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Vancouver mayor slams federal government over inaction on bail reform

Ken Sim: “Excuse my language, but that's bullshit. Just tell us you're not going to do something. Don't ignore our calls.”
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Mayor Ken Sim gave his annual “state of the city” address Wednesday at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, where he answered questions from board CEO Bridgitte Anderson.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim expressed his frustration Wednesday at the lack of action by the federal government on making it more difficult for people with a history of violence and crime to be released from custody.

Sim said calls from his office to the federal government for bail reform have gone unanswered in relation to an incident in Vancouver in September where a man was murdered and another had his hand severed in an attack.

“That [suspect] had 60 interactions with the police, and we can’t do anything about it,” the mayor told a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade audience. “I remember the day after we asked for help, they called us and told us the 25 reasons why they couldn’t do anything, and they haven’t returned a call since.”

Added the mayor: “Excuse my language, but that's bullshit. Just tell us you're not going to do something. Don't ignore our calls.”

He received applause from a packed room of guests at the Vancouver Convention Centre, where he gave his annual “state of the city address.” In a sit-down interview format with Board of Trade CEO Bridgitte Anderson, Sim said from a podium that he would “probably get in trouble” for his criticism of the federal government.

“We have no other tools,” he said. “We literally have to go and say this stuff in front of a bunch of [television] cameras.”

'Elected to be change agents'

The mayor also addressed his desire to not allow any new supportive housing in the city, beyond the housing that is being built to replace existing units. 

The controversial proposal has upset nonprofit providers and generated pushback from some of his own ABC Vancouver city councillors, with one of whom — Coun. Rebecca Bligh — being expelled last week from the party.

The mayor reiterated statistics he’s been emphasizing since he announced at a recent public forum that he doesn’t want any “net new” supportive housing built in Vancouver. He said Vancouver makes up 25 per cent of the region’s population, but accounts for 77 per cent of supportive housing.

Sim said his proposal, which still needs approval from council, is to help trigger other municipalities to build more supportive housing. Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley previously told BIV the mayor’s move wouldn’t dictate his city’s planning, noting it was up to BC Housing to pay for more of that type of housing.

“We were elected to make the hard decisions,” Sim said. “We were elected to be change agents. We're not going to shy away from it. We know these things can get heated and controversial, but we're here to solve the problem.”

'Mandatory passionate care'

The problem, as the mayor described it, has been concentrated in the Downtown Eastside, which Sim has previously called a humanitarian crisis. Last week, he and Police Chief Adam Palmer announced a $5- million strategy focused on crime and street disorder in the Downtown Eastside.

Both Sim and Palmer have pushed for mandatory, involuntary care of people who have severe mental health and addiction challenges. Sim put the number Wednesday at an estimated 400 people who fit that description in Vancouver.

He thanked the provincial government for promising to build 400 units of “mandatory passionate care for people that need it” in B.C.

“I do believe that will have a big impact,” he said of the 400 beds to be added to hospitals and prisons across the province. “I still think we need more. I think we need about 3,000.”

Meanwhile, the mayor’s ABC Vancouver party is expected to announce Thursday the two candidates to represent the party in the April 5 byelection. ABC currently holds seven of the 11 seats on council.

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