Subject property and Leigh and Fortune, file photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

Recovery vs low barrier housing

Minister of Housing, Kamloops council don’t agree on path forward for Fortune site

Dec 10, 2025 | 4:42 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops city council threw some jabs at the B.C. government on Tuesday (Dec. 9) — more specifically at the Ministry of Housing led by Christine Boyle. Council’s anger comes with regards to a proposed BC Housing project on the corner of Fortune Drive and Leigh Road. That is where the city would like to see recovery-focused housing brought into the community, but the province has seemingly vetoed that option in favour of a ‘wet’ facility that would allow open drug use. 

Council is calling the proposed BC Housing project at Leigh and Fortune a flashpoint in its relationship with government.

“There was local interest in bringing forward models around recovery that were rejected,” explained Carmin Mazzotta, the city’s assistant community and culture director. “Instead, we have this new minimum requirements checklist that we see which is very concerning to the service providers.”

The service provider that was looking to bring recovery-focused housing to the Fortune site was ASK Wellness.

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“When they are ready is to jump into treatment, supportive recovery and then into housing that promotes and sustains recovery,” said ASK CEO Bob Hughes.

Hughes knows firsthand the importance of providing low barrier housing, but without a path forward, clients are stagnated at the bottom rung of that recovery journey.

“What we do see is there are no options for people who are looking for a supportive environment that includes services to sustain their recovery should they decide to leave a site like [Spero House] or leave another low barrier site,” added Hughes of the need for recovery housing in Kamloops.

That exact model had already proven successful for ASK Wellness in Penticton but was shut down in Kamloops by the province when the ministry altered the request for proposal to add the wet shelter requirement under their new minimum requirement checklist.

“With this being a very narrow and kind of prescriptive model, when you have a community and a community of operators, I must say, that are all pointing to the value and need to create a complementary model of housing that obviously includes a recovery focus,” said Hughes.

“I have lost a lot of faith in the Ministry of Housing to actually care about Kamloops at all,” bluntly stated Councillor Dale Bass during Tuesday’s meeting.

The strong criticism from Bass, a marked change from what was often described by council as a good working relationship with previous housing minister Ravi Kahlon, leaving Christine Boyle to pick up the pieces and rebuild trust.

“There are 313 people identified as homeless in Kamloops in the last point-in-time count, so we are working together on how we meet those needs, bring people indoors, help them get back on their feet. That is the shared task,” Boyle told CFJC News.

Boyle stated the province’s data, including the point-in-time count with more than 50 per cent identifying with substance use challenges, is the reason why the ministry is focused on low barrier housing at the Fortune site.

“We clearly need the whole mix, and my understanding is the data shows what is needed first is a lower barrier option, that allows us to move people indoors and that has been the conversation on this side,” said Boyle. “Look, I’m always glad to be in conversation with local government who want to do more, and if we are able to both of these at the same time, great.”

Hall’s notice of motion to tackle BC Housing challenges in Kamloops passes

In the wake of that decision by the NDP government and minister of housing, Kamloops Councillor Kelly Hall put forward a notice of motion to address the issue, with council passing it on Tuesday by unanimous vote. 

The approved motion from Hall is to remove the development cost charges (DCC) payment exemption for supportive wet facilities in the city, while simultaneously working to create new funding options that support the construction of recovery-focused housing.

“I think it’s important to recognize that, by removing the waiver on the DCC, the city actually takes charge of the funding that we can put toward future building within the city of Kamloops,” said Hall. “It’s the right type of building and we actually take control of the type of building we are going to need within this community.”

Hall did note the changes are not intended to affect local non-profit service providers for services like low income housing and seniors housing, instead focused more toward BC Housing.

The motion also includes a request to speak with Housing Minister Christine Boyle and Health Minister Josie Osborne to highlight their concerns.

“I used Leigh and Fortune as an example. We had an accepted [request for proposal]. It was rescinded. A new one was issued with a new appendix ‘E’… which would allow for (drug) use on site and removed the recovery focus that the community and the agencies so desperately wanted,” stated Hall.