The Burnaby First Coalition says it has a plan to renew Burnaby Hospital and tackle homelessness without costing the taxpayers a dime.
Daren Hancott, mayoral candidate for Burnaby First, announced the plan at a media event in front of city hall Thursday morning.
"The first issue is we have a homeless problem. The current mayor says we don't," Hancott told the NOW. "I'm saying these are our brothers and sisters, and they need to be treated, they need to be helped. We're willing to step up to the plate and make this an election issue."
Hancott's vision involves tearing down the current Burnaby Hospital, rebuilding it on the Willingdon Lands, which were just sold to two First Nations. By redeveloping the old Burnaby Hospital site, the city can raise money to cover the costs of a specialized building for homeless people on the Willingdon site. The new hospital would include triage and transition beds for homeless people.
"It would be a complex shelter, I don't know exactly what it would be like," Hancott said. Burnaby First is planning to approach the Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh nations, the two parties that recently bought the plot of land from the provincial government, after the City of Burnaby was squeezed out of the deal. In all, Burnaby First is proposing a $100 million contribution from the city to help make the plan reality, but the party says that money would come from saving dollars in other areas.
"Our vision is to try to do things with zero per cent tax increase," Hancott said.
Hancott was under the impression the City of Burnaby owned the hospital land, but the city's planning department has Fraser Health listed as the owner.
Burnaby does not have a permanent year-round homeless shelter, and Hancott thinks the city could save money by helping the homeless, because RCMP policing costs would go down. Burnaby First is guessing homelessness costs $5 million in policing costs, based on the assumption that 10 per cent of local calls to police are related to homelessness.
Staff Sgt. Major John Buis said the Burnaby RCMP doesn't keep track of homelessness because it's not a crime, so he could not estimate how much police resources are spent on the social problem.
"We wouldn't be able to attribute any dollar value to it, and I would be surprised if it was that high," Buis said. "It's not a police issue, but it's one we get called on."
RCMP classify calls related to homelessness in "assistance to general public" category, which includes a number of scenarios.
Burnaby Hospital's aging infrastructure has been an issue in the city for years. The hospital buildings are more than 60 years old and have numerous problems. Fraser Health has a 10-year plan to expand and improvement of the hospital.
Mayor Derek Corrigan was not immediately available for comment, but check back for updates.
