Madam Speaker, today, I rise to table multiple petitions for the people of Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford.
My first petition is calling for an alternative location for a supportive housing project planned for Martens Street across from the Abbotsford Traditional School.
Throughout this process, there has been a lack of transparency, public input and consideration of alternative locations, and no disclosure of plans has been provided by BC Housing. This project would be in proximity to vulnerable students, children aged 11 to 18, and would be less than 60 metres from fields and playgrounds. It would also contain a safe consumption room, which would increase the risk of children being exposed to hard drugs such as fentanyl.
These residents call upon the Government of Canada to restrict funding to BC Housing unless an ideal alternative location is selected for supportive housing and the consumption of drugs, not in proximity to a school. The petition also calls upon the Government of Canada to uphold its own rules for preventing children from being exposed to toxic substances that are harmful and deadly.