Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Clean the Beach

Beach cleanup event nets 1,300 pounds of garbage; mayor questions lack of interaction with unhoused population

Apr 23, 2024 | 6:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — Sunday’s (Apr. 21) inaugural City of Kamloops Clean the Beach Day removed more than half-a-ton of refuse from Kamloops beaches, according to the city councillor who spurred the idea.

At Tuesday’s regular meeting, Councillor Mike O’Reilly reported about 130 people took part in the event, bagging up about 1,300 pounds of garbage.

“It wasn’t just about cleaning up the beach. It was a community event. It was the pride that these people were taking — that we all took,” said O’Reilly. “I believe about 30 kids took part in this and it’s instilling this in them at a young age — to take care of our environment and to pick up the garbage when you see a piece as opposed to just walking by.”

The city’s Community Services Officers patrolled areas designated for volunteers to visit ahead of the event in order to prevent conflicts. Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson told council he believed interaction with those who spend their nights in the outdoors would have been illuminating.

“A one-day deal is great and it was awesome, but I would encourage you — there’s really no conflict,” said the mayor. “If you go down onto the beaches and talk to the people in the camps, you can actually learn a lot about them and find out why they’re there, where they came from and all that kind of thing.”

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O’Reilly flagged Hamer-Jackson’s suggestion as a major liability issue for the city and took pains to tell anyone listening to the meeting not to heed the mayor’s advice.

“The beach cleanup was done with risk management involved to make sure it was a safe environment for people to go and partake in this event,” said O’Reilly. “I advise people to not go and just check out homeless camps and have conversations. I think there’s high risk there. For any elected official to say, ‘Hey, you should go do that,’ it’s putting the corporation at risk so I advise people not to do that.”

“They might live on the river, but they’re citizens and they’ve got stories — they’ve got everything,” countered Hamer-Jackson. “Walking into a high-rise apartment that’s worth millions of dollars or onto the riverbank, they’re still citizens. Those people had a vote just like those people up in the penthouse. I don’t believe for one minute that you’re at risk because they’re regular citizens. I go in there and I’m not afraid.”