Crime rates related to drug use was one of the topics presented at an all-candidates meeting in Evergreen Theatre at Powell River Recreation Complex on October 7. The forum was hosted by Powell River Chamber of Commerce.
Four candidates running for the Powell River-Sunshine Coast seat in this month’s provincial election were asked to share their thoughts on the following question asked by moderator and chamber director Taran Brown:
“Given the increase in crime rates, particularly related to drug use in urban areas, what specific measures will you take to ensure the safety of local businesses and their employees, while also addressing the root causes of addiction and homelessness in BC.”
Each candidate was given one minute to respond. Here is what they had to say:
Greg Reid (Independent)
We need well thought out, integrated solutions. I think that it is of utmost importance with the state to take care of all its citizens.
It requires money and resources and people who are committed to doing it. It also depends on the legislation and implementation side of government to be able to expedite programs that are going to serve us all well. And to this end, I believe the discussions are not over yet, because you hear all kinds of conflicting ideas for how this can best be accomplished.
It's going to get solved over time. And if all of you were able to weigh in on these issues and have your voice heard for the next four years, it would expedite things. Go with direct democracy.
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Chris Moore (Conservative Party of BC)
We would abolish the decriminalization of all drugs, hard drugs, heroin, cocaine, all that stuff is going to be criminalized together.
It's not going to be free and it's not going to be available. We're going to invest in treatment centre facilities. And we're going to end the catch and release program.
We can talk about this all day long. I hear story after story after story.
I don't have to go far. I can talk to the local police force. It's a joke right now. They’re out before their bail is posted, and that's got to end.
Keep repeat offenders off the street. Guess what? We need more police officers to do that. We need to back our police force big time on this. At this particular point, they're having a very difficult time.
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Randene Neill (BC NDP)
I spent, last weekend, a couple hours walking down Marine Avenue, talking to some of the business owners, and one of the store owners just spent almost $9,000 putting in cameras and lights, not because of catching the person on camera committing the crime, but because police required her to be able to do that, to be able to prosecute the charges.
It's having such a high cost, not just on the business owners in Powell River and other places around BC, but also the people who don't feel safe in their own communities anymore. So it's a huge issue. Everyone deserves to feel safe.
The number one issue for people who are unhoused, or who have addiction issues, is that they don't have a place to stay, and if they don't have a place to live, where they feel safe and secure, they are going to continue to do what they can just to survive.
The housing first model has been proven to work across the entire world. So the number one step we have to do is get them into housing, but get them into appropriate housing that addresses the care that they need, when and where they need it.
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Chris Hergesheimer (Green Party of BC)
It’s systems work, right? Crime, safety, addiction. These are the symptoms of broken systems.
They are not the problems in and amongst themselves, and we need to get to the root of these symptoms.
Everyone deserves to have a safe and secure community, and we need to understand that in order to get there we need to be making investments in affordability in people. We need to direct and redirect our resources at the root causes of these.
We cannot enforce our way out of this. We have to get to the root causes. And the root causes come from those broken systems that seek to divide us and provide stigma and break down people's dignity. We need to get back to unity, and that's how we solve these things together.
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