B.C. launches working group to address safety in supportive housing
British Columbia's government is forming a working group to tackle a number of safety issues in supportive housing, including concerns over drug trafficking, weapons and second-hand exposure to fentanyl.
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says consideration is being given to removing the facilities from the Residential Tenancy Act, which would allow housing providers to kick out dangerous people taking advantage of vulnerable tenants.
The announcement comes after a number of recent incidents, including a fire on June 11 at the former Howard Johnson hotel in Vancouver that injured two people.
Fire crews say they have been called to the site more than 900 times since the facility was converted to supportive housing in 2020, and police also say they have been called to the location thousands of times during the same period.
Downtown business groups in Vancouver and Victoria have made recent pleas to government about doing more to address the public safety situation, with the deteriorating conditions severely hampering local shops' ability to continue operating.
Kahlon says in a statement that the working group will involve law enforcement, supportive housing providers, union representatives and B.C. Housing "to ensure safety for tenants and workers is paramount."
"We have heard from providers that they need more authority to take action and keep people safe, and we will be working with our partners to find a path forward that ensures people can live in a safe, inclusive and supportive environment," Kahlon said.
The ministry also says it is working with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control to look into the impact of the toxic drug crisis on supportive housing.
It says early results from testing 14 buildings in both Victoria and Vancouver show that some supportive housing areas may be "more likely to have elevated levels of airborne fentanyl, above the limit WorkSafeBC has established."
The province says there have been almost 7,500 new supportive housing units opened in B.C. since 2017, and another 2,900 are in progress.
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