Solutions to qathet’s surging crime situation: Speaking with Rachel Blaney

An end to surging crime: Part 3

BY PIETA WOOLLEY

Poverty & inequality

the root causes of crime: MP

Island - Powell River MP Rachel Blaney is the NDP party whip, and a former non-profit ex ecutive director.

What are your thoughts on Bill C-75? Was it the right policy to address the over-representation of marginalized groups in jail?

Rachel • Bill C-75 was the federal government’s attempt at criminal code reform. It was passed in June 2019 and no doubt more reforms will be required in the future. This is a first step forward in addressing inequalities in the justice system and the over representation of marginalized groups in jail as it provides a way for judges to consider the unique circumstances of Indigenous peoples and offer alternates such as the Restorative Justice process.

It also respects the tenets of UNDRIP – the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act which received Royal Assent in June 2021. UNDRIP is about the respect and recognition of the human rights of Indigenous peoples and provides a framework for the Government of Canada and Indigenous peoples to work together to imple ment the Declaration based on lasting reconciliation, heal ing and cooperative relations.

More recently, Bill C-5 was passed in the Senate. This bill amends the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to allow for a greater use of conditional sentences and provides alternatives, such as treatment, for simple drug possession offences.

In fact, it requires peace officers and prosecutors to consider referring people to treatment programs or oth er support services rather than charging and prosecuting them through the court system. With all this talk of bills and courts and laws, we can’t forget we are talking about and dealing with people who are our community members, our neighbours, sisters and brothers, our friends marginalized people who for various reasons find themselves struggling. They need our support and help.

Is the crime situation here in qathet acceptable to you? If so, how would you explain that? And, if not, what Federal changes would make a difference?

Rachel • The crime situation laid out in the first two parts of your series describes the results of a failed system. Homelessness, drug abuse and poverty, with all their resid ual problems, are untenable and unacceptable.

Unhoused people are people who have no where safe to go and statistics show us that people living with disabilities and seniors are the fastest growing population for home lessness, which is a big concern.

People want to lead meaningful lives and when they are whittled down and eventually disenfranchised they rebel. We all want better protection from crime, but I hope we re member to attack the situation and find solutions that will make life better for all, not just attack the most vulnerable of our community.

Recently a woman called our Community Office to talk about the rising cost of food. She’s a part time teacher with a special needs child and due to lack of ap propriate day care, the small family is living on a fixed income. Ten months ago, her twoweek budget of $275 for groceries bought between 18-20 items like milk, eggs, bread, fruit and fresh vegetables. Today, the same amount of money can purchase only 12-15 items and the other items are simply not af fordable, so they go without.

To me, this is wrong. To take food away from a child in order to make more profit is wrong.

Stories like these resulted in the NDP forc ing the government to ask the Competition Bureau of Can ada to launch an investigation into grocery chain profits. The increase of the price of food has hit a 41-year high, but people’s wages aren’t going up at the same rate.

People feel like they’re doing everything right, but they just can’t get ahead. In response, Loblaws announced they would be freezing the prices of No Name products, proving that rich CEOs have the power to reduce food cost for fam ilies. That’s what happens when New Democrats push the government to do better.

Do you have any personal experience with crime, courts and corrections? What is it?

Rachel • In my Powell River Community Office, we hear ev ery week from constituents concerned about the toxic drug supply, shrinking dollars versus rising costs and the lack of affordable housing. They bring their problems to our office and we help find solutions.

There are so many problems in life to fix and so many peo ple need time to heal from previous traumas. I try to focus on what I can do to help and to prevent further problems.

With the loss of non- market housing, increased poverty, and no meaningful strategy for rural communities to sup port local solutions, too many are falling behind.

Anything else you’d want to add on courts and corrections - or the Federal government’s role in reducing this crime wave?

Rachel • We are living in difficult, transitional times with COVID still creating uncertainty. Housing, coupled with increased poverty, is still a big problem. The courts must defer to the tenets of UNDRIP now and this will revitalize Indigenous laws and improve access to justice for Indigenous people.

We have to ensure we are treating sub stance abuse as a health and social issue not a criminal act. And we have to address the root causes of crime which are poverty and income inequality.

Crime is not driven by poverty alone, but by inequality. Although they often occur si multaneously, analysis shows that countries with high overall levels of poverty do not have higher levels of crime. It is places with high levels of income inequality that typically have the highest levels of crime.

Another driver of crime is the breakdown in social norms and values which results in and is worsened by factors such as unemployment, incomplete education, a breakdown in family structures, limited opportunities and exclusion from the formal economy.

Weak public services, particularly in rural areas, exacer bates the problem. We have so much work to do. It is im portant to work with the most vulnerable in our country: the children, seniors, veterans and those who are facing unemployment, drug addiction, homelessness and mental health problems.

An end to surging crime: Part 3

This article is the third in qathet Living magazine’s three-part series on crime in this region.

Part 1 explored the crimes themselves: what is happening, and what is the impact on this community?

Part 2 dived in to courts and corrections: how changes to our justice system are playing out locally.

Part 3 asks what those who are perpetrating the crimes need to be able to stop harming this community and themselves, and re-join society.

Note: In the January 2023 issue, we will run a special follow-up story on new approaches to toxic drug and addictions policy, as so much has emerged over the past month.

We hope these stories help inform the current conversation about crime, justice, addiction, and solutions. And, we hope to hear from you.

Please send letters (ideally before the 20th of the month) to isabelle@prliving.ca