As a follow-up to the stats released by the city from its homelessness count, here’s my story in the Globe with Councillor Kerry Jang staking out the city’s position unequivocally: It’s the province’s job to pay for enough shelter space to get everyone off the streets. The city will give land, buildings, fix-up costs, but not more.
The two sides are at a stand-off right now over that issue, with Housing Minister Rich Coleman having said to me and others that if the city wants to open up more shelters than the province has determined is its limit, it has to contribute half the operating costs.
I await the results of this dust-up when 560 people no longer have a place to sleep inside on April 30. That’s when the seven additional shelters the city pushed to get for the winter run out of funding.
This jurisdictional battle highlights the fundamental disagreement between different levels of government about who bears responsibility for addressing homelessness. Councillor Jang’s position reflects Vancouver’s frustration with what it sees as the province downloading social service costs to municipalities that lack the revenue tools to adequately fund them.
The timing of this standoff is particularly concerning given Vancouver’s recent homelessness count, which revealed the persistent scope of the crisis. The city’s emergency response during the 2010 Olympics, when additional temporary shelters were opened to ensure homeless individuals weren’t visible during the Games, demonstrated that rapid expansion of shelter capacity is possible when there’s political will and funding.
However, the post-Olympic reality has exposed the temporary nature of these measures. The seven additional winter shelters that opened in response to both weather conditions and Olympic pressures represent a significant capacity that will disappear without continued provincial funding. These facilities have been serving as a crucial safety net for hundreds of Vancouver’s most vulnerable residents.
Minister Coleman’s insistence on cost-sharing reflects the province’s own fiscal constraints and its argument that municipalities benefit from providing these services and should therefore contribute to their cost. This position puts Vancouver in an impossible situation: either allow people to sleep outdoors or divert funds from other municipal services to keep shelter beds open.
The broader implications of this dispute extend beyond Vancouver, as other municipalities across British Columbia face similar pressures. The resolution of this standoff will likely set a precedent for how homelessness funding is handled province-wide, making the stakes even higher for both sides in these negotiations.
