Dan Fumano: Maple Ridge brings feud with B.C. government to UBCM
Credit to Author: Dan Fumano| Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 20:53:01 +0000
A feud between Maple Ridge and the B.C. government over the construction of housing for the homeless is set to spill into next month’s convention for B.C.’s municipalities.
When representatives of the province’s cities, villages and regional districts meet in Vancouver for the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, they’ll consider a resolution submitted by Maple Ridge, titled “Local Government Autonomy.”
The language of the resolution doesn’t mention housing the homeless. But, for those who have followed the very public dispute unfolding this year between the governments of Maple Ridge and B.C., it’s clear what’s driving Maple Ridge to ask the UBCM to “request the provincial government to commit to working in collaboration with local governments within boundaries of their respective jurisdictions.”
Maple Ridge Mayor Mike Morden said the resolution grew from the disagreement over how to deal with his city’s homeless population, but also the broader issue of “the NDP imposing its will on communities in B.C.,” at the expense of “local democratic rights.”
In March, Maple Ridge issued an order to evacuate a tent city called Anita Place, following at least three destructive fires in the camp. Anita Place had stood for almost two years and, at one point, had more than 100 residents. The day after its evacuation, provincial Housing Minister Selina Robinson said Maple Ridge officials had blocked the province’s repeated efforts to build housing for the homeless, CBC reported.
Weeks later, Robinson announced plans to build a 51-unit temporary modular housing on a Maple Ridge property owned by the province. That plan was against the will of the local council, and Morden made his opposition clear. From there, the war of words escalated.
Now, the feud will be on next month’s UBCM agenda, along with 276 other resolutions from local governments, covering issues including vaping, cave protection and drones.
The Maple Ridge resolution says: “The government of B.C. has shown a willingness to overrule municipal land use regulations,” and forgo public consultation and collaboration with local government, “actions that can set a precedent in undermining the jurisdiction of municipal councils.”
The UBCM’s resolutions committee has recommended endorsing Maple Ridge’s call for local government autonomy. In its comments in the resolution book, the committee said the UBCM has “consistently endorsed resolutions emphasizing the importance of communication and consultation with local government.”
“Local people tend to know best about local matters and how to tackle them,” Morden said Thursday.
The modular housing announced by the B.C. government in March is under construction and expected to be complete in October. The building will be operated by Coast Mental Health, providing 24-hour support services to residents. This follows another modular building in Maple Ridge, which opened 10 months ago, just before Morden was elected mayor.
As of this week, a half dozen residents remain in Anita Place, Morden said. Many past residents of the tent city have been moved into housing, including the first Maple Ridge modular project.
Morden said he supports building more housing for low-income people, seniors and people with disabilities, but he believes Maple Ridge already has too much “low-barrier” housing for people with mental health and substance abuse problems.
“Maple Ridge people need to come first,” Morden said. “It can’t be a regional clearing house.”
B.C. Housing stats show Maple Ridge, a city of about 82,000, has 247 units of housing for the homeless. That means Maple Ridge has more “homeless units” on a per capita basis than nearby Mission and the Tri-Cities, but fewer than Chilliwack, New Westminster and Prince Rupert, and far fewer per capita than Vancouver.
Morden also said other B.C. municipalities have also had modular housing built against the will of their local governments. He specifically named Surrey.
But, when reached by phone on Thursday, Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum said: “We fully support the modular housing, we don’t have any problem with it.”
A modular housing project built last year in Surrey’s Whalley neighbourhood has been credited, by police and neighbours, with helping to clean up the area and reduce crime.
Surrey is hoping to add more modular housing projects, McCallum said. “We’re actually moving as quick as we can, as fast as B.C. Housing can put them up, to solve some of our problems with homelessness.”
Asked about Morden’s comment about Surrey’s opposition to modular housing, McCallum said: “I don’t know where that’s coming from.”
In April, Morden drew criticism for saying that drug users were “basically raping and pillaging all of our community and our businesses.”
Morden made the controversial comments in a 34-minute video posted on his own YouTube channel. The video opens with a narrator saying Maple Ridge’s problem with drug addiction, homeless encampments, mental illness and crime “continues to drain city resources, anger ordinary residents, and reveal the widening divide between the municipal and provincial government.”
Morden, the narrator says, is “on the front line in a battle of political wills.”
Asked Thursday if Morden regretted his “raping and pillaging” comment — he was criticized by anti-poverty advocates, the provincial housing minister and members of his own council — he said he was expressing concerns and frustrations he was hearing from residents.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing sent an emailed statement Thursday saying: “We always prefer to work in collaboration with local governments, and our ministry has been working with Maple Ridge council since 2017 to resolve the significant challenge of homelessness the community has been facing. Given the emergency situation brought on by the city’s decision to evacuate the camp in March, we were compelled to move ahead to provide temporary supportive housing for the people in need in this community.”