Former Victoria mayor appointed B.C.'s special adviser on housing

The former mayor of Victoria has been appointed as aspecial housing solutions adviser to support the provincial governmentas it works to create a program focused on building morehomes in B.C.

The provincial government said Lisa Helps, who served in the capital city for eightyears, will help design and develop the B.C. Builds program an initiative the province said was intended "to build housing for middle-income families, individuals and seniors."

"I'm very pleased thatLisaHelpshas agreedtouse her years of leadershiptohelpus work on innovative solutions, like B.C. Builds,tomake it easier for peopletofind a good placetolive in their communities," B.C. Premier David Eby wrote in a statement released Thursday.

Helps served as mayor of Victoria for two terms, having been elected in 2014 and 2018. She chose not to run for a third term last year.

Helps is the latest public official in B.C. to be appointed as a special adviser to support the provincial government on key issues in recent weeks.

Dr. Penny Ballem, who was hired by the provincial government to lead B.C.'s COVID-19immunization plan, was named the premier's health systems specialist last week. Coast Salish lawyer Doug White was namedspecial counseltoEby on Indigenous reconciliation in December.