B.C. names 20 more cities that will receive housing targets [Video]

The province revealed 20 more cities that will be getting housing targets on Tuesday, but the mayors of some communities on the list argue that they’re already doing everything they can to build and that they’re being singled out.

“I’m calling BS on this priority list,” said New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone. His and 19 other municipalities have been identified by the housing ministry as “high-growth, high-need regions” and will need to meet a yet-to-be-announced number of units built in five years’ time.

“This government has to stop pointing fingers and has to start doing its job to get housing built,” Johnstone said at a press conference held in front of an empty lot the city approved for affordable housing in 2021.

He argued that New Westminster getting put on what some have called the “housing naughty list” makes no sense, as the city has been “leading the region” when …