Western Standard - October 20, 2022


Cory celebrates BC's electoral move to the right


Episode Stats

Length

4 minutes

Words per Minute

199.9521

Word Count

835

Sentence Count

53


Summary

Voters in Vancouver fired their mayor for the first time in 42 years and replaced him with a new mayor, Greg Selinger, who has a reputation for being soft on crime and soft on drugs. Mayor Selinger has been accused of being "soft on crime" and "anti-drugs" in Vancouver and other cities across the province.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Municipal elections in BC, they don't usually grab much of my attention, but this year's elections were an exception.
00:00:05.780 The cities, both large and small, turfed their mayors and many council members throughout the province.
00:00:11.200 Vancouver voters were incensed enough to rise up and fire an incumbent mayor for the first time in 42 years.
00:00:17.440 They don't get up and fire their politicians often.
00:00:20.180 And it's not just the mass turnover of politicians I'm celebrating, though that's always great to see.
00:00:25.140 I mean, we'd be all well served if the voters fired their politicians more often.
00:00:28.660 But what I'm thrilled with today is the reason the BC voters fired their municipal masters.
00:00:33.420 They're sick and tired of soft on crime, progressive politicians.
00:00:38.040 This story still has dark underpinnings, you know, I'm trying to be positive, but there's a dark base.
00:00:42.300 The crime and general disorder of BC cities has gone completely out of control.
00:00:45.700 I mean, Vancouver's tent cities, they're the stuff of dystopian nightmares,
00:00:49.060 while citizens in cities as small as Penticton have formed vigilante groups to try and recover stolen property.
00:00:53.600 Progressive policies of enablement and denial when it comes to dealing with addiction and mental health issues have led to a catastrophe.
00:01:01.220 Homelessness has skyrocketed.
00:01:02.960 Overdose deaths have become almost commonplace.
00:01:05.820 The crime associated with the explosive growth and addiction is spilled into every community in the province.
00:01:11.140 So citizens had tired out of being told they were insensitive when they claimed about increasing crime.
00:01:16.500 I mean, people were shamed, you were called poor bashers if you dared to say you might feel unsafe on the streets.
00:01:22.640 Defunding and shaming of police forces, I mean, that's been the order of the day in progressive-led cities.
00:01:26.880 Police forces are underfunded, understaffed, and demoralized.
00:01:30.320 It's a little wonder they act out.
00:01:32.020 They're trying to keep people safe in a catch-and-release justice system while constantly being crapped on by municipal leaders.
00:01:38.280 It's a wonder they even get out of their cars these days.
00:01:40.480 People know what civic politicians won't admit.
00:01:44.440 Untreated addicts and people with mental health issues are out of control and they're often dangerous.
00:01:49.320 We saw the worst sort of example of this just the other day as a female RCMP officer was stabbed to death in a Burnaby tent encampment.
00:01:56.800 Even armed and trained police officers aren't safe among these enclaves of addicts.
00:02:01.060 They were being asked to refer to these addicts as vulnerable people.
00:02:04.520 Well, those vulnerable people just killed a 31-year-old police officer.
00:02:07.500 No matter who is elected to office, there's not going to be an easy or quick solution to the addiction epidemic and the crime that comes with it.
00:02:13.580 The issue is multifaceted and every level of government needs to tackle it.
00:02:17.300 We need to quit releasing violent offenders.
00:02:19.300 We need to quit pretending that addicts are rendered harmless if we could just give them pure drugs to consume at a supervised site.
00:02:25.900 We need to shut down the foolish notion that high housing costs are at the root of the issue.
00:02:30.260 If homes were 100,000 each in Vancouver, how many of the junkies in the tents in the East Hastings would suddenly say,
00:02:34.880 Oh, okay, I'll go out and buy one.
00:02:36.300 These addicts aren't fit for housing anywhere, and they likely won't be until they're treated.
00:02:40.980 Likewise, people with serious mental health issues can't remain untreated on the streets.
00:02:44.700 We need more secured, long-term mental health treatment facilities,
00:02:48.200 and we need to accept that some people are going to be better off, possibly for life, in an institution rather than on the streets.
00:02:54.220 If even Vancouver voters have figured this out,
00:02:56.380 I'm confident that cities outside of Lotus Land are ready to send their local politicians the same message.
00:03:01.020 In Calgary, addicts have taken over the transit system, while Mayor Jody Gondek is fixated on an insane $87 billion climate change program.
00:03:10.160 Stabbings and overdoses are commonplace downtown, while satellite communities outside of the city are experiencing growth from both businesses and citizens as they flee the city.
00:03:17.320 The politicians and entrenched bureaucrats will never figure it out, but voters can, and they have.
00:03:22.900 We have quite a while before we get a chance to fire the progressive failures in our local governments.
00:03:27.300 They're going to continue to do us more damage in the meantime.
00:03:30.080 In light of the B.C. election results, though, I have some hope that things are going to get better.
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