McDonald's abandons downtown Kamloops after one violent incident too many
CBC
McDonald's has pulled out of downtown Kamloops following a series of violent incidents, prompting a conversation about public safety in the Interior B.C. city.
On Sunday, March 27, video was posted to YouTube in which a man could be seen yelling obscenities and knocking down display cabinets.
The video quickly circulated through the community on social media, along with news that owner Brandy Gozda-Sekhon was permanently closing the restaurant, long an anchor tenant in the city's downtown core.
Gozda-Sekhon did not respond to CBC's requests for interviews but told the newspaper Kamloops This Week that incidents of violence and drug use had become "too much" for her to handle, citing two incidents of employees being attacked by members of the public along with other problems.
When CBC reached out to McDonald's Canada for a response, it was sent a written statement attributed to Gozda-Sekhon stating that the closure was a "business decision based on the viability of this specific site."
The incident also prompted a statement from Mayor Ken Christian who said there had also been an overdose in the public washroom of a popular department store that same weekend, which he attributed to the province's toxic drug supply.
"Sadly, persons addicted to drugs are dying at an alarming rate, and last month, Kamloops had the third highest number in the province," he wrote, adding, "Drug addiction, poverty, and mental illness are health issues, not criminal issues."
In an interview with CBC, Christian said it isn't possible for the city to "police its way out" of the social problems facing not just Kamloops, but B.C. as a whole.
"You can't arrest people for being poor," he said. "There are certain individuals on the streets that really can't navigate their own journey and they really are struggling."
To that end, he said, the city's focus is on opening supports for people dealing with mental health and addictions in the city.
Howie Reimer, the executive director of the Downtown Kamloops Business Improvement Association, called the incident at the McDonald's "very disturbing," in part because of how similar it was to other events that had happened around the city.
"It shouldn't be up to McDonald's employees, 16-year-old kids [to deal with safety issues]," he said.
But, he said, he believes there are other reasons for the closure that go beyond safety — such as the inability to open a drive-thru or children's play area at that particular location, due to its size and local zoning rules.
He also pointed to new businesses opening downtown, saying he is still confident in the neighbourhood's future.
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