There are allegations a drug and alcohol medical detox facility for Campbell River was kept quiet from neighbours.
A number of city councillors say they were taken by surprise about the future six-bed facility at 731 Nicholls Road.
Mayor Kermit Dahl says he only found out about it after a neighbour talked to him at work.
“The neighbour that showed up told me there was an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) on the house and that’s why the neighbourhood didn’t know anything about what was going on. So that’s a concerted effort to make sure that the neighbourhood doesn’t know what’s happening,” Dahl said.
The mayor grilled officials with Island Health yesterday (Tuesday) saying if they cared about neighbours’ concerns they would have talked to them before buying the house.
“I think if Island Health was really concerned with the neighbours’ positions they would have talked to them before they purchased the property. Once you’ve purchased it and made the decision what you’re going to do there, are you listening? You may be hearing the words but truly listening would have needed to be done before you purchased the property,” Dahl said.
Dahl asked how many locations in Campbell River had been explored before deciding on Nicholls Road. An Island Health official said five to 10 locations were reviewed in Campbell River as well as some in the Comox Valley.
A number of other councillors are concerned about the lack of communication from Island Health and BC Housing on this deal.
“How can we prevent this from happening further? We’re going to continue to have demands for detox. We’re going to have more demands for more products that BC Housing (will be) interested in purchasing which can have consequences that we’re not expecting in our community,” Coun. Susan Sinnott added.
Sinnott says the city could have been a partner. “We actually have resources and ideas and funds that would have helped this, even through donation of community property, other things that could have helped and been more in line with what the city wants as outcomes.”
Some councillors are hoping this will be a temporary detox facility and a better location will be found down the road.
Island Health officials at the council meeting referred questions about the deal to BC Housing.
Responding to inquiries from Vista Radio, a spokesman for Island Health said in an email Wednesday afternoon there is no truth to the non-disclosure agreement and it’s an “erroneous rumour.”
“To be clear – there was no non-disclosure agreement discussed or in place involving Island Health, BC Housing, or anyone else related to this facility,” Dominic Abassi said.
Note: This story was updated at 3:22 p.m. Wednesday adding comment from a spokesman from Island Health.
