Council wants to pilot Provincial initiatives

*going after the luxury goods of high-level organized criminals who profit on misery by introducing “unexplained wealth order” legislation in spring 2023; and

*building public confidence in the prosecution system with new direction from the attorney general to prosecutors to implement a clear and understandable approach to bail for repeat violent offenders

Government also passed the Housing Supply Act to ensure communities are addressing housing targets. And the City wants in on it.

“When the mandate letter is issued, it’s based on my conversation with the Premier,” explains Mayor Simon Yu. “It’s very dear to his heart when he was attorney general. He has quite a bit knowledge in terms of this justice area. So I mean, but at the truth is in the details, the devil’s in the details.”

The Union of BC Municipalities expressed some concerns around the housing legislation, in terms of how much control communities would have over how much and where new housing would go, and there was concern expressed at Council about the Province’s ability to override local authority. But the City’s eagerness to get involved is music to the ears of Premier David Eby, who brought in both initiatives early on in his mandate.

“I’m really thrilled to see the reaction of Prince George to these initiatives from a provincial level. And I’m excited to work with Prince George City Council to deliver for the people of Prince George around the important issues of housing and public safety. I think Prince George could take a real leadership role here and I’m excited to work with that.”

But there was plenty of interest expressed in getting involved with the Safer Communities Action Plan as there is a sense of urgency, locally, both in terms of homelessness and addiction.

“And if we don’t get this thing sorted out in the in the short order, we are not going to develop this area,” says Mayor Yu. “So we as a city and the we as a region, we have a the urgency to get this thing done. And another thing is we did a lot of homeless people on the street.”

Mayor Yu noted that, on a per capita basis, Prince George has a huge problem when its comes to homelessness and addiction, of which both of he Premier’s initiatives hope to address.

by Cheryl Jahn

Council wants to pilot Provincial initiatives

What's Trending