The Martlet

Municipal election campaigns in Victoria are wrapping up as people prepare to go to the polls on Nov. 19.

In an exhausting, month-long effort, candidates running for Victoria City Council have been hammered with questions on everything from transit to sustainability to their favourite colours.

But like elections in the past, one issue that will undoubtedly play a major role in voter sympathy is homelessness.

Last week, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness (GVCEC) sent out a survey to Victoria candidates in order to gauge their opinions on the city’s homeless crisis. Of the 20 council hopefuls, 17 responded.

The Martlet has compiled their views — along with their qualifications, platforms and prior experiences with the impoverished — and these are found below in a comprehensive look at the City Council candidate responses to the issue of homelessness in Victoria.

MARIANNE ALTO (INCUMBENT)

A small-businessperson who has lived in Victoria for 22 years, Alto has served as senior assistant to the B.C. Health Minister and as a senior analyst in the office of the premier. She secured the support of City Council in 2004 for a harm-reduction policy framework that addresses the interrelationship of prevention, treatment, enforcement and housing.

“As the councillor who proposed [the harm-reduction policy], I am committed to doing all I can to ensure its integrated components are implemented in a cohesive, complete manner . . . Bringing this initiative to life will take an inclusive collaboration among community members, health service providers, police, the City and many others. I strongly believe we can create a locally appropriate continuum of health services for vulnerable people that will work for Victoria.”

CHRIS COLEMAN (INCUMBENT)

Graduating from the University of Victoria with a masters of Business Administration, Coleman has served as local co-chair of the National Homelessness Initiative, a multi-million-dollar government program that seeks to “help ensure community access to programs, services and support for alleviating homelessness in communities in all provinces and territories.” He is currently volunteering with the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness.

“I will continue to work with the Finance Committee of the Coalition to End Homelessness to raise awareness and dollars . . . We must advocate at the federal level for a National Housing Strategy; this should be done through the advocacy work of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.”

SHELLIE GUDGEON

Gudgeon is a local restaurant owner and a recipient of the 2006 “City of Victoria Honorary Citizen” award and 2003 “CFAX Community Business Leader of the Year” award. She has been active in the lower Johnson Street area with the retail community, promoting increased safety and visibility. “Affordable housing is not just for the very poor. Workers in the retail and service industry need affordable accommodation close to work. Developers need to be encouraged to promote a component of low-cost housing within the framework of their projects utilizing both incentives and project levies to accomplish this end.”

LISA HELPS

Helps’s PhD dissertation at the University of Toronto, where she is currently working on her degree, is titled “Housing, Homelessness and the Governance of Poverty, San Francisco, and Victoria.” She has given numerous presentations on the issue of homelessness both locally and abroad and is currently the executive director of Community Micro Lending, an organization that helps finance small businesses in Victoria neighbourhoods.

“I’ve worked as a facilitator with AIDS Vancouver Island over the past year and a half. Through my work with AVI, I’ve gained a clear picture of the benefits of the four pillars of harm reduction and of a client-centred approach to health and well-being.”

ROSE HENRY

Henry has taken a pragmatic approach to the homeless issue in Victoria for the last 25 years, working as a front-line volunteer for the Victoria Street Community Association, Together Against Poverty Association and Vancouver Human Rights Coalition. She has done work with two community publications, Red Zone and Street Newz which is distributed by donation around Victoria.

“I would support any actions the city will create or endorse that will honour the lives of those people living with addictions. If this means opening up a 24-hour needle exchange then I say yes. If this means opening detox centres 24/7 then I say yes. If this means setting up treatment services closer to where people live then I say yes because I understand that not all addicts live on the streets or downtown.”

LYNN HUNTER (INCUMBENT)

A member of Parliament for Saanich–Gulf Islands from 1988 to 1993, Hunter is seeking both re-election to City Council and election to the CRD board where she will advocate for an increased protection of the Regional Growth Strategy and implementation of the Harm Reduction Policy Framework.

“It will take collaboration from VIHA, the Victoria Police, service providers and the City to successfully implement the Harm Reduction Policy Framework. I will work with all of those partners to make this happen.”

BEN ISITT

Isitt has lived in Victoria for the past 20 years where he’s taught as a UVic history professor and written two books on B.C. politics and Canadian history. He contributes to the UVic Housing and Homelessness Research Work Group, which examines the homelessness issue through statistical data and personal stories. He has also worked as a housing support worker with the Victoria Cool Aid Society.

“I will move a resolution at Victoria City Council by January 2012 supporting in principle the opening of a safe-consumption site at the earliest possible date . . . My platform includes the introduction of a Municipal Living Wage Guideline [which will] put more money in the pockets of those who need it, helping to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.”

ROBIN KIMPTON

Kimpton is a businessman with a BA and MA in Economics from UVic. He has recently been involved in discussions with the city over the conversion of several buildings on the 700 block of Queens avenue to social housing, though he is critical of costs and potentially negative implications on the city’s tourism sector.

“Immediate action needs to be taken to more fully recognize the front-line workers and volunteers at the many social agencies that operate in Victoria. A well-deserved morale boost could go a long way in the promotion and support of these much needed services . . . While making an extra effort in recognizing these groups and individuals for a job well done we will in turn encourage others to participate in what is clearly a growing need”

PHILLIPE LUCAS (INCUMBENT)

Lucas has an extensive background in social justice issues surrounding harm reduction, homelessness, environmental sustainability and food security, obtaining his MA in Policies and Practice from UVic. He is currently a research affiliate with the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C. where he also sits on the organization’s advisory board.

“I’ve hosted a number of harm reduction and drug policy panels and discussions both at City Hall and in the community, and over the next three years I’ll continue to create opportunities to educate the public and to advocate for public-health approaches to substance use based on science, reason and compassion. That includes both fixed and distributed harm reduction and needle exchange facilities, and the establishment of supervised consumption sites in Victoria.”

JOHN LUTON (INCUMBENT)

Luton is a long-time Victoria resident who obtained a BA in Political Science from UVic. During his term on Council he worked to move forward initiatives for affordable housing, promoting the purchase of multi-unit residential buildings to provide low-cost housing options. He also worked with Council to bring about a new Streetlink shelter and provide Cool-Aid with a permanent facility.

“Beyond safe consumption services, we need also to ensure access to needle exchange and that safe crack consumption equipment is available to help prevent disease transmission and other health impacts associated with drug use and addictions.”

PAMELA MADOFF (INCUMBENT)

Madoff has served six terms on city council, working extensively on heritage conservation in Victoria. She supports the Harm Reduction Framework policy and will continue to lobby for a national housing strategy if elected. She currently sits on the city’s Planning and Land Use Standing Committee.

“The ability to put food on the table is closely linked with the need to have a roof over your head. The City must continue to build on its past successes in creating partnerships which result in the creation of affordable housing.”

LINDA MCGREW

McGrew is a UVic graduate who is currently the director of the Cetus Research and Conservation Society, an NGO committed to the conservation of the marine environment. She has volunteer experience with both UVic and Camosun sports teams and has worked with vulnerable children in Indonesia and China.

“Developing better relationships with provincial and federal governments, who have funds set aside to help families in the province and nation in need, would also help Victoria to build a better future for those who use food banks and need temporary shelter or aid.”

SEAN MURRAY

Murray has studied biology at McGill and UVic and worked a plethora of jobs from tree planter to night janitor at McDonald’s. If elected, he promises to donate money out of his own pocket to Our Place. His platform includes a property tax break to developers who build affordable rental apartments.

“I am in favour of a safe injection site, I would set up a committee and also explain to the public that this makes things safer for everyone not just the junkies.”

CHARLAYNE THORNTON-JOE (INCUMBENT)

Thornton-Joe has worked in the hospitality industry for 25 years and has a BA in Pacific and Asian Studies. She is a member of the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and worked in 2004 with the Victoria Police to instigate the Extreme Weather Protocol, which led to the creation of an emergency shelter for the homeless during emergency conditions.

“I have . . . spoken about the need for mobile and fixed needle sites, not just one site. I am supportive of a distributed model for the entire region, not just in the City of Victoria, especially considering that mobile needle vans do distribute to areas outside the four core municipalities.”

JOHN TURNER

Turner is a street counsellor and community support worker who has assisted more than 40 individuals in quitting their addictions and finding transitional housing. He is the founder and executive director of Gap Ministries and Communities Foundations, a Christian organization that provides outreach services to the impoverished.

“Harm reduction has to be developed in such a way that it is not only personal harm reduction, but harm reduction within the entire community, which includes developing personal and community prosperity and healing.”

JON VALENTINE

Valentine has served as the director-at-large of the Camosun College Students’ Society and as a contributor to Nexus Newspaper. He promises to donate a large portion of his councilperson salary to local community efforts upon election.

“It’s important to have harm reduction as an option for those who may not be able to manage or remove their addictions through conventional channels . . . A fully-supported harm reduction plan should have in its plan the means to manage drug waste. I wouldn’t vote for such a resolution any other way.”

GEOFF YOUNG (INCUMBENT)

Young obtained a PhD in Economics from Harvard and has lectured at both UVic and the University of Alberta. He sits on numerous CRD committees and is currently chair of its board of directors. He is openly critical of certain social services that he says enable the bad behaviour of people they are trying to help, believing that “social services should benefit the downtown, not harm it.”

“When we see people in distress it is a natural reaction to try and help. But enough resources will never be made available as long as we paper over problems by providing unconditional day-to-day maintenance and services to everyone who seeks them, whether they are the mentally ill and the drug addicted, or just people making bad choices because the services are there.”