Bruce Williams is the CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce

With election day set for Oct. 24 in BC, the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce has a wish list for whoever forms the next provincial government.
As a non-partisan organization, we don’t endorse specific candidates or policies. Rather, our role is to help voters — specifically the business community — understand the positions of major candidates in Greater Victoria ridings. To that end, we’re hosting five Virtual Election Panels ahead of the election. These online events are open to the public and are being archived at victoriachamber.ca.
Questions for candidates reflect issues specific to ridings as well as concerns affecting all businesses. And because Greater Victoria is so interconnected, even issues specific to a single municipality resonate with people in others.
For example, we recently heard from BC Ferries CEO Mark Collins as part of our virtual Business Restart Series. It was a great update on the work being done so ferries can keep communities connected and vital supply chains intact. Mark was also very optimistic about the feasibility of running a commuter ferry between Royal Bay in Colwood and downtown Victoria. Will candidates commit to championing this option if their party forms government?
What about mental health and addiction supports for people experiencing homelessness? The pandemic brought this issue into sharp relief with encampments and the accompanying concerns dominating conversations in many urban neighbourhoods. The Chamber is calling on government to address the root issues behind why vulnerable people are ending up on the street. What are the candidates offering as solutions? How do we address the opioid crisis as well as the pandemic?
Businesses also face a huge challenge simply getting their revenue streams back to pre-pandemic levels. How will government help? And will candidates commit to opposing measures that increase the cost of doing business? What about relief for tourism and hospitality — the sector hit hardest by the pandemic.
At some point, taxpayers are also facing a financial mess that has seen record deficits adding to our debt. How will the next government start the work on digging us out from this hole?
And as we repair and restart our economy, what opportunities do candidates see for our region? How will they commit to delivering the necessary retraining and incentives to build more resilience into our workforce? How can we lessen our impact on the environment and develop innovations that address climate change?
The questions themselves are almost as important as the answers.
In the last few elections, The Chamber has worked with our community partners to host what we call “listening sessions” for candidates. These gave us a unified voice about what our region needed the new government to focus on. They also offered solutions proposed by people who are in the frontlines of these issues.
Everything looks a little different this year, but our mission remains the same. We are finding a way to work together to build good business and great community.

The Chamber 2020 Election Panels
The Chamber’s 2020 Election Panels can be viewed on our Facebook Live channel from noon to 1 p.m. on the following dates:

• Oct 13 - Victoria-Beacon Hill
• Oct 14 - Oak Bay-Gordon Head
• Oct 15 - Saanich South
• Oct 16 - Esquimalt-Metchosin
• Oct 20 - Victoria-Swan Lake

 
Chamber AGM and Mayors Panel

• Nov. 3 – AGM and Mayors Panel featuring Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes, Colwood Mayor Rob Martin and View Royal Mayor David Screech

 
This column originally appeared in the October 2020 edition of the Business Examiner

A commentary by the CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.

Mental health is at the root of the front-facing issues we see manifested on our streets every day.
Drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness and crime related to both are the result of untreated mental health issues.

So, what can we do to ensure everyone feels safe in their homes, in their workplaces and in public spaces? How do we solve homelessness in our region, and the corresponding increase in property crimes, overdose deaths and anxiety? Manage the mental health crisis, that’s how. And do it now.
Chamber members tell me almost daily about experiences with vandalism, theft and aggressive behaviour directed at them or their customers. Our members are resilient, but the level of social discord we are experiencing is not sustainable.

At the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, a group of 13 B.C. mayors including Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps called on whoever forms the next provincial government to act quickly and provide more help for people struggling with mental health or addictions.

I absolutely agree that this is the right approach. We know homelessness is a complex issue, and we might never completely solve the problem, but we need to do more.

By treating the variety of causes that result in many people ending up in homeless communities, we can make life better for everyone. We can help heal many of those whose lives are unhealthy and unsafe. Treating these challenges will mean less taxpayer money needed for the vast 911 resources currently being spent to triage this crisis.

For many years, the Chamber has listed Safe Communities as one our advocacy priorities. That means it has been identified by our members as one of the main concerns for businesses in Greater Victoria. Safe Communities includes five subcategories that form the foundation of what we need to feel safe in our homes, cities and workplaces.

Health care is one of these vital areas, and we continue to support investment and innovations that ensure people who need to see a doctor have options to do so. People asking for urgent help for mental health challenges must have access to treatment immediately.

Better regional services are also critical, so we can efficiently allocate resources where needed — we need a better governance model than we’re getting from 13 divided municipalities under the Capital Regional District.

Policing, which has been under heightened scrutiny across the continent this summer, must have the resources to respond in a timely manner throughout Greater Victoria — from downtown Victoria through to all the communities outside the core.

All of these priorities, however, are needed because we haven’t done enough to keep people from ending up homeless in the first place.

Two years ago, my predecessor wrote about a hopeful solution known as the therapeutic recovery community model. With decades of measurable results, from places such as Italy and Portugal, therapeutic recovery communities have helped people learn how to thrive without falling back on addictive behaviours that undermine their lives.

The process takes years and teaches individuals to take personal responsibility and develop healthier ways to cope with setbacks. It requires a true transformation of the self and can’t be rushed. We all want to see people contributing to society, and less time and expense spent shuttling people between emergencies.

In Greater Victoria, the therapeutic recovery community operated by Our Place Society has been up and running in View Royal for two years.

Known as New Roads, the facility holds plenty of promise. However, Canadian laws mean that people aren’t bound to follow through on the program. Many leave after achieving initial sobriety, but before they have all the tools needed to maintain their new lifestyle for the rest of their lives.
Perhaps it’s time to revisit the idea of secure facilities, where people can lawfully be required to stay connected as long as needed.

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog has called for this, asking that we start the conversation about bringing back secure housing albeit with a modern mindset.

It’s been decades since we shuttered facilities that housed people who were unable to function outside of structured settings. Surely, we know much more now about the challenges of mental health and addictions. We can do things better today, with much more respect and compassion.
This is not a criticism of the great work done by many thousands of outreach workers. If anything, we need to acknowledge that it’s time to do more so these workers aren’t asked to do the impossible.

It’s time to move on from a system that isn’t working. It’s time to invest in a better way of caring for individuals with profound mental health and addiction challenges — people who have been left to the streets because we lack the political will to do what’s needed to truly help.

This column was published in the Times Colonist on Oct. 3, 2020