Three of Canada’s top five ‘greenest’ cities are on the Prairies

Western Investor Staff
Western Investor

New research has revealed Canada’s greenest cities, with Prince Albert coming out on top.

Prince Alberta, third-largest city in Saskatchewan has been named Canada most green city with 28 hectares of parkland per person. | Submitted
A new study claims that three of the top five greenest cities in Canada, by the amount of greenspace per person, are all on the Prairies.
The study by real estate site Calgary.com analyzed parkland data for Canadian cities and scored them based on how much parkland, green area and gardens they have.
 The city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, population 34,000 (third largest in the province), came in No. 1.
The city has 28.1 hectares of park per 1,000 people, and 20 per cent of the city is made up of parkland, which gives it a ‘Green Score’ of 100 out of 100. It’s built on a transition zone between the aspen parkland and a boreal forest, so the city is embedded in nature, judges noted.
Coming at No. 2 is Edmonton.
It scored 80.26 out of 100 on the Green Score. While it may only have 6.2 hectares of park per 1,000 people and 8 per cent of parkland, the city boasts a whopping 104 community gardens, the most out of any city in the study.
Calgary ranked No. 5, coming in with a green score of 67.67 out of 100. This is due to there being seven hectares of park per 1,000 people in the city, 11 per cent of the city being parkland, and Calgary has 59 community gardens.
The Quebec city of Gatineau is No. 3 on the list, with a green score of 76.98 out of 100.
Toronto was ranked No. 4, receiving a green score of 74.57 out of 100. Parkland makes up 13 per cent of the city and there are 79 community gardens. Due to the city’s larger population, however, there are only 2.7 hectares of park per 1,000 people.
Vancouver cracked the top 10, coming in at No. 9, with a green score of 51.51 out of 100, with 2.1 hectares of parkland for every 1,000 residents.

© 2022 Western Investor

Half of variable-rate mortgages have hit their trigger rate, estimates Bank of Canada

The Canadian Press
Financial Post

The Bank of Canada estimates that about 50 per cent of variable-rate, fixed-payment mortgages have reached the point where additional payments may be needed. That’s about 13 per cent of all Canadian mortgages. Photo by JAMES MACDONALD/BLOOMBERG

OTTAWA — Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers says the adjustment to higher interest rates will be painful for recent homebuyers with variable-rate mortgages.

Speaking before the networking group Young Canadians in Finance in Ottawa Tuesday, the senior deputy governor says the share of households with a variable-rate mortgage has increased over the last year.

New research from the Bank of Canada finds that variable-rate mortgages now account for about one-third of total outstanding mortgage debt, up from about one-fifth at the end of 2019.

According to her prepared remarks, the senior deputy governor says mortgage costs have already gone up for some Canadians and warns they’ll likely go up for others as well.

In a research paper released with the speech, the Bank of Canada estimated that about 50 per cent of variable-rate, fixed-payment mortgages have reached their trigger rate, the point where additional payments may be needed. That’s about 13 per cent of all Canadian mortgages.

Rogers says risks around Canada’s financial stability are elevated because of high levels of household debt along with rising interest rates.

However, the senior deputy governor says the Bank of Canada expects the financial system as a whole to withstand this period of stress.

 

© 2022 Financial Post

Half of variable-rate mortgages have hit their trigger rate, estimates Bank of Canada

The Canadian Press
Financial Post

The Bank of Canada estimates that about 50 per cent of variable-rate, fixed-payment mortgages have reached the point where additional payments may be needed. That’s about 13 per cent of all Canadian mortgages. Photo by JAMES MACDONALD/BLOOMBERG

OTTAWA — Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers says the adjustment to higher interest rates will be painful for recent homebuyers with variable-rate mortgages.

Speaking before the networking group Young Canadians in Finance in Ottawa Tuesday, the senior deputy governor says the share of households with a variable-rate mortgage has increased over the last year.

New research from the Bank of Canada finds that variable-rate mortgages now account for about one-third of total outstanding mortgage debt, up from about one-fifth at the end of 2019.

According to her prepared remarks, the senior deputy governor says mortgage costs have already gone up for some Canadians and warns they’ll likely go up for others as well.

In a research paper released with the speech, the Bank of Canada estimated that about 50 per cent of variable-rate, fixed-payment mortgages have reached their trigger rate, the point where additional payments may be needed. That’s about 13 per cent of all Canadian mortgages.

Rogers says risks around Canada’s financial stability are elevated because of high levels of household debt along with rising interest rates.

However, the senior deputy governor says the Bank of Canada expects the financial system as a whole to withstand this period of stress.

 

© 2022 Financial Post

B.C. premier’s action on housing applauded by some, called ‘modest’ by others

Bhinder Sajan
CTV News

Premier David Eby’s government introduced two pieces of legislation to boost housing supply Monday. While he claims the plan is bold, some say it’s modest and may come with unintended consequences that could make some homes even more expensive.

On his first day in the B.C. legislature as premier, Eby’s housing minister tabled the two bills. 

“We just can’t have a situation where we’re leaving housing on the table when people are looking for a place to rent,” Eby told reporters.

Bill 44, introduced Monday and expected to be passed this week, comes into effect immediately. It means, stratas must allow owners to rent their units and welcome kids under 18. No bans will be allowed, although, buildings restricted to those 55 plus will be able to keep the age requirements in place.

The government estimates a modest 3,000 units may be freed up, out of about 300,000 units currently covered by such rules.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES?

Yet, Tony Gioventu, the executive director of the Condo Home Owners Association said rental restrictions may be the only thing keeping investors out of the bidding for some units.

“It will certainly open the gates on accessibility for investors and speculators across the province,” he told CTV News.

And if those restrictions are gone, prices could go up.

Gioventu says that’s not the only issue with touting this change as a move to increase affordability.

“By the time you pay your strata fees, your taxes, your insurance, your extra special costs for special levies and maintenance and repairs and all the rest – you can’t be renting your unit out in an affordable window,” Gioventu added.

That means the units being added may not offer much relief at all for renters looking for affordable housing in some of the country’s priciest markets.

MUNICIPALITIES MUST MEET TARGETS

Bill 43, the Housing Supply Act, also introduced Monday, aims to encourage municipalities to increase supply.

About eight to 10 municipalities will be identified as high need. In 2023, they’ll have to develop action plans to meet targets set by the province. If they don’t meet the goals, the province can take enforcement action.

Peter Waldkirch, with Abundant Housing Vancouver, said he’s encouraged the province is talking about supply at the municipal level.

“Municipalities have failed. Their track record on housing is atrocious. They have demonstrably led us to a housing crisis,” he added.

He said Vancouver and other cities in B.C. are dealing with a shortage of supply because they’ve failed to build. The enforcement actions the province could take aren’t specified but government officials say it may mean changing zoning, approving specific projects or providing funding to help with infrastructure.

“Ultimately, I think the province will have to step in and sort of set minimum standards for land use, for zoning and so on to sort of lead to real reform. But iIthink this is at least a good first step,” Waldkirch told CTV News.

He and others also pointing for years the provincial and federal governments also neglected this issue.

REACTION MIXED

The BC Liberals argued that the strategy creates more bureaucracy when what’s needed now are homes. Leader Kevin Falcon pointed out Eby was housing minister for more than two years before becoming premier, and these actions could’ve been taken sooner.

“Instead of a canon we got a pop gun and frankly, I think young British Columbians and first-time buyers who were hoping to get into the housing market won’t have a lot to hold on to, ” Falcon added.

The BC Greens voiced their own concerns.

“There is no protection against Real Estate Investment Trusts, who could now redevelop rental strata housing to increase shareholder profits,” leader Sonia Furstenau said in a statement. “

The BC Real Estate Association applauded the policy changes, saying the legislation would improve housing supply.

The Grater Vancouver Board of Trade also praising the actions, writing, ‘We must continue working together to address remaining barriers to building more housing, including a lack of available workers, the rising cost of materials, and slow permitting and approvals processes.’

NEXT STEPS

Eby says he’s committed to all the proposals in the housing plan he campaigned on to become NDP leader and premier. That includes a flipping tax, and rezoning each single family home to three units. Eby has also re-committed to a $400 renters’ rebate first promised by the NDP 5 years ago. No timelines were given.

Bill 43 and 44 are expected to be passed this week, as the legislative session has extended debate to 9 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and 10 p.m. on Wednesday to allow opposition parties to provide input. Strata changes will come into effect immediately, while the supply act will come into force in 2023.

 

© 2022 All rights reserved.

Rental restrictions could increase speculation, create more work for strata councils, homeowners say

CBC Staff
CBC Radio

Some homeowners worry that if their stratas open up for rentals, landlords will be absent and strata council members will become ‘de facto’ landlords. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)

Homeowners in stratas fear proposed changes to laws around rental restrictions in strata complexes will make more work for councils and residents. 

On Monday, Premier David Eby announced a plan to amend the Strata Property Act, limiting restrictions on renting in stratas, in a move designed to open up rental opportunities as the province continues to face a housing crisis.

The changes would “end all strata rental-restriction bylaws and limit age-restriction bylaws.” Some buildings currently only allow people aged 19 and up to live there — something Eby says creates challenges for people starting families.

Eby estimated that 2,900 strata units in B.C. are sitting empty, and said opening up just half of those to renters would help. 

The province estimates 1.5 million British Columbians live in strata housing, which includes condos, apartments, townhomes and single-family detached homes, in some cases. 

Homeowners in strata housing typically elect volunteer councils that are responsible for collecting strata fees, getting insurance, paying bills and enforcing strata bylaws, among other things.

While some people are applauding the plan, saying any step toward creating housing is a positive one, strata homeowners are worried that ending the restrictions will appeal to rental investors, who will bid against families trying to become homeowners. 

“The prices are going to come up,” said Wendy Wall, president of the Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association. 

“All that’s going to do is keep those people trying to get out of the rental market in the rental market.”

On The Island11:11New provincial legislation that bans rental restrictions could bring relief for renters, but also headaches for strata councils

Gregor Craigie spoke with Wendy Wall, the president of the Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association.

Wall said she’s received a “flood” of emails from strata property owners and volunteer council members raising concerns that if investors buy strata properties, they’ll rent them out and be essentially uninvolved in the tenancy. 

“When the landlord is not physically there, the tenants turn to the other owners, and that generally means the council. All of those day-to-day things end up coming to the council,” she told On The Island host Gregor Craigie. 

“Council members become de facto landlords and all of this extra work falls on the council members.”

“The consequences we face right now [with] the ban on rentals is that people who want to rent out a vacant condo can’t,” Eby said in response.

“And someone who wants to rent that, who’s desperate for a place to rent, is not able to rent it, or someone who has multiple bedrooms in a condo wants to rent out one of them is not allowed to do so.”

Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C. (CHOA), echoed Wall’s concerns that the move could encourage speculation, adding that the majority of the 300,000 stratas in B.C. are in buildings with fewer than 50 units.

“It’s going to simply mean that when a unit comes up for sale, it’s not going to be purchased by another occupant that is going to live there, it’s going to be purchased by a speculator, and we’re going to end up having more competition.

“These aren’t 3,000 affordable units. Strata properties are costly to maintain, manage and purchase and they’re not going to be inexpensive and affordable units themselves.”

Gioventu said that data collected by CHOA showed buildings that have rental bylaws have an occupancy rate of 99 per cent, while buildings built since 2010 that allow rentals have occupancy rates of 75 to 80 per cent. 

Eby said the amendments won’t affect stratas’ ability to ban short-term rentals, such as renting out rooms or homes on sites like AirBnB. 

If approved, the amendment will take effect immediately. 

On The Island8:10B.C. Premier David Eby on new housing plan

The province has announced some major changes to housing policies in B.C., including a plan to set targets with municipalities, based on housing need and removing age restrictions for strata buildings to open up units to rentals.

 

©2022 CBC/Radio-Canada.

‘Partnerships have to work both ways’: B.C. mayors blame province for slow work on affordable housing

Katie DeRosa
The Vancouver Sun

Tired of being blamed for slow construction, mayors target province for lack of funding and slow environmental permitting

Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley in front of empty lot planned for affordable housing on Royal Oak near Royal Oak Skytrain Station in Burnaby, BC, November 22, 2022. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

Premier David Eby’s plan to set housing-construction targets for municipalities is being met with frustration by some B.C. mayors who say it’s the province that is not approving shovel-ready projects.

 

Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley said he’s frustrated Eby is pointing the finger at municipalities when his city has seven shovel-ready projects with a total of 1,200 affordable housing units that have been turned down for funding by B.C. Housing.

“We can build 1,200 units in two years,” he told Postmedia News. “But we have been turned down for funding over and over.”

Hurley said Burnaby staff and council rezoned those seven sites in six months, only to be told there’s not enough money in the housing agency’s community housing fund.

B.C. municipalities have applied for funding for 13,000 units through that fund, said Hurley, who chairs the Metro Vancouver housing committee. Of those, 2,400 units were approved for funding in 2021, 579 in the Lower Mainland and 129 in Burnaby, the ministry responsible for housing confirmed.

Murray Rankin, the minister responsible for housing, said in a statement: “We know there are projects ready to be built in municipalities across B.C. and are committed to working with communities as a partner to support, including through the next round of community housing fund projects.”

 

“Burnaby has been a strong partner in getting housing built” and since 2017, “we have 2,560 homes open or underway in Burnaby,” Rankin said.

Speaking to the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association on Tuesday, Eby said he will create a stand-alone Housing Ministry, instead of the housing portfolio being folded in with another ministry.

The new housing minister will be announced on Dec. 7 when Eby unveils his cabinet.

The Housing Supply Act announced by Eby on Monday, which is likely to pass before the end of the week, takes a carrot and stick approach to working with municipalities to build much-needed housing. The carrot is that the province can give cash incentives for amenities like parks and public infrastructure to municipalities that hit housing targets. The province will also wield a stick, which is the power to override municipalities by approving housing projects or rezoning entire neighbourhoods to allow increased density.

 

Hurley disputed the province’s narrative that local councils are holding up development.

“Municipalities have been getting thrown under the bus here quite a bit,” he said. “We’re trying to be good partners, but partnerships have to work both ways.”

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West said in his community, a below-market 300-unit project overseen by the Affordable Housing Societies was delayed by a year while the developers waited for a provincial environmental assessment permit, all while interests rates went up, hurting affordability.

“We moved heaven and earth to get it approved as quickly as possible,” West said, noting the Westminster Junction project was rezoned “at record speed” in a matter of months.

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The year-long wait for the provincial permit means the non-profit agency must borrow from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation at a higher interest rate.

“So the affordability they can deliver for that project has been impacted by provincial delays,” West said. “And it was the city that was picking up the phone and knocking on the province’s door saying, ‘Why the hell does it take a year to get this permit?’”

West also said provincial funding promised in 2021 has been held up for a 50-unit supportive housing project overseen by the New View Society in Port Coquitlam.

“There needs to be less finger pointing and people getting their own houses in order,” he said.

B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon said B.C. Housing is incapable of approving housing projects quickly because of the internal turmoil that has plagued the government housing agency.

 

In August, Shayne Ramsay resigned as CEO and in July, Eby replaced the entire board of directors after an external review found insufficient financial oversight of billions of dollars worth of housing decisions.

“So the fact of the matter is B.C. Housing is failing on its fundamental mandate, which is to get housing being built,” Falcon said.

On Monday, the premier’s office released a report published by the Homebuilders Association of Vancouver which showed all 21 Metro Vancouver municipalities were falling below the new housing projections set out in Metro’s regional growth strategy, except for the City of North Vancouver.

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said those numbers are misleading because they only measure completed housing in 2021 and don’t take into account housing currently being developed.

 

The Union of B.C. Municipalities has raised concerns about the province’s ability to override municipalities if they’re not meeting targets, which will be set based on the housing needs reports that local governments are already required to create every five years.

“The legislation gives significant discretionary decision-making power to the minister responsible for housing and unelected officials while at the same time providing limited or as-of-yet unspecified opportunities for local government input,” the UBCM wrote in a memo to its members.

“This marks a significant shift away from the form of local democracy envisaged in the Community Charter in which municipal councils are seen as democratically elected, autonomous, responsible and accountable, established and continued by the will of the residents of their communities.”

 

UBCM president Jen Ford told Postmedia News that, in a conference call Monday with Rankin and Municipal Affairs Minister Nathan Cullen, several B.C. mayors expressed concern about the lack of details on the various compliance measures the province can take if a municipality isn’t meeting housing targets.

Mayors are also concerned, Ford said, that the province hasn’t laid out how the targets will prioritize affordable housing.

“I think that’s a top of mind concern for us. How do we define affordability? How do we define attainability? And then how do we define those within the scope of these targets from the province?”

 

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

B.C. housing plan will immediately extend speculation taxes

Frank O’Brien
Western Investor

New scheme would turn all condos into rentals and subject the owners to provincial and Vancouver ‘empty home’ taxes if not rented

Banning condo rentals will expose about 300,000 owners to vacant-home taxes. | Chung Chow
A proposed Housing Supply Act in B.C., released November 21 by Premier David Eby, would outlaw rental restrictions in strata (condo or townhouse) projects in B.C.
It would also expose all owners of strata housing units in major urban markets to the provincial speculation tax (or empty home tax) which currently exempts those units in strata buildings that don’t allow rentals, and a similar tax in the City of Vancouver.
“Yes, it dissolves the exemption category,” confirmed Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Homeowners Association of BC. (CHOA)
 The speculation tax is applied for homes in B.C. that are left vacant, but the current law allows an exemption when “a covenant or a strata bylaw prevents the property from being rented out.” Lifting the exemption would mean that an owner would be subject to the tax, which is 0.5 per cent of the home’s value for B.C. residents and 2 per cent for foreign owners.
With the average condo apartment in Metro Vancouver valued at approximately $727,000, and a strata townhouse at just over $1 million, the B.C.-resident tax would range from about $3,500 to $5,000.
Strata owners in the city Vancouver would also suddenly be subject to the Vancouver vacant home tax, which was recently increased to 3 per cent and which currently exempts units that are subject to a strata’s rental restriction. The average condo apartment in Vancouver sold in October for approximately $800,000, meaning a $24,000 tax if it is not rented out for at least six months of the year.
If passed, B.C.’s proposed Housing Supply Act would come into effect through regulations in mid-2023, while proposed amendments to the Strata Property Act would come into effect immediately. 
But CHOA said strata studies have shown that the highest vacancy rates are in buildings with no rental restrictions.. At the same time properties with rental bylaws average a vacancy rate of 0 per cent to 4 per cent, the study found.
“The expectation that the removal of rental bylaws will result in a solution for rental housing, has no correlation to the statistics” CHOA stated in November 21 letter to provincial MLAs. “The potential effect of terminating rental bylaws … will be an increase in [condo] purchases for the purpose of speculation and investment.”
Gioventu added that landlords rarely participate in strata operations, and rarely support increased strata fees or special levies for repairs.
“In addition to the onerous task of operations, we will now be downloading the work load of managing tenants on the volunteers we charge with the statutory obligations of property operations under the Strata Property Act,” Gioventu said.
The province estimates there are about 300,000 strata units that may be subject to rental bans. However, the new Housing Supply Act would still allow stratas to have bylaws banning short-term rentals,such as Airbnbs. 
The new Act would also require the fastest-growing communities in “urgent” need of housing stock — eight to 10 communities are estimated by the province to fall into this category — to establish housing targets in consultation with the province. 
The target-setting is intended to be a collaborative approach. Municipalities will figure where and how that housing is built, according to Eby’s statement.

© 2022 Western Investor

Entire city block in downtown Victoria sells for $10.25 million

Western Investor Staff
Western Investor

Prime single-tenant retail location with 21,537 square feet of strata space on Government Street has frontage on three main roadways, with rear loading docks.

 

CBRE Investment Properties Group, Victoria, B.C, for Western Investor

 

Property type: Retail

Location: 1450 Government Street, Victoria, B.C.

Number of tenants: 1 (Mountain Equipment Co-op)

Size of property; 21,537 square feet

Size of land in acres: 0.49 acres

Zoning: Old Town District-1

List price: $10.9 million

Sale price: $10.25 million

Date of sale: November 16, 2022

Brokerage: CBRE Investment Properties Group, Victoria, B.C.

Brokers: Adrian Beruschi, Ross Marshall and Chris Rust

 

© 2022 Western Investor

New B.C. law to target source of luxury wealth in money laundering crackdown

Gordon Hoekstra
The Vancouver Sun

Instead of a presumption of innocence, under an unexplained wealth order, the onus falls on the alleged perpetrator to explain where money came from to purchase their assets.

B.C. Premier David Eby has announced a new law to crack down on money laundering. Instead of a presumption of innocence, under an unexplained wealth order, the onus falls on the alleged perpetrator to explain where money came from to purchase their assets. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

British Columbia plans to introduce a new law that will allow authorities to seize houses and luxury cars if the owners cannot explain the source of the money to pay for them.

New Premier David Eby announced on the weekend legislation will be introduced this spring to create unexplained wealth orders, which are meant to target the proceeds of crime.

Such measures have been in place in a few jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom since 2017.

The unexplained wealth order is a tool recommended by B.C.’s Cullen Commission on money laundering that delivered its findings this summer and a 2019 B.C.-government commissioned report on money laundering in real estate.

James Cohen, executive director of Transparency International Canada, a global anticorruption advocacy group, said the effectiveness of unexplained wealth orders will depend on how the new legislation is crafted.

Taking into consideration concerns on privacy and personal intrusion, targeting higher-level crime and making it a civil rather than criminal measure would be helpful, he noted.

“There’s definitely guidance from the Cullen Commission on how to go forward with this. So let’s see what the B.C. government does,” said Cohen, whose organization has been an advocate of unexplained wealth orders.

Instead of a presumption of innocence, under an unexplained wealth order, the onus falls on the alleged perpetrator to explain where money came from to purchase their assets.

If the alleged perpetrator fails to produce the information and does not rebut the presumption the property was purchased with illicit funds, the property will be forfeited.

 

James Cohen, executive director of Transparency International Canada, a global anticorruption advocacy group, said the effectiveness of unexplained wealth orders will depend on how the new legislation is crafted. PNG

The Cullen commission recommended that unexplained wealth orders will only be used in civil proceedings for the forfeiture of property. The information provided in response to an unexplained wealth order cannot be used in a criminal prosecution.

 

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), of which Eby was the head before he turned to politics, opposes unexplained wealth orders.

The BCCLA said it’s not in favour of taking a tough-on-crime approach to money laundering with the introduction of unexplained wealth orders, the aggressive pursuit of civil forfeiture, increased policing, and broad information collection and sharing. “These invasive measures undermine constitutional rights, have not been adequately tested, and would be expensive to implement,” wrote the BCCLA’s Stephen Chin and Jessica Magonet.

On Sunday, Eby said the introduction of unexplained wealth orders are meant to remove the profit incentive for organized crime.

He acknowledged the proposal is a departure from existing civil forfeiture rules in B.C. and Canada and said he had no doubt the new law would be challenged in court.

 

But he said he does not want British Columbia to be a place where organized crime is welcome, money laundering is tolerated and people flaunt luxury goods earned through the misery of exploiting people on the streets. “We want to send a strong message,” said Eby.

Unexplained wealth orders have had limited success in the U.K. Several efforts failed to seize luxury London properties owned by residents of central Asian countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union.

A settlement was reached in one case in which a Leeds businessman, who had links to a convicted murderer, agreed to surrender 45 properties and other assets totalling $15 million.

In a forum on unexplained wealth orders on Tuesday hosted by the University of B.C.’s anticorruption law program, panelists also noted that how the unexplained wealth orders are constructed is important and they can’t stand on their own in combating money laundering.

 

“If you pass an (unexplained wealth order law) and you don’t resource law enforcement, it will fail and it will fail spectacularly,” said Jeffrey Simser, one of the panelists and a former legal director of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

 

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Suddenly, B.C. to become tough on crime

Frank O’Brien
Western Investor

After five years of watching street crimes spiral out of control as Attorney General, B.C.’s new premier plans to crack down on chronic offenders

Smashed storefront in Vancouver’s Yaletown a symbol of rising street crime across B.C. | Chung Chow

The B.C. government has launched a Safer Communities Action Plan that aims to keep repeat offenders off the streets and strengthen communities, according to David Eby, who has been B.C. Attorney General for the past five years.

The role of the Attorney General (AG) is to provide legal advice to the government and “the initiation and conduct of all prosecutions of criminal offences.”

Eby stepped down as AG to run unopposed for the premier’s chair.

Now Premier, David Eby made the safety announcement November 20, just days after being sworn into office, saying that, suddenly, public safety is now his key priority. 

The plan recognizes that there is “zero tolerance” for violence in B.C. and concentrates on helping people overcome the process of being in and out of jail, he said. 

However, as the Opposition BC Liberals noted, all of the changes could have been made months ago, and many have been demanded by experts for a long time.

 In April of this year, for example, mayors representing B.C.’s biggest communities called on the provincial government for more support to stop repeat offenders amid a rise in property crimes and random assaults.

“Our residents, frontline police officers and our councils are frustrated. We implore the Province and for your Ministries to move forward quickly on tangible solutions,” the letter from the BC Urban Mayors and Caucus said.

Since 2017 – when Eby took over as Attorney General – there has been a 118 per cent increase in the amount of time the province takes to review files it receives from police, and a 75 per cent increase in the rate of the BC Prosecution Service choosing to not charge suspects based on police cases, according to the letter.

The mayors had flagged cases where super-chronic offenders had 50 convictions or more and were still walking free.

“More than 900 innocent people have been violently attacked by strangers in Vancouver alone since the BC Liberals first called on David Eby to issue a directive to Crown Prosecutors and end his harmful catch and release policy for repeat criminal offenders,” Liberal leader Kevin Falcon said in a press release following Eby’s safety plan announcement.

“It’s clear that what was announced this morning had been prepared for months and was withheld for David Eby to opportunistically take the credit. For David Eby to play politics with public safety is unconscionable.”

Eby said that one of the first steps is setting up “co-ordinated response teams” to address the issue of violent offenders. 

“These teams are made up of police, dedicated prosecutors, probation officers,” he said. “Their mission is to prevent violent crime before it happens, and when it does happen to make sure that violent offenders wait for trial in custody and not in our community.” 

The plan also calls for increasing response to those in mental-health crisis with initiatives like 12 new “peer-assisted” care teams, some of them Indigenous-led. 

“These peer-assisted teams intervene when people are in mental-health crisis in our streets, freeing up police to focus on crime instead of social services,” Eby said. 

Eby said Attorney General Murray Rankin will instruct prosecutors to implement “a clear and understandable” bail policy for repeat violent offenders within existing federal guidelines. 

“We’re also providing training and resources for prosecutors to work with police to make sure that the materials that are put in front of the court in the case of a violent offence are complete, so the court is making a decision on all of the facts and can protect the public,” he said. 

The plan will also deal with the high numbers of Indigenous people in the justice system, Eby said. Action includes opening 10 new Indigenous justice centres across the province to go with three that are already in operation. 

Eby said people struggling with addictions and mental health need treatment to get better, and the plan calls for a new model of care for them “that moves seamlessly from crisis response in our emergency rooms and our streets to detox, to treatment and supportive housing.” 

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog praised the plan’s scope. 

“We’ve all seen the impacts of criminal behaviour in the downtown,” he said. “That’s why I’m pleased to see the province’s co-ordinated approach of both enforcement and strengthened services, which will help break the cycle of repeat offending, help people to receive the supports they need, and help people feel safe and secure in our community.” 

 

© 2022 Western Investor