5th Reply: Teale Phelps Bondaroff

Matthew,

Thank you very much for your email and question regarding homelessness in Saanich. This is an issue which I take very seriously and an issue around which Saanich has failed to be proactive.

Last year, the provincial government offered free supportive modular housing to municipalities facing high levels of homelessness, as part of the Rapid Response to Homelessness Program . All that municipalities had to do was to identify and supply land for the program. While cities like Vancouver and Surrey have already moved people into modular homes, Saanich failed to identify land. There is plenty of Saanich land available, but even if this were not the case, a Council that was committed to being proactive on the issue would have found another solution. I proposed one. 

Finally, last week, Saanich identified land for the program, unfortunately after all of the housing as part of the original offer had been allocated to other municipalities.

I outline this in my platform as well as other solutions I will implement to tackle housing:

https://www.teale.ca/platform

I also spoke in this very question at a recent all candidates meeting:

https://twitter.com/TealePB/status/1044641753490288640

We need to be proactive on housing, and I feel as though Council has certainly not been proactive. We are in a housing crisis and not a housing inconvenience, and must act appropriately.

We also need to take advantage of programs offered by other levels of government, as well as lobby them for increased resources and new programs should none be available.

Regarding camp Namegans specifically, moving people along without anywhere for them to go is not a solution to the issue. We need to ensure that adequate supportive housing exists for those who need it.

I found this story about Medicine Hat particularly informative and inspiring.
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Thank you for your question and I hope that the new Saanich Council will act proactively towards the housing crisis.

I hope you have a good weekend,

Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff

Candidate for Saanich Council, 2018

www.teale.ca