By David Wiwchar

Lookout Society causes concern

‘Right Place, Right Plan’ group protests

Feb 10, 2026 | 9:17 AM

With the City’s 2nd Avenue property successfully rezoned, people opposed to the supportive housing plan have turned their attention to the proposed contractor, saying the Lookout Housing and Health Society has failed in their operation of similar supportive housing projects.

Roseanne Doiron of a group call “Right Place, Right Plan”, says they’ve been receiving information and advice from a former City of Nanaimo councillor and a retired city of Victoria staffer who say the Lookout Society has failed in past low barrier projects.

“I think that by bringing all this to the forefront that we will be able to make a difference either at being built with better management or more security and housing the homeless in a secure fashion with help or not having it at all,” she said. “So we’re hoping with our input from our RPRP group and the research we’ve done that we can either get BC Housing to switch their management team or we can have them not build at all.”

Mayor Sharie Minions assured protesters that BC Housing forced a management change at the shelter when concerns were raised, and she would expect a similar response if there were issues around 2nd Ave.

“In situations where we have had a local housing provider that the community did express concern about, the City of Port Alberni took those concerns and brought them to BC Housing, pushed for a review to be done and BC housing took action on those. I would give the same assurance to this process and and moving forward with this housing provider,” she said. “I think that we are making a conscious effort to improve the uptown area and I view the Second Avenue supportive housing development as a part of that – fixing up the area by taking people who are currently living homeless in the area and giving them a place to live. I feel strongly about that still. I believe this will be a net positive to the area.”

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Doiron says the city should drop the supportive housing plan, and return to the original proposal of a condo project, which would contibute to the tax base and the growth of the neighbourhood.