Lyonel Doherty

Times-Chronicle

The Town of Oliver is submitting three important resolutions to the Southern Interior Local Government Association that will have a significant impact on many communities if adopted.

The first is Mayor Martin Johansen’s pet project – to establish primary care clinics to offer better health care services in Oliver and Osoyoos.

This would require much funding but worth every penny. In fact, a team-based approach in these clinics is just what the doctor ordered.

The second resolution jumps on the side of landlords as they continue to battle tenants from hell.

Coun. Aimee Grice says, the pendulum of protection seems to have swung more in the favour of tenants than landlords.

Yes, there are plenty of slumlords out there, but the same goes for bad tenants, some of whom are harder to evict than a badger in a gopher hole. This has unfortunately resulted in fewer home rentals, leaving families without affordable accommodation.

The third resolution by Coun. Larry Schwartzenberger is a critical one as it addresses a situation that has devastated many families in B.C. including Oliver and Osoyoos.

A moratorium on long-term care facilities that have multi-resident rooms is a step in the right direction in the battle against COVID-19. You need proper isolation measures to stop the spread of this virus, which was part of the problem at McKinney Place in Oliver where 17 residents died.

What resolutions do you think are necessary to safeguard our communities? Send your ideas to editor@timeschronicle. ca.

One resolution we would like to see adopted is giving municipalities more influence on what happens to prolific offenders and problem houses in the community.

We are watching the Community Safety and Crime Prevention Committee in Oliver as it plans to continue what it started last year.

It has been some time since the committee met and discussed establishing an intervention task force to reach out to people suffering from mental health, addictions and homelessness.

Despite the pandemic, we must not lose sight of this priority in tackling the root of crime in our neighbourhoods.