Fort St. John working to clean up Walmart encampment area

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The City of Fort St. John is undergoing efforts within provincial legislation to clean up the Walmart encampment area in response to public outrage. 

On Wednesday, the city said on Facebook that council is deeply concerned for the community’s safety and well-being and that their parks team has cleaned a heavily littered area in Mathews Park.

“Yesterday, this area was reported to be heavily littered, and today, our parks team has cleaned and restored it,” said the post. 

The city and contracted crews will also be working to clean the trail between Walmart and Mathews Park over the next few days.

According to the city, the people living in the area have been given notice of the upcoming maintenance.

The city says council has created a Response Committee on Housing and Emergency Shelter in order to find sustainable solutions.

“We’re also actively advocating for the Provincial Government to enact legislative changes and enhance support services for our region,” said the city. 

City council has formed a homelessness committee and has taken steps to meet with stakeholders and organizations like BC Housing to gather data on vacancy rates and bed counts for homeless people living in the city.