B.C. mayor 'calling BS' on province's new housing target list
The province revealed 20 more cities that will be getting housing targets on Tuesday, but the mayors of some communities on the list argue that they’re already doing everything they can to build and that they’re being singled out.
“I’m calling BS on this priority list,” said New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone. His and 19 other municipalities have been identified by the housing ministry as “high-growth, high-need regions” and will need to meet a yet-to-be-announced number of units built in five years’ time.
“This government has to stop pointing fingers and has to start doing its job to get housing built,” Johnstone said at a press conference held in front of an empty lot the city approved for affordable housing in 2021.
He argued that New Westminster getting put on what some have called the “housing naughty list” makes no sense, as the city has been “leading the region” when it comes to approving rental homes and increasing density.
“We’re doing our job as a city at getting housing built,” Johnstone said. “The only place that we’re falling short of community need is in subsidized and supportive housing and it’s not because we’re not approving it…it’s because the province refuses to fund affordable housing at a scale that meets the crisis that we’re facing.”
“It’s not about friends, it’s about getting housing built,” Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon retorted.
Kahlon insisted the new group of 20 municipalities are not a “naughty list,” specifically naming New Westminster, the City of North Vancouver, Kelowna and the Langley City as communities that are doing a good job when it comes to getting homes built.
“There are some communities on this list that have been doing some good work, and there are some communities that need to be doing much more,” he told reporters at the legislature Tuesday.
He explained that the goal of the legislation is to “align our targets” as cities develop and make sure “we’re all doing it in co-ordination.”
North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan echoed Johnstone’s sentiment. She said in a statement that she was surprised to find a housing target was “ordered” for the city given that it already meets regional growth strategy targets.
“In my previous conversations with the minister I have been very clear that the city’s growth cannot be scaled up as a result of ordering a housing target,” she wrote.
Buchanan instead asked the province for funding for non-market housing and infrastructure projects such as a new Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and a rapid transit connection to the North Shore.
“I appreciate the province sees our community as a high-priority partner for further investment and collaboration on housing. I look forward to the details of the infrastructure supports and regulatory changes the province will bring to the table to support the housing supply people need and deserve,” she wrote.
In the meantime, the province says a report on the progress of the 10 cities initially named in the Housing Supply Act is expected in May, while the specific targets for the 20 new municipalities will be announced sometime in the summer.
The full list of communities that have been given housing targets by the province follows below:
Cities announced Tuesday:
- Central Saanich
- Chilliwack
- Colwood
- Esquimalt
- Kelowna
- City of Langley
- Maple Ridge
- Mission
- Nanaimo
- New Westminster
- North Cowichan
- North Saanich
- City of North Vancouver
- Port Coquitlam
- Prince George
- Sidney
- Surrey
- View Royal
- West Kelowna
- White Rock
Cities announced in 2023:
- Abbotsford – 7,240 units
- Delta – 3,607 units
- Kamloops – 4,236 units
- District North Vancouver – 2,838 units
- Oak Bay – 664 units
- Port Moody – 1,694 units
- Saanich – 4,610 units
- Vancouver – 28,900 units
- Victoria – 4,902 units
- West Vancouver – 1,432 units
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Man throws flaming liquid on New York City subway, burns fellow rider
A man set a cup of liquid on fire and tossed it at fellow subway rider in New York City, setting the victim's shirt ablaze and injuring him.
At least 9 dead in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after severe weather roars across region
Powerful storms killed at least nine people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where drivers took shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
As Canada warms, infectious disease risks spread north
Cases of Lyme disease have now increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and risk factors northward.
12 people injured after Qatar Airways plane hits turbulence on way to Dublin
Twelve people were injured when a Qatar Airways plane flying from Doha to Dublin on Sunday hit turbulence, airport authorities said.