Provincial housing minister says Maple Ridge reluctant to build supportive housing

B.C.Housing Minister Selina Robinson says city officials in Maple Ridge have blocked the province's repeated efforts to build housing for vulnerable people in Maple Ridge.

Robinson made the comments a day after a Maple Ridge homeless camp was shut down, which had existed for two years and had up to 150 people staying there.

"We've come forward with a number of suggestions over the last number of months and we just keep hitting road blocks," Robinson told reporters on Sunday at an event that unveiled more modular housing in Vancouver.

"We have people who have now just been thrown out of a tent city and we need to be moving urgently on this," Robinson said.

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The housing crisis in Maple Ridge has been a top issue in the city of more than 80,000 for several years. In the last municipal election, candidates were split over whether to increasesafety and security measures or to build supportive housing.

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InVancouver, the province has opened more than 600 units meant to house people who previously were on the street or vulnerably housed, but in Maple Ridge, there have been just 53 similar new units made available. Those opened in October 2018.

'We keep getting refused'

Robinson says she still wants to be able to build more modular housing in Maple Ridge to help those displaced by the closure of the camp known as AnitaPlace.

"We keep getting refused often by the city but sometimes the folks in the camp aren't interested in working with us as well," she said.

Robinson says she has spoken with Mayor Mike Morden about the type of housing the province wants to see built, but she said Mordendoesn't want modular housingat this point and favours housing built for a broader range of people in the community.

During the election Morden campaigned onprioritizingsafety and dealing with drug use over building shelter in the homelessness crisis.

'Conversations are ongoing'

Morden was not available for an interview on Sunday.

The city released a statement, saying the mayor met with the minister and other officials last week to explore housing solutions along with addiction and mental health services and community safety measures.

"Those conversations are ongoing with our senior government partners," said the release.