Housing Minister Rich Coleman accused Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read of refusing to work with the province on homelessness issues in the provincial legislature on Monday.
Read responded by saying Coleman was being embarrassed by his government’s lack of progress in dealing with homelessness and tried to deflect the issue.
“He’s trying to Jedi mind trick everybody,” said Read.
During question period, Victoria MLA Carole James rose to ask Coleman why Maple Ridge MLAs recently announced $1 million in funding for the Iron Horse Youth Safe House, when it closed two years ago. She asked where was the government when the facility needed funding?
Coleman responded by saying the government has funded alternative facilities for youth, and noted the province has $15 million on the table for a purpose-built homeless shelter and supportive complex in Maple Ridge.
He said local MLAs have been working on this without Read: “Who basically said she doesn’t want to co-operate with us to make these things work in Maple Ridge.”
His comments came on the same day as a task force of Metro Vancouver mayors and business leaders released 12 recommendations to combat homelessness in the region.
Read is co-chair of the task force with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, and their position paper calls on the provincial and federal governments to create and fund a poverty reduction plan.
The report focused on three goals: preventing people from becoming homeless; serving them if they become homeless; and helping them into housing.
“The research unequivocally demonstrates a complete system-wide failure in the social services network designed to assist the most vulnerable in the region,” said Read.
The report recommended expanding home care for people with chronic health issues and addictions, and adding social housing units – key factors of homelessness that are outside local government jurisdiction.
Coleman said zoning is within the power of municipal governments, and that the province provided $375 million last year for affordable housing and rent supplements to more than 61,000 low-income households in Metro Vancouver, as well as emergency shelter spaces during cold weather.
“Municipal zoning could accommodate higher densities, pre-zoned land could expedite the delivery of rental housing and stronger enforcement of bylaws could help to maintain existing rental buildings,” Coleman said in a news release Monday afternoon.
“Federal actions could include tax incentives to promote creation of affordable rental housing options in the private market and facilitating access to long-term low cost financing for non-profit and private rental housing.”
Read said the minister’s reaction to the task force was disappointing, and lacked leadership.
She said local government is doing its share. The task force found Lower Mainland cities are spending an estimated $200 million to deal with issues related to homelessness.
In Maple Ridge, she pointed out, the city purchased land for a purpose-built shelter, but the province did not want to use the site.
The city is also helping to fund a new youth mental wellness centre, which should be the a provincial responsibility.
“Cities are stepping up in spades,” said Read.
Read said she and Robertson hope to meet with Premier Christy Clark and other party leaders about the 12-point plan.
Other recommendations from the report include the province immediately opening 1,000 transitional housing units by the end of this year, and another 1,000 for 2018 and 2019, and increasing the shelter allowance and rental supplements to reflect the current market conditions.
Coleman pointed to 1,900 units of affordable rental housing, including about 300 units for homeless people, that are still being built in the region.
Two shelter were once proposed for Maple Ridge, Read noted, and both were later rescinded by the province, leading to some people staying in the local homeless shelter for 18 months as they waited to move into transitional housing.
“Their mental conditions and physical well being become worse over time,” she said. “They become harder to house.”
Meanwhile, both mayors said $375 per person for shelter operators to work with isn’t enough.
A homeless person costs taxpayers $55,000 each year they remain on the streets, the report said, compared to $37,000 per person once they’re housed.
“Local governments have been using every tool within their authority to address the lack of supply of affordable housing, including purchasing buildings for temporary housing and offering city-owned land for new development,” Robertson said.
“Despite our best efforts, the homelessness crisis is spiraling out of control and the upcoming homeless count is expected to show a dramatic increase region-wide. We need to know what each provincial party will do to address this crisis.”
The report indicates 4,000 people are currently homeless in Metro Vancouver, according to data from local cities.
“If the money they [the province] are spending is working, why do we keep going backward?” asked Read.
About 70 encampments with up to four people have been erected in Vancouver, Langley, Maple Ridge, North Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Burnaby and Coquitlam, with another 15 camps with more than four people across nine cities, from Vancouver to Langley.
On the prevention side, the task force recommends the province audit its current services offered for housing, homelessness, and mental illness, to identify current gaps.
Created in November, the task force includes six mayors and seven CEOs from the region. The report comes one month before the Metro Vancouver Homeless Count.