Vancouver mayor says minister commits to moving supportive housing after latest fire

By Canadian Press on June 12, 2025.

VANCOUVER — Vancouver’s mayor says British Columbia’s government has committed to moving supportive housing out of the city’s entertainment district, after the latest fire at a facility that’s been the subject of hundreds of emergency call outs.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services says two people were injured in Wednesday’s fire at the former Howard Johnson hotel, which the province bought for supportive housing in 2020.

The fire service says that since January that year, the facility on Granville Street has been the subject of 906 call outs, including 375 medical incidents, 334 alarms, 43 fires and 12 rescue or hazard events.

Mayor Ken Sim says he spoke to provincial Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon after the fire and Kahlon committed to moving supportive housing out of the entertainment district, with no specific timeline.

The Ministry of Housing didn’t immediately respond to requests for confirmation.

Alan Goodall, who owns the Aura nightclub on the building’s ground floor, says his ceiling has caved in three times in the last month due to activities upstairs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press