It’s not often municipal and federal politicians criticize each other publicly but it’s happening with the Vernon mayor and the member of parliament for the area.
At a recent ceremony unveiling a plaque memorializing homeless people who have died in Vernon, Conservative M-P Colin Mayes reportedly said homelessness is not a federal government issue.
The mayor disagrees. “The issue of homelessness is clearly a federal government issue. Those who are expert in the issue clearly lay the blame at the feet of senior levels of government, and unfortunately, local communities are stuck with the issue,” says Rob Sawatzky.
Mayes says his comments were taken out of context. In a email statement from Ottawa he says
“The people that are homeless are not homeless because of government, it is due to addictions (drug and alcohol) and mental illness for the most part. Providing housing for every homeless person is not the solution to the reason they are homeless. Money will not fix the problem.”
Again, the mayor disagrees. “He says spending money on homelessness will not solve the issue of homelessness. That clearly goes against all the evidence. All the studies on homelessness and the cost of dealing with substance abuse and mental illness show it’s easily reduced by simply providing housing.”
Sawatzky calls the M-P’s comments very disturbing, suggesting Mayes considering resigning.
“It’s the first time in my term I’ve come out publicly chastising or criticizing an M-P.”
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