Housing a change in shelter preparation as climate change causes more extreme weather events in B.C.

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