Edmonton’s mayor says he and his team are working hard with the community ahead of a June 9 deadline for a report to the province into safety in key parts of the city.
“Edmontonians want their safety to be number one priority and we are making that a number one priority,” Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told Global News Morning on Monday.
In a May 26 letter, Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro asked Sohi to take immediate action to combat “alarming” levels of crime in downtown, nearby Chinatown and on transit, and share it with the province by this Thursday.
The issue came to a head last month, when two men were killed in Chinatown.
Sohi said they’re working on a strategy, which includes more police and bylaw enforcement, but also investing in “the root causes of the disorder and crime.”
“Those steps include more enforcement from police and bylaw officers, as well as investing into the root causes of the disorder and crime we’re seeing in our communities.“
The mayor said it will take time because downtown has been neglected for decades — something he understands is frustrating for the local business community, whose bottom lines are being impacted.
“I hear them and I understand that patience is running thin and I absolutely get it,” Sohi said.
“But these are complicated, complex problems caused by historical trauma, caused by neglect of the Indigenous community.
“Sixty per cent of Edmonton’s houseless population does come from Indigenous background. So they have faced either school trauma, colonialism, deep-rooted racism — we need to tackle those issues.”
Sohi said while there’s a deep commitment from city council to address safety issues, he emphasized it’s a shared responsibility.
“The city can only do so much. That’s why we have been calling for province to step up (to help with) ending houselessness, ending mental health crisis, ending addictions crisis, opioid crisis. It’s a shared responsibility, but mainly responsibility of the provincial government.”
He said the ultimate goal is to attract more people to the downtown core.
“The success of downtown depends on people feeling safe, but also people doing business in downtown. People coming to downtown to enjoy themselves and people living downtown and we’re taking steps on all of those fronts.”
“We are developing, with deep knowledge from our community, what needs to be done — including young people who are really eager to get deep into the issues to ensure that we are working on a long-term, sustainable approach.”
— With files from Emily Mertz, Global News