Affordable housing, public safety and public transit are the top three issues for Calgarians this provincial election, according to a city survey.
The survey, which was conducted from April 27 until May 7, asked Calgarians to identify and write comments about their top three issues using the city’s YYC Matters Community Voices tool online.
“It is important for us to keep listening to the people of Calgary whom we serve,” said Chris Arthurs, general manager of people, innovation and collaboration services for the city.
“The Community Voices tool has provided a method for the people of our city to tell us, in real-time and in their own words, what matters to them. It helps us understand their interests and helps us propel their voices.”
According to a city report published on Monday morning, most participants said safe and affordable housing should be the top priority this election.
Access to safe and affordable housing is foundational to the well-being of Calgarians, the city said, and those who participated in the survey said more needs to be done to support those facing homelessness or struggling to afford housing in the city.
“I am a lifelong Calgarian. I earn nearly 100k a year and I cannot afford to buy a house in Calgary,” one survey participant wrote.
“Rent has also increased astronomically. Affordable housing impacts all the other municipal priorities – poverty, safety, mental health, (downtown) revitalization, etc.
“We need rent controls and affordable housing options.”
Many responses said that mental health support and resources should be offered as part of affordable housing programs.
“There is no reason for people to be without a safe place to live. Mental-health supports should be tied into this,” another comment read.
Participants also identified public safety and crime as top election issues this year. Most survey participants expressed concerns about feeling unsafe in public areas, the city said in its report.
Calls for more mental health and addiction support were frequently included in these responses as well.
“My top priority is stemming community crime. As a property taxpayer living in an inner-city community, crime is rampant, and I do not feel that this issue is being taken seriously by the city or council,” a participant wrote.
“We need more patrols and police presence to deter open drug consumption, violence, and crime.”
Access to safe and reliable transit should also be a top election priority, participants said.
There has been a significant increase in crimes on public transit across Canada and there is an immediate need for safer buses and trains in Calgary, the city said.
A lot of respondents also urged for improved service for Calgary’s public transit system.
“C-train connections across Calgary, to Banff and to the airport will make this city vibrant, sustainable and tourism friendly. The city is massive and it’s difficult to move from one place to another,” a participant said.
“Access to C-train across the city (will also reduce our) carbon footprint.”
Several participants also listed downtown revitalization as a top municipal priority this election. A safe and vibrant downtown would make the city more inviting, some comments said.
“I’ve recently returned to working downtown and am disgusted about how dirty the core is and would like to see things done to make downtown more inviting,” a participant’s response read.
More provincial funding needed: survey participants
Participants were also asked to identify how the next Alberta government can help the city.
Funding for affordable housing, mental health and addiction resources, health care, public safety, and education were mentioned the most frequently by survey participants, the city said.
Most participants felt the province can best support Calgary by providing more housing options and increasing funding for mental health and addiction resources, the city said in its report.
“We talk about safety, but the underlying problem is that we do not have the social structures to handle the current situation. We do not need more enforcement, but more specialized areas to help with these issues,” a comment said.
Improving public safety, increasing health-care resources in Calgary and improving funding for schools were also cited as ways for the province to support the city.
“The next provincial government should take much more serious consideration in the distribution of health care services – specifically in the downtown core of Calgary,” one participant wrote.
Party leaders respond
At a news conference on Monday morning, United Conservative leader Danielle Smith told reporters the party will introduce a law to allow mandatory drug treatment if re-elected on May 29.
The proposed Compassionate Intervention Act would allow a family member, doctor, psychologist or police officer to petition a judge to issue a treatment order.
Smith also said the province will take action against criminal activity and drug dealers but didn’t provide specific details on how her party plans to do so if elected.
But Smith did not answer questions about how she will specifically address Calgarian’s concerns.
“There is a continuum, from the guys committing the crime to the people who are dealing the drugs all the way to the poor souls suffering from addiction,” Smith told reporters.
“Those who are committing harm to others, those who cannot to take care of themselves and causing harm to themselves, and those who are engaged in serious criminal activity … We have to take a public safety approach to that.”
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley said she agrees public safety and social disorder are critical problems in Calgary and she is concerned that more and more residents aren’t feeling safe in their communities.
Notley told reporters the province needs to take the issue seriously and promised to restore funding to law enforcement, which the UCP cut in 2019.
Notley said the Alberta NDP will also put more resources into various community services (therapists, community navigators, social workers, etc.) and affordable housing, especially for those that need specified services.
“This doesn’t happen in 30 days or 90 days … There’s a lot of time, effort, kindness, caring and security that needs to be behind that,” she told reporters at a news conference on Monday afternoon.
“That’s why we have a number of different proposals to address those efforts.”
–With files from The Canadian Press.