City of Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens has requested a meeting with counterparts at the British Columbia Ministry of Housing, BC Housing, and the organizers of a month-old protest homeless encampment stationed at city hall.
Abbotsford Drug War Survivors (ADWS) organizers confirmed to CIVL Radio the city invited them to participate. “We look forward to having the opportunity,” said Brittany Maple, the program coordinator of ADWS, and the executive director of the Matsqui-Abbotsford Impact Society.
At the Tuesday meeting, city council received ADWS petition, which asks the city for undeveloped municipal land to establish a long-term encampment.
In a statement, Siemens blamed the province for gaps in the types of social housing made available, “by not having those gaps addressed municipalities are bearing the brunt with little to no support.”
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said in a statement, “encampments are not a safe, nor a dignified solution.”
