Throughout the Budget 2025 consultation process we received many questions about a wide range of topics - from bigger picture items to questions about specific projects, properties, streets and more. Here we continue to answer your questions.

Check out answers to Questions #1 to 10.

Your Questions (#11 to 20) Answered

Questions and answers are listed in no particular order.

11. What is the City doing to get better health care in Terrace? Can we get a walk-in clinic?

The City of Terrace Council recognizes the many challenges residents face accessing local health care. For example, many of us do not have a family doctor and the wait time at the local emergency department is often significant. Residents are frustrated and Council shares your concerns.

Health care is the responsibility of the Provincial Government; it's not a municipal service. However, City Council consistently advocates for improvements to health care in Terrace and area. Council advocates to and meets regularly with the Northwest First Nations Alliance, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, and the Office of the Premier regarding healthcare and doctor shortages in Terrace.

Council also meets regularly with Northern Health, which regularly reports to Council about the current status of important matters such as physician and staff recruitment, service updates, and more. Council works hard to support the Health Authority in its efforts to offer high quality, accessible health care that benefits our community. For example, the Mayor spends a significant amount of time touring new specialists and physicians around Terrace and area, to give them a good sense of what living in Terrace is like, and all it has to offer. The current and previous Councils also played a big part in getting a new hospital built in Terrace, continually advocating to higher levels of government. The Mayor was also part of advisory committees for the new Ksyen Regional Hospital.

12. What can be done to make highways safer (eg. painted lines, reflectors, barriers, lights, etc.)?

Similar to Health, highways are the responsibility of the Provincial Government. However, City staff meet regularly with the Ministry of Highways and other regional stakeholders to discuss road safety initiatives in the region and advocate for potential improvements.

13. How is the City prepared for a train derailment?

The City of Terrace Fire Department regularly conducts pre-planning sessions to ensure preparedness for large-scale emergency incidents like train derailments. The Fire Department participates in comprehensive and collaborative regional training exercises with other local emergency responders. These exercises cover preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery, and are designed to enhance the skills and readiness of all involved parties to manage complex situations effectively.

CN Rail maintains frequent communication with the City of Terrace Fire Chief, providing essential information pertinent to train safety, including details about substances carried by the trains. This communication aids in formulating effective tactics and strategies for mitigating and responding to incidents involving train derailments. Their collaboration ensures that local emergency services are well-prepared to handle specific challenges posed by rail transport emergencies.

Terrace resident are encouraged to subscribe to Voyent Alert!. This is a multipurpose communication service used to send alerts to residents, businesses, and visitors during critical events like fires or floods while also providing relevant day-to-day communications such as snow removal advisories, planned maintenance, water advisories, and more.

14. What is the City doing about lack of rentals and affordable housing?

We recognize there’s many housing challenges in our area: affordability, accessibility, adequacy and supply (both market-purchased and rental housing). We are doing what we can to support and create solutions for local housing challenges.

In recent years, Council and staff (Development Services) have supported many new housing initiatives to address our housing needs:

• The City's Development services department, which includes the City's planners, works with developers (including BC housing) to ensure housing fits with needs of community and community plan.
• From its Affordable Housing Reserve Fund, the City contributed $250,000 to Stoneridge affordable housing and $100,000 to the TDCSS Foundry project, which includes seniors housing.
• Last summer, we implemented a substantial zoning bylaw amendment to allow for small scale multi-unit housing units on low density residential parcels, with the aim of increasing housing supply. More info about that is available on the Bill 44 Engage Terrace project page.
• The City recently completed the 2024 Housing Needs Report, which:
  • Includes anticipated housing demand over the 5 and 20-year periods.
  • Will guide the City and Housing Committee in identifying the residents in our community who have a priority need
  • Will support advocacy with the province to address homelessness and affordability facing our residents.
  • Will support applications for finding to construct new affordable and supportive housing units

The City also has a Housing Committee, which includes several local community representatives and meets regularly with Council and staff representatives. The Committee gives input and guidance to the City. This committee hosted a successful housing conference in March 2024 to stimulate discussions about local housing needs. A big part of that conference was facilitating connections between the people who build housing and the people who need it.

All of this work has resulted in significant number of units being built locally over the years, and this work continues.

15. What is the City doing about homelessness?
Note: See question #14 for more information about housing.

Homelessness is a multi-faceted issue. Housing challenges are part of it, but so is mental health and addictions. The homelessness and drug crisis in BC has impacted all of us, and the City (Mayor, Council and staff) are working hard to do what we can. Specifically, we've got a couple programs in place aimed at supporting the most vulnerable populations in the City. This includes the City's Social Development program, run by the City's Social Development Coordinator. You can learn more about the coordinator and the future of this program in the following documents, both of which were adopted by Council in December 2024:

• Social Development Framework
• Social Needs Assessment

We also have a Community Safety Program in place. Community Safety Officers (CSOs) work closely with the City's bylaw officers. CSOs actively engage with the business community, street-involved population, other bylaw staff, RCMP, first responders, public facilities, and service providers to address community safety concerns. This position holds some of the usual compliance and enforcement responsibilities required of bylaw. However, Community Safety Officers prioritize relationship development, system navigation support, and the facilitation of connections to supports and services to address issues in the downtown core.

Social and drug issues are not something the City can address on its own and we take a multisectoral approach. Mayor and Council advocate regularly to the Provincial Government, the Office of the Premier, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions for support and a treatment centre. We also collaborate regularly on strategies and solutions with other agencies such as the RCMP, social agencies, Northern Health, and area businesses.

16. Are there plans to replace the Terrace & District Aquatic Centre? We have already outgrown that facility and will continue to do so. Instead of making small updates to this building, we need to get capital funds to expand or replace it.

Significant upgrades completed at the Terrace & District Aquatic Center in 2018 resulted in a facility that is expected to serve our community for many years to come. This project was more than 50% grant-funded with the remaining $3.7 million funded by debt over a 15-year term. As part of the City's asset management planning, a review of our buildings and facilities is currently underway. This planning will provide context and priorities for future capital requirements.

Stay tuned for more of your questions (#17-20) answered!

And those will be the last questions we answer on the Budget 2025 Engage Terrace project page.

If you've got a question you want answered, please email: engage@terrace.ca