For some people, compassion knows no boundaries.
Such was the case last winter when the mercury plummetted to levels unfit for human beings to be sheltering outdoors.
Kudos to the management and staff of the Smithers Public Library for opening its doors to people who found themselves inadequately housed in tents in the park beside the library in such limb-numbing weather.
“We just couldn’t stand to leave our neighbours outside in those temperatures,” said Wendy Wright, director of library services.
Now, however, it looks like that decency, that caring for their fellow citizens in need, might be stymied by bureaucracy.
At a recent council meeting, the subject of warming centres and the library’s ad-hoc solution came up for discussion.
Rightfully, Town staff pointed out the simple act of kindness shown by library staff was potentially legally problematic. Calling it “negligent” was probably a poor choice of words even if it is technically true. It would be negligent not to do something for these folks.
But, because the library is in a building leased from the Town, it falls under the Town’s liability insurance. And, because it is not designated an emergency warming shelter, any claims arising from them using it for that purpose would not be covered.
In the end, council left the issue on the table, pushing it off until the end March, when the library’s lease comes up for renewal and long after the worst of winter temperatures have passed.
That puts the library in the very difficult position of either rolling the dice and doing the right thing again or shutting out people in need.
Furthermore, council once again decided to have this discussion, when they get around to it, in secret. Even if that is not an abuse of the Municipal Act’s provisions for private discussions, which we believe it is, it is still wrong. This issue begs for public discourse.
In the meantime, the right thing to do is to find a way for compassion to triumph over bureaucracy. Insurance riders can be changed. Emergency declarations can be made. Alternative options can be implemented.
The deep freeze is coming and nobody should be left out in the cold.