Downtown business groups and others have complained about public safety issues in the central business district and the perception the area is growing more dangerous. Do you agree? What would you do to ease those concerns? (question posed by Alex MacPherson of the StarPhoenix to all mayoral candidates)
I absolutely agree that there has been more violence in certain areas of our downtown core than I can remember in recent history. There is an abundance of people walking the street who don’t always appear to be living in reality, either due to mental health or addictions. These people become unpredictable without provocation or a signal that things are changing. It is not uncommon to walk around the downtown core and find people yelling in a conversation with parking metres, for example. The level of agitation that some of these people exhibit is a valid concern for anyone walking near them who is not prepared to deal with sudden outbursts or changes in behaviour. And as seems always the case lately, the police are called to come sort out what is happening. If the presence of an armed officer causes this person to escalate further, requiring police to take action, then society will also judge the police for having taken that action, even though there might be no other choice. The location of the Lighthouse and the density of people that are living there with issues is a big negative focal point.
I think we can’t just simply pick up the Lighthouse to move it to a new location where all our problems will be solved. We can, however, work to divide and lower the density of that structure so that we provide targeted treatment for people best suited to take advantage and benefit from it. And I believe that some of those locations should be dispersed away from the downtown core of the city. This is a provincial issue with huge citywide implications. It will take coordination between many levels of government and many well-meaning groups to find solutions. It may be that we need a mental-health security team which operates for the time being in the downtown core which is bolstered by the city police when called upon. But better plans that are not the status quo must be made and carried out.