President of Downtown Prince George Eoin Foley says the City of Prince George needs to take more action to keep our downtown safe and presentable

By Tommy Osborne

Downtown Crime

Prince George needs to be more presentable to international audience, says Downtown Prince George

Mar 12, 2024 | 4:53 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Prince George has seen hundreds of international visitors thanks to the Para Biathlon World Championships and Para Nordic World Cup Finals, which has been great for our community on many levels. Not only has it brought millions of dollars to our local business scene, it also puts Prince George in the international spotlight, potentially attracting more events. While the boost to our business scene is appreciated, the President of Downtown Prince George Eoin Foley worries we aren’t putting our best foot forward.

“I just noticed a few folks from Brazil in their Brazil outfits —obviously here for the games — going for a jog and then having to having to kind of swerve around people that were still smoking, probably meth or crack, down on the sidewalk, which just really bothered me. It just shows you this is not putting our best foot forward as a community and even as a country,” Foley said.

Foley says the City of Prince George needs to take action to keep our streets safe, and he hopes to work with the City to find solutions. Whether this is through something like hiring overnight security or other potential avenues, Foley hopes to find solutions soon.

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“Any reasonable person out there wants the folks that need help, that are facing issues of mental health and addictions, to get the help that they need. But the issues have been taking a toll on business owners and their staff, and police and bylaw officers are incredibly frustrated with the constant cycle of of dealing with the issues at hand,” Foley said.

Mayor Simon Yu says he knows this is an issue and the City has taken steps to address it, such as building a new transitional housing facility and working with the provincial government to bring more programs, treatment centres, and detox centres to Prince George. He added the City is speaking with the province in taking a second look at the decriminalization of drugs, as open drug use has been a big problem in many communities now that RCMP can’t enforce it. However, solutions to a layered and deep issue such as homelessness, crime, and drug addiction, don’t happen overnight, so the City is working to collect more data and find long term, lasting solutions.

“We need to take a look at every aspect of the issues we face in our downtown so we can bring a holistic program, along with some of the programs the provincial government is giving to us right now regarding the mental health drug treatment, and see if we can address the issue in a holistic way,” Yu said.

As for the Para Biathlon World Championships and Para Nordic World Cup Finals, Yu said he is incredibly proud that Prince George is able to host world class events, and we shouldn’t pass these chances up because of the problems downtown.

“This is a worldwide issue and we can do better and we will do better. But the way I look at it, we as Prince George, as a proud city, just like a family, we have a nice house. And just because the living room is a little bit messy, got trashed a little bit, I’m not going to stop inviting my friends and relatives to come to visit me,” Yu said.

Yu added he looks forward to working with local businesses and hearing their feedback, so the City and our business scene can move forward together in finding ways to keep our downtown safe.

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