January 6, 2008

Open Letter to Premier Gordon Campbell

Since 2001, homelessness has more than double under your government's watch. It is estimated that the rate of homelessness across the province of BC is between 10,000 - 15,000 people. Recently in Victoria the British Columbia Supreme Court made the decision to allow homeless people to set up tents in city parks. This judgment condemns your government's lack of action in tackling the homelessness crisis in B.C. In addition, it has been well documented that major events often contribute to displacing people in the host cities. Vancouver has already experienced this unacceptable phenomenon during Expo ’86. In particular, Olympic Games are particularly notorious for displacement, with 720 000 people displaced for the Games in Seoul, and 1.5 million people displaced at the most recent Olympics in Beijing.

As you are aware, the 2010 Winter Olympics were advertised as the first Olympic Games to have a social sustainability framework. Claire Mahon, the author of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) report “Multi-Stakeholder Guidelines on Mega-Events and the Protection and Promotion of Housing Rights” was in Vancouver in early November. While she was here, she stressed the importance of Provincial and Federal responsibility in the protection of housing rights, and that they must work with community organizations to create social legacies for the citizens of Vancouver. In her words, “the key thing is political commitment.”

In 2007 VANOC issued its own housing table report which 24 recommendations to prevent displacement. The organizations that sat at this table and worked diligently towards the recommendations are: YWCA, Ray-Cam Community Centre, S.U.C.C.E.S.S., Mt. Pleasant Community Centre Association, Lu’ma Native Housing Society, Impact of the Olympics on Community Coalition, Urban Development Institute, Salient Group, BC Paraplegic Association, BC Apartment Owners and Managers Association, Downtown Eastside Residents Association, Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre, Strathcona Community Centre, Lookout Emergency Aid Society, Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association, Gathering Place DTS, Carnegie Community Action Project, Covenant House. Virtually all organizations that participated supported the recommendations.

I am dismayed that to date, little action has been taken by you to adopt these recommendations. A specific housing recommendation that called for 3,200 new social housing units to be built by 2010 remains unmet. Commitments made when BC entered the bid process remain unfulfilled. Examples include the call for an independent watch dog to be funded by VANOC and making timely public consultations before security regulations are finalized. When he was elected in 2005, one of the first acts of the Mayor Sam Sullivan was to break the promise of a housing mix at the Olympic Village. The affordable housing units in the Olympic Village was reduced from approx. 33% to 20%. And now, with the latest revelation of the loan guarantee required from the City of Vancouver to the Millenium Development Corp., it appears that this project may well be at risk all together.

As 2010 nears, timing is running out for you to take responsibility to ensure that there is a real lasting legacy from the 2010 Olympic Games. According to COHRE, the key Fundamental Principles of Olympism relevant in the housing context are: respect for universal fundamental ethical principles; the concept of human dignity; the recognition of human rights; and non-discrimination. I am therefore renewing my request to you to immediately adopt the recommendations contained in the ICI housing round table report, which reflect the Principles of Olympism.

I am further calling on you to add a $1 surcharge to each Olympic ticket and merchandizing item sold for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. This surcharge should be matched by both the Provincial and Federal governments, and would go towards support a housing and homelessness initiative. The time has come for the province to commit to end the homeless crisis in BC. I ask you to set a target date for this and to commit the resources to realize this goal as an Olympic legacy that we can all be proud of.

Sincerely,

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan, MLA

Vancouver – Mt. Pleasant