Stop blaming and bring solutions: city councillor on crime in P.A.

“It’s not OK that people in our small city are walking around with machetes. It’s not OK for people in our shopping areas to intimidate our residents. It’s not OK for them to call those people shopping or going for groceries racist when they don’t hand over a loonie or a cigarette,” said Edwards.

The public has started to complain about aggressive panhandling, a problem that is especially being noticed in the Cornerstone shopping area.

In January of this year, the city amended its obstructive solicitation bylaw to try to address some of the issues.

The change allows police to fine panhandlers $2,000 for every incident rather than one overall fine.

Councillors, including Tony Head, Terra Lennox-Zepp and Charlene Miller, were opposed and said that fining people who don’t have money is pointless. Edwards said he thinks the increased level of violence is due to the use of crystal meth in the city.

The opposite of opioids, methamphetamines give users energy and, in the case of crystal meth, can lead to unpredictable, sometimes violent behaviour.

According to a 2020 report compiled by the Johnson Shoyama School of Public Policy, a joint initiative of the Universities of Regina and Saskatchewan, crystal meth use has reached into every tiny community in every corner of the province.

In Montreal Lake, a one-hour drive north of Prince Albert, an estimated 60 per cent of residents are addicted to crystal meth, stated the report written by Dale Eisler, senior policy fellow for the school.

The migration of people with addictions and resulting violent behaviour to larger centres such as Prince Albert, is also a concern and Edwards would like to see leaders from outlying communities help find a solution.

“We’re a small city where violence is getting out of hand. It’s been out of hand. Its not OK for communities to ban their own residents and allow that resident to come here to Prince Albert to wreak the same havoc,” he said.

He said some people are dropped off by family members who don’t want them in their homes, which just changes the location of the person creating a problem.

“Many families are dropping their own family members off in our city and saying here Prince Albert, you deal with our problem,” he said. “What solution is that?”

Edwards said he was told as a new councillor that its not OK to raise issues, lay blame and talk about negative things without coming forward with solutions.

It is past time for all groups that have some influence to start bringing their own solutions, he said.

“That’s what we’re hearing from other groups right now. Blame, blame, blame but nothing about how we’re going to deal with the issue,” said Edwards.

Lennox-Zepp said that there is an identifiable cause of crime and it is poverty. She said would be interested in part of proposed effort of having all levels of government, including Indigenous governments and the FSIN meet to see what can be done.

“I think that there are some big solutions that a community can look into and a lot of issues. I would say stem from poverty. We are a city that is dealing with severe poverty, children in poverty in our community. It is no joke, it is very real,” she said.

Edwards said that the issue is beyond city council’s ability to manage alone. He plans to propose a motion at a council meeting in the near future to create a working group to see what can be done.

“It’s time we gathered our local MLA’s, members from the federal liberal party, the chiefs from our First Nations from around Prince Albert and North, FSIN and other organizations,” he said. “I want people to feel safe. It’s a big issue but it’s an issue that can’t be ignored.”

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by Susan McNeil

Stop blaming and bring solutions: city councillor on crime in P.A.

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