Two city councillors in Port Coquitlam, B.C., are facing calls to resign following comments they made referring to homeless people as “people who don’t want to work” and describing a local shelter as a “government-funded crack house.”
The comments were made Sept. 10 at a council committee meeting.
Following a presentation from Coquitlam RCMP on crime statistics, Coun. Dean Washington said he wanted to talk about 3030 Gordon Ave., a shelter run by Rain City Housing on the border of Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam.
“The amount of whatever you want to call them,” he said. “I don’t use the term homeless. I use the term ‘people who don’t want to work.’ So I’ve been shocked at how many new people who don’t want to work are in the downtown.”
Washington then proceeded to talk about people using drugs on Shaughnessy Street.
“I’m frustrated. That would be the understatement of the year for me,” he said to the RCMP officer giving the presentation.
The RCMP officer than asks Washington, “What was the word you used?”
The city councillor responds: “Don’t want to work. I won’t say what I said in a closed meeting because it might get me un-elected.”
Following Washington’s remarks, Coun. Darrell Penner asked the RCMP about low and high barrier shelters.
“For instance, 3030 Gordon (Ave.) is a government-funded crack house,” he said.
Calls to apologize, resign
The councillors’ comments have prompted staunch criticism from some community members who want apologies and resignations.
One of those community members is Rev. David Cathcart, a minister at Trinity United Church who wrote a letter to the TriCity News calling for Washington and Penner to resign.
“I don’t want apologies from these councillors, I want resignations,” he said. “I don’t think they have anything of value to bring to the table.”
Cathcart said Port Coquitlam is dealing with intersecting crises such as a lack of affordable housing and a tainted drug supply. He said the church is preparing to become an emergency warming shelter in December, despite struggling to keep up with the growing need.
“This is the most important crisis that we’re facing as a community right now,” he said.
‘I don’t think they’re fit for office’
Port Coquitlam resident Jeremy Johnson started a petition calling for both Penner and Washington’s resignations. He said he initiated it after the councillors refused to publicly apologize.
“I don’t think they’re fit for office any longer,” he said.
Johnson, who is also a member of the Tri-Cities Housing and Homelessness Task Group, said the statements the councillors made cause harm to community members.
“It can increase the likelihood that someone wouldn’t seek services because they feel that they wouldn’t be received well,” he said. “It just sends a message that the people that are vulnerable are not worth helping.”
CTV News reached out to both Penner and Washington for comment but did not receive a response.
160 homeless
According to the 2023 Homeless Count in Greater Vancouver, there are about 160 people experiencing homelessness in the Tri-Cities, an 86 per cent increase since 2020.
The shelter at 3030 Gordon Ave. opened in 2015 and has been at the centre of discussion lately due to a growing encampment outside.
Jodie Millward, the senior vice president of programs and facilities, with RainCity Housing, said the shelter offers a spectrum of services.
“We offer that entry level where people don’t need to have a goal or meet specific criteria to get in,” Millward said. “They get a roof because everyone deserves a roof.”
Millward added there is a growing demand for more services in the region.
“There is an entire group of people who live in the Tri-Cities who have a great deal of need, and they’re not being engaged with, they’re not being heard by the city councillors, by the people who are elected to represent them, by their neighbors,” she said.
Cathcart said he’s worried for those in need of a place to stay, as the winter months approach. He said he sometimes feels alone in responding to the homelessness crisis — especially following the elected leaders’ comments.
“We need city leaders who are going to look for solutions with us — real solutions, not just call names.”