Chilliwack housing roundtable discusses Indigenous development hurdles

Chilliwack housing roundtable discusses Indigenous development hurdles

Published 5:30 am Wednesday, September 23, 2026

A recent housing roundtable in Chilliwack addressed developments on First Nations land, how housing units are counted, and misconceptions about how some farm land is released to First Nations communities.

The event was hosted by Á’a:líya Warbus, incumbent MLA for Chilliwack-Cultus Lake at The Grand Hall on Friday, Sept. 11.

“In order to push forward on the things that are needed for both Chilliwack and the region, I think we can be leaders in having the conversations, occupying seats at the table and really finding out where it is we need to go,” Warbus said.

The 12 participants included Chief Darcy Paul of Skowkale First Nation; Ken Popove, mayor of Chilliwack; Lydia Archie, housing manager for Cheam First Nation; Travis Swanberg, public works and housing manager for Tzeachten First Nation; Karen Stanton, director of public safety and social development for the City of Chilliwack; and Reuben Koole, manager of long-range planning for the City of Chilliwack.

Attendees were separated into two roundtable groups and given questions about different aspects of Indigenous housing to consider. Warbus did not participate in the discussions, she instead listened to the panels and took notes.

“By no means am I an expert in this area. I think all of you are the experts,” Warbus told the attendees. “My main goal was to bring people together and sit down and listen.”

One issue raised during the discussion was the approach the provincial government takes towards counting properties for development targets. Chief Paul says that even though Skowkale First Nation has built a 20-unit apartment building and 19 townhomes, because they are built on First Nations land they do not count towards Chilliwack’s development targets even though they use the city’s infrastructure.

The cost of use of Chilliwack’s infrastructure for the Skowkale First Nation development was paid through Development Cost Charges, which developers pay to help the city pay for new infrastructure.

Unlike other municipalities, which may have a large distance between the main city and Indigenous communities, Chilliwack is “shoulder-to-shoulder” with 14 First Nations communities.

In August, the city’s housing target progress report called on the province to accept housing units contributed by First Nations as part of the its mandated housing quota. This was the second year in a row that the city complained to the province about the exclusion of First Nations developments in the count.

In July 2024, the City of Chilliwack was issued a housing target under the BC Housing Supply Act, requiring 4,594 new residential units to be completed by June 30, 2029.

In year one, the city was mandated to build 659 units. A 2025 progress report says the city built 726 units as of June 30, which combined with the 343 units built on First Nations land totalled 1,069 units built.

In year two, the quota was 1,404 units. This target is cumulative and includes the units counted during year one. A 2026 progress report says the city built 1,282 units as of June 30. Although this does not reach the quota, when combined with the 499 units built on First Nations land, it equals 127 per cent of the target for year two.

In an Aug. 3 press release, Popove is quoted as saying, “It is deeply concerning that the Province continues to omit First Nations’ critical contributions to housing development in the Chilliwack area. To get an accurate picture of housing supply, we will continue to include housing developed on First Nations land in our counts, respecting our partnerships with local First Nations and their significant efforts to create more housing.”

Alexander Steele, development and project manager for Steele Properties, says that private development companies in smaller cities can’t afford to build the required housing projects, particularly affordable housing units. He suggests that the best way for the province to get what they want would be to accept developments like the Skowkale First Nation’s as part of the quota.

“There’s only so many developers with pockets deep enough to get lending and take the risk in pre-development funds,” Steele said. “There’s just no way we’re going to take the risk that the district and the federal government are asking us to take.”

Another issue that was considered during the discussion was the perceived stigma of buying or renting property on leased land. Chief Paul says that people worry about what will happen to their homes after the lease expires.

He says he has never seen a property get turned back over, even when a lease is expired.

“I know we have one right now with 12 years left on the lease and we’re already working on the new lease for it,” Chief Paul said.

One larger issue that was raised was how land under the ALR is treated. The ALR is an area in B.C. managed by the Provincial Agricultural Land Commission. Agricultural use is prioritized in the zone, while other uses are restricted, including using the land to build housing.

First Nations governments can submit to have land removed from the ALR through the Additions to Reserve process, but Chief Paul says it can take up to 30 years for the approval process to release the land. He also says that First Nations governments are being charged nearly double what the land is worth.

Warbus says there are a lot of misconceptions about First Nations communities and how they access land in the ALR.

“The elephant in the room often is ‘why is a nation able to “take” ALR land out of the ALR and they can do whatever they want with it, when the rest of us are beholden to the provincial rules that exist,’” Warbus said, “It’s reserved because it’s about farming, it’s about food sovereignty, it’s about protecting our ability here at home to be able to farm land and produce food.”

She says group discussions, like the housing roundtable, are important because they offer people new perspectives on developments in and around the city, how those developments are considered and to what extent they will impact the larger community. She says that collaboration and sharing information between different groups prevents harmful narratives from surfacing.

“People assume a nation is going to do its best for the nation, it’s not going to be a benefit of the larger community and they’re just going to take and they’re not going to consider what the larger footprint will be,” Warbus said. “I think it’s a conversation we have to move forward in a really positive way.”

Participants registered for the roundtable through Eventbrite. For information on future events, visit eventbrite.com/o/mla-aaliya-warbus-121635537049.