NEWS 4
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Anti-bear bins developed
Time for MP to apologize
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Artist sets Salish footprint
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WEDNESDAY MAY 16, 2018
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS.
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Get rid of Camp Cloud, say residents Lauren Boothby
lboothby@burnabynow.com
CLOUD OF CONTROVERSY: Smoke from the ‘sacred fire’ is seen from Camp Cloud across from the Kinder Morgan tank farm on Burnaby Mountain. Some nearby residents are fed up with the camp and want the City of Burnaby to remove it. PHOTO LAUREN BOOTHBY
Growing tensions between residents of the Forest Grove neighbourhood and occupants of the two protest camps outside Trans Mountain’s terminal on Burnaby Mountain came to the surface at city hall on Monday. Five residents from the neighbourhood came to present a petition with 175 signatures asking council to remove the two camps.They cited concerns with traffic, fire hazards and road blockages, as well as concerns about safety and the protest camp growing into a “homeless camp.” Darlene Johnston presented the petition on behalf of a neighbourhood group. In her speech, she said she supported the right to protest as long as it was done “in a civilized manner” and demonstrators go home at the end of each day. She said the more than 200 arrests for protesting at the gates indicated the demonstrators have “many violent tendencies.” (It should be noted that the vast majority of arrests have not been for Criminal Code violations.) Continued on page 3
Burnaby to get first homeless housing 52 units to be built at 3986 Norland St., but homeless advocate hopes more coming to Burnaby Lauren Boothby
lboothby@burnabynow.com
Burnaby’s first residence for homeless people is being welcomed as a positive first step – but one advocate says more needs to be done for the city to catch up to other communities. Plans for a new three-storey building at 3986 Norland St. were announced Friday. It will include 52 studio units for men and women, including seniors and people with disabilities, who are homeless and need support to address mental health or substance abuse issues.
The provincial government will contribute $7.6 million to build the facility, with Burnaby leasing the undeveloped cityowned land to B.C. Housing for at least five years using money from the city’s housing fund.The homes are expected to be completed by March 2019. Karen O’Shannacery, of the Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby, said she was very happy to hear of the plans for the new facility. As the Progressive Housing Society estimates there are currently 250 to 300 people who are homeless in Burnaby, O’Shannacery says this project is a step forward to address this issue.
“We know that providing homes is the answer; it doesn’t take rocket science,” she said. “People without homes need homes, first and foremost, and they need the supports that are appropriate to help them keep their homes, and stabilize, and become really healthy and part of the community in a bigger, in a better way.” But O’Shannacery said more work needs to be done. “Burnaby is definitely playing catchup.The surrounding communities have a continuum of housing for people who are homeless.This is a first for Burnaby,” she said. New Westminster, Surrey and Vancouver already have shelters and transitional, supportive and permanent housing. The Progressive Housing Society – which
will operate the new facility – currently runs one transitional house in Burnaby that supports five people for two years or less, and two shared homes for five other clients. This is the first dedicated housing facility for homeless people in the city. Burnaby does not have a year-round shelter, but some emergency shelters are available during the winter. Mayor Derek Corrigan said the city has not been supportive of other housing projects for homeless people in the past because those models offered only temporary solutions. Overnight shelters, he says, have been “problematic,” created “neighbourhood difficulties,” and “very negative experiences” in other communities where they have operated. Continued on page 5
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