The story of tiny homes, intertwined problems, and one B.C. municipality

At the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, there are 161 different municipalities and 27 regional governments gathering in Whistler this week.

It's the first time they're meeting in person in three years. Every day, there are discussions devoted to different topics that we sometimes call a "crisis": housing affordability, mental health, drug poisonings, shortages in health care. 

Some mayors and councillors agree with the general approach the provincial government is taking. Others, less so. 

"Students are going to learn how to do hard drugs now that they're going to be legal," Cranbrook Coun. Ron Popoff said at a session about the upcoming decriminalization of simple possession of some drugs in B.C. beginning in February 2023. 

"This is a health crisis, but we're going to be turning this into what might be a society crisis if we don't properly plan … how will this initiative to legalize small amounts of hard drugs control and reduce the related crime that's going on in our communities?"

Popoff's concerns were shared by many municipalities outside the Lower Mainland, worried they will be asked to enforce another set of new rules put in place by higher levels of government without new resources.   

But every municipality has a different political culture, and a different way they've been trying to tackle these issues.

Which brings us to Duncan. 

"I think this is a really important step in the right direction," said Duncan Councillor Stacy Middlemiss, after hearing the government's plans.

Duncan has only 5,000 people, but it's the urban hub of the Cowichan Valley, where some 50,000 people live. As such, it deals with many of the same overlapping issues as much bigger cities. 

As both a councillor and a registered psychiatric nurse that has managed homeless shelters, Middlemiss is aware of the tensions between moving too fast or too slow.

"Sometimes we can try and wait until everything is perfect before we roll out programs," she said.

"Sometimes it takes the actual experience of working through things before we can figure out all the little details, but so long as they're working on it, I think people will like it." 

But she's also aware of trying to solve one part of the issue without addressing other aspects.