Vancouver mayoral candidates debate how to make Chinatown, DTES safer

The increase in street crime and random violence that’s currently plaguing Vancouver is particularly noticeable in Chinatown.

On Saturday, five of the candidates running for mayor gathered for an often contentious town hall meeting that focused how to revive the historic Downtown Eastside neighborhood.

The first question: How would they make the streets safe again in their first few months in office?

ABC mayoral candidate Ken Sim says he would ask the Vancouver Police Department to hire 100 additional officers and 100 mental health nurses.

TEAM Vancouver candidate Colleen Hardwick is also in favour of beefing up the VPD.

“I think the most important thing out of the gate is we need police boots on the ground. We need police officers walking in Chinatown connecting in-person with business owners, seniors and residents,” Hardwick said, adding ”Driving by ain’t gonna do it.”

Rather than adding more police, incumbent Kennedy Stewart instead pledges to hire 25 counsellors trained in mental health and addictions to focus on non-violent issues involving people experiencing mental health struggles and addiction.

“Everyone agrees we are not going to arrest our way out of this, everyone except my opponents here who think we should be throwing people who suffer from mental health and addictions challenges in jail,” said Stewart.

NPA candidate Fred Harding says Stewart has shown no leadership on the issue, and that’s why street crime has increased during his term in office.

“We have to arrest the people who are making the streets unsafe,” Harding said. “We can’t keep living in this fantasyland of being soft on every issue or being afraid to tackle an issue with decisive leadership, because you’re afraid of what people will think of you.”

Hardwick says some of Stewart’s policies are making Vancouver a destination for homeless people from other parts of Canada.

“Come on down, we will give you a free place to live, free drugs. Why would you not come to Vancouver?” she said. “If the tone that comes from the top, which is the mayor, is, 'Come on down, Vancouver is a destination for homelessness,' then we are never going to solve this problem.”

Harding agreed, saying: “Until we actually resolve the causes of what’s making people down here, we will never end this. What Colleen says is right, they’ll keep coming. They’ll keep coming,”

Stewart said he was taken aback by those comments.

“This kind of lack of compassion is so distressing. It is not the way a mayor acts,” he said.

But Harding argues Stewart’s actions have hurt communities like Chinatown.

“It’s not a lack of compassion, this is about leadership and it’s about actually saving lives,” he said. “The issues I see in Chinatown when I walk around are entirely solvable.”

While several candidates talked about how to dismantle homeless encampments like the one currently on East Hastings Street, candidate Mark Marissen had a different idea.

“I would identify some city-owned land for some intentional encampments where there would be washrooms, showers and security, where people in the camps can feel safe,” Marissen said, adding the encampments would be temporary until permanent housing could be found.

Stewart bristled at that idea.

“These our are neighbours," he said. "These are not refugees to put in some sort of camp. These are folks that need deep care.”

Sim argued relocating people from the encampments into housing is difficult because the single room occupancy units are often worse than the street.

“A lot of these units are unliveable. They are rodent infested. At the height of summer, they can be over 45 degrees inside,” said Sim. “We are going to shift to quality housing so people can live and will live in these units.”

Sim believes the race for mayor is between him and Stewart, who beat him by less than 1,000 votes last time.

“It’s a choice between more of the same with Mr. Stewart, or change. So the residents of Vancouver have a choice,” said Sim.

The city’s choice for mayor will be revealed on Oct. 15, when ballots are counted on municipal election night.