Advocacy

Municipalities and regional districts are responsible for providing local services to their area. These services include fire protection, water treatment and delivery, recreation facilities and solid waste collection, to name a few. But there are many services that residents rely on that are under the control of, and funded by, the provincial or federal governments.

In BC, the Province of British Columbia oversees essential services such as healthcare, public education and social services. The Government of Canada oversees matters such as criminal law, the postal services and employment insurance.

An important role of local government leadership is to advocate for the needs of their community, especially in regards to services under the jurisdiction of senior levels of government. Although much of the work happens behind the scenes, Nanaimo City Council has been working hard to advocate on behalf of Nanaimo residents.

The lists below captures some of the key advocacy priorities for Nanaimo City Council.

Nanaimo's Advocacy Priorities

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Healthcare

Complex care, detox & recovery spaces
- Nanaimo Council has been advocating for increased resources and support for those struggling with mental illness, brain injury and addiction for a number of years. Nanaimo’s healthcare system is overwhelmed with requests for support, with the needs far surpassing the resources available.
- Nanaimo needs more complex care housing services, detox and recovery spaces. Council continues to ask that the Province establish facilities for individuals with complex needs in a timeline that reflects the urgent needs of those requiring supports.
- Council has written to Provincial representatives, advocating on behalf of Nanaimo residents, and met with the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions to discuss Nanaimo’s needs at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention in 2023 and 2024.
- A City of Nanaimo resolution calling on the Province to increase investment in complex care beds was endorsed at the 2024 UBCM convention.
Nanaimo Regional General Hospital - cath lab & new patient tower
- Nanaimo Council continues to be a strong advocate for the need for a catheterization (cath) lab and new patient tower at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH).
- The current facility was built in 1963, has numerous deficiencies and is regularly treating over 400 inpatients in a 346-bed facility.
- Our region has the largest population over 400,000 without a cath lab in Canada, and without this kind of facility our region does not meet the Canadian standard of cardiac care.
- Council supports the advocacy work undertaken by Fair Care Alliance and has emphasized the need for these projects through a letter sent to Premier Eby and in meetings with the Premier, Minister of Health and Island Health.
- These critical needs have also been highlighted during Council’s meetings with Provincial representatives at the UBCM convention over the past three years.
Provincial funding for Mental Health Liaison Officers
- Nanaimo Council is advocating for the Province to recognize that the valuable role of Mental Health Liaison Officers, who assist in providing health care and social services support by responding to chronic/crisis mental health calls, should be funded by the Province whose mandate these services fall under, rather than municipalities.
- A City of Nanaimo resolution calling on the Province to fund RCMP Mental Health Liaison Officers within the RCMP and local detachments was endorsed at the 2024 UBCM convention.

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Public Safety

RCMP resources and costs
- Nanaimo Council has been a strong advocate for a centrally located Major Crime Unit for Vancouver Island for a number of years. Council has also been advocating for provincial support to adequately resource and fund Nanaimo’s local detachment.
- The current funding model is not sustainable, and the costs for addressing the needs to bring staffing and resources to where they need to be places great pressure on local taxpayers.
- Letters have been sent, and meetings have been had, with both the Premier and the Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General regarding the need for more provincial support to address Nanaimo's complex challenges.
Prolific offenders and social disorder
- Nanaimo Council has been advocating for changes to the justice system that would allow for involuntary care for repeat offenders suffering from severe mental illness, brain injury and addiction.
- More effective sentencing and deterrents are needed to address prolific offenders with serious charges who continue to be released back into the community, only to reoffend.
- Council has raised the issue of the struggles that Nanaimo is seeing in terms of social disorder and prolific offenders through letters and meetings with the Premier and the Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General.
Minimizing downstream impacts and costs
- Nanaimo Council recognizes that a significant amount of money is being spent on downstream impacts in our community due to those suffering from mental health, homelessness and addiction.
- Council has raised the issue with the Province noting that the current tax framework is lacking tools for communities to address these challenges.
- More upstream solutions are needed by senior levels of government to provide stable housing for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness and supports for those suffering from addiction and mental health challenges.

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Housing & Homelessness

Funding support for shelter space in Nanaimo
- Nanaimo Council recognizes that there is a critical need for more shelter spaces in our community. It is estimated that approximately 1,000 people in Nanaimo are experiencing long-term, chronic homelessness. With the support of BC Housing, more spaces are being created to provide temporary shelter, but the need outweighs the current resources available.
- The City and Snuneymuxw First Nation have written to the Premier advocating for provincial support to help fund shelter spaces in Nanaimo, recognizing the steep increase in the number of individuals experiencing homelessness and the need for more resources.
- The City has also written to the Federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, advocating for increased funding supports from the Federal government through the Reaching Home program – a program which will see a funding reduction of almost 60% in the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
- In an effort to support the work of current shelter providers, the City of Nanaimo submitted a resolution to the 2024 UBCM convention, which was endorsed, requesting that the Province work with the Building Safety Standards Branch to establish some reasonable variances to the BC Building Code and BC Fire Code to enable emergency shelters to remain open.
- In 2023, a resolution submitted by the City of Nanaimo calling for the appropriate resourcing of emergency warming shelters was endorsed at UBCM.
Housing and rent supplements
- Nanaimo Council continues to advocate to the Province for their support in prioritizing housing needs across the spectrum. Long-term permanent housing, supportive housing, complex care housing, temporary and emergency shelters, rent supplements and more… all of these are needed to ensure that there is enough housing in our community and to reduce the numbers of those at risk of homelessness.
- The City is advocating for rent supplement programs to be expanded and for projects with BC Housing to be fast tracked.
- Council met with the Minister of Housing at the 2024 UBCM to discuss Nanaimo's housing needs, highlighting the need for more long-term, permanent housing in Nanaimo to reduce the number of those at risk of homelessness.

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Supports for a Growing Community

Protection of ecologically sensitive areas
- Nanaimo Council recognizes that if left unprotected, some of Nanaimo's unique natural areas that could be at risk.
- Council is advocating to senior levels of government to help protect ecologically and culturally sensitive areas.
- Letters have been sent to provincial and federal ministers requesting support to help protect areas at risk, and Council met with the Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship at the 2024 UBCM convention to discuss their concerns.
Sustainable funding for public libraries
- Nanaimo Council recognizes that core funding for public libraries in BC has remained unchanged since 2009. Meanwhile, the demand for services and supports has increased. Operational requirements of public libraries require significant and diverse resources to continue providing front-line community services.
- A resolution submitted by the City of Nanaimo, District of Oak Bay, City of Powell River and qathet Regional District, calling for the provincial government to establish an Advisory Body to undertake a review of core annual provincial funding of public libraries and make recommendations to the Minister with respect to core, sustainable funding approaches for BC’s public library sector, was endorsed at the 2024 UBCM convention.
Transportation improvements on provincial highways and key intersections
- Nanaimo Council recognizes that as our community grows, so does the need for improvements to the transportation system overseen by the Ministry of Transportation.
- The City has called for improvements such as converting key intersections of the highway to an overpass and addressing safety concerns in areas of local highways such as the Nicol Street and Stewart Avenue corridors.

Last updated: September 25, 2024

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