B.C.鈥檚 Attorney General David Eby has come out swinging only hours after Penticton鈥檚 mayor ran ads in newspapers urging the Premier to intervene in the homeless shelter dispute.

The tit-for-tat feud is ramping up again with Eby saying that those running the Victory Church homeless shelter are facing legal threats.

Only hours after the mayor鈥檚 ad went into several newspapers across Penticton and in the Victoria Times Colonist, Eby has already come out fighting back with a long reply.

The ad Mayor John Vassilaki had paid to put in various papers, including the Western 亚洲天堂, urged Premier John Horgan to 鈥榠mmediately intervene鈥� against Eby exercising provincial powers to keep the Victory Church homeless shelter open.

The city refused to extend the temporary permit for the shelter passed its March 31, deadline, with Eby overriding the city by using the province鈥檚 paramountcy powers.

In the letter, the mayor said the city had a good working relationship with the province on homeless housing until Eby came along.

Here鈥檚 the rebuttal statement from Eby that was also sent to the mayor and council:

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鈥淭he Times Colonist recently ran a paid advertisement from the Mayor of Penticton concerning the difficult and ongoing problem of homelessness in his community. Some parts of the advertisement were correct. Some were not.

鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not going to quibble.

鈥淭he core of the issue is this: The Mayor of Penticton wants to close a fully occupied homeless shelter in Penticton. This would evict the 42 people who live in the shelter into the street, or a local park. There are no other shelter beds or homes available.

鈥淭o achieve this goal, the Mayor is supporting legal action against the non-profit that runs the shelter. As a result, the people doing the work of sheltering and supporting the homeless in Penticton are now facing legal threats from the city. I talked to these workers. They鈥檙e kind and dedicated. Just the right people to help those in distress. They could easily give up, but they won鈥檛. I鈥檓 grateful for that.

鈥淭he Mayor鈥檚 advertisement ran in this Victoria-based newspaper. This is strange, because Victoria is one of the best models of provincial and municipal cooperation in British Columbia right now. Our governments have a signed a partnership agreement to address the homelessness crisis in city parks. We鈥檙e reaching a significant milestone this week as the city begins again enforcing park bylaws related to camping, and the final campers move inside to spaces made available by the province.

鈥淚n Penticton鈥檚 newspaper, a story ran about the city fencing in Penticton鈥檚 well-known Gyro Park bandshell. The fence is intended to stop people from sleeping under the bandshell, among other undesirable activities. On the issue of fencing the bandshell to keep Penticton鈥檚 homeless out, the Mayor blamed BC Housing. He said: 鈥淚 just hope BC Housing is paying attention to the mess they鈥檙e creating.鈥�

鈥淪imilar news stories run regularly in Penticton about homeless structures, tents, homelessness, drug use, poverty, and related bylaw enforcement. They鈥檝e run for many years now. That鈥檚 because Penticton has a serious and interrelated homelessness, mental health and addiction problem.

鈥淚 try to imagine how this long-term problem in Penticton will be improved if the Mayor manages to put another 42 people out into the street. I wonder how leaving 42 people with nowhere to go at night will make seniors in Penticton feel safer or address crime rates, which is what the advertisement said the Mayor wants.

鈥淏y contrast, in Victoria a 鈥渢iny homes鈥� development finishes construction this week. 30 people who currently live in a park will move in this Friday. These homes were built through a unique partnership between the city, a private developer, neighbours, donors, volunteers, and the provincial government. It鈥檚 an inspiring example of how partners can work together to lift up people in distress.

鈥淭he tiny homes site is a pilot project. BC Housing has not joined in on a tiny homes project like this before. Everyone is hoping it will be successful, but there鈥檚 always the risk of problems. It is only the strength of partnership that allows us all to take this chance and try something new. Partnership makes it possible to respond quickly to local opportunities. Those 30 people would still be in a park next week if we didn鈥檛 have a strong partnership with Victoria. Instead they鈥檒l be housed.

鈥淧enticton鈥檚 residents, housed and unhoused, deserve the benefits of partnership too. My door remains open.鈥�