Vancouver City Council has called on the provincial party leaders to support the city’s Interim Housing Solutions Strategy and fund 14 permanent social housing sites.
“We have a homelessness crisis on our streets, and we need to take action now,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson, according to a press release.
Council passed a motion today calling for the leaders to publicly pledge their commitment.
The housing strategy would create 550 temporary housing units this year and the city also has 14 sites for permanent housing.
“We have several social housing sites ready for construction, and we’re prepared to take unprecedented steps to get people off the street,” said Robertson. “But we can’t do it alone - we need the next provincial government to provide the necessary funding.”
According to the city, the government has only committed to six of the sites, even though there are additional sites ready and only awaiting provincial funding.
This appears to contradict comments by Premier Gordon Campbell last month and the B.C. Liberal Party platform, which says six of the sites are still waiting for the city’s approval.
The platform says:
We will build on these and other initiatives by further investing more than $172 million in housing projects on six sites in Vancouver, with another six sites ready to go when the city gives them appropriate approvals.
A representative from the Liberals could not be reached immediately to clarify if the money has been committed and whether the party has considered the additional two sites called for by the city that are not mentioned in the platform.
The B.C. New Democratic Party fully supports both the housing strategy and all 14 permanent sites, said Vancouver-Mount Pleasant incumbent NDP candidate Jenny Kwan, who was at today’s council meeting to support the motion.
She questioned why the Liberals have not committed the additional funding and have maintained they are awaiting the city's approval.
“The eight sites are ready to go - the city is not holding them up,” said Kwan. “What they need is provincial funding.”
Kwan said the NDP’s commitment to both the housing strategy and permanent sites are part of the party’s broader strategy to end the province’s “homelessness crisis.”
The party has committed to build 7200 affordable housing units over five years, with 2400 units in the first year alone.
The New Democrats would also do an inventory of empty buildings around the province to determine if they could be used for social housing and immediately use a $250 million endowment for housing initiatives, Kwan said.
Garrett Zehr reports for The Tyee.
Perhaps Gregor should ask for a carbon tax
Because a carbon tax will keep people warm at night. Let's hear it for the carbon tax!
Who ya supporting, Gregor?
A Neighborhood Reinvestment Strategy Needed
While building housing is the right way to put an end to homeless problem, it is not a single-bullet-solution.
(a) The type of building built is of critical importance to success. The Housing Minister should take note. Warehousing problems in condo-sized housing won't work.
We can look at successful rehabilitation programs in our region, like Drug and Alcohol Recovery and Education Society, for working examples that have a proven track record of success.
(b) A neighborhood-level reinvestment strategy must be implemented at the same time that housing moneys are being invested.
Unless we rehabilitate neighborhood economies, and mix public moneys with private investment, places like the so-called Downtown Eastside are going to remain in the same condition it has been since I arrived here in 1970—i.e. in slow and steady decline.
PS
The Phoenix Drug and Alcohol Recovery and Education Society... I meant to say.