Unlike the policies of former Mayor Sam Sullivan to ticket the homeless, of which Mike Klassen was a supporter, the City of Vancouver is a different place under new leadership these days.

Mike Klassen of CityCaucus and NPA “fame” has claimed that Mayor Gregor Robertson “blames” a rookie cop for a inappropriate ticket to a man sleeping in a tent.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Here is the VPD’s explanation of the incident:

Vancouver – A by-law ticket issued to the occupant of a ‘red tent’ in the 300 block Main St on April 22 will be cancelled. The ticket was issued by a newly graduated officer who had not yet been briefed about the Vancouver Police Department’s policy of deferring enforcement and management of people camping or tenting in City parks or on sidewalks to the City of Vancouver.

Steps are being undertaken to ensure that all new members will receive refreshers on all current VPD policies.

-30-

Constable 1920 Lindsey Houghton
Media Relations Officer
Community & Public Affairs Section
Vancouver Police Department | Beyond the Call

The City of Vancouver has initiated a distinct departure from the days of Sullivan’s infamous “Project Civil City,” where the homeless were targeted and ticketed by the police, under the direction of the NPA Mayor and Council.

Gregor Robertson has simply echoed the comments directly from the VPD, where a rookie officer was not entirely aware of the new approach being taken IN TANDEM by the City of Vancouver and the VPD to treat people on the streets with respect and compassion rather than as criminals.

Mike Klassen has expressed his affinity and association with the NPA, past and future.  He was a huge backer of Sullivan during the time where Project Civil City became the main focal point of tackling the problem of homelessness on our streets.  He is also someone who uses complete creative license with his editorials.

The fact is that this Mayor and Council have outlined a strategy to eliminate street homelessness by 2015, and are well on their way towards doing so.  This is not only about opening shelters, or securing commitments for longer-term housing options, but just as importantly, changing the attitudes shown to people living on the streets by the powers that be.

This is a political directive that echoes the Vision Vancouver approach to politics: governing with a heart.

Nowhere does Klassen comment about the policy of ticketing the homeless.  In fact, he conveniently glosses over it in favour of trying to create a conspiracy where none exists.

So, until Klassen addresses the issue at hand, and specifically references his opinion on the practice of ticketing the homeless in the name of “public order,” then his words serve as little more than empty attacks against a potential future political opponent.

]]> http://civicscene.ca/a-false-and-misleading-headline-by-npa-supporter-mike-klassen-as-per-usual/feed 0 http://civicscene.ca/mr-robertson-goes-to-ottawa http://civicscene.ca/mr-robertson-goes-to-ottawa#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:48:09 +0000 Jonathan Ross http://civicscene.ca/?p=3298

Robertson's looking for another kind of handshake like this (minus the Conservative propaganda), but is unlikely to walk away with anything of substance from Harper this time around.

I have been delinquent during the Games, as unlike those who transformed themselves into “media”, I took some time away from the blog and municipal politics to enjoy the civic experience of a lifetime.

That being said, I am now back in the swing of things, and will be posting regularly from this point forward.  CivicScene will also have some featured pieces coming out in one of Vancouver’s preeminent news outlets in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Mayor Gregor Robertson has left himself little time to rest in between the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as he has made his trek eastward to Ottawa and Toronto in search of “a commitment to a national housing strategy” and more provincial and federal funding for transit.

Yet on the heels of Premier Gordon Campbell’s government preparing people for today’s budget which will dramatically “cut back on the operating budgets of government” as well as Prime Minister Stephen Harper prefacing his upcoming budget by calling it the “toughest of his career,” I can’t see the Vancouver Mayor walking away with anything at all in terms of financial commitments.

But the trip is significant for the way in which Robertson is graduating from his roles and responsibilities that are most often bound within the confines of Vancouver’s official boundaries.

First, let’s talk about transit.  Robertson is saying all the right things when it comes to an area of public policy in which he has little to no autonomy over.

He understands the trend in retail politics that links transit with the municipality it is operating within, even though Translink is of course regional in scope.  He gets that in spite of his goals for making Vancouver one of the world’s greenest cities, public transit is never something that he can ever firmly commit as part of the plan without the dollars kicked in from the upper levels of government.

He also understands that Vancouver is far better served by transit than municipalities like the Tri-Cities, and thus adhering to the prevailing logic that the “Evergreen Line is first up” is smart politics based on reality.

A UBC line down the broadway corridor?  Yeah…maybe in a decade.  And I strongly emphasize MAYBE.

Gregor is beginning to position himself behind the need for transit solidarity with his regional partners across Metro Vancouver, and that he is well placed to advocate broadly rather than just for the purposes of Vancouver’s benefit.

Which leads me into my second point having to do with homelessness.  I have written before about how Robertson should be leading a national rallying cry for better support for housing across the country.

Once again I am going to reference J. David Hulchanski report from 2002 entitled “Housing Policy for Tomorrow’s Cities,” which details how the “federal role in housing since the Second World War has been…checkered.”

It also delves into the fact that municipal or urban affairs has been something that the federal government has only delved into a handful of times over the past century.

Sorry, but this kind of hands off approach to municipalities – REGARDLESS of jurisdiction – does not lend itself well to the realities of the majority of our country’s population.

Enter Gregor Robertson.

Now I am by no means arguing that Robertson is definitely going to have any more success than the Larry Campbells or David Millers who over the years have been very aggressive in engaging the federal government on a number of public policy issues.

What I am suggesting, however, is that housing policy is a place where Gregor can make real inroads in if nothing else, raising the issue back up to a national consciousness and in turn initiating a cross-country debate.

If housing and eliminating street homelessness is his baby (and from all indications thus far into his term, this is shaping up to be his defining legacy – good or bad), then he needs to play a larger role in lifting the issue out of the specific situations found in every city across this country.

So, let’s see what comes about from the glad-handing and the post-Olympic Ottawa love-in that Gregor is bound to encounter.

Even without the dollars, this could be the start of Robertson emerging as an impact player within Canada’s municipal affairs.

Gregor Robertson's quest to end street homelessness is being weighed down by the Province's attempts to make up for lost time.

Mayor of Gregor Robertson can be accused of many things (rightly or wrongly), but indifference towards the plight of the homeless can never be a part of that list.

He centred his entire political campaign to get to the dance on the issue, and made a bold promise to eliminate street homelessness in Vancouver by 2015 – a commitment that hinges his credibility on serving at least one more term in office.

But to me, the Mayor’s sincerity, progress and future plans for his quest to take a leadership role on homelessness from the vantage point of a cash-starved municipality is only cheapened by the Downside Eastside Connect press conference led by Rich Coleman a few days back.

Miro Cernetig is spot on in his analysis of how the event came across to both casual and well-versed observers.

First, while the Province deserves full credit for its contributions to break ground on shelters and other housing projects, they also must be condemned for kicking in the cash far too late to be promoted as a tangible accomplishment by the time the Games open:

“Perhaps it’s that staged, glossy photo at the door of the politicians…smiling as they dig shovels into the ground to symbolize the construction of 14 social housing shelters. The caption carefully leaves out the fact these projects were started too late to be ready for the Olympics and are years away from completion.”

He is also spot on in his analysis of how using homeless people as living props for the exhibit comes across as more of a sideshow than a unique way of giving voices to those who most often have none:

“Where things get totally strange, though, is at the back of the one-room pavilion. A large placard informs you a new library has been created at a nearby location for the Olympics.

But this is not a library of books. Rather what you get to check out, for 30 minutes at a time, is a real, live human being, one of many in a collection, from the Downtown Eastside. These “human books,” paid an honorarium for their services, will recite their stories about life in Vancouver’s ghetto.

It’s well-intentioned, I guess. It’s certainly preferable to putting the homeless into red tents during the Games, an exploitative stunt to get press dreamt up by the Pivot Legal Society.”

I of course said the exact same thing aboutt the the red tent campaign last week, the latest stunt by Pivot designed to draw attention to themselves the plight of those living on the streets.

I suppose that Gregor somehow feels obligated to go out and defend the kiosk considering that it is a joint City of Vancouver/Province of British Columbia initiative.

He really shouldn’t. He only got into the job in December, 2008, and is far better off participating in utterances and activities that demonstrate that the Mayor isn’t interested in spin, but just solutions that can secure shelter for people.

Calling for a homeless count independent of the region and done in a more direct fashion by city staff working to make the Mayor’s pledge a reality is a good start.

Getting up on the same stage with one of the Olympics and the City of Vancouver’s most virulent critics (one that took the City to court) about how to leverage the Olympics’ “creativity, energy and commitment” to address the challenges of addiction and poverty is also gutsy, worthwhile and potentially unifying in rallying the troops in unity in the fight against homelessness.

Like Charlie Smith says most eloquently in an above-linked column:

“Some of the most amazing political achievements have occurred because someone has set a grand goal.”

Absolutely correct. But with the ensuing list that Smith provides, each and every visionary had to tackle the problems head on with courage, with tenacity, and most importantly with an open and honest intent.

On homelessness, Robertson has these in spades…he just doesn’t need the huge chip on the shoulder of the provincial government regarding poverty, mental illness and addition treatment services to weigh him down in his fight.

• These kinds of stories are so Mickey Mouse.  We are about to host the world, and news outlets are making a fuss about City Councillors of the host city getting tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies?  Give me a break.  Ellen Woodsworth and David Cadman can play the martyrs all they want, but the bottom line is that this is a work related duty for a once in a lifetime type of event for our city.  And to suggest that spouses should not be able to attend with their Councillor partners is just ludicrous.  I believe in fiscal responsibility, and I also believe that politicians do not deserve to be hoisted onto a pedestal  That being said, this is the Olympics, and we have to understand that elected officials have duties THROUGHOUT the next couple of months, not all of which will be pleasant and or conducive to their family lives.  So, get over this petty BS and allow those elected to represent our city to the globe to do their jobs.

• By now, most of you have already seen this.  But let me say that it is without a doubt the most stunning and compelling promotional video I have ever seen about the City of Vancouver.  Not to take anything from past efforts, but this new effort in HD is just unbelievable, and a fantastic way of promoting the city’s best offerings to the globe.  What a collaboration in the most exquisite sense of the word.

• This story, and more specifically this motion, is the right move to transition Vision’s successful first set of efforts with regards to emergency shelters.  Housing is always a daunting thing to go after at the municipal level, largely because the majority of investments for actual construction most often come from senior levels of government (municipalities usually donate land).  For Gregor’s goal to become tangible rather than election campaign rhetoric, this shift in gears is entirely necessary.  Results based targets and accountability will really put the fire under a Council that is determined to attract investment into the social housing component of their agenda – either public or private.

• This impression is going to start filtering out from our local media into the hands of visiting media outfits.  And contrary to what others are trying to suggest – namely that Vancouverites have little civic pride and are completely disengaged from what is happening around them – I would suggest that it is more of an indication of the perils that come along with hosting the Olympics.  It takes a mature city to realize that false boosterism is not the be all, end all of putting a good foot forward.  Trust me when I say that everyone is going to be enthusiastic and plugged in the minute those opening ceremonies begin, and particularly the moment Canada wins its first medal.  That being said, disillusionment is a reflection of the mixed bag that the Olympics – Summer or Winter – presents for a region.  It isn’t something that we need to hide from.

• I support this decision whole-heartedly.  View corridors are one of the defining characteristics of Vancouver and the city’s pattern of development.  That being said, higher towers  are being added to Chinatown because it makes sense – revitalization of the neighbourhood, while still respecting heritage and history.  Density can be a good thing, but not at the expense of the most breathtaking bridge crossings into a downtown core in all of North America and possibly the world.