The City of Courtenay is trying to combat the ongoing battle with public defecation.
A motion was passed in a council meeting on Wednesday, June 12 for a letter to be wrote to Island Health requesting their medical health officer attend a meeting or appear as a delegation in a future council meeting to discuss ways to fix the amount of public defecation happening in the community.
Councilor Wendy Morin was the one who made the motion, and said she brought the motion forward because of how severe the situation has gotten.
“I really do believe this to be a public health issue and I brought this motion forward frankly because I think we need help.”
Courtenay’s public washrooms were previously open for 24 hours before they decided to close them at night due to vandalism and people locking themselves in them.
The motion asks for Island Health to provide funding and support to keep the washrooms open 24 hours a day.
The council believes the unhoused don’t have enough access to washrooms to maintain proper hygiene, leading to the increase in public defecation.
The motion was passed unanimously.
