With a deadly heatwave just completed and warmer temperatures forecasted again for this week, a Burnaby society wants to move quickly to ensure it doesn't happen again.
At Monday's (July 26) council meeting, executive director of the Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby Carol-Ann Flanagan appeared, asking Mayor Mike Hurley and council to approve the use of city property for the operation of Burnaby's Extreme Weather Heat Response cooling sites.
The sites are for people who experience homelessness in the city during high to extreme heat, with the hope of starting with two locations.
"Your decision is vital to the wellbeing of our most vulnerable community members," Flanagn said during her virtual presentation.
"We request that city staff work closely with us to find the most appropriate location to provide the services."
From June 25 to roughly July 1, B.C. was under an extreme heat warning as temperatures soared to more than 40 degrees Celsius in some regions but felt like high 40s.
That prompted the City of Burnaby to open three cooling locations which operated from 19 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations:
- Edmonds Community Centre (7433 Edmonds St.)
- McGill Library (4595 Albert St.)
- Bob Prittie Metrotown Library (6100 Willingdon Ave.)
The record-breaking temperatures would prove to be fatal throughout the province, where 808 sudden deaths were reported during the "heat dome."
It was 610 more sudden deaths across British Columbia when compared to the five-year average over the same seven-day period, according to updated preliminary data from the BC Coroners Service.
On June 29, 2021, Burnaby RCMP said they had responded to 34 sudden deaths by noon of that day, where heat is believed to have been a contributing factor.
"We are seeing this weather can be deadly for vulnerable members of our community, especially the elderly and those with underlying health issues," Burnaby RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Mike Kalanj said in a news release.
"It is imperative we check on one another during this extreme heat.”
In March of this year, The Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby and the City Social Planning Department created a Burnaby Extreme Weather Heat Plan that identified that cooling centres are a necessity when the weather in the city reaches 29 Celsius for two straight days or more.
The pop-up cooling sites would be operational from June 1 to Sept. 30 on an intermittent basis when day temperatures put homeless people at high risk.
The sites would run from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. with set up and take down time immediately before and after.
In a report to the city and council, Flanagan said the society has been actively reaching out to the community, looking for locations where weather-dependent, intermittent services could be offered including reaching out to all Burnaby churches three times.
"Although several churches indicated support for the services, their locations are committed elsewhere this year, including most notably with summer camps that utilize the same spaces," the report states.
"We have also reached out to social services and community groups, but they do not have available space either."
The society says COVID-19 has contributed to the struggles to find locations but now with restrictions easing, other services are ramping up and potential spaces are committed elsewhere.
"We are therefore asking Mayor and Council to approve the use of city property for the operation of Burnaby’s Extreme Weather Heat Response cooling site(s) for people who experience homelessness in Burnaby," the report continues.
"The request would be for the remainder of this year’s Extreme Weather Heat Response season, i.e. September 30, 2021.
"We request that city staff work closely with us to find the most appropriate location to provide the services, e.g. shady park space currently used by homeless people would be ideal."
Councillor Sav Dhaliwal agreed the sites are needed to keep residents safe, especially Burnaby's most vulnerable population.
"A lot of deaths have happened in the City of Burnaby and around the province so we don't need any more proof. The need is there," he said.
Dhaliwal moved that the delegation's comments be deferred to staff.
- With files from Cornelia Naylor, Burnaby NOW and Stefan Labbé, Glacier Media
