Housing Motion

Near the end of the February 27, 2023, Council meeting, Councillor Hemmens brought forward a motion "That Council direct Staff to prepare a report by June 1 outlining the costs of designing, constructing, and servicing (water and electric) basic shelter housing for 100 people on City property.

The motion was debated, and passed by a 5-4 vote.

While I must respect the will of Council, I want to stress that I did not support this motion. The City does not have the mandate or resources to build and fund housing. It is not our jurisdiction. In my opinion the motion was ill-conceived and will not solve the problem of "street people". It would also be extremely expensive to taxpayers and would encourage the start of another Tent City with all the corresponding problems.

I will be very interested in the forthcoming report, which I hope will point out the disadvantages of having the City proceed down this path.