Downtown businesses in Vancouver, Victoria want changes to supportive housing, citing public safety concerns

Chuck Chiang · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 1:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Alan Goodall has owned the Aura nightclub successful Vancouver's amusement territory for 16 years, and helium says the concern for his concern has ne'er been worse.

"Just successful the past period alone, my ceiling has caved successful in 3 antithetic locations, 3 times," Goodall said of his club, located connected the crushed level of the erstwhile Howard Johnson edifice connected Granville Street. 

The B.C. authorities purchased the edifice for supportive lodging successful 2020, and since past Vancouver occurrence crews person been called to the tract 906 times, including for a occurrence connected Wednesday.

Vancouver constabulary besides accidental they've been called to the lodging tract thousands of times since it was converted.

Downtown concern problems aren't conscionable affecting Granville Street. Business leaders and others successful Vancouver and Victoria accidental the mounting fig of nationalist information concerns successful the downtowns and deficiency of enactment from the state is promoting them to rethink their operations. 

"Just past month, I was closed for 16 days. I had 50 unit members retired of work, radical who lived paycheque-to-paycheque were fixed 24 hours announcement and they didn't cognize however they were gonna wage their rent," Goodall said. 

'Downtown businesses cannot wait'

Two radical were injured successful this week's fire, and each the residents were displaced overnight successful what Vancouver Fire Rescue Services called an accidental blaze caused by a locking butane torch. The devices are commonly utilized to fume drugs successful crystal oregon powdered form.

Fire services accusation serviceman Matthew Trudeau described a challenging country wrong the facility.

"Hoarding conditions, challenges with h2o proviso wrong the gathering and radical refusing to permission made occurrence suppression and hunt operations pugnacious for crews," helium said successful a statement.

The Downtown Victoria Business Association said successful its yearly study released Wednesday that 48 per cent of the businesses surveyed said they are either unsure oregon would not renew their leases if it was owed soon due to the fact that of the "current conditions" successful the neighbourhood.

"Our telephone is simple: each levels of authorities indispensable enactment now," main enforcement Jeff Bray said successful a statement. 

"No much studies. No waiting connected cleanable solutions, " helium said. "The information is clear: downtown businesses cannot hold 3 to 5 much years."

Laura Ballance with the Hospitality Vancouver Association said the concern business is arsenic dire connected Granville Street, and galore businesses are blaming the transgression and thoroughfare upset connected the "failed experiment" of placing supportive lodging successful the area.

Ballance said the radical has engaged with B.C. Housing for years but the conversations person not created immoderate question connected the situation.

Vancouver's occurrence work said of the much than 900 calls for work astatine the erstwhile hotel, 375 were aesculapian incidents, 43 were fires and 12 were rescue oregon hazard events.

Police said they had 65 calls to the edifice successful 2019 earlier it became supportive housing. Two years aboriginal constabulary were asked to be 971 times, and person gone connected to mean much than 2 calls a day. 

Moving supportive housing 

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said helium could "feel the vexation and the sadness and the choler of our section businesses" due to the fact that of what they person to woody with. 

He said helium has spoken with provincial Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon aft the occurrence and Kahlon committed to moving supportive lodging retired of the amusement district, though determination was nary circumstantial timeline.

In a statement, Kahlon said the state "will enactment the city's program to revitalize the Granville amusement district."

"Seeing different occurrence is frustrating for businesses, and having radical suffer entree to lodging is heartbreaking," Kahlon said.

He said supportive lodging "works."

"We're seeing occurrence successful the City of Vancouver's reports that bespeak a driblet successful unit and thoroughfare transgression successful the Downtown Eastside with less radical sheltering successful encampments and parks."

Sim said the determination of supportive lodging distant from Granville thoroughfare "can't wait."

"Why don't you inquire Alan [Goodall] how urgent this is?" Sim said astatine a quality league Thursday, gesturing to the nightclub proprietor besides successful attendance. 

"So, velocity is of the essence, "Sim said. "If there's nary movement, we'll person much property conferences similar this, and they won't needfully beryllium initiated by the City of Vancouver."

Goodall said helium wouldn't privation what happened to his concern connected anyone.

"As a effect of the occurrence that happened yesterday, they're close present tearing retired my ceiling again — a ceiling that I benignant of see my ain small Sistine Chapel. I spent 200 hours, maine personally, putting that ceiling up.

"And it's gone. I can't regenerate it. And I don't adjacent cognize what I'm going to bash with it. I don't adjacent cognize if I'm going to beryllium unfastened this weekend."