Maple Ridge mayor candidates talk about homelessness

Homelessness was a key topic when the five mayoral candidates for Maple Ridge met at an all-candidates meeting on Thursday, Oct. 6.

The issue came up first when moderator Ken Holland asked candidates how they would restore the reputation and vibrancy of the city’s business community, and again when they were asked directly how they would address homelessness.

Running for mayor are incumbent Mike Morden, two-term city councillor Corisa Bell, former MP Dan Ruimy, local businessman Jacques Blackstone, and retired nurse Darleen Bernard.

“The reality is that Maple Ridge has challenges with homelessness and addiction, and this lands on the six o’clock news so often that it’s become our brand as a community,” said Bell.

She said council needs to recognize the devastating social and economic impacts of homeless and addiction problems, and look to solve these problems in partnership with other cities in the Lower Mainland.

Bell said she did outreach work, which helped inform her opinions.

“We need to stop facilitating growth of programs that rely on out-of-towners to keep operations going,” said Bell.

The city needs to recognize there is now a large demand, and there is a ready supply of drugs in Maple Ridge, and that makes the city attractive to drug users.

“Can you believe that Maple Ridge has a dial-a-drug service? That’s in our community,” said Bell.

She called for better supports for people released from prison, and for those who drop of treatment – seeing that they not return to the same environments where they became addicted.

Morden touted his council’s track record of dealing with this issue.

“The first thing we did set about doing was going to court and closing down tent city,” he said, adding that neighbourhoods were in distress and dealing with property crime at that time in 2018.

He said council has developed its Community Social Safety Initiative (CSSI), which is now being emulated by other cities.

“The plan is already done, it’s implemented, and it’s having to evolve, as the situation in our social safety net in our country and in our province and in our own community is breaking, breaking down in pieces,” said Morden.

He explained that community safety officers intervene on the streets with a compassionate approach. The Hub, where street people can shower, eat, and access local agencies, acts as their “gateway” away from streets, said Morden.

In a year and a half there have been 85 referrals for treatments – compared with just three at a low-barrier housing operator locally, which Morden declined to name.

“There are 12 people who have died over at Royal Crescent modular housing. That’s not okay. They’re somebody’s child. They’re somebody’s dad. We need to do better,” said Morden.

Morden told the audience that the issue is personal for him.

“Most people that do drugs, they really don’t want to do it. It’s their situation. It’s their personal journey. Things have happened to them. I had it in my own household, I understand how this works, but that doesn’t make it acceptable.”

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Having served in Ottawa, Ruimy told the audience that the city’s reputation reaches to the nation’s capital.

“We were known as a city of hate. I kid you not. It was in the papers… this stuff made it all the way to Ottawa.”

He said city hall can lead a change in the narrative about Maple Ridge.

“For God sakes, stop telling the world how bad we are over here,” said Ruimy. “We have some homeless people – every city has homeless people. They are not destroying the city.

“If you want to improve the reputation, start talking about our beautiful community – the parks, the bike lanes, everything that makes it so attractive that you want to live here.”

He said people who fall out of housing are at risk of falling into a life on the streets, so the city needs more affordable rental housing stock.

The province is bringing in a complex care system, and Maple Ridge needs to get into the program, added Ruimy.

Bernard said she would like to see treatment as a first option, and opposes the call for safe supply and safe injection sites.

“Harm reduction is not working. I don’t know how many more numbers we need to read,” she said. “It’s not working. We have to have an alternative.”

She said the city should have a housing plan that revisits co-op housing and rents tied to income.

Blackstone talked about an Amish-style project using volunteers to build homes, or using container homes.

“Right back at you Maple Ridge – when you’re asking me sitting up here ‘what are you going to do about homeless,’ what are you going to do about it? Are you willing to grab a hammer and go help out for an afternoon?”

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