Today, Community First Councillors proudly broke ground with provincial partners and Aunt Leah’s Housing on a transformative housing development that will deliver 89 units of deeply affordable housing for youth aging out of care and vulnerable young mothers.

The project, approved by Council in July 2024, represents an important step forward in addressing the youth housing crisis and creating a more inclusive city. Community First members present voted unanimously and without hesitation to move the project forward.

The New West Progressives, however, voted against the project. Their justification? Concerns that affordable housing might “limit” the scale and profitability of nearby land assemblies.

Councillor Fontaine suggested adjacent land assemblies would be “orphaned” and prevented from full development value (an assertion refuted by City staff during the meeting). This was followed by Councillor Minhas citing examples elsewhere that “stop developers to get full value [sic]” as a reason to oppose the project, before both NWP Councillors voted against approval.

This was yet another example of the NWP finding excuses to oppose housing for people who need it most, while raising troubling questions about their motivations. Prior to this vote, Councillor Fontaine and the New West Progressives worked with a local realtor engaged in land assemblies around 22nd Street Station to co-host a town hall about the potential for development in this neighbourhood. That connection should raise serious concerns about whether private development interests were prioritized over the urgent need for affordable housing for vulnerable young people.

This project was a no-brainer. The Progressives had the chance to stand with youth transitioning out of care and young moms fighting for housing stability but instead they chose to side with developers interested in maximizing profits through land speculation. Instead of supporting solutions to the housing affordability crisis, they doubled down on what is making housing less affordable.

Community First Councillors have consistently prioritized affordable housing as a cornerstone of its vision for New Westminster, approving every affordable and supportive housing project that has come forward in their term. The New West Progressives, by contrast, have shown a troubling record of finding unique reasons to block or vote against housing projects that support low-income residents - from temporary shelters, to supportive housing units, to projects like this one with Aunt Leah's.

This project is about giving young people hope and security. It is what compassionate leadership looks like ,and is the product of two levels of government working together to get to “yes”. Meanwhile, our opponents said no, but fortunately, they are in the minority and now 89 deserving young people, and their kids, will soon have a safe place to call home in New Westminster.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6896711