Latest news with #MarianneAlto
CTV News
10 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Victoria council to receive report tackling declining social order in B.C.'s capital
A view of the Victoria Police headquarters in Victoria, B.C., on Friday, December 20, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito VICTORIA — A plan with 95 recommendations to address what it calls a 'declining social order' in Victoria will appear before councillors today for endorsement and additional financial analysis. Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto says she hopes council endorses the comprehensive plan, because it gives the city permission to act. She says the plan represents a 'watershed moment' in the history of Victoria, adding it's time for council to consider the 'harsh reality' that the city faces with homelessness, addiction and a mental-health crisis. Alto acknowledges that the final price tag of the plan is not yet known, but says endorsement of the plan will allow staff to put some numbers together. The mayor says many of the recommendations in the report fall outside of municipal jurisdiction, but the city is 'tired of waiting' for senior levels of government to do their part. 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. Alto says 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. 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. 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. 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. Article by Wolfgang Depner.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Victoria unveils 79-page community safety plan, to be reviewed by council
Pandora Avenue in downtown Victoria is considered the epicentre of the homelessness crisis in B.C.'s capital city. Victoria city council is set to review a major roadmap designed to improve public safety, after two years of community engagement and input from local leaders. 'It is, I think, a watershed moment for council to determine whether they wish to make this a priority. I can't imagine that they won't,' says Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto. 'I don't think there has been a single issue that has been uppermost in the minds of residents in every municipality across the country than community safety and well-being.' The 79-page Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan has been created in response to complex, 'entangled' challenges – including housing shortages, homelessness, inaccessible health care, mental health crises, and increased disorder. Victoria's mayor convened a panel of community leaders to provide input, which has led to dozens of recommendations for all levels of government. There are 50 for the City of Victoria alone. 'This is the beginning, not the end… of a very comprehensive and complicated journey,' says Alto. Some of the suggested priorities for the city include assigning more space for shelters or tiny homes; piloting a storage program to help people who are experiencing homelessness; and a corporate block watch downtown. Many of the recommendations are also for senior levels of government – including a request for the province to reform police budget rules to recognize a municipal government's 'ability to pay' and for the federal government to adopt bail reform policies to hold repeat and violent offenders within institutions longer. It also wants to see system improvements that emphasize rehabilitation and community-based intervention programs to address over-incarceration of visible minorities, Indigenous people, and people of colour. 'The goal at some level is to be able to walk up to an average resident and say 'what's your experience of the city? Do you feel as if you are in a safer community, the decisions council has been making, the services that the city has been delivering has actually contributed to your sense of well-being?' And if you can do that randomly with different residents, yeah, then we've done our work,' says Alto. If the plan is adopted by Victoria council, city staff would look at the financial and operational impacts and report back in the fall. The item is up for discussion in Committee of the Whole Thursday.
Global News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Global News
Victoria unveils new community safety plan, 2 years in the making
After nearly two years of input from residents, stakeholders and community leaders, the City of Victoria has unveiled a draft plan aimed at boosting public safety. Victoria city council is set to receive the draft Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan on Thursday. 'This is the beginning, not the end … of a very comprehensive and complicated journey,' Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said. 'It is a plan that will, if endorsed and if executed well, which is always our hope, will quite dramatically and in a very sustained and comprehensive way reorient the services the city provides within the context of community safety and wellbeing.' The 79-page plan includes dozens of recommendations for all three levels of government, broken into categories including housing, health care, service delivery and policing. Alto said the plan represents a 'system change' that would see all aspects of municipal policy, including bylaws, public works, parks, land use, 'and pretty much everything a city does' reviewed through a community safety lens going forward. Story continues below advertisement 1:47 Victoria's Pandora Avenue safety plan deemed a 'success' 'It is important for us to look at everything we do and ask the question what impact does this have on the community safety and wellbeing of the city, and if we can't answer that clearly, crisply and succinctly, we need to ask the question again and again and again,' she said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Recommendations at the municipal level range from piloting a corporate 'blockwatch' program downtown to boosting police funding and staffing to exploring municipally owned health clinics. It also calls for a plan to manage current and potential encampments, the crafting of a 'vulnerable people strategy,' and the development of 'wellness indicators' to assess the impact of new municipal actions. Some of the recommendations could be implemented quickly, while others project a multi-year timeline. 'The goal at some level is to be able to walk up to an average resident and say, 'What is your experience of the city? Do you feel as if you are in a safer community?'' Alto said. Story continues below advertisement 4:07 Calls for safety crackdown in downtown Victoria 'If you can do that randomly with different residents, then yeah, we've done our work. Do I expect that to happen in two weeks? No. Do I hope it will happen incrementally over a couple of years? Absolutely. Are there things that can happen quick? Yes, I hope. Are there things that will take time? Absolutely.' Many of the recommendations were for senior levels of government, and Alto acknowledged that some of the most crucial issues, including housing, healthcare and the criminal justice, remain largely outside of the city's jurisdiciton. But she said the city has plenty of firsthand experience in those areas, and she believes listening to Victoria's recommendations will lead to better outcomes. If council adopts the plan, city staff will then spend the summer analyzing how it would impact the city's finances and operations, and come back with details this fall. Story continues below advertisement
