Coun. Jeff Leiper’s campaign team outlined an approach focused on “co-ordination, clarity, and making sure the right resources are deployed where they are needed.”
Leiper said he would make ANCHOR funding permanent and expand the service citywide, while tying any police budget increases to equitable increases in alternate crisis response programs “to ensure the right response is available for every call.”
In an interview Thursday, Leiper criticized Sutcliffe’s initiative to improve safety in the ByWard Market, calling the $1-million investment in private security a “failure that has pushed the problem into other neighbourhoods.”
Leiper called Sutcliffe’s plan to dismantle homeless encampments a “reckless reversal” of city policy that would also push the problem into other public spaces.
“The city has a process for dealing with encampments that both recognizes the safety concerns for nearby residents, but also treats the residents of those encampments with some dignity, recognizing that there are issues of addiction and homelessness at play,” he said.
Leiper has also pledged to strengthen bylaw enforcement and to “focus” police resources by shifting non-core responsibilities to alternative response models to allow police to focus on community safety.
“We absolutely need policing as part of the solution, but we need other responses and non-police resources on the street,” Leiper said. “And, ultimately, the key solution is adequately funded social services and and housing.”
