City council recently devoted time to a conundrum that past councils have wrestled with: how to make use of the Municipal Enforcement Division to ensure the downtown core is safer for residents.
Coun. Ryan Fequet said he raised the issue because he heard complaints from residents about not feeling safe downtown. During a governance and priorities meeting on July 24, Fequet mentioned that the RCMP’s policing report revealed fewer calls made in June of this year compared to last year, but that calls related to mischief, both in terms of damage to property and obstructing public enjoyment, are up by 20 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively. After stating his desire to explore possible solutions, Fequet asked how much time MED is spending in the downtown core.
City manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett replied that it depends on workload. From June 1 to July 15, group two and three of MED spent 15 hours on bike patrol and 38 hours on foot patrol in the downtown core and on trails while group one spent virtually all their time downtown, checking parking meters and enforcing parking regulations in the same time frame. She also said there were eight positions for MED officers, all of which were filled.
She explained that MED’s mandate is to enforce bylaws but the officers are also proactively involved in public safety. Their time is typically spent monitoring schools zones, following up on speeding, parking issues and complaints, as well as following through with council’s annual priorities, including being present downtown, focusing on reconciliation and enforcing driving related bylaws.
Fequet asked if there’s capacity to increase the number or duration of patrols downtown, to which Bassi-Kellett replied, “To what end?”
She expressed that officers may be unable to take the extent of action residents are seeking and gave an example of someone drinking openly on the street. In that example, MED wouldn’t have any authority and residents seeing the officers patrolling and not doing anything about it could make it frustrating for them.
Coun. Rob Warburton said MED officers seem to be focused on vehicle enforcement and asked if there’s an opportunity to prioritize pedestrians.
Bassi-Kellett said bylaw is focused on public safety and that includes, in particular, pedestrian safety near schools. She asked Mitchell Roland, manager of MED, to explain other duties. He said his officers deal with issues related to dogs, trails, bike safety and they also monitor roads and sidewalks for pedestrians and making sure vehicles yield to them. He remarked that they don’t go out looking for parking issues in particular but that a major number of complaints they receive are related to parking.
Warburton said he appreciated that MED’s toolbox is limited in dealing with some of the issues council wants addressed.
“We’re hearing loud and clear that people don’t feel safe downtown,” said Warburton. “Anything we can do to proactively add (pedestrian safety) to our list versus speeding tickets, I think, would be well received.”
GNWT halts plan to seize open liquor
Coun. Garett Cochrane asked if MED is building relationships with homeless individuals and businesses downtown. Bassi-Kellett said that they are — a deliberate strategy that the city adopted in response to MED’s reputation a few years ago as “pseudo military.”
“MED didn’t have the most stellar reputation,” she admitted.
Roland added that they engage with businesses downtown frequently and have a good relationship with some of the owners and managers.
Cochrane also asked whether appointing MED officers as liquor inspectors has been considered.
Bassi-Kellett replied that the city has tried that in the past but having the authority to seize open liquor comes with complications, one of them being that the municipality would need a place to store seized liquor. Additionally, the GNWT had previously told the city that it’s not willing to to down that path, even though the city’ 2017 budget was originally going to allocate $300,000 towards the pursuit.
Cochrane said, “If we want to be able to address the downtown core problems here through public safety then the GNWT needs to come and play ball with us.”
He added that he would like the territorial government to provide the city with social workers and nurses working on the streets, which has made a difference in other jurisdictions.
Coun. Tom McLennan concurred as did Coun. Ben Hendriksen.
Hendriksen said that the city has the ability to improve the situation in the next budget by spending on street outreach.
Coun. Cat McGurk said she agreed with Hendriksen about making street outreach a higher priority.
“There are elements of public safety that are tied to the fact that we aren’t (adequately) addressing when people are asking for help,” she said.
Mayor Rebecca Alty said it would be nice if the federal government “pitched in a dime” toward that cause.
She added that addressing the root issue surrounding homelessness has worked in other municipalities, which focuses on housing and support for those with addictions.