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Thank you to the 1,000 local residents who attended the Voices For Change Safe Streets Rally on Oct. 16 at CN Centre. The Prince George Chamber of Commerce hosted the event in partnership with Downtown Prince George to articulate the concerns of our member businesses and to offer constructive action items for all levels of government to implement to improve the dangerous crisis on our local streets.
We also thank the elected officials from all levels of government to hear our concerns and listen to feedback from their constituents.
The Chamber’s board of directors will now decide on next steps, working with partners across the community, to effectively continue our advocacy for rapid action, in light of the many recent fires and the damage and destruction of businesses. The Chamber board sent a letter to Prince George mayor and council on Oct. 1, urging them to act on four items:
· Expand and make permanent funding for the actively monitored camera program
· Negotiate with CUPE to draft an addendum to the current bargaining agreement that would allow city bylaw officers to work overnight
· Run a full cost/benefit analysis on hiring private security to augment the work of bylaw and RCMP officers
· Consider temporary state of emergency declarations and overnight curfews
We have supported mayor and council in their advocacy efforts for more assistance from the provincial and federal governments in areas outside of the jurisdiction of local government, such as housing, health care, and bail reform, and will continue to do so. We will also assist them in any way we can to advance any or all of the above four recommendations.
Stay tuned to future Chamber newsletters on our next steps and how we can work together to improve public safety for everyone.
At the rally, we also conducted audience polls, where respondents provided real-time input to guide our elected leaders in their future deliberations and decisions.
Results Below.
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