Visions Journal

Towards housing for everyone in North Vancouver

Stephanie Wilson

Reprinted from the Is It Safe to Be Me? Creating inclusive and accessible workspaces issue of Visions Journal, 2024, 20 (1), pp. 37-39

In 2019 I spoke in support of a rental development in the City of North Vancouver. The project would add two new four-storey buildings beside an existing tower. Many rental projects require "demoviction" (evicting tenants so the building can be demolished for redevelopment). This project was "infill," going into unused lot space.

It seemed like an easy win for North Vancouver: a relatively gentle increase in density located near transit and within walking distance of daily necessities. Plus: no displacement of tenants. Of the project's 40 units, four were designated below market rates for older adults at risk of homelessness. At the time, the rental vacancy rate in the City of North Vancouver was 0.8% (it's worse today: newer data puts vacancy at 0.6%).¹

It was not an easy win. All told, 230 people signed a petition against the rezoning needed for development. A City of North Vancouver councillor said it was the largest petition they'd ever received.² Many who spoke against the project worried about increased traffic and said the additional units would disrupt enjoyment of Victoria Park, a nearby greenspace. One claim stayed with me: bringing in more renters would stop nearby condo owners from showing respect towards the Cenotaph in Victoria Park.

The project ultimately passed and is currently under construction.

Four years later and 11 blocks to the east, a similar story unfolded. In November 2023, I attended an open-house information session for a housing development in the District of North Vancouver. The proposed project, in the 1200-block of East Keith Road, would bring 60 new units of supportive housing and five units for people with complex care needs, which would be provided at shelter rates.

I attended after reading online posts from residents hoping to cancel the project. In my view, many of those statements seemed discriminatory towards people who are unhoused or use drugs. At the open house, it was obvious that support for the project was the minority position in the room.

Still, rezoning to allow development at 1200 E Keith was ultimately approved in February 2024—unanimously—after a record-breaking five days of public hearings.³ The majority of speakers were against the project. Over 2,000 people signed a petition rejecting the development, primarily citing safety and drug use concerns.⁴

I'm so happy to see this project move forward and I'm looking forward to welcoming 65 new residents into my community. However, I am seriously concerned about the ideologies that have been twisting conversations around supportive and low-barrier housing.

Ideology, not solutions

Far-right and right-wing ideologies have long focused on homelessness. From the far right, homelessness is twisted to justify xenophobia, often arguing against immigration. Right-wing ideologies tend to focus on supposed personal failures. In this view, unhoused people are portrayed as violent criminals and threats to society. Low-barrier housing developments that do not require abstinence are often framed as promoting criminal activity and harming neighbourhoods.

This rhetoric was highly visible during BC's 2022 municipal elections. Media coverage linked crime to homelessness, especially around stranger attacks in Vancouver. Tough-on-crime candidates around the province argued that they should be elected for peace and order. The Vancouver Police Union endorsed a mayoral candidate for the first time: Ken Sim and the ABC Vancouver party. Sim was elected on the promise to hire more police officers to take on allegations of rising crime.⁵

The problem? The Vancouver Police Department simply didn't report data that showed stranger attacks dropped 60% between 2021 and the first half of 2022. This wasn't made public until November 2023.⁶ But hatred towards unhoused people continues.

Between an overpass and supportive housing

The future 1200 E Keith development sits at the intersection of East Keith Road and Mountain Highway. Behind the site, an overpass crosses Highway 1. In July 2022, individuals associated with the Freedom Convoy movement and related far-right causes started a Thursday afternoon overpass rally. Their messages have evolved, including attacks on 2SLGBTQ+ rights and harm reduction strategies like safer supply.⁷

It's painfully ironic to me that so many residents fought against 1200 E Keith on the grounds that it would bring public drug use into the area and endanger residents when, within sight of the lot that will provide housing and care for 65 people, a group of Freedom Convoy and related far-right supporters spend their Thursday afternoons on an overpass drinking beer and, in my view, harming people in the community.

A bridge away but not a world apart

It's hard to put into words the anguish inflicted on unhoused people in Vancouver in recent years. They've endured street sweeps, decampments, and, I believe, ongoing harassment from the Vancouver Police Department and park rangers. Nestled under soaring mountains and insulated by a history of generational wealth, North Vancouver seems different at first glance. It’s easy to assume that homelessness isn't as much of a problem here.

But walk the forest trails and you'll come across tents and remnants of camps where people have sought shelter. In addition, housing and related services in the Metro Vancouver area are concentrated in Vancouver. People from North Vancouver are forced to leave their community and seek services there. People deserve a dignified home, and they deserve to live in their community of choice.

I have a few reasons to be hopeful. The District of North Vancouver has several upcoming housing developments, including 1200 E Keith. And the City of North Vancouver revised its Mid-Market Rental Policy in 2022, which protects renters who are being priced out of increasingly astronomical rates. But I'm very concerned about what will happen between today's housing announcements and the time people have keys to their homes.

For example, a Travelodge hotel was turned into temporary supportive housing after it was acquired to provide shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was originally hoped that the Travelodge would help bridge the gap until permanent housing was ready at 1200 E Keith in 2026. Instead, Travelodge residents were evicted in mid-2024, and some were forced to look for housing outside of North Vancouver due to lack of housing supply.⁸

Like others, I moved to North Vancouver in 2017 for access to incredible outdoor opportunities, a calmer pace of life and an easy commute to work. No one assumed the worst of me. But that's how people are treated when they seek non-market or supportive housing. It isn't right, and more people need to stand up for community members who are being treated unfairly. There's more than enough space for everyone to make a home here.