Burnaby Social Sustainability Strategy - City of Burnaby

Burnaby’s Challenges
One of the purposes of the Social Sustainability Strategy is to challenge
Burnaby to do even better and to prepare it for a constantly changing
social environment. Some of the social issues and trends Burnaby will need
to manage now and in the coming years are outlined below. As noted
above, Burnaby is doing much to respond to these issues and this Strategy
proposes many actions that can help the City do more.
Municipalities across Canada are – and will continue to be – on the front
line for issues involving: homelessness and declining housing affordability;
shortage of high-quality, affordable child care and elder care; an aging
population; high-risk behaviour of some youth; and availability of safe,
healthy, local and affordable food. Burnaby is not immune to these
national and global trends, pressures and issues. There are also some
challenges that Burnaby feels more acutely, as follows.
Increasing cultural diversity
Over the past 25 years, Burnaby’s population has become much more
culturally diverse, a fact that has both enriched and strengthened the
social fabric of the community, and presented challenges in terms of
language, settlement, and integration of immigrants and refugees.
Some of the newcomers who have settled in Burnaby in recent years are
refugees, who are supported by affordable rental housing and community
services. Trends suggest that new immigrants and visible minorities with a
range of cultural backgrounds will continue to be attracted to Burnaby.
Immigrants represent over 50%
of Burnaby’s population.
II. Understanding the Burnaby Context 8