By Spencer Sterritt

B.C. housing minister claims crime not increasing around Nanaimo’s temporary housing

Apr 11, 2019 | 8:07 PM

NANAIMO — Despite ample evidence to the contrary, B.C.’s housing minister claimed criminal activity hadn’t increased around Nanaimo’s two temporary housing locations.

Minister Selina Robinson made the claim in a letter to BC Liberal MLA Rich Coleman on April 4.

“I have received confirmation from Nanaimo RCMP that there has been no increase in crime at the sites at 250 Terminal Avenue and 2020 Labieux Rd.,” she wrote.

Less than a week later, Nanaimo RCMP announced a task force of up to six officers was being convened to specifically tackle the increase in crime around the two sites. Nearly 2,000 calls for service were made to the areas in the last four months.

The ministry of housing said “new information” was provided to council after the letter was sent and Robinson’s letter was written on the basis of an increased calls for service does not equal an increase in actual crime. 

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“Due to the unique situation in Nanaimo, where the new housing had to be provided within a six-week period, increased calls for service were expected due to the rapid relocation of many vulnerable people,” the ministry said in a statement to NanaimoNewsNOW.

The statement did not counter or backtrack on Minister Robinson’s earlier claim.

Nanaimo RCMP have often made the distinction between calls for service and actual criminal behaviour. However, only a few days after minister Robinson wrote the letter, Cst. Gary O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW the areas were hotspots for criminals from all over Nanaimo and neighbours had “legitimate concerns.”

Robinson was asked directly by the Opposition in the legislature on Thursday, April 11 about the statement on criminal activity in her letter.

She deflected the question and instead spoke of how B.C.’s homeless population quickly rose under the previous provincial administration.

Opposition MLA’s also accused the temporary housing sites of not offering services and supports to the roughly 150 tenants inside.

BC Housing confirmed a registered psychiatric nurse, social worker and occupational therapist are at both sites seven days a week to connect tenants with services.

“The operators also provide individualized case plans and support for each resident based on their needs,” the organization said in a statement.

The two housing sites in Nanaimo have become ammunition both for the BC NDP and BC Liberals as they spar over proposed housing in Maple Ridge.

Discussions about Nanaimo’s housing often dovetailed into queries or accusations about the Maple Ridge situation during Question Period in the legislature on Thursday.

The BC NDP argued supportive housing works, as seen in Nanaimo and other sites across the province, while the BC Liberals countered by saying situations were out of control and not helping anyone.

The words of Nanaimo mayor Leonard Krog, a former BC NDP MLA, were used twice by the Opposition to hammer home their point.

“It has not turned out the way I had hoped or expected,” Krog said during a council meeting in mid-January, roughly a month after the sites officially opened.

He called the provincial response “clumsily-handled to say the least. And unfortunately, the victims of it are many.”

The task force addressing the increase in crime around the housing sites and throughout Nanaimo is expected to be on the streets within weeks.

Both BC Housing and the ministry of housing said they’ll work closely with the RCMP to address neighbourhood concerns.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit