Editor:
Former Mayor Derek Corrigan had it right. Not enough praise for our former mayor Corrigan on his immovable stance when talking about homelessness in B.C. He spent the 15 years addressing this crisis from a national standpoint and refused to be steered into formatting it as a Burnaby problem. He made it clear, year after year after year, in the face of relentless criticisms by mayors of other districts, it was not, or ever would be, a Vancouver crisis, a Surrey crisis, a Coquitlam crisis, a New Westminster crisis and so on.
Corrigan was unmovable in addressing it as a national crisis and refused to discuss or address it without drawing all levels of government to open their eyes to homelessness as a national crisis, period. His pragmatic recognition saw that not any one district of the taxpaying public is able to shoulder the burden alone of alleviating this crisis in some form.
In stark contrast, Vancouver taxpayers were dished a grave disservice by former Mayor Gregor Robertson in making it his personal mission to solve the homelessness on Vancouver streets. It was never a Vancouver problem.
Interest payments on the social housing and low-income housing on prime real estate is now irrevocably part of the Vancouver taxpayers’ menu of city taxes. The natural consequence was an increase of personnel to manage development portfolios to generate more income via taxes and permits that contribute to city payment obligations on the prime real estate that was supposed to have an impact on homelessness in Vancouver.
Some three to four months before Corrigan lost his bid to reclaim his mayoral role to the current Mayor Mike Hurley, a press release showed parties from all levels of government announcing a combined effort to visualize and form a strategy to address homelessness in B.C.
Thankfully, Mayor Mike Hurley is keeping the focus on the national spectrum. Taxpayers in any district recognized the need to action, but we also see that we can not do all the heavy lifting isolated from federal and provincial entities.
Any municipality that attempts to shoulder the burden alone, without the other two levels of government, will be crushed by a national behemoth with an avaricious appetite that will only demand more.
Charities do what they can with a history of experience and adaptability that crosses all borders to bridge the gap of dignity for people experiencing hardships of homelessness. Charities recognize there are no borders or boundaries to this crisis.
Take away the boxing of this crisis as a municipal or provincial crisis, because, just like a two-legged table, this approach has proved unsustainable and unstable. The federal government tends to buy time for itself when municipalities and provinces bicker among themselves, boxing the crisis away from Ottawa, then it swoops in at an opportune time for itself as a peacemaker with a toothless bite.
Taxpayers should be relentless and uncompromising in demanding the three levels of government engage proactively with them to have some reasonable effect on homelessness in this country.
To suggest in any way, shape or form that municipal governments plow ahead alone is to put the weakest leg on the most unstable part of the table while kicking away the other two.
Any gains made on that table will not remain. Hence the colossal mess that is homelessness in Canada.
Angela Fengler
📢 SOUND OFF: What needs to be done to address homelessness in Burnaby and around the Metro Vancouver region? Which level of government needs to lead the way? Whose responsibility is it? Share your thoughts — send us a letter.
