Kootenay-Columbia MP Rob Morrison says the federal government can do more to address homelessness in Cranbrook.
Cranbrook’s makeshift solution has been letting homeless residents set up tents at a site near Moir Park.
The Mayor’s task force on homelessness is trying to develop the site as a monitored temporary outdoor living space.
Morrison says he’s in regular contact with other local officials to see how the federal government can help.
“I do talk with the municipality here and I talk with the regional district and the provincial government a lot to see how we can help federally,” he said.
While it may be a good temporary solution, Morrison says the federal government needs to do more to get affordable housing in the area.
“For example what incentive programs could we give to builders to build affordable housing,” he added.
He says affordable homes aren’t necessarily going to be someone’s dream house but it’s a start.
“Affordable housing isn’t a 3,000 square foot rancher style house on a half acre. It could be a 600-square-foot home that is good for a starter,” he said.
“If you go back 20-40 years we all started with a small home. Not many of us grew up in big houses. Sometimes expectations need to be managed a bit and I think we need to start looking at building affordable smaller homes, giving incentives to builders to be able to reduce the cost and use federal land.”
Morrisons will continue to advocate for more support for the Kootenays but hasn’t had much success.
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