Article content continued

The last point in the plan commits to working with “TransLink and local governments in Metro Vancouver to increase density and improve the availability of affordable housing around transit stations.”

What if good intentions aren’t enough to expedite project approvals and get things built? Premier John Horgan was asked Thursday.

In the case of Maple Ridge, where Mayor Mike Morden drew several hundred people out to a protest rally last weekend, Horgan has run out of patience.

He told reporters he sees no point in even meeting with a mayor whose mind is made up.

“Mayor Morden, it seems, has adopted the position that he would prefer to have a homeless camp than modular housing,” said Horgan.

“In that case we are taking the initiative, we are taking provincial land, we are building modular housing, we want to close down the tent city in Maple Ridge as we did in Nanaimo, as we did in Surrey.”

As for North Vancouver, the local NDP MLA Bowinn Ma has lately expressed disappointment at the district rejecting an 80-unit social housing project late last year and a 100-unit project more recently.

“I’m keenly aware of the need for truly affordable housing on the North Shore,” she told Brent Richter of the North Shore News, after the community paper reported the most recent turndown.

The premier was asked about the North Van situation last week and again this week. But doesn’t appear to see it as a trend at this point.

“Our first order of business was to dampen demand, largely from speculators from outside of B.C. I believe we’ve achieved that,” he claimed. “We’ve seen a decline in housing prices, which means more people can get into the market.”