'Not safe': Victoria police chief calls for changes to supportive housing system

Victoria police Chief Del Manak isn't mincing words after two recent gun and drug busts at a temporary housing facility in the city.

On Jan. 10, Victoria police say they arrested a man after the executed a search warrant at a unit in a temporary housing site in the 800-block of Johnson Street.

Inside the unit, police say they found two guns, one of which was loaded, as well as cash and 1.4 kilograms of suspected drugs.

The bust came just three weeks after officers executed another search warrant at the same building and seized two guns, two kilograms of drugs and more than $50,000 in cash.

"Most of these locations have criminals that are embedded within these locations that are exploiting people who are just trying to have a roof over their head and that are marginalized and vulnerable, and we see that time and time again," said Manak on Thursday.

The police chief suggested that the temporary housing buildings are becoming a haven for crime in the capital region, and he thinks discussions are needed with all stakeholders to protect the region's most vulnerable.

On Friday, B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said that the province is working closely with police and supportive housing operators to ensure units are safe.

"It's important to note that majority of people in these units are not criminals," he said.

"These are good people. We need to have empathy in our community to help these people get back on their feet," he said. "Yes, if there's criminal elements we need to work with our partners to get in."

Manak is calling for more safeguards at the units and for tougher selection policies to weed out possible predators.

The police chief says his officers spend large amounts of time at the buildings and that many residents are being victimized.

"Many of those supportive housing locations are not safe," he said Thursday. "We are seeing a trend that we need to address and we can't just acknowledge it and move on week after week."

CALLS FOR NEW HOUSING ACT

Victoria's Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS) agrees with Manak that the housing system is broken, but for a different reason.

The outreach organization says clients at the units are often deprived of normal rights, such as having guests or challenging evictions.

TAPS says it's time for the province to consider creating a specific supportive housing act.

"It's like we have two different types of housing in our society," said Douglas King with TAPS.

"For those in supportive housing, they don't get the rights of everyone else," he said. "The number one complaint we get is a lack of freedom along with those issues of conditions in the building, and crime as well."

B.C.'s housing minister did not specifically say if he was considering a new act for supportive housing when asked Friday.

However, he did say the ministry is willing to discuss issues in the capital region at supportive housing buildings.