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Former Vancouver mayor Philip Owen dies at age 88

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Former Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen dead
Three-term Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen has passed away at the age of 88. Owen ran the city during a time of unprecedented growth, but is best remembered for the "Four Pillars" drug strategy. Catherine Urquhart reports. – Oct 1, 2021

Philip Owen, who served as Vancouver’s mayor from 1993 to 2002, has died at the age of 88.

He passed away peacefully on Thursday from complications related to Parkinson’s disease, according to a family statement.

“As a family, we have always been proud of our father,” son Christian Owen said.

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Addiction stereotyping and why it can be harmful

“He loved this city, every part of it, and you could see this in how he found the right balance, even when it came to the toughest issues. He was a gentleman and a devoted Vancouverite, right to the end.”

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Owen was first elected to the Vancouver Park Board in 1978. In 1986, he was elected to city council where he served for seven years before becoming mayor.

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As mayor, Owen championed the Four Pillars Drug Strategy, which focused on prevention, harm reduction, treatment and enforcement.

Click to play video: 'Former Vancouver mayor Philip Owen recognized for compassion'
Former Vancouver mayor Philip Owen recognized for compassion

“He didn’t do the easy thing. He did what was right,” Dean Wilson of the BC Centre on Substance Use told Global News earlier this year.

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Owen also helped establish Insite, North America’s first supervised injection site.

He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2008.

— with files from The Canadian Press

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