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Cranbrook, BC (January 23, 2023) – City Council has directed staff to spearhead an effort to bring a number of provincial agencies together to find ‘Made in Cranbrook’ solutions to a number of ongoing social issues.

This directive stems from a Notice of Motion tabled by Mayor Wayne Price at the regular meeting of Council on January 9, 2023, modelled after a similar initiative in Prince George.

The City is facing a number of crises that are affecting the daily lives of businesses and residents in the community. These areas of concern are managed by the Provincial Government and not under the jurisdiction of the City. However, the City must be concerned about its own future and take a leadership role, bringing the necessary parties together to address these issues in a collaborative and effective way.

“The impacts of homelessness, the encampments, as well as the mental health and addictions epidemic are a growing concern and are impacting businesses and residents of our community, including those living directly with these struggles,” says Mayor Wayne Price.  “Although areas like health, housing, mental health, and addictions are not under the jurisdiction of local government, this is our community, and we need to take the next steps beyond simple advocacy and gain the supports necessary to resolve these issues.”

It will take staff some time to organize these meetings with the Provincial Ministries.  As this work occurs, Council will continue to work on potential solutions for Cranbrook.

“One of the primary goals should be to find areas where our City, and the Provincial Government intersect,” says Mayor Price. “This ensures that discussions can move beyond advocacy and real action can begin to be taken from each party to make progress towards a plan with actionable items to resolve these issues.”

The City of Cranbrook is committed to publicly sharing the results of these meetings and any new actions or programs stemming from these discussions.