Coffee & Conversation Event Held to Discuss Insensitive Remarks by Port Coquitlam City Councillors

Several concerned Port Coquitlam residents came out on October 6th to express their concerns regarding recent derogatory comments that were expressed by Port Coquitlam City councilors Dean Washington and Darryll Penner, toward the homeless community. 

Geoff Scott – Local Journalism Initiative

On September 20th at a regular meeting of council, Dean Washington stated that he did not prefer to use the term "homeless" and chooses to use the phrase " those who don't want to work ". Moments later he suggested that he actually preferred to use another term that he had used earlier that day during an in camera meeting that he suggested might get himself unelected. Later on, in the same meeting, councillor Darryll Penner referred to the homeless shelter located on 3030 Gordon Street as a government funded crack house.

In response to these comments that many feel show a lack of empathy especially considering that they are coming from city councillors, a "Coffee and Conversation " event was held in front of Port Coquitlam City Hall on Sunday, October 6th. First to speak was Rev. David Cathcart who has been doing more for the unhoused in our community than any of the three councils in the region. He and his followers at Trinity United Church have been operating a winter shelter site for the last three years and, before that, the Extreme Weather Shelter.

Rev. Cathcart spoke about the need for more compassion in our community , especially from our community leaders. He also spoke of an open letter that he has sent to Port Coquitlam mayor and council, as well as MP Ron McKinnon which read in part ;

" Recent thoughtless, hateful comments made by Coun. Darrell Penner and Coun. Dean Washington, highlight the ignorance and malice held toward our most vulnerable neighbours." In his letter Rev. Cathcart went on to call for the councillor's resignations stating " I do not believe that maliciousness or ignorance are qualities any of us seek out in our civic leaders." He also noted that he 2023 homeless count reported an 86 per cent increase in homelessness in the Tri-Cities area since 2020 (130 people without homes) and that we can safely assume that it has now doubled since 2020.

Rev. Cathcart concluded that churches is no longer adequate for the task at hand and ended his letter with the following;

"We need more shelter beds.

We need safe usage sites where users can use safely under supervision.

We need more shelter rate housing.

We need more affordable housing with wrap around care (mental health care, support workers, support groups, social outlets).

We need services to help people remain housed who are at risk of becoming unhoused.

We need treatment centres.

We need 24 hour public washrooms so humans don’t need to defecate in the bushes.

In the short term, a warehouse, preferably not in a residential neighbourhood and with access to transit, that could be adapted with complete washroom facilities, and an industrial kitchen could do a great deal in providing appropriate shelter for the coming winter.

We need all these things, and we need them now for the coming winter, not two or three years from now. In two or three years, we will only see another doubling of the unhoused population. We need to listen to the experts in the services that work toward housing the unhoused. It is time to stop pointing fingers and saying, “Not my problem.” We all need to do our part to address the intersection of crises that has been building for 40 years. If we don’t start now, it is only going to get worse."

Also speaking at the event was Christina Gower who offered her insights as a psychiatric nurse with years of experience at Royal Columbian Hospital. She spoke to her experience working with those addicted to drugs and says a great many of them come from construction or the trades industry where their bodies are in pain and may times painkillers lead them down the road to addiction.