Sometimes the up-close view of government functions can be downright frightening.
People interested in housing insecurity on Salt Spring Island have had a ringside seat in the past year as BC Housing took the lead on creating homes for people living temporarily in the Seabreeze Inne.
BC Housing hosted an online information meeting last Monday night, bringing neighbours and other community members up to speed on its Drake Road supportive housing project. The word “speed” may not be appropriate in referring to activity at the 5.5-acre site, as BC Housing development manager Kirsten Baillie described the various obstacles that had so far delayed progress. Those include considerations that go with a sensitive riparian area being identified on the land, plus stormwater management, site clearing and drinking water servicing.
But none of those issues should have been a surprise to BC Housing or the politicians giving their public support to the plan. That includes the person who is now B.C.’s premier, David Eby, who was housing minister when the Drake Road project was first announced.
Eby was the spokesperson in a Jan. 20, 2022 press release about a 28-unit housing project being built on Drake Road by BC Housing. Both at the time and in retrospect it was obviously issued to make it seem as if the Seabreeze Inne residents about to be displaced by the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation’s renovation of their newly purchased building would not be thrown out onto the street. The provincial government then boldly declared that Seabreeze residents would be living in the new Drake Road facility by late summer.
When it became apparent that timeline was not possible, Eby again stepped up at the end of June to state that the Seabreeze residents would be offered temporary residences at 154 Kings Lane on property owned by the Gulf Islands Seniors Residence Association. “Spring of 2023” was the predicted occupancy date for the Drake Road complex. And to be fair, the Kings Lane complex was put together quickly.
What is disconcerting is the disconnect between the government’s messaging and reality. The honesty from BC Housing personnel at last week’s meeting is appreciated. The “problem solved” press releases with a lack of tethering to reality are not. Our community, and especially the people directly affected by housing insecurity on the island, deserve better.