117 people remain in encampment on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside as province promises more housing
B.C.'s housing minister provided an update Sunday on the work being done to get people living on the streets of the Downtown Eastside into housing.
Ravi Kahlon said the province and its partners have been working on a "comprehensive" response plan for the area since July of last year, when Vancouver's fire chief ordered an encampment to be cleared. Ninety people have since been moved into housing, according to a statement from the province.
There are still 117 people living in 74 tents and other structures along the stretch of sidewalk on East Hastings Street. Kahlon said those people will continue to be encouraged to move into temporary, indoor shelter spaces.
By June of 2023, Kahlon said the province and its partners will be opening up 330 units of new housing.
"As safety concerns increase, we are urging people to take up the offers of indoor spaces that are available right now as we continue to open long-term housing," Kahlon said in a statement.
Mayor Ken Sim, who joined the minister for the news conference, reiterated concerns raised by police about violence in the encampment and the surrounding area. He also noted that the fire chief's order was made, in part, because of the risk that a fire could spread to surrounding SRO buildings.
In 2022 hundreds of the city's lowest-cost, last-resort spaces on the Downtown Eastside were destroyed by fires – compounding the homelessness crisis in the area and driving more people onto the streets. These fires were not caused by the encampment, but likely contributed to its growth.
Kahlon noted that a portion of the new housing units that are opening up will be for those who lost their homes in fires.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6903244.1716897063!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING Scotiabank suffers direct deposit outage on pay day
Scotiabank has acknowledged technical difficulties affecting direct deposits as clients report missed payments Friday morning. On Friday morning, the bank's client services phone line was playing an automated message assuring customers that work was underway to rectify the outage.
Canada Soccer head investigating 'systemic ethical shortcoming' amid spying scandal
Canada Soccer chief executive officer Kevin Blue said he was investigating a potential 'systemic ethical shortcoming' within the program but has not considered pulling the women's soccer team from the Paris Olympics due to a drone spying scandal.
Suspected train sabotage, bad weather dampen spirits ahead of Paris opening ceremony
The Paris Olympics are getting off to a rough start, with suspected acts of sabotage targeting France's flagship high-speed rail network.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
'She led it the whole way': 18-year-old B.C. woman leads hikers to safety in Jasper National Park
As fire threatened people in Jasper National Park, Colleen Knull sprung into action.
'Catastrophic' situation 'cannot continue': Open letter from Trudeau, other PMs calling for Gaza ceasefire
Prime ministers of Canada, New Zealand and Australia released a letter renewing calls for an “urgent ceasefire” in Gaza on Friday morning.
Arson attacks cause chaos before start of Olympics in Paris, thwarting athletes' travel
Arsonists attacked the French high-speed rail network early Friday, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe for some 800,000 people, including Olympic athletes heading to the grand opening ceremony of the Games in the evening.
Saskatchewan First Nation lifts 17-year long water advisory
After 17 years, residents of Star Blanket Cree Nation can breathe a sigh of relief when turning on their taps.
Latest updates on wildfires in Jasper National Park: Rain, cooler weather limiting spread
Cool and wet weather is making a difference in Jasper National Park.