FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2026
Banman Stands With Burnaby Residents, Calls for Treatment-First Supportive Housing and Real Community Consent
Burnaby, BC: Bruce Banman, MLA for Abbotsford South and leadership candidate for the Conservative Party of BC, is standing with Burnaby residents today who say their voices have been sidelined in provincially driven decisions around supportive housing in their community.
Banman is speaking at a media event outside BC Housing at 4555 Kingsway, alongside residents and grassroots organizations Let’s Vote and WeVote, who have raised concerns about proposed supportive housing projects at 5389 Imperial Street and 3020 Gilmore Diversion.
Residents opposing the projects collected more than 13,000 signatures related to the Imperial Street location and over 2,800 signatures regarding the Gilmore Diversion site. Despite this level of documented local opposition, the projects continue to move forward under provincial authority.
“This isn’t about opposing housing or denying help to people who are struggling,” said Banman. “It’s about a system that makes decisions from Victoria, shuts communities out, and then expects everyone else to manage the fallout.”
Banman emphasized that municipalities like Burnaby are often left with limited authority when decisions are centralized through BC Housing and the provincial government.
“I have seen this firsthand in my own riding,” Banman said. “BC Housing is using the same high-handed tactics for a similar project at Martens Park in Abbotsford, just a few feet away from a middle school. Communities are being talked at, not listened to.”
“When local governments and residents don’t have a meaningful seat at the table, trust breaks down and outcomes suffer,” Banman added. “That’s not fair to communities, and it’s not fair to the people these programs are supposed to help.”
Banman pointed to the Conservative Party of BC’s 2024 election platform, which committed to moving away from a consumption-site-first model and toward a treatment-first approach to addiction and mental health care.
“Supportive housing only works when it is connected to treatment, recovery, and mental health services,” said Banman. “Housing without treatment is not a solution. It’s a holding pattern.”
Under a Banman government, supportive housing would be guided by clear principles:
- A treatment-first approach, ensuring people with addiction and severe mental illness receive care before or alongside placement in supportive housing.
- No provincially driven supportive housing project without demonstrated local consultation and community support.
- Integrated mental health services, accountability measures, and safety planning as a condition of provincial approval.
- Restoring meaningful local input, so municipalities are partners in decisions, not bystanders.
- Ending one-size-fits-all provincial directives that download risk and responsibility onto local communities.
“British Columbians are compassionate people,” Banman said. “But compassion without accountability has failed. We can help people recover while also respecting communities. That’s the balance we need, and that’s the leadership I will bring.”
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