Social services provider frustrated by video showing person splashed by boat on Thompson River

“Is this how we treat ourselves in our community, whether they’re desperate, whether they’re people who are problematic?” ASK Wellness Executive Officer Bob Hughes said Thursday (May 28). “Are we going to go out and actually find some comfort in basically committing acts of violence and (making) demeaning statements towards people?”

“This is not the solution. This is not what Kamloops is about.”

CFJC first brought you this story on Friday (May 22), and police have now confirmed that they’re looking into the incident. Police said it happened just after 5:00 p.m. on Saturday (May 16) of the May long weekend.

“This is somebody who kind of relishes in basically demeaning and condemning, you know, somebody who’s desperate enough that they’re living on the side of a river in a tent,” Hughes said, though he also noted he thinks it is an isolated incident.

“When the public is enraged in this way and displaying this kind of conduct, I think it really is a siren call for the province to say, ‘We need to stand up in voluntary care when we need it.'”

The issue was raised by Councillor Dale Bass at Tuesday’s (May 26) city council meeting. During her councillor report, Bass said she is concerned by this incident and a rise of vigilantism.

“I’m concerned about the rantings that go onto social media when people talk about these incidents,” Bass added. “And I don’t know how we address them, other than to continue to say, ‘Stop it.'”

“I’m hearing from other people who are just as concerned. I’m hearing from outreach workers who are concerned. I’m really concerned about this and I’m really dreading the next several months, given the time we’re living in now.”

RCMP Staff Sgt. Kris Clark said police were not able to locate the boat depicted in the video. He also said there is insufficient evidence to identify it or the operator.

“At the time of the report, there was no indication the operator was filming himself. If there is further evidence available, such as a video that could assist in identifying the operator, we would be interested in receiving it,” Clark said.

The video appears to have come from the Instagram account of Blair Harper, a real estate agent and the owner of Caffe Motivo downtown. Harper did not respond to CFJC’s request for comment.

Hughes said he wants people who are frustrated by the situation on the streets to contact their city councillors and MLAs and ask them to demand real action from higher levels of government.

“This is, frankly, on the province and the federal government to take notice that communities are basically eating themselves alive because of their frustrations with the inability of the province and the federal government to give the appropriate tools to respond accordingly,” he said.

“We need to create courts that are actually going to enforce criminal code violations and, basically, hold those people accountable. And we need to be able to support the very organizations that are caught in the turmoil and the crossfire that is happening in our cities.”

Hughes said people on the streets who commit crimes – whether or not they have an addiction or a mental health issue – should be prosecuted. He noted it’s also important to ensure that people who are down on their luck and need supports to get back on their feet aren’t left to fend for themselves.

“I really do applaud Councillor Bass for bringing this forward and saying this cannot be something that our community is going to tolerate,” Hughes said. “That is not what this community is.”

– With files from James Peters/CFJC Today

by Victor Kaisar

Social services provider frustrated by video showing person splashed by boat on Thompson River

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