Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, has released the following statement in response to the homeless campers at Goldstream Provincial Park:

“A number of campers from a former tent city in the District of Saanich arrived at Goldstream Provincial Park on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018. Following concerns expressed by the RCMP, the campground was closed to ensure public safety. People with reservations will be refunded. RCMP continues to work with park staff to ensure the safety of homeless campers, the site and surrounding communities.

“While the park is not an appropriate place for the establishment of a tent city, BC Parks is not asking the homeless campers to leave at this time. We urge those at Goldstream to work with staff to identify better housing solutions. Provincial resources have been deployed to work with the campers from the former tent city over the coming days to assess and provide supports, and work to identify longer-term housing options for people.

“Our goal is to get people into shelters and longer-term housing. In the short term, we are opening a shelter at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, with space for 25 people, starting on Oct. 1. We are also continuing to offer rent supplements to help people find housing in the private market.

“Solving this will require partnerships with regional and local government leaders to build appropriate and affordable housing. Unfortunately, while we already have 2,000 new modular homes in development throughout B.C., only one site for 21 units was identified in Victoria. Until Saanich’s offer earlier today, no other local governments within the Capital Regional District have identified land where we could build these homes.

“We remain committed to our offer to fund an additional 2,500 units of supportive housing around the province, including in this region, but delivering that housing will require willing partners at the local level. The example of the Whalley strip in Surrey, where we housed 170 people in June over just three days, shows what is possible when all levels of government work together to tackle the challenge of homelessness and tent cities.”