The next chapter in the 14-year long Little Mountain Social Housing dispute heads to BC Supreme Court on Thursday. The Court will hear the developer’s judicial review application (appeal) of a Freedom of Information order to make the contract between Holborn Properties Ltd. And B.C. Housing public.
The provincial FOI process resulted in a victory for former MLA David Chudnovsky and CBC Producer Jeremy Allingham who made separate applications to see the contract originally signed in 2008. Holborn is appealing that decision.
“This is just Holborn’s latest attempt to stall the process,” said Chudnovsky. “What are they hiding? People have been asking since 2008 to see the contract. The residents of BC and Vancouver – and especially those who were forced to leave their homes all those years ago – have a right to see what was in this deal.”
The Little Mountain social housing community was built in the 1950s. Its 224 units housed almost 700 people who were told in 2007 they had to move, their homes would be rebuilt, and they would return to their new units by the Olympics (in 2010).
Chudnovsky commented, “In the midst of an affordable housing crisis virtually nothing has been done in 14 years. The privatization of this site was a terrible mistake by the Gordon Campbell BC Liberal government and the then Housing Minister Rich Coleman. Little Mountain is still a huge vacant lot.”
“Holborn thinks we’re going to get tired and give up. No way. We’re going to see that contract,” concluded Chudnovsky.
For further information contact:David Chudnovsky 604 874 1089 or 604 329 1734
Those interested can observe the court case by contacting:Superior Court Judiciary’s Communications Officer, the Honourable Bruce Cohen, at SCJCommunicationsOfficer@BCCourts.ca.