As municipal election campaigns heat up across the province, a group of mayors and councillors from different communities and different political stripes came together Thursday to call on the province to do more on addiction, mental health and public safety. “It is unsustainable for local governments to have to step in to this degree in all of those complex areas,” said Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto, at a news conference outside the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in downtown Vancouver. The Save Our Streets Coalition brought the municipal politicians together to talk about results from a survey it conducted. “Half of British Columbians say that they live in fear of their own safety and that of their families in their own communities,” said SOS co-founder Jess Ketchum. The organization did not discuss how its survey was conducted, and whether participants self-selected or if it was a scientific poll. The politicians gathered for a photo before signing their names to a large banner that read “Contract with our Communities.” The banner listed five things SOS and the politicians want the provincial government to do. They include moving beyond harm reduction by making detox beds available in all communities, creating safer public spaces and limiting negative impacts of low barrier services on surrounding communities. “For far too long, Vancouverites have been told that open-air hard drug use is something we simply have to accept,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said when it was his turn to speak. “That people suffering from severe mental health and addiction should be left on sidewalks.” Sim, who is seeking a second term as mayor, recently campaigned against a planned indoor overdose prevention site at the corner of Helmcken and Hornby streets, where staff would have had the ability to connect people with mental health and addiction services. The province ultimately decided not to proceed at that location. “I would say to all those mayors that it’s always easy to say someone else has failed,” said provincial Health Minister Ravi Kahlon, when asked about the concerns being raised. “I would say as a society we haven’t done enough … We all have to work together to do this. Local governments have a role. The province has a role. The federal government has a role. Communities have a role." He went on to say he looks forward to working with all elected officials on constructive solutions. Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West also spoke at the news conference. “These are not Conservative issues or concerns. These are not NDP issues or concerns. These are concerns of every normal, rational, thinking person in this province,” West said. As the municipal elections approach, voters can likely expect to hear more politicians highlighting issues related to public safety.
