Whereas there is a significant housing shortage in most areas of the province; And whereas BC Housing has been put in place to assist communities with this issue, especially with low incomeemergency housing: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the provincial government to commit to a timeline to address the ongoing delays with BC Housing that contribute to the lack of progress in providing housing for communities that are experiencing an ongoing housing crisis.
Ministry of Housing The COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and other factors have contributed to labour-force challenges, supply-chain delays, and construction cost pressures, creating additional complexity for BC Housing as it collaborates with developers, operators, local governments, and other partners to develop new housing across communities. The creation of new housing can be complex, and the Province remains committed to accelerating and streamlining development processes where they fall under the purview of the provincial government. This includes working in partnership with local governments to speed up approval processes with the continued implementation of Local Government Density Initiatives, efforts to streamline provincial permitting across ministries, and development of a new digital permitting process. Concurrently, the Province has also implemented many initiatives to help build homes faster in areas with the greatest needs, including through establishing housing targets in communities that face challenges in meeting growing housing demands. With BC Housing, work is underway to open additional project opportunities and initiate new projects faster, particularly for low-income housing, through pre-development funding as well as intakes for Community Housing Fund and Indigenous Housing Fund projects. These new intakes will help add to the more than 77,000 new units that have been delivered or are underway since 2017. Through historic investments in the Homes for People and Belonging in BC plans, the Province and BC Housing are continuing this important work to deliver affordable, attainable housing for people in BC.