Council candidates respond to questions from people affected by homelessness. Photo 250News

Prince George, B.C. – The issues and possible solutions surrounding homelessness in downtown Prince George was the focus of the Community Partners Against Homelessness all-candidates forum Saturday at the Fire Pit cultural drop-in centre on Third Avenue.

And the turnout among both candidates and those directly affected by poverty and homelessness seemed a strong indicator that there will be many issues on the plates of the new council to be elected November 15^th. Twenty-one of the twenty-five people running for the nine council seats attended the forum which came at the conclusion of Homelessness Action Week.

Candidates briefly outlined their election platform and then answered questions pertaining to homelessness.   The first question dealt with the tools available to deal with homelessness. Cameron Stolz municipal government can meet with organizations, lobby for federal money and make land available. He says council did this among a lot of discussion and controversy but he stands by those decisions that have made affordable land available for housing for people. Jeffrey Cunin says we need more housing and the ability to give people something to look forward to in terms of a home that is more permanent. Mayoralty candidate Don Zurowski says you need to have a specific want when you go to senior government with a request dealing with homelessness.

How would you address the need for more housing for singles? Travis Shaw says people don’t choose to be homeless and need help getting back on their feet. He says the use of shipping containers for housing has been successful in Vancouver. And he says there needs to be more communication with people who are on the street. Don Roberts says we should get transfers from the federal government, be a bit creative. He liked the idea of turning shipping containers into homes, and said its being done for about $40,000 each in the United States. Debora Munoz says we need more affordable housing for seniors and students and also need more density in apartment and condos which are close to bus stops and amenities.

On affordable housing initiatives, Terri McConnachie says we need to have close contact with the agencies that deal with the housing issue, work with the residential construction industry, provide development opportunities and incentives and be progressive to make it happen. Susan Scott spoke of a person who created a coat that could be converted into a sleeping bag and delivered a number of coats to people. She then set up a factory to employ people from the street and gave them income, skills and personal respect.. Asked what housing initiatives she would like to champion Monica Peaock said she has always been in favor of the shipping container idea but says it takes community partners to make it happen. She also says we need to re-use materials and also have to speak with the people on the street.

What would you do to provide faster sidewalk snow removal? Ravi Saxena says to help people downtown we have to let them be a part of society and support them. The snow clearing is part of the city’s job. Harry Ulch says the solution to faster snow removal is getting the equipment out of the yard. He says “the wrong step is to ask the Americans, give them $130,000 and ask them how to plow the snow.”   Albert Koehler says we just have to do a better job. He says the City has implemented the consultant’s plan and has to sit down and be educated and be aware of the problem. He says we need a positive attitude and mindset.

Asked what council can do to encourage mixed style housing in the city, Jillian Merrick gave credit to the current council for changing zoning in many neighbourhoods that allows for narrow lot housing and carriage homes. She says seniors housing should be located next to playgrounds, making sure that there’s an interchange of neighbourhoods instead of separating the various facets of the population. Garth Frizzell likes the idea of a navigator who can urge developers to consider housing problems, affordable housing, social housing and subsidies and tax exemptions which apply to various locations. Brian Skakun says under the changes mentioned by Merrick those building single row housing, narrow housing can go directly to City Hall for a rezoning on these lots and get them developed without having to go through the process of sitting before council. He also says we need private investors to come in, know that City Hall is open for business and have this type of zoning.

The next question was, would your priority be the homeless of the city or the Winter Games, and what is your plan to include downtown people in the games? Murry Krause got first shot at that one. “I’d have to say that homeless people would be my major concern.” He says the games are almost here and he’s hoping for a major celebration for our community. He thinks it will inspire self-pride. He says we need to develop a plan for the homelessness in the city and start dealing with it. Dave Wilbur says we can’t undo what is a fantastic opportunity, and says the legacy can be decent housing and opportunities downtown. He says preparing for the games has shown there is a lack of housing and planning will provide some solutions. Roy Spooner says his priority is the people of the city. He says the games are wonderful “but if we can house 5,000 athletes, why can’t we house 400 people? If we can figure out a way to look after them ( athletes) for two weeks why can’t we look after 400 people for the rest of the year?” He says maybe we need to sit down with singles, families, people living on the street and have a conversation.

Candidates were asked what they know of the Housing First strategy and how that would be implemented in Prince George. Lyn Hall says the strategy is a good start and has provided a foundation to move forward on affordable housing but a lot more has to be done. He says partnerships and resources need to be strengthened and council has to get out into the community to come up with a plan around creating affordable housing. He says there are developers looking to create seniors housing in the core and feels that will be the key to revitalizing downtown. Coralee Larsen says while she is not aware of the Housing First strategy, revitalizing the downtown core has been discussed ad nauseum. She says there is some movement coming with the OCP, “as long as they don’t keep going back and re-visiting it every couple of years we should be ok. She says we need people downtown in order to have a vibrant community but we’ve been passing by-laws that are counter=productive to that end. She says “Prince George isn’t 20 Prince George is having a mid-life crisis.” Jason Luke also doesn’t have much information about the strategy but says he wants to see some downtown properties that are owned by the city sold. He says the anchor businesses and corporate business can spend the money, get a deal on the land and then other businesses will open up around them. He says if some night life is added it will get people coming downtown and form a sense of community.

At the outset of the forum on homelessness the candidates in attendance were informed that the questions that were being asked came directly from the people who usually visit the Fire Pit drop-in centre. They were reminded that it is a cultural drop-in centre, that those on hand were witnesses to everything that was being said and that people would be held to what they were saying.

We’ll have Part 2 of the All-candidates forum on homelessness on Monday,