Mission council apologized to a local mother who returned to city hall on Tuesday (July 2) requesting more supervision of recovery houses.
After losing her son to toxic drugs, Hellena Fehr spoke as a delegation to council in September 2022 asking for bylaws to be changed to allow for random unannounced inspections of recovery houses.
She says at least a dozen people have died in recovery homes throughout the province since her last delegation and Mission had a chance to lead the way.
“I understand that life gets in the way. I understand that other families suffer losses. People get sick, they have jobs. I get it, but I do not understand why this has taken so long,” Fehr said.
Council voiced their support for Fehr following the delegation in 2022. At the time, Mission Mayor Paul Horn said staff were already asked to begin the process of looking at the city’s recovery home bylaws. In June 2023, the mayor said council was still awaiting a staff report.
On Tuesday, Horn apologized to Fehr and said the city should have been faster.
“We have worked on it to some extent, but come to a bit of an impasse,” Horn said.
Mission’s deputy chief administrative officer Barclay Pitkethly said the city is working on revising its entire business licensing bylaw and approach.
“Because it's such a large transformation, we are looking at this as part of that bigger change. So it got lumped into the grandiose change of the actual entire business license. So it's taken a little while to get back,” Pitkethly said.
He expects staff to have the business license bylaw back before council in the fall.
Horn suggested Fehr meet with Pitkethly to discuss what city inspections should be looking for that stands aside from provincial regulations.
In addition to the recovery home bylaw, Horn also said the city should increase advocacy to the province. Concerning recovery homes, he says it's somewhat difficult to understand exactly where provincial responsibilities are supposed to end and municipal responsibilities are supposed to begin.
“Every recovery home in Mission is supposed to have a Housing Agreement, but we know that there are some that simply don't ever let us know that they're in operation,” Horn said.
Fehr’s son Corbin died of toxic drugs on April 27, 2022 at a recovery house in Surrey.
When Fehr retrieved her son’s belongings from the recovery home, she says there was visible mould, exposed pipes and wires, and the smell of mildew.
“I went outside to have a cigarette and calm my nerves, and was met with the sight of a mattress leaning against a tree – a stained mattress – stained with the foam from my son's respiratory system and with his blood,” Fehr said.
She says what happened to Corbin is an extreme example but not an isolated one. According to Fehr, living conditions in other recovery homes are similar or sometimes worse.
“These houses all carry a municipal business license, but are rarely, if ever, checked on. And if they are, it's by appointment. This needs to stop,” she said.
Other councillors also voiced regret over the delayed response to Fehr’s initial delegation.
“I too would like to publicly apologize to you for – for all intents and purposes – dropping the ball on what you're asking for and we need to do a better job,” Coun. Carol Hamilton said.
Coun. Mark Davies suggested weekly updates.
“There needs to be more grit here and we need to move forward on this,” Davies said.
Coun. Jag Gill said the long wait is unacceptable and Fehr shouldn't have to speak on the same issue twice. He suggested amending the recovery home bylaw separately from the overall business license bylaw because it’s a matter of “life and death”.
“I had the privilege of attending … high school with Corbin, and I know he's looking down on you and super proud of all the work that you've done,” Gill said.
Fehr requested a date for the change to be finalized, but Horn said the city couldn’t provide it to her right away.
“I would like to know where Mission’s priority is. This isn't just about my son and my loss anymore. It's about, God forbid, one of your children needing these services,” she said.