By Victor Kaisar

Community Court

Kamloops council expected to resume advocacy for community court in 2026

Aug 11, 2025 | 6:25 AM

KAMLOOPS — The push to establish a community court in Kamloops to deal with petty crimes fuelled by mental health and addiction issues is expected to pick up steam again in the new year, after a so-called Situation Table gets up and running.

Kamloops Protective Services Director Ken Uzeloc said the Situation Table is expected to launch by the end of this year. It will bring together frontline workers from many sectors to work proactively to help people get the supports and services they need.

“Cases can be managed as a group with all of the stakeholders — law enforcement, the healthcare system, the housing system — together to focus on solutions,” said Uzeloc. “Training [for the Situation Table] has been done with initial groups and we’re going some community training.”

Speaking at the July 24 Safety and Security Select Committee Meeting, Uzeloc said the province has also indicated it may entertain the idea of a community court in Kamloops once the Situation Table is established.

The B.C. Government confirmed those plans to CFJC Today in a statement, which also noted that Kamloops is expected to join dozens of B.C. communities that already have a Situation Table by this fall.

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“[It] will bring together frontline social, health and public safety agencies to address urgent concerns like mental health, addictions, homelessness and poverty,” the statement from the Ministry of Attorney General said.

“Given the range of new initiatives underway, it was agreed that more time and assessment were needed before determining whether a new court model would be the best next step.”

While she applauded the Situation Table as a “fantastic” thing that will resolve a number of issues in Kamloops, Councillor Katie Neustaeter said it won’t “have the same outcome” that Kamloops has been looking for from a community court.

“It doesn’t actually put consequence or a path in place that can be quasi-judicial, something that brings together folks who know both the laws and also the challenges that are happening,” Neustaeter said.

“Although, I think, the Situation Tables are fantastic, they’re not actually a solution to the problem that was identified and was the impetus for the community court conversation going ahead.”

Unlike a regular court, people in a community court also get treatment as part of their sentence in the hopes of connecting them to various supports that are available to them.

In 2019, defence lawyer Michelle Stanford, who helped spearhead plans for the community court, told CFJC Today that many correctional facilities do not have the resources to properly treat mental illness and help inmates heal.

Neustaeter also said while the community court has been discussed at length for the past several years, there hasn’t been a firm decision from the province yet.

“I have never heard while I’ve been sitting at the council table from any level of the province that definitively said no to a community court,” she added. “I think there’s some value in bringing that back.”

“We’ve sat in front of ministers, we’ve sat in front of the attorney general, and we’ve had those conversations at UBCM and while there wasn’t a ‘yes’ given, it certainly remained in the grey, politically. I think we should talk strategy around where can bring that back forward.”

In the statement, the Ministry of Attorney General said the province “remains open” to exploring a community court in Kamloops in the future once these new supports [the Situation Table] are established and their impact can be assessed.”

“In August 2024, provincial representatives met with the city regarding their specialized court application,” the statement added. “During this discussion, participants reviewed existing community-based initiatives in Kamloops aimed at enhancing coordination among public safety, health and social service sectors to support individuals facing complex challenges, including mental health and substance use.”

“The conversation also touched on upcoming scheduled programs and services that were coming to Kamloops intended to strengthen local supports and address service gaps, particularly in areas related to housing stability, health outcomes and community safety.”

While it’s not clear exactly when the City plans to revive its advocacy for the community court, it is expected to be in the first three months of next year. Neustaeter also said the city still has willing community partners who have dedicated a “profound amount of time” towards the community court proposal.

“It behooves us to be ready to re-petition the province for the community court,” Neustaeter added. “[We say] ‘the Situation Table is off the ground and there is a lot of value in that. If that is what you want to be Square 1, fine. Square 2 is now a community court.'”

“Much like the sobering and assessment centre, until we receive a hard ‘no, we’re not interested in solving the problem through the solution that you’ve brought forward,’ I say we continue pounding the desk on that one.”