Noon News Update for April 23, 2020

📷 The BC Emergency Benefit for Workers goes live May 1st / Photo via Province of British Columbia (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

NANAIMO—Unemployed workers and landlords in BC will start receiving provincial COVID assistance payments soon. BC Housing says it's received 45,000 applications for its rent subsidy but has sent out only 3,000 payments since the program was announced a month ago. The Premier acknowledges concerns over the backlog, especially since May's rent is due soon. John Horgan says the province is working as fast as it can to deliver services it's never had to deliver before. Meanwhile, British Columbians who qualify for the provincial emergency benefit for workers will be able to apply online starting May the 1st and by telephone, starting May the 4th. The one-time payment of $1000 is available to most people who qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. The government is promising those payments will be sent within days of receiving the application. For more information, go to gov.bc.ca/workerbenefit.

The BC Coroner's Service is investigating the deaths of two men, at a homeless camp in Victoria. One man was in his 20s and the other, in his 60s. The men were found dead in two separate tents yesterday. The camp where they lived was set up to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 among Victoria's street population. Another man in his 30s died at an unsanctioned encampment on Pandora Avenue last week. The coroner's service has not released the causes of death in any of the cases. The camps have attracted controversy Area residents complain of increasing crime in their neighbourhoods. The city has asked the province to place the campers in hotels. The province has said it is working on placements and will have something more to say by the end of this week.

Meanwhile, in Parksville, the lack of shelter space has forced homeless advocates to set up a temporary shelter in a graveyard. Six people have set up camp at the graveyard between St. Edmund and St. Anne's Anglican Churches. Temporary hand washing and porta-potties have been set up. Reverend Christine Muise says four people are being temporarily housed in hotels, but that falls far short of the need.

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Lisa Cordasco

Senior Reporter and News Director — Lisa is responsible for creating the station's first morning news current affairs show on CHLY. She is also deeply involved in training and mentoring student and citizen journalists who volunteer their time at the station. Before joining CHLY, Lisa spent 35 years in various roles at CBC Radio, from host to reporter. Her passion for journalism and radio has led her to Nanaimo, where she intends to provide CHLY listeners with news they can use, in an alternative radio environment. Her other not-so-secret passion is costuming for any occasion.

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