Victoria council backs plan to tackle declining social order in B.C.‘s capital
VICTORIA - Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto says she's 'thrilled' councillors have signalled support for a plan to address declining social order caused by homelessness, addiction and a fraying health care system in the city.
Councillors meeting as a committee voted eight-to-one to endorse the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan and unanimously directed staff to analyze its operational and financial impacts.
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Globe and Mail
15 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Victoria city council endorses plan to address homelessness, addiction and mental illness
The City of Victoria has endorsed a community safety and well-being plan aimed at tackling the complex and 'entangled challenges' of homelessness, addiction and mental illness playing out on city streets. The report contains dozens of recommendations aimed at all levels of government across eight sectors, including housing, health care, service delivery, and policing and justice. 'Collectively, we are feeling the consequences of compassion fatigue, and a growing 'scarcity mindset,'' the report said. 'This plan recognizes these tensions, and the anger, frustration and vulnerability that exists on all sides, and seeks the balance among them.' Two years ago, Mayor Marianne Alto initiated the process of creating the 79-page document, which is aimed at responding to increased social disorder and a public perception of diminished safety. Its recommendations are the product of an 11-member expert panel. A survey by the Downtown Victoria Business Association published earlier this month found downtown businesses had reached a "tipping point‚" saying many of them won't survive without meaningful efforts to reduce street disorder such as open drug use, camping in doorways and on sidewalks, and repeat criminal activity. The Globe and Mail spent months speaking with Victoria residents, business owners, police officers, local politicians and drug users in an effort to chronicle the impact of the decline of Pandora Avenue, the epicentre of the city's fentanyl crisis. The story, published last month, put Premier David Eby on the defensive in the legislature as he highlighted his government's efforts to create more supportive housing. Poisoned: How fentanyl transformed Victoria's Pandora Avenue from downtown hub to open-air drug market During discussions about the report with city council Thursday, Ms. Alto said the process involved 'extraordinarily challenging conversations' and thanked those involved. 'The most important thing for us to say is it's time now for us to act,' she said. City staff will now assess the plan's budget implications, and examine the policy changes it requires with an aim to report back to council in the fall, before 2026 draft budget deliberations. The city manager will also implement preliminary actions within the existing budget. The report's recommendations included urging the city to explore the feasibility of small-scale tiny homes for the unhoused, increasing funding to maintain the cleanliness of public spaces, supporting local businesses with graffiti removal and creating more public amenities, such as micro-plazas and benches. But the report noted that many levers to improve the downtown situation are the provincial government's responsibility. Its recommendations to the province include expanded supportive and complex care housing and reforming police budget rules to recognize a municipality's ability to pay. It also requests the province allocate resources directly to municipalities if they 'are expected to continue to respond to local homelessness and its impacts.' Victoria is spending millions to tackle its homelessness crisis, stressing taxpayers From Ottawa, the report calls for the adoption of bail reform policies that would see repeat and violent offenders held within institutions for longer, while increasing emphasis on rehabilitation and community-based intervention programs. It also recommends the creation of a national encampment and homelessness response plan. The panel, supported by city staff, included experts in social-service provision, law enforcement, fire and emergency response, public health, business leadership, local neighbourhoods and local Indigenous knowledge. Jonny Morris, chief executive of the Canadian Mental Health Association's British Columbia division and a member of the panel, likened the existing health care response to the current crisis to focusing cancer care on its final stages. 'Right now, it can absolutely be argued that our health care system – nationally, provincially – does spend the majority of its mental-health resources on Stage 4 interventions: emergency psychiatric hospitalizations, involuntary care, intensive crisis responses,' he told council Thursday. 'Meanwhile, Victoria is a municipality spending significant resources on the community impacts of those health care gaps, police responding to mental-health crises, bylaw, people discharged with nowhere to go, services, court processing. The health care recommendations in this plan rebalance the system.' Marg Gardiner, the lone councillor not to endorse the plan, said the root cause of disorder on the streets is drug addiction and the failure to provide rehabilitation. She blamed decisions by the province and city for anchoring a drug subculture, and said the plan cannot be realized as is. 'I cannot give false hope to the general public that [a] solution will be found if this plan is fully endorsed,' she said.
Global News
16 hours ago
- Global News
Victoria's new community safety plan gets council's green light
Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto says she's 'thrilled' councillors have signalled support for a plan to address declining social order caused by homelessness, addiction and a fraying health care system in the city. Councillors meeting as a committee voted eight-to-one to endorse the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan and unanimously directed staff to analyze its operational and financial impacts. Another vote to formally approve the plan, which does not have a price tag, is scheduled for July 3. Alto says the city is facing crises that are 'unacceptable,' and the public has clearly told the city that issues of social disorder and 'uncivility' are paramount. 4:07 Calls for safety crackdown in downtown Victoria The report was commissioned in 2023 and responds to what it calls increased disorder and a diminished sense of community well-being in the face of multiple challenges. Story continues below advertisement The report says people in B.C's capital are 'discouraged, upset, and frustrated' with visible and invisible levels of poverty, homelessness and service gaps, despite efforts to revitalize the downtown, increase housing and improve safety. Alto says the plan with its 95 recommendations — many aimed at the provincial and federal governments — is not just another report, but instead marks a 'watershed moment' in the history of the city as it responds to social challenges. She said many of the causes behind those challenges are the responsibility of other levels of government and organizations. 'We can't deny that, and we will continue to work with them to ensure that the results are collaborative, and then eventually, the right authorities take responsibility for the costs and execution of those solutions,' she said. 'But meanwhile, we cannot wait any longer. We have an obligation to Victorians to take action.' Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Alto said the city will fill some of the gaps for now, with the hope that other levels of government will see what works and do their part to help the city. She also expressed hope that other communities in Greater Victoria will take their cues from the report. She said in an interview that residents could see additional bylaw officers on their streets sometime this year after council directed staff to implement 'preliminary actions' within the available 2025 budget to support the plan. Story continues below advertisement 2:10 Victoria business association calls for safety in downtown core Alto added that staff could hire additional bylaw officers even without the approval of council if money could be found without changing the 2025 budget. Alto acknowledged financial constraints and difficult choices. 'It's impossible to predict the storm clouds that are coming, but what this indicates is that every order of government, every decision maker is facing some really extremely difficult choices,' she said. 'In this case, I believe that this is a priority. That has been indicated strongly by the public generally, and that there is a high expectation that this will be a priority.' Specific recommendations within Victoria's control include measures to improve downtown safety, explore the establishment of designated shelters and tiny homes for people transitioning from homelessness, and support the delivery of mental health first aid training. Story continues below advertisement The report says that concerns about safety and the impacts of social disorder are 'negatively impacting business vitality' in Victoria, whose success as a renowned tourism destination depends on the local economy, with its array of unique businesses. These concerns are echoed by Suzanne Bradbury, who guided the drafting of the plan as part of a panel consisting of community leaders. 1:45 Victoria city councillors bringing motion to prioritize downtown movie theatres Bradbury, who co-owns a property management company and is also a trained mental health and addictions counsellor, said nobody is thriving right now. Businesses are closing and those struggling with addictions are not getting better under the current system, she said. 'Momentum is certainly building, but it is moving in the wrong direction,' she told councillors. 'We need an intervention urgently to turn this around.' Story continues below advertisement The Downtown Victoria Business Association said in its annual report released last week that 48 per cent of businesses surveyed said that if their leases were due soon, they would either not renew their leases, or were unsure if they would, because of the 'current conditions' in the neighbourhood. 'We need bold, immediate action in 2025, or we risk a wave of closures, job losses, and a dramatic erosion of downtown's vitality,' said Jeff Bray, the association's chief executive officer. Jonny Morris, chief executive officer with the B.C. division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, also served with Bradbury on the panel. He said in an interview that the 'ambitious' plan serves as a 'very robust North Star' for all levels of government. 'So the city is taking on its piece,' he said. 'We will need to see the province, and the federal government find ways to interact and interface with these recommendations.' Not all members of Victoria city council think that will happen. Coun. Marg Gardiner said the plan includes a 'good list of steps' to help individuals who are currently living on the streets and dealing with addiction. But she added that she is not confident that senior levels will fulfill their obligations.
CBC
16 hours ago
- CBC
Victoria passes 1st hurdle to approve community safety and well-being plan
Social Sharing City councillors in Victoria have voted to endorse a 79-page plan that aims to address issues around public disorder and a "diminished sense of community safety and well-being." "[This plan] will set us off on a course of activity that I believe will change the experience of living in Victoria," Mayor Marianne Alto said at Monday's committee of the whole meeting. "This is a profoundly complex and comprehensive system change." Alto said voting on the plan was a "watershed moment" for councillors, adding that residents had clearly expressed their concerns about social disorder. The plan will need to be addressed at a regular council meeting for final approval. Dozens of recommendations Staff began to develop the plan in 2023 as part of the city's 2023-2026 strategic plan, under direction from council. The report said it was a result of 18 months of public engagement, data mining, debate and discussion. The plan includes more than 100 recommendations under eight main categories: Housing. Health care. Service delivery. Downtown. Residents. Commerce. Policing and justice. City's community safety and well-being services. Recommendations include creating more housing for people who are homeless, attracting more family doctors and piloting a universal basic income system. Other motions related to the plan include directing city staff to assess and identify the plan's budget implications and required policy changes, and directing the mayor to engage with city partners and other levels of government on the plan's components. Those motions also passed. Concerns about 'aspirational' scope The plan comes on the heels of a report from the Downtown Victoria Business Association that claimed hundreds of business owners would consider leaving the city's core if they weren't tied to their lease due in large part to issues with crime and social disorder related to drugs and mental health-related issues. In their remarks prior to voting on the city plan, several councillors noted that many of the recommendations fall outside the scope of the municipality's jurisdiction. Speaking with On The Island host Gregor Craigie earlier this week, Coun. Stephen Hammond said he generally endorsed the plan but was worried about the expectations it might set for residents. "The difficulty is that people are expecting us to do things in which the province and the feds have the ability to spend and go into debt for," Hammond said, referring to issues like housing, mental health and recruiting family physicians. "There's lots of good things that are aspirational. And then it's just a matter of, can we get the province and the federal government to go along?" Coun. Marg Gardiner, who voted against the motion to endorse the plan, specifically expressed concerns about the effects of drug and health policies from Island Health and the province "They are worse than a hurdle. They could scuttle the whole [plan]," Gardiner said at the meeting. "There is a misunderstanding of the root cause of disorder on our street. The root cause is drug addiction and the failure to provide rehabilitation." Gardiner said she didn't want to give false hope that the city and the safety plan would resolve those key issues. At the meeting, Alto acknowledged those concerns. She said what she and many municipal leaders across B.C. have said repeatedly — that the responsibility of many of the problems plaguing parts of Victoria lies with higher levels of government. Alto said the city intends to continue working with the province and the federal government on those issues, but it is time to set a precedent. "We cannot wait any longer, we have a responsibility to Victorians to take action." No quick fix Sandra Severs, president of the Downtown Victoria Residents Association and a member of the 10-person community leaders panel that helped shape the plan, said the recommendations may be lofty but they provide a roadmap to work from. "The solution to many of the problems that we're facing in the city are not simple problems to solve," she told All Point West guest host Liz McArthur. Severs said safety isn't just about crime and social disorder — it's also about things like access to a family physician and a definition of what it means to feel safe in the place where people live. Victoria's safety and wellness plan serves as an opportunity to offer solutions, Severs said, instead of just reacting to problems, and to provide leadership for other municipalities dealing with similar issues.
