Mount Edwards suggests a housing solution

Re: “Mount Edwards social housing approved,” Oct. 14. I was unsettled when Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson supported the B.C. Housing proposal to locate a facility for the hard-to-house at Mount Edwards beside an elementary school and shocked that Education Minister Rob Fleming did not object.

I was further astonished when mayor and council justified the land use. This single decision, potential casualties aside, won’t win the battle against homelessness, but it suggests a new path.

Every school ground in the Victoria region is underutilized, and any of this land over 10 metres from a school building should be considered for modular housing. The many social and educational benefits mayor and council suggest would be gained by Christ Church Cathedral Elementary students should be shared with a broader audience.

Fleming could instruct the District 61 school board to lease required land to B.C. Housing, and modular homes could be installed. Rental income paid to District 61 could accrue to the benefit of the children through installation of 10-foot fencing and secure keypad entries to playgrounds, just as B.C. Housing did for Christ Church Cathedral Elementary.

Best of all, benefits would finally be shared throughout the region, except Burnside, which has no school. James Campbell Victoria