Two Port Coquitlam, B.C., city councilors face calls for resignation over comments calling homeless people “people who don’t want to work” and calling a local shelter a “government-funded crack house the government.”

The comments were made on September 10 during a council committee meeting.

Following a presentation by the 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 quantity 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 was shocked by the number of new people who don’t want to work downtown.

Washington then talked about people using drugs on Shaughnessy Street.

“I’m frustrated. That would be the understatement of the year for me,” he told the RCMP officer who was making the presentation.

The RCMP officer then asks Washington, “What word did you use?”

The councilor replies: “I don’t want to work. I will not say what I said in a closed meeting because it could make me unelected.

Following Washington’s remarks, Coun. Darrell Penner asked the RCMP about low and high barrier shelters.

“For example, 3030 Gordon (Ave.) is a government-funded crack house,” he said.

Calls to apologize, to resign

The councilors’ comments drew sharp criticism from some community members who want apologies and resignations.

One such community member is the Rev. David Cathcart, pastor of Trinity United Church, who wrote a letter to TriCity News calling on Washington and Penner to resign.

“I don’t want excuses from these councilors, I want resignations,” he said. “I don’t think they have anything of value to contribute.”

Cathcart said Port Coquitlam faces 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, even as it struggles to meet growing needs.

“This is the most significant crisis we face as a community right now,” he said.

“I don’t think they are fit to hold a position”

Port Coquitlam resident Jeremy Johnson started a petition calling for Penner and Washington to resign. He said he initiated it after councilors refused to publicly apologize.

“I don’t think they are any more fit for office,” he said.

Johnson, who is also a member of the Tri-Cities Housing and Homelessness Task Force, said the councilors’ statements are detrimental to community members.

“This can increase the likelihood that a person will not seek services because they feel they will not be well received,” he said. “It just sends the message that vulnerable people are not worth helping. »

CTV News reached out to Penner and Washington for comment but did not receive a response.

160 homeless

According to the 2023 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count, there are approximately 160 people experiencing homelessness in the Tri-Cities, an increase of 86% since 2020.

The shelter located at 3030 Gordon Avenue opened in 2015 and has been the focus of discussion lately due to the encampment’s expansion outside.

Jodie Millward, senior vice president of programs and facilities at RainCity Housing, said the shelter offers a range of services.

“We offer this entry level where people don’t have to have a goal or meet any specific criteria to get in,” Millward said. “They have a roof because everyone deserves a roof. »

Millward added that there is a growing demand for more services in the area.

“There’s a whole group of people who live in the Tri-Cities who have great needs, and they’re not engaged, they’re not being heard by city councilors, by elected officials. represent them to their neighbors,” she said.

Cathcart said he is concerned for those in need of housing as the winter months approach. He said he sometimes feels alone in the face of the homeless crisis, particularly following comments from elected leaders.

“We need city leaders who will seek solutions with us – real solutions, not just name-calling.”