Whereas the Province has acknowledged that there is a housing crisis affecting communities across all of British Columbia and has chosen to take unprecedented action to address this challenge by looking for opportunities and taking action to deliver long-term housing supply; And whereas large infrastructure projects mandated or approved by the Province put immense pressure on available housing rental and ownership stock, and tourism infrastructure by requiring a significant number of temporary workers without appropriate workforce housing plans as a requirement of project approval; Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request that the Province require robust and detailed workforce housing plans integral to the approval process for large infrastructure projects, to address and minimize the cumulative impacts of temporary workforce housing on communities and deliver a positive housing legacy.
Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs Infrastructure projects which trigger the environmental assessment process regularly have conditions attached to their approved Environmental Assessment Certificate to mitigate potential negative impacts such as those on local housing supply. In many cases, temporary accommodation in camp environments are used to mitigate local housing impacts. Other mitigation options include investment in local housing supply and use of hotels, campgrounds or other commercial options rather than utilizing local supply. Even for smaller projects, which may not have socio-economic effects conditions in their environmental assessment certificate or other approvals, the Province encourages project proponents to consider local housing impacts and other social and economic impacts and seek to provide mitigation options. The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs is currently working with the Environmental Assessment Office to analyze the effectiveness of Certificate conditions on approved infrastructure projects with the goal of enhancing conditions for future projects. The Province launched the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program which includes a funding stream to support planning for workforce housing. Through this sub-stream, applicants are eligible for funding for planning activities to support critical economic opportunities or sectors that are unable to fill workforce demands due to a lack of housing. Seven workforce housing projects were funded by the Province in the first two years of this program.