CFTK-TV News recently spoke with Smithers Mayor Gladys Atrill about how she thought that the Town’s temporary encampment shelter had been operating, after it had been making headlines throughout the past few months;
“Overall, I think it’s been going pretty well. People have been getting shelter and refuge in there and other services are being delivered to people who can’t stay overnight there.”
The shelter had drawn criticism from Bulkley Valley–Stikine MLA Sharon Hartwell in the past, where she called it a reckless social experiment that puts residents, patients, and vulnerable people at risk.
But that statement came out in the earlier half of November and Mayor Atrill inferred that things have been made more clear for the people questioning the shelter since then;
“I respect Miss Hartwell’s ability to make the comments and take the positions that she chooses. What we did in town was hold a public engagement session, so that people could learn what’s actually happened and what was going on with the shelter at that point. So I think lots of circumstances have changed since the MLA made that release.”
The shelter is set to be operational until the end of March 2026.
The Town also has plans to build supportive housing and a permanent shelter space although a timeline was not provided on when those might be ready.