The executive of the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) is calling on the provincial government to set up temporary shelters for asylum seekers who have arrived in the province.
The request is among more than 200 resolutions that will go before civic politicians when they gather from Sept. 16 to 20 at the Vancouver Convention Centre for the annual UBCM conference.
“Communities across B.C. have seen growing homeless populations amidst a lack of sufficient shelter spaces and support services,” the executive wrote in the accompanying material to the resolution.
“The resolution seeks to alleviate a new mounting pressure placed on existing emergency shelters by asylum seekers who are using the shelters as temporary housing, thus reducing the capacity of local shelters to accommodate a growing number of homeless residents.”
Some B.C. communities have experienced a significant increase in the number of asylum seekers using emergency shelters. The City of Richmond reported in March 2024 that one-third of people accessing the shelter system were asylum seekers.
The executive noted this trend was seen last year in Ontario and Quebec cities when local shelters “were quickly overwhelmed.”
In Toronto, for example, the total number of asylum seekers in the shelter system increased by more than 500 per cent — from 530 individuals a night in September 2021 to almost 3,000 a night in May 2023.
Interim Housing Assistance Programs
The federal government is responsible for immigration and refugee services and has pledged money to support asylum seekers through the Interim Housing Assistance Programs (IHAP).
In January, the government allocated an additional $362 million to IHAP, which provides funds to provincial and local governments — on a cost-sharing basis — to address extraordinary interim housing pressures related to asylum claimants.
However, B.C. municipalities are not eligible to receive the funds for incurred temporary housing costs because eligibility is based on a local government operating the shelter.
B.C.’s shelter system is run by the province in conjunction with service operators.
The UBCM executive noted local governments already bear a wide range of costs associated with homelessness, including community service, legal and policing costs.
“They incur costs to address public safety, such as security costs for complex needs or social housing because of onsite substance abuse,” the executive said.
“Local governments also often need to hire new bylaw officers to address issues arising in homeless camps, and additional parks workers to clean up parks each morning where there is overnight camping.”
The resolution from the UBCM executive specifically calls on the province to “develop, coordinate and fund” dedicated temporary shelters and appropriate support services for asylum seekers “to relieve the pressure on shelters servicing local homeless populations.”
In addition, the executive wants the federal government to provide the B.C. government with the funds necessary for the shelters and support services “in accordance with their responsibility for immigration and refugee services.”
Rapid access to detox
The resolution is among several related to homelessness, drug addiction, mental health and housing — topics central to many municipalities mired in various crises associated to poverty and trauma.
For example, New Westminster wants more funds to augment and open more overdose prevention sites in the province, Nanaimo wants more mental health liaison officers funded at police departments and Abbotsford is pushing for rapid access to detox beds.
The province’s health-care worker shortage, the lack of seniors’ housing, the need for more child-care facilities and a review of the Residential Tenancy Act are some of the other topics to be discussed via the resolutions.
At the conference, civic politicians will hear from Premier David Eby, Kevin Falcon of B.C. United, Sonia Furstenau of the B.C. Green Party and John Rustad of the Conservative Party of B.C.
The conference is being held one month before the Oct. 19 provincial election.
