A provincial initiative that would force homeless people into shelters during extreme weather conditions – whether they wanted help or not – is receiving cool reviews in this city.

Victoria is drafting legislation that would give authorities the power to compel the homeless to go to shelters if it’s determined they would be harming themselves by staying outside in the cold.

It was prompted by the death of a woman in Vancouver during last winter’s lengthy cold snap, after she refused a shelter bed offered by police and outreach workers as night fell, B.C.’s minister for housing Rich Coleman said. The woman, known as Tracy, burned to death after a candle ignited her makeshift tent.

Coleman dismissed reports of a draft document that referred to police holding people in cells if they refused to come in from the cold. Government lawyers looked at the proposal after it started early this year, and they ruled out any forcible confinement, he said.

“[The attorney-general’s ministry] had some of the earlier concerns when some of the more punitive things were being contemplated, and we’ve dealt with those,” Coleman said. “It’s not a tough question for me. The question for me is, can we find a piece of legislation where I can save a few more lives?”

Attorney-General Mike de Jong confirmed the government wants to strengthen police enforcement powers so they can move someone to a shelter with or without their consent.

“What we’re looking at is ensuring that people are aware, when they’re in dire circumstances, that there is a safe place for them to spend the night, out of the elements, and ensuring that they arrive there,” de Jong said.

Public Safety Minister Kash Heed said he has encountered situations like this as a police officer, and he supports measures that would help police intervene when necessary.

“Certainly I’m for giving the tools to law enforcement to take these people to a place of safety,” Heed said.

But Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said Monday she’s not interested in using the shelter-by-force approach.

The city currently employs outreach workers who have earned a long-standing trust with people who are living on the streets, she said.

“The (methods) that are tried and true and that have worked are the outreach workers,” Watts said. “We don’t have enough outreach workers, and I think that’s the challenge. I don’t want to use police resources to fill in for social services.”

Coun. Judy Villeneuve, who chairs the mayor’s task force on housing and homelessness, said the province’s plans are “premature,” especially given the shortage of shelters and social workers.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to put that kind of pressure on police stations or the RCMP,” Villeneuve said Monday. “I know the City of Surrey doesn’t have enough shelter to handle that kind of direction.”

She also finds it highly suspect that the province is introducing the initiative just months before the eyes of the world are on Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics.

– with files from Tom Fletcher

kdiakiw@surreyleader.com