Victoria Council voted to ask neighbouring Saanich to open more shelter spaces, so the city doesn't end up shouldering the burden of that municipality’s un-housed population.
They also want all nearby municipalities to provide more emergency shelter spaces for extreme weather circumstances.
Mayor Marianne Alto tells CFAX that Victoria is happy to do its part but it can't do it all, "we shouldn't be the only player at the table. I think it's time for us to poke our neighbours a bit and say 'you can look in our direction and see how to do this. You don't have to do this to extend, let's be realistic, but you need to do something.'"
The 7-1 vote came after Victoria’s emergency program co-ordinator gave a presentation to council that included confirming homeless people have been sent to Victoria from other municipalities in taxi cabs.
"And we're getting pretty frustrated," says Alto.
While the official communication to Saanich hasn't happened, mayor Dean Murdock tells CTV Vancouver Island that he's open to a discussion but thinks a regional approach is what's needed.