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Five Vancouver mayoral candidates debated public safety, the economy, housing and city hall operations at a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade event with two weeks left before the election.
Five candidates for Vancouver mayor faced questions on public safety, the economy, housing and city hall operations on Friday at a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade debate, with only two weeks remaining before voters choose their next mayor.
Incumbent Mayor Ken Sim and challengers Colleen Hardwick, Rebecca Bligh, Kareem Allam and Pete Fry outlined their priorities and drew differences between their campaigns. Ken Sim Defends Public Safety Record Sim, the incumbent and ABC Vancouver mayoral candidate, defended his administration's record while acknowledging there is still work to do.
He pointed to what he described as progress on public safety, including funding for 100 new police officers, more than 50 mental-health workers and the Vancouver Police Department's Task Force Barrage, which targeted crime in the Downtown Eastside. He also highlighted changes to city hall, saying more than 2,000 pages of bylaws had been removed, processes had been digitized and the number of business-licence categories had been reduced from nearly 600 to fewer than 100.
Sim said the time required to approve a business licence application has dropped from 16 weeks in 2022 to two days. Sim said his focus as mayor is simple: safer streets, a stronger economy, and a city that works. Public safety was a major focus of his campaign message. Sim is supporting a plebiscite on whether the city should strengthen its bylaws to prohibit the use of hard drugs in public spaces.
Sim Calls For Drug Plebiscite And Care Beds
He argued the change would allow police to issue tickets and confiscate drugs without having to arrest someone. Sim also called for the provincial government to provide voluntary and involuntary care beds for people dealing with addiction and mental illness. Hardwick Targets Fiscal Discipline and Permitting Hardwick, running with Team for a Livable Vancouver, focused heavily on fiscal discipline, economic development and reducing what she described as unnecessary bureaucracy at city hall.
The former city councillor said her business background has shaped her approach, arguing that Vancouver needs to examine its spending, establish priorities and measure performance. She said permitting and other municipal processes have become too complicated. Hardwick said permitting should not be an endurance sport. Hardwick said she would simplify building and business-permitting processes, establish service standards and reduce administrative burdens.
Hardwick Promises To Cut Red Tape And Fees
On planning, Hardwick said her first 90 days would include repealing the official development plan passed in March. She argued it takes a centralized, top-down approach and said neighbourhood planning should have a greater role. Bligh Questions Budget Approach Bligh, a two-term Vancouver city councillor and former president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, focused on the city's finances, relationships with other levels of government and services for businesses.
She criticized the city's budget approach, arguing that a zero-per-cent property tax increase does not necessarily mean the overall financial burden has been reduced. Bligh pointed to projected user fee increases and the use of money from the city's property endowment fund as examples. She also criticized Sim directly, saying his administration has not delivered the leadership Vancouver needs. Bligh proposed property taxes indexed to inflation and stable, predictable increases over a four-year term.
Bligh Proposes Tax Indexing And Business Concierge
For businesses, she proposed a small-business concierge service that would provide one point of contact to help business owners navigate city hall departments, permitting requirements, costs and timelines. She also said homelessness and street disorder require co-ordinated action between the city, province and health authorities. Bligh proposed a leadership table involving the mayor, premier and Vancouver Coastal Health to address the issues.
Allam Prioritizes Housing and Economic Development Allam, running for the Vancouver Liberals, made housing and economic development central to his campaign. He argued that young people are leaving Vancouver because of the cost and availability of housing, a lack of jobs and concerns about front-line services and public safety. Allam said Vancouver's building code creates an additional layer of complexity and proposed replacing it with the provincial building code.
Allam Wants Housing Focus And Single Permitting Dept
He also argued that too many city departments have a role in approving projects. He said there are now 12 departments in the City of Vancouver that have a veto on a project. He wants approvals and permitting brought into a single department. Allam also proposed bringing back the Vancouver Economic Commission, protecting industrial land and pursuing an innovation corridor connected to UBC.
On public safety, Allam argued the city needs to focus on organized crime and money laundering as well as street-level disorder. He cited concerns about illegal currency exchanges and bitcoin ATMs and said the city should act on reports previously sent to council by Vancouver police.
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CTVToronto:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Vancouver Mayoral Debate Ken Sim Colleen Hardwick Rebecca Bligh Kareem Allam Vancouver Election Public Safety Housing City Hall Operations
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