Local cops said they’d welcome proposed new legislation that would allow police to take people to shelters during cold weather.

But those who try to help the homeless say the new law is an affront to human rights.

“These people have committed no crimes, they choose to not go to a shelter and they shouldn’t be forced to do it,” said Christina Martens, of the Cowichan Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Society.

“I think police have been put in a very bad position.”

Not really, said North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP Cpl. Kevin Day.

“Any legislation put in place that would assist us in our jobs of making our streets safer for everyone and would put us in a better position to help those individuals in need get to shelter is certainly welcomed by the RCMP.” Day allowed everybody does have freedom of choice.

“That said, if it’s obvious they are in need of help and if they don’t get proper attention because their life is at risk, then it’s certainly a concern to us and we need to act accordingly.”

B.C. politicians began debate Monday on legislation that would give police the new authority and Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman said the Assistance to Shelter Act would give police one more tool to intervene with people who are sleeping on the street in cold weather and refusing to go to a shelter.

Coleman said no one will be forced to stay at the shelter, but they will have to go.

“We believe that once they’re there with an outreach worker talking to them, with an opportunity to come in from the cold, to know their goods will be okay, and that there’s a meal and a place to sleep in the severe weather, we think they will make the right decision.”

Right now, police are almost powerless to help get someone into a warm shelter when they don’t want to go.

“If they are not a risk to themselves or others and just not willing to go anywhere, unless it falls under the Mental Health Act (legislation that allows police to arrest without charge to take people with obvious mental issues to hospital) we really cannot do anything,” said Day.

While the intent of the proposed legislation may be in good faith, Martens is vehemently opposed to the new law.

“I’m not really sure how we would manage people who don’t want to be there,” she said.

“If the people are angry because they’re forced to come it’s going to very difficult to manage that.”

Martens said the reality of the situation is many homeless people have had experiences with shelters and don’t want to be there for a variety of reasons.

“And it’s very hard when you force somebody to do something against their will to maintain any sort of relationship afterwards,” she said. “You go from a shelter to some sort of incarceration facility and after you force somebody to do something against his or her will, how do you manage a relationship?”

Martens said homeless shelters base programs on developing trust that might lead people to start thinking about any changes they might want to make.

“If you start forcing people, all of that disappears — that whole ability to develop that relationship disappears for a very long time because that’s how they’ve been treated in the past,” she said.

“I don’t know how, with human rights, you can do this to someone — it’s incumbent on the services in place to work with people where they’re at and if that means they’re out in the streets, you work there.

The legislation would only cover situations when B.C.’s cold and extreme weather shelters are open, a decision made by community committees based on various weather factors.

— with files from Tom Fletcher