Some independent MLA candidates in Richmond reject involuntary care, while others are calling for an end to safe supply.
With the provincial election around the corner, public safety became a pressing topic for many Richmond residents, many of whom believe crime and violence have increased and others who think addiction and mental health has played a significant role.
Big party contenders have showed a clear stance on these issues, however, independent MLA candidates also offer contrasting approaches.
The News spoke with independent candidates for Richmond-Bridgeport Charlie Smith, Richmond-Steveston Jackie Lee and Richmond Centre Wendy Yuan about their proposals to improve public safety and help businesses thrive in the community.
Involuntary care failed in the past: Smith
For Smith, public safety issues like street disorder and vandalism have risen due to Richmond’s rapid expansion. But he's calling for evidence-based policy making when looking for solutions.
According to Smith, evidence suggests the best solution is tackling issues such as addiction and homelessness from the root, and he emphasized the need for more housing.
“A lot of the people who are on the streets have undergone trauma, and that leads to addiction to heal the pain, and then addiction sometimes leads them into taking poisoned drugs, which kills them,” he said.
“If you have a lot of people in the streets… there's more hospital utilization, and that creates problems at Richmond Hospital in terms of the availability of beds with a growing population.”
In September, the BC NDP announced the implementation of involuntary care in extreme cases where individuals suffered from brain injuries. According to a survey released that same month from Save our Streets (SOS), a coalition of residents, businesses and community organizations, 75 per cent of respondents agreed this plan should be implemented.
However, Smith says involuntary care has been tried in the past and showed a lack of evidence to support its efficiency.
“Matsqui Institution was created as an involuntary care centre, it's now a federal prison… Brannen Lake, that was going to be a centre for involuntary care; and in both cases, it failed,” said Smith.
Politicians and the media sometimes conflate mental illness and the use of drugs, but in some cases, people are suffering from trauma or have disorders such as schizophrenia – needing medication like any other condition, he added.
Smith is calling on party leaders John Rustad and David Eby to provide concrete evidence for the use of this policy, as he's worried millions of dollars could be invested into something that doesn’t work.
A disproportionate number of people who are dying from toxic drugs are Indigenous, he added, and governments should promote the reconnection with their cultures and traditions more frequently.
“I think we need to have sites that are friendly to them culturally, and to offer opportunities, Indigenous-led, to reconnect them with ceremony, and that is a path to healing.”
Education, treatment needed: Lee
Lee also said public safety is top of mind for a lot of Richmond residents, who, according to him, are concerned about vandalism and walking in city centre during the night. He called for all three levels of government to work together to solve the issue and suggested improving preventative measures such as the Block Watch program.
For addiction and mental health, Lee believes one of the main flaws of the current government is the lack of education and treatment programs.
“My key priorities are to focus on the resources on education and the drug treatment programs to help affected Canadians get back on their own feet,” he said.
Lee added involuntary care should only be necessary for people who cannot make their own decisions, reiterating the importance of this plan for the community.
Richmond residents don't feel safe: Yuan
Wendy Yuan believes public safety has decreased in the community, and she's heard from residents that they don’t feel safe in Richmond any longer.
Yuan also shared a personal story of her house being broken into. One of the most efficient solutions to this problem could be amending the legal system to prevent cycles of catch and release, she said.
As for involuntary care, Yuan said she’s not necessarily opposed to it as long as it’s proven to be constitutionally doable and viable.
Safe consumption site topic contentious for Richmond voters
Another polarising topic was the proposal of a safe drug consumption site at Richmond Hospital. In February, Richmond city council adopted a resolution to study the feasibility of creating one in the hospital precinct.
The project was met by a large protests and would later be ruled out by Vancouver Coastal Health, saying this would not be the most appropriate service for those at risk of an overdose in Richmond.
Smith said supervised consumption sites don't kill people and they are not open to children; rather, they offer an avenue into care for those who want it.
“I support a standalone supervised consumption site in Richmond,” he said.
Lee would check with Vancouver Coastal Health for their recommendation on setting up a safe drug consumption site in Richmond.
“What I will emphasize is we have to have community involvement,” he said. “We have to hold the government or government bodies accountable. If there's a place that is agreed by the community, how to operate it, or how to vet the people to use it… it has to be holding the government accountable.”
Yuan, who attended the protests against the site in February, opposes decriminalization of small amounts of drugs and giving a safe supply of drugs to people with substance use disorders. She noted overdose deaths have continued over the past three years and a safe supply should be framed as a temporary measure, not a permanent fix.
She added the focus should be on prevention, treatment and recovery, in addition to support systems such as job training, mental health support and housing assistance.
“Nothing is safe when it comes to drugs,” said Yuan. “I don't think we should be giving out free drugs, but (we should provide) free treatment and free beds in the hospital.”
Businesses and public safety
The provincewide public safety online survey released by Save our Streets (SOS) showed 55 per cent of those surveyed believe criminal activity has increased in their communities over the last four years.
Most strikingly, 88 per cent of individuals blame the current crime and public safety situation on addiction and mental health, while 67 per cent said the use of prescription and non-prescription opioids is a major problem.
Notably, it's important to remember that a large amount of crime is also committed by those without mental health conditions or addictions, said SOS chair Clint Mahlman.
“As important as those are, we can't forget about the balance, that there's crime being committed by those that are simply criminals—criminals that are not receiving enough dissuading of continuing to commit their crimes,” added Mahlman, who is also president and COO of Richmond-based London Drugs.
When it comes down to the effects of a public safety decrease, two-thirds of participants (67 per cent) of the SOS survey reported witnessing an increase in shoplifting across the province in the last three years.
Sixty per cent of them report seeing an increase in vandalism and 45 per cent said there's been an increase in violence towards employees.
Smith said this is a valid concern from business owners, but he also reiterated a good starting point to supporting businesses is to make sure housing is more accessible to people.
“I think a lot of these issues are also connected to homelessness, and people are out in the streets because the streets have become their living rooms,” he said. “If we had more social housing; it's not a panacea, but I think there are a multitude of things that need to be done to dial the problem back.”
Lee said he’s personally experienced shoplifting in his career, including the effects that businesses and their employees have to endure due to a decrease in public safety. Policies need to change to make sure small businesses are protected, he added.
For Yuan, increasing police presence and insurance coverage for small businesses would be an effective way to protect them.
“I do believe that the insurance for the small business owners needs to be increased and some subsidies need to be provided by the government,” she said.
Yuan alluded to a store on No. 3 Road plagued by constant shoplifting due to a lack of repercussions for criminals. The owner has sustained significant losses and finds it hard to break even nowadays, she added.
The SOS online survey was conducted between Sept. 9 and 12 by Research Co. from a representative sample of 1,200 British Columbians. The survey's margin of error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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