Council hopefuls answered several frontline questions on homelessness Saturday. Photo 250News

Prince George, B.C. – Candidates for Prince George city council addressed the issues of Red Zones and downtown safety during Saturday’s all-candidates forum at the Fire Pit drop-in centre. This is the second and final installment on the forum.

On Red Zoning, in which a person accused of dealing drugs downtown is barred from the area until their criminal charges have been deal with, council candidate Don Roberts was not aware of the practice and could offer no comment on the matter. Travis Shaw says instead of outright barring a person from a part of town people shouldn’t be so quick to judge. The offending person should be advised why Red Zoning is being considered and communicated with in a more tolerant way. Susan Scott says she didn’t realize it is happening as much as it is, and feels Re Zoning “probably had a place, but it is back there.” She says it need to be put into a more current perspective.

Candidates were asked what they will do to pay more attention to street people and include them in decisions about downtown Albert Koehler says its all about respect and acceptance, we all have the same rights and are all the same. He says anyone could find the shoes on the other foot quite easily and those on the streets should be brought into the discussion. Ravi Saxena says emotional support is important and people on the streets should be included in the community. Terri McConnachie says we can help people on the streets by listening to them and offering support. She says government downloads onto the shoulders of non-profit organizations means they have to do more with less.

Another person asked what councilors could do to keep rental accommodation cheap for aboriginal people working seasonal jobs. Monica Peacock doubts council could do anything moneywise, but could encourage landlords to provide an “incentive” to keep rents at a reasonable price. Don Zurowski says B.C. Housing should be brought into the equation and says we know there are homeless people in the community “but they’re not without a home in the community, this is your home as much as its my home. The may be without a home but they’re not without a community.” Jason Luke says the people on the ground need to form committees and get the ideas out there.  He says social housing should be encouraged but shouldn’t be tucked away in some corner of the city where the people would feel they’re not part of the community.

Rents have risen recently in light of the Canada Winter Games. Candidates were asked about a rent cap. Lyn Hall it’s difficult for municipal government to create a rent cap. He says landlords can be asked to do it voluntarily but says with the boom occurring on the west coast, landlord there are suggesting people move to Prince George because there’s cheaper rent here. He says we’re seeing an increase in rental rates coupled with a lack of housing, and all that a council can do is speak with landlords. He says there are some restrictions contained in the Landlord Tennancy Act. Coralee Larsen says we need to continue building more housing projects and work with social service agencies to meet the housing demand. Jeffrey Cunin says he doesn’t see what city council can do but hopes a rent cap is put in place in the future. He also says landlords should have to provide a solid reason why rents are being increased.

On the question of providing safety downtown Brian Skakun says the issue faces people downtown who get preyed upon by drug dealers along with the downtown business people who also feel at risk. He says “my experience is that the homeless people on the streets aren’t the ones that are going up to people and assaulting them or anything like that. They might be asking for change.” He says the RCMP’s Red Zone might have an effect on some of the more vulnerable people downtown who get preyed upon by the drug traffickers. Skakun favors getting the RCMP foot patrols ramped up to talk with the business people and the street people to improve safety. Jillian Merrick spokes of two types of safety and says on the one hand we need better lighting, crosswalks and snow clearing “to keep our physical harm to a minimum.” As far as people feeling safe, she says they will if they feel they are a welcome part of the community. Dave Wilbur says he’s been a building owner downtown for about 35 years and is well aware of the problems. He says the Cadillac Ranch and PG Hotel were huge safety issues. He says he’d like to see the ambassadors program ramped up to get it to another level.

Cameron Stolz was first to answer the question of what specific step council can take to address homelessness. He says it comes down to partnerships and cites investing in Elizabeth Fry low-cost housing and making sure investments are available for places like the Victoria Towers as examples. He says the city provides the land and partners will other levels of government to bring affordable housing to people. He also says the city has provided tax exemptions to several societies providing social housing. Harry Ulch says people displaced by the closure of places like the PG Hotel should be provided accommodation at the same price as they were paying. He says to improve on the situation the city will have to partner with senior governments for funding. Garth Frizzell says council has been talking about getting developers to build social housing. He says the number of people 50 years and older is going to double in the next 20 years, the aboriginal population is going to go up and the number of immigrants coming to Canada is going to grow. He says we’ve got to figure out what the needs are going to be.

The final question was what can you do for people who’ve been without a home for a long time and are having difficulty re-establishing a home. Roy Spooner says you’d have to discuss what led to them being without housing, find some common ground and work to solve pieces of the problem. Murry Krause says many people haven’t had a successful tenant-landlord relationship so it about helping them achieve that. He says if you don’t know what the person’s issues are its tough to meet their needs. He says it’s about getting people off the street and into housing and giving them the supports to be successful. Debora Munoz is a big supporter of the Housing First model and says besides getting some into housing you also have to find services they require, mental health or addictions services or whatever the case. She says it’s a matter of dignity.