It’s been given a new breath of life — but one that is not expected to be permanent or as long as its backers and operator had been hoping for.
A Tuesday council meeting held at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops has seen the contentious Pathways homeless shelter on the North Shore underscore the divide within the community over balancing the needs of those who are struggling with the impact they may have on others — and the community at large.
The 44-bed shelter at 142 Tranquille Road, funded by BC Housing and operated by ASK Wellness, had a permit extension before City Council which called for a three-year extension to allow Pathways to remain open into the summer of 2029.
Instead, Kamloops Council has given Pathways a renewed life at the current location until the start of 2028, extending its Temporary Use Permit by 20-months — the last extension of the Permit before the City would have to revisit the actual zoning for that site.
Police: Shelter improves coordination, reduces broader risk
Kamloops RCMP Superintendent Jeff Pelley told council the shelter should be viewed not just as a social service, but as part of a broader public safety strategy.
“This isn’t just a social decision. It’s a public safety and community stability strategy,” he said.
Pelley — addressing council and a crowd of around 100 people who turned up in person for the session and another 80 or so online — acknowledged calls for service have increased in the area.
However, Pelley contends that reflects improved visibility and reporting — not necessarily worsening conditions.
“When there was no centralized shelter, people were dispersed across encampments, alleyways, doorways,” he said. “Now those risks are consolidated into a known location where they can be monitored and addressed.”
He added that the shelter has helped reduce scattered encampments, improve coordination between agencies, and allow for faster, more targeted responses.
“Calls for service may be up, but the harm, risk, and unpredictability are reduced,” Pelley said. “Without that anchor, people will fall back into survival patterns.”
He also confirmed increased patrols are already underway, including expanded street enforcement and foot patrols in business corridors.
Overhead view of Pathways Shelter location at 142 Tranquille (green pointer)/via BC Housing
Business owners describe ongoing impacts
Despite that assessment, several business owners painted a starkly different picture of day-to-day conditions.
Carly Schmidt, owner of Kamloops Art Party near the shelter, urged council to balance compassion for vulnerable individuals with the realities facing businesses.
“This conversation needs to be rooted in compassion… for the most vulnerable… as well as compassion for businesses… because right now, both sides are scared and being let down,” she said.
She told council that what was promised when the shelter opened — including strong supports and safety measures — has not fully materialized.
“As a business owner… I live that reality daily,” she said. “It is not uncommon… to deal with violent behaviour, hard drug use directly outside our building… including literally on my doorstep.”
Carly said her business has been forced to adopt a locked-door policy due to safety concerns.
“We are adapting to survive… this is not sustainable and isn’t fair to any of us,” she said, adding that even increased security presence ahead of the council meeting has not resolved ongoing issues.
She also warned of broader economic impacts on the North Shore.
“It affects whether families feel comfortable… whether customers return… and whether a new business chooses to open here.”
Businesses along the Tranquille corridor, including Kamloops Art Party/via Google Street View
Frustration from neighboring property owners
Other speakers echoed concerns about crime, costs, and safety.
Rob Guido, who lives and operates a business near the shelter, described repeated financial losses and stress.
“Monday morning… I had $2,700 in damage done to my business,” he said. “It is very hard… to employ eight people… and continue to float this business.”
While he said he supports the idea of sheltering people, he argued the current model and location are not working.
“Shelter, 100 per cent. Is it working where it is? Absolutely not,” Guido said. “We had 20 months… to come up with a plan, and we didn’t.”
Emotional testimony from shelter users and advocates
The concerns from businesses contrasted sharply with emotional testimony from shelter users and advocates earlier in the meeting.
Michael McDonald, a resident of the shelter, told council: “When Pathways opened its doors… there was a need that needed to be addressed and Pathways addressed it.”
“You can’t get that [support] on the street… They do the work of five or six agencies,” he said, warning that closing the shelter would undo progress made by residents.
Advocates also stressed the shelter’s role in a strained system.
“Connection is the opposite of addiction,” said Penny Douglas, a local volunteer. “We cannot understand how it changes someone when they have a roof over their head.”
Others compared shelter capacity to essential infrastructure.
“Not having available shelters… is the equivalent of us not having an emergency room,” said Glen Hilkey, former operator of The Loop on the Kamloops North Shore.
Broad support from health and service sector
Submissions from groups including Interior Health, A Way Home Kamloops Society, and Out of the Cold Shelter Society emphasized rising homelessness and the need to maintain services.
Interior Health warned that closing the shelter would increase pressure on hospitals and emergency responders, noting a sharp rise in homelessness in recent counts.
Process concerns and divided council
Adding another layer to the debate, questions were raised about procedural fairness, including the mayor’s role in chairing the meeting.
Despite a defamation suit Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson has before the courts against ARPA Investments Principle Joshua Knaak, the Mayor has continued to chair meetings in which debate over Pathways has gone ahead.
This, despite city staff asking the Mayor — on the advice of legal counsel — to recuse himself over concerns his presence could taint the outcome of votes on the matter if someone were to challenge them in court.
Hamer-Jackson, for his part, says he’s obtained a legal opinion which he claims has told him he does not need to recuse himself from the sessions — though the Mayor has not yet provided a copy of that legal opinion to city staff for verification.
The meeting at the Kia Lounge did itself reflected those tensions, with multiple points of order raised as council members debated procedure and scope.
At one point, a councillor emphasized the stakes: “If Pathways is closed, there are 44 people who are going to be somewhere else in this city.”
The Station on Tranquille in the 200 block of Tranquille Road, just north of former Butler Auto and RV site/via ARPA Investments
Pathways unlikely to be permanent
While the City has extended the life of the Pathways shelter to the start of 2028, its life beyond that — in its current location — is questionable beyond that.
ARPA Investments, which currently owns the former Butler Auto and RV site the shelter is currently using, still has plans to build a mixed-use residential apartment building on the site.
As that location has been identified as the site of one of three planned buildings within the broader redevelopment plans set by ARPA, which does have the option of starting construction on other buildings in the area before breaking ground at 142 Tranquille.
The area is already home to a couple of ARPA-backed projects, including the Station on Tranquille and the Innova Business and Innovation further north in the 300 block of Tranquille.
