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Ottawa Citizen

Bradley and Browne: Stall tactics are blocking Ottawa's safety plan for vulnerable people

In 2019, the Ontario Policing and Community Safety Act was brought into force with the hope that it would pave the way for a reduction in street and gender-based violence, drug overdoses, and improve social support in Ontario municipalities. Ottawa residents were promised that the city's mandatory Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) plan would offer a comprehensive framework to address the pressing needs of marginalized communities and uproot systemic discrimination. Article content Article content Article content However, after years of delays and bureaucratic obstacles, it's becoming clear that the Province of Ontario and the City of Ottawa have failed to deliver on their promises. Article content After Ottawa Council finally passed the CSWB plan in October of 2021, it took nearly three years to implement any of its recommendations. And now, despite the urgent need for action, the committee announced the safety plan will be further revised — and its implementation delayed — in response to the province ordering that all CSWB plans be updated every four years. Such delays only perpetuate the systemic issues the plan is meant to address. Article content As the only two public delegates who have consistently attended and followed the CSWB advisory committee meetings, we've witnessed firsthand how ineffective the committee is. The committee only meets once every three months, with little evidence that it's following up on things raised at the previous meeting. Very few people give public delegations at the meetings and very few committee members ask questions of those who do. No supporting documents are provided with meeting agenda items, making it impossible for members of the public to delegate about specific items. Article content Article content Begging for information Article content Article content A lack of information on key CSWB initiatives has forced residents to beg committee members and other city officials for responses or to file freedom of information requests to get information. Regarding 'street violence,' which falls under the CSWB, we had to file freedom of information requests to get the report developed by Hefid Solutions and CT Labs, to whom Crime Prevention Ottawa (CPO) paid over $50,000 in 2022 to 'refresh' CPO's Ottawa Street Violence and Gang Strategy, which expired five years ago. Article content The Safer Futures, Safer Streets report, which we only got in March 2024, covers 2023-2028 and says it 'will guide Crime Prevention Ottawa's operations and activities in addressing street violence over the next five years.' This is despite council voting to merge CPO into the CSWB office in July 2023. The report also says it's focused on identifying 'at-risk' youth and helping them 'make healthier life choices' which is 'the surest path to community safety and a better future for all.' This reveals the report's focus on youth's individual choices as the source of the lack of safety, instead of on systemic discrimination in which the police play a key role. The city has yet to publicly release the report.