FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VICTORIA, B.C.: Communities have spent a decade dealing with a homelessness crisis while the NDP government kept valuable federal data locked up and out of sight in Victoria.

After a Victoria councillor called for a city-wide homeless count, it was revealed that B.C. Housing has had access to the federal Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) since 2016 but has not shared it with municipalities. While municipalities hold HIFIS licences in most of Canada, B.C. Housing holds the licence provincewide and only began sharing it with select community partners in 2025.

That raises a simple question: what took so long, and what is the government afraid communities might find in the data?

“Why has the NDP kept this data from the communities that need it?” said Claire Rattée, Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Addictions, and Social Housing. “They’ve had it since 2016. What are they hiding? Does the data show homelessness rising around supportive housing and supervised consumption sites? If so, British Columbians deserve to know. Municipalities are asking for information the province already has. After ten years, there is no excuse for keeping them in the dark.”

The province has spent years expanding supportive housing and supervised consumption services, yet homelessness remains a growing concern. Municipalities deserve to see the data and know what is happening locally.

“If the NDP truly cares about solving homelessness, it should be willing to give communities the information they need to deal with it,” said Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Leader of the Conservative Party of B.C. “Local governments know what is happening in their communities. They see it firsthand. The NDP should be giving them the information and freedom to respond, not concentrating power and keeping vital information under provincial control.”

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Media Contact:
Erika Acuzar
Conservative.Communications@leg.bc.ca
+1 (672) 922-1372