Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee says it\u2019s time to dismantle the controversial Fairview encampment site before a tragedy takes place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the Penticton Fire Department and other first responders confirmed there were two fires Monday morning at the encampment \u2013 neither resulting in serious injury according to the Penticton Fire Department \u2013 Boultbee said she\u2019s worried someone is going to get seriously hurt, or worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boultbee said information she has received indicated one of the fires caused burns to the hands of a young woman living at the encampment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was, in fact, an injury,\u201d said Boultbee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boultbee, who continues to work as an independent after resigning as a member of the BC Conservative Party several months ago following a dispute with former leader John Rustad, said she has voiced her concerns about possible fires at the Fairview encampment more than once to provincial officials, including having a direct meeting with Minister of Housing Christine Boyle and members of her staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI met with her many times, but that one meeting was specifically about fires,\u201d she said. \u201cI have been warning the Ministry for months now about the risk of fires. In particular, I specifically said that during the winter, survival fires were going to create a safety risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just me that has flagged this issue. Many other people have. I had one particular meeting about the safety issues in the encampment where we specifically discussed fires as a risk and the fact the people were building structures that were hastily constructed. I voiced my concerns about these catching on fire or issues with other heating devices and carbon monoxide. That\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people living in the encampment have been fortunate this has been a particularly warm winter so far, but temperatures are again dipping below zero overnight and those same residents are left with little choice but to expose themselves to potential harm by lighting fires to try and stay warm, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe reality is people do light survival fires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Fairview encampment has been allowed to remain in place for more than 18 months and these fires have convinced her it\u2019s time for the provincial government to take decisive action, find these people temporary housing and close the encampment down once and for all, said Boultbee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe encampment has always posed a risk to human safety,\u201d she said. \u201cBefore portable toilets were installed, it also posed an environmental risk. It has always been a risk to human safety and health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The provincial government has been \u201cvery inconsistent\u201d in which encampments they move to close and provide emergency shelters across the province and those they allow, said Boultbee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are other communities where they have closed encampments and did so because they said there was a risk,\u201d she said. \u201cI asked how is ours in Penticton not a risk \u2026 how are having people with propane tanks in tents not a risk. They\u2019re not applying their own policies consistently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my hope that what happened (Monday) is a big wakeup call to them and they can\u2019t allow this to continue. It\u2019s been almost two years now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The provincial government announced back in June they were clearing out the Fairview Encampment, giving people living there a short timeline to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The majority did leave, however, many stayed and the encampment continued to grow again and has remained in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putting up fencing and hiring security guards has proven useless as the residents in the encampment have been allowed to come and go as they please since the failed evacuation back in June, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe evacuation notice was actually nothing more than a stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arguing over who is responsible for ownership or control of the parcel of land where the encampment is located is no longer worth arguing over, said Boultbee, stating ultimately the provincial government is responsible for taking action and ensuring the residents living there are moved into temporary emergency shelters and the encampment is shut down for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe province is honestly just trying to make this whole situation complicated by creating a jurisdictional issue when there really isn\u2019t one,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is 100 per cent within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation. That\u2019s indisputable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe province has tried to muddy the waters and keep it complicated to deflect responsibility, but it\u2019s very clearly provincial land. Housing is also 100 per cent their issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 This story was originally published by the Penticton Herald<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Penticton MLA said she\u2019s worried someone is going to get seriously hurt, or worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":635,"featured_media":7805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"","source":"","byline":"","published":"","updated":"","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1680,541,543],"tags":[],"region":[322,323,324,325],"class_list":["post-7804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/7804\/mla-boultbee-says-time-has-come-to-dismantle-penticton-homeless-encampment\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"MLA Boultbee says time has come to dismantle Penticton homeless encampment","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/7804\/mla-boultbee-says-time-has-come-to-dismantle-penticton-homeless-encampment\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/7804\/mla-boultbee-says-time-has-come-to-dismantle-penticton-homeless-encampment\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-a91f9e863ce2a89d40ab3e4eff0dda7d5b83c6b2d91c960dcf3f10ced8893a0d.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-a91f9e863ce2a89d40ab3e4eff0dda7d5b83c6b2d91c960dcf3f10ced8893a0d.jpg"},"articleSection":"Featured","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Keith Lacey"}],"creator":["Keith Lacey"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNhome","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-01-21T19:02:51Z","datePublished":"2026-01-21T19:02:51Z","dateModified":"2026-01-21T19:02:54Z"},"rendered":"