Cowichan Valley Residents Against Displacement

Dear Mayors and Councils of the Municipality of North Cowichan and the City of Duncan,

We’re writing to you in response to the news that the Temporary Winter Shelter at the Ramada Inn will be closed on March 31st without a plan for ensuring the 24+ people staying there will have safe shelter. Funding for BC Housing’s Temporary Winter Shelter program goes until April 30th, and we’re asking you to keep the Ramada open until you’ve found appropriate housing for everyone staying there. Housing is a human right according to both the federal government and the Union of BC Municipalities, and we demand safe housing for everyone in the Cowichan Valley.

The mass displacement of 75 people from Lewis Street on November 17th, 2025 was a failure on all fronts. North Cowichan ignored the research that links street sweeps to drug poisonings, violence and health risks, and ignored the direct warnings of the people most affected about these preventable harms. The Cowichan Valley recorded more than 80 drug poisonings in a single day following the sweep. Dr. Melissa Wan, Island Health Medical Health Officer, in her January 20th letter to North Cowichan council, detailed the adverse health impacts of the sweep, including lack of access to emergency health services and outreach, and disruption of access to medical and social care. The Cowichan Valley’s own Coalition to Address Homelessness echoed Dr. Wan’s concern about the preventable harm caused that day, and most recently, president of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association Corey Ranger reiterated these same points in his letter to council.

Further, the November 17th sweep did nothing to curb so-called “street disorder,” providing no additional indoor space for people living outside, and putting even more strain on the services that are available in Duncan.

Closing the Temporary Winter Shelter without a plan to house the people staying there would only repeat the harm caused by the November 17th sweep. You have an opportunity to do better. While some aspects of the housing process happen at the provincial and federal levels, there are meaningful actions the municipalities can take now to work toward real safety for our whole community and housing for everyone.

We call on the Municipality of North Cowichan and the City of Duncan to:

• Secure appropriate housing for all 24 people staying at the Temporary Winter Shelter before closing it.
• Designate additional sheltering and camping options that are: accessible, close to services, and provide onsite washrooms, handwashing, drinking water and garbage pick-up.
• Convene a Housing Justice meeting that meaningfully includes unhoused people in decisions about sheltering and camping options.
• Cease all bylaw sweeps and forced displacements.
• Designate properties for new Village housing sites now (one in Duncan, two in North Cowichan.)
• Apply for provincial funding and permits for a year-round, all-day shelter space.

We want to live in a community where everyone is valued and all our basic needs are met. Displacement is violence. Causing further harm to those who already bear the brunt of system failures will never create the safety we all deserve. Instead of causing further harm, we demand the municipalities step into their responsibility and do everything in their power to find housing for the residents of the Ramada.

Signed,