Williams Lake Community Safety Forum - July 15, 2026 from 6-8pm

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

The City of Williams Lake is inviting residents, businesses and community members to participate in a Community Safety Information Gathering Session on Wednesday, July 15 from 6 pm to 8 pm in the Gibraltar Room at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex. 

The session will provide an opportunity for community members to share their concerns and ideas related to public safety in Williams Lake. Discussion topics will include public space safety, homelessness, mental health and addictions, youth safety, personal safety, business and economic impacts and other community safety issues. 

Discussion will be facilitated to encourage respectful, collaborative and productive discussion to prevent personal attacks or criticism directed at specific individuals, organizations or agencies.

To help guide the discussion, the City has launched a Community Safety Survey. Community members are encouraged to complete the survey in advance of the session and share their perspectives on current safety challenges, areas for improvement and potential solutions. Surveys completed before July 10 will be compiled and summarized for use during the sessions.

Input gathered through both the survey and the information session will help the City better understand community concerns, experiences and priorities related to safety in Williams Lake.

The survey can be completed at: https://forms.gle/Z3QccmRFs2THPRGx7.

The survey will remain open until midnight on Friday, July 31, to allow community members who are unable to attend the session an opportunity to provide input. 

Doors will open for the Community Safety Information Gathering Session at 5:30 pm, with the session beginning at 6 pm.

Special Williams Lake City Council Meeting - June 3, 2025 at 6pm (Local State of Emergency/Community Safety)

Later tonight (June 3, 2025) at 6:00pm in Williams Lake Council Chambers at 450 Mart Street (and the meeting is open to the public to observe)-- Williams Lake City Council will be holding a special meeting to review a Staff report, as directed back on May 27, 2025, about the possibility of declaring a Local State of Emergency to deal with local Community Safety issues in Williams Lake

Meeting Agenda: https://williamslake.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=1501

If you are not able to attend the meeting in-person -- you can watch the meeting on YouTube, either live or later, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkdp2ZlBb1E

Williams Lake City Councillor calls for bold action to deal with vandalism/public safety in Williams Lake (State of Local Emergency/Curfew)

Editor's Note -- this is my personal opinion and not that of the Cariboo Regional District and its' Board of Directors' 

At its' meeting on Tuesday, May 27th -- Williams Lake City Council will consider a motion from Williams Lake City Councillor Scott Nelson as follows:

That, in collaboration with the Mayor [Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor], (Williams Lake City) staff be requested to immediately look at options for calling for a State of Local Emergency in response to the increased threats to public safety; 

And further, that staff investigate options for establishing a curfew from 11 pm to 6 am in collaboration with the RCMP and other local stakeholders, which would include arresting individuals engaged in unlawful activities, as well as escorting unhoused individuals to a shelter or other facility for appropriate support; 

And further, that individuals in the public experiencing intoxication or severe mental issues be transported to the hospital for review of involuntary treatment. 

The report from Councillor Nelson can be viewed here

The Province of BC previously had a "Curfew Act" in the 1990's which would allow the BC Cabinet/Executive Council [Premier + Ministers], upon a petition received from a rural/unincorporated area, to impose restrictions about being out in public during night time hours.  This Act has since been repealed... 

Meanwhile -- use of the "State of Local Emergency" by BC Local Governments' for purposes other than standard local emergencies such as flood/wildfires has previously been disallowed by the BC Ministry of Emergency Management - as was the case in late May of 2024 when former Harrison Hot Springs Mayor Ed Wood unilaterally used it to start a wildfire risk reduction program in Harrison Hot Springs after the 4 Harrison Hot Springs Councillors' of the day had budget and policy concerns and weren't prepared to go along with it, at the time.  More here.  The Province of BC has certain restrictions when it comes to the declaration of a "State of Local Emergency" by a BC Local Government (Municipal Council or Regional District Board).  More on those here

If Williams Lake City Council does agree to Councillor Nelson's motion -- I expect Williams Lake City Staff will obtain legal advice and it will likely indicate that use of a "State of Local Emergency" will not be permitted to deal with things like vandalism in a municipality but I would be interested in hearing what legal advice City of Williams Lake Staff receives about imposing a curfew in Williams Lake during night time hours, especially when Sections 7 + 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - namely "life, liberty and security of the person" and "cruel and unusual treatment of the person"... are factored in, when considering the establishment of a night time curfew 

The Williams Lake City Council meeting of Tuesday, May 27th, 2025 starts at 6:00pm in Williams Lake Council Chambers (450 Mart St, Williams Lake) and also can be viewed live online via YouTube- click here