Latest news with #MarianneAlto
Hamilton Spectator
03-07-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Victoria mayor announces $10 million on diverted spending for community safety
VICTORIA - Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said residents will see a difference in community safety within six months after announcing $10.35 million in funding for additional police and bylaw officers, temporary housing and the 'huge task' of cleaning up parts of the city. Alto's announcement comes after the city released a Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan last month on how it will tackle declining social disorder in the city set off by homelessness and addiction. The council will not raise taxes to fund the measures, but will divert money from existing plans in this year's budget, with a focus on Victoria's Pandora Avenue, which is considered the centre of the city's homeless problem, the mayor said. A tent community on Pandora Avenue set up along temporary fencing that separates it from the nearby church was bustling on Wednesday with residents coming and going. Alto said council had to make 'hard choices,' but the 'urgency of responding to the city's social disorder crisis is paramount.' The mayor said her announcement is not in reaction to recent chaos, including several assaults, that Victoria police said they've responded to in the last few weeks, but it is instead an intentional and thoughtful plan they've been working on for months. Victoria city council is expected to ratify the safety and well-being plan Thursday following its approval in principle last month. Alto said about $1.9 million of the announced funding will go toward additional bylaw enforcement, with the city set to hire 12 enforcement officers to focus on Pandora and Princess avenues, and the downtown generally. It will be an ongoing expenditure, she said, along with the hiring of nine more police officers to support enforcement downtown, without giving a timeline for their hiring. 'But I do know that Chief (Del) Manak has suggested that there are ways to do this quickly, and I will rely, of course, on his expertise to figure out how to do that,' she said. The city is budgeting about $1.35 million in on-going costs for the additional officers. The city said in a news release that 'resources are needed to demonstrate that criminals can no longer thrive in Victoria,' and Alto acknowledged that 'in some parts of the community,' criminals are 'taking advantage of vulnerable folks.' The city will also work with experienced service providers to establish new secure, short-term emergency shelter spaces outside the downtown core by investing what Alta said was a 'significant amount of money.' Figures from the city call for a one-time infrastructure investment of up to $1.95 million, up to $300,000 for property rentals and up to $250,000 to boost existing shelter capacities. 'Let me be clear — we do not have any specific destinations in mind at this point,' she said, referring to where those in tents would go. 'But we do know, that if we don't step in, at least on a temporary basis for a couple of years, and create some destinations for these folks, they are still going to languish where they are.' Alto added that the city still has much work to do to determine how these spaces would work. 'Could we have moved faster?' Alto said. 'Yes! Was it important for us to allow there to be time to figure out what to do and how best to do it? Yes! Were we trying to make sure that we were playing ball with the other orders of government? Yes! At a point, we realized that we can't wait any longer.' Also on the list of changes is a 'comprehensive rebuild' of the 800, 900 and 1000 blocks of Pandora Avenue, where a transient homeless community has been long established, and it grew larger during the pandemic. Early design estimates put the rebuild at more than $7 million, but the city said 'preliminary work will make tangible changes with a $3.75 million budget' starting in 2025. Alto also used the occasion to remind senior spheres of government about their responsibilities to help the city with financial resources and legislative changes, including bail reform that allows repeat offenders back into the community. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Time of India
Violent Canada Day chaos forces Victoria to launch 10 million emergency plan
The City of Victoria is investing over $10.35 million into public safety initiatives after a wave of violent incidents across the city's downtown during the Canada Day long weekend. Mayor Marianne Alto announced the funding on Wednesday(July 2) as part of the city's Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan, a key component of its 2023–2026 strategic vision. Alto called the decision 'the single most important' the city council has made. 'We must do this. We must,' she said during a news conference outside Victoria City Hall. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo The funding includes $1.9 million to hire 12 new bylaw officers who will be deployed in high-risk areas such as Pandora Avenue and Princess Street. An additional $1.35 million will allow Victoria Police to recruit nine new officers. The city is also contributing a one-time payment of $220,000 to match provincial funding through the Community Safety and Targeted Enforcement Program (C-STEP). Victoria Police Chief Del Manak welcomed the move, saying his department is currently short 44 officers. Live Events 'We've been under-resourced for years. This is a much-needed investment, and we're already planning aggressive recruitment to fill these gaps,' Manak said. The announcement comes days after a series of unrelated but troubling incidents across the city. A business owner on Yates Street was assaulted by a man unknown to him on Sunday. Later that evening, a separate individual attacked another person with an edged weapon nearby. That victim reportedly ran into a London Drugs store for safety. Earlier that day, a man armed with a weapon threatened the Victoria Fire Department headquarters. The man arrested in the bike shop assault was later released on conditions, police confirmed. The city is also addressing homelessness and mental health by allocating $1.95 million for two short-term shelter facilities, along with $850,000 in operational support and $300,000 for property rentals. Another $624,000 will support housing nonprofits to expand relocation services for unhoused individuals. Victoria resident Sasha Santana said she often feels unsafe, regardless of time of day. 'I think there's a lot of different aspects, mental health, substance use, people not getting support. And people not knowing how to handle it,' she told CBC. Mayor Alto emphasized the plan is not reactionary. 'What you're hearing today is a thoughtful plan that has been percolating for months,' she said. Victoria's strategic reallocation of funds comes without raising taxes. The plan includes public infrastructure upgrades and a transport strategy to relocate unhoused people to services beyond the downtown core.
Globe and Mail
03-07-2025
- Globe and Mail
City of Victoria adds new police officers, announces other measures to clamp down on downtown disorder
The City of Victoria will spend more than $10-million on new measures to improve public safety in its downtown, its mayor announced Wednesday, an infusion of cash aimed at addressing an outcry from residents and businesses about squalor and disorder. Nine new police officers will be either hired or redeployed to focus on the downtown and specifically the area around Pandora Avenue. More bylaw officers will be added to the neighbourhood and money has been allocated to transport vulnerable people away from the area to health and other services around the region. Victoria's spiralling problem with homelessness, addiction and mental-health issues received national attention after The Globe and Mail spent months speaking with Victoria residents, business owners, police officers, local politicians and drug users. The story, published in May, was a chronicle of how even smaller, seemingly idyllic cities have struggled to deal with the widening impact of the drug crisis. Local Councillor Stephen Hammond, a lawyer, has been critical of some city policies that he has said go beyond municipal jurisdiction, and he has questioned whether those policies have contributed to disorder on Pandora Avenue. The new measures are 'a major turnaround from the city,' he said in an interview Wednesday. 'It's a sign of the complete frustration of Victorians.' Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said Wednesday her announcement is not a reaction to recent chaos, including several reported assaults, but it is instead an intentional and thoughtful plan city staff and other community members have been working on for months. Deaths from opioid overdoses fell last year, but worsened in some provinces The city said in a news release that 'resources are needed to demonstrate that criminals can no longer thrive in Victoria,' and Ms. Alto acknowledged that 'in some parts of the community,' criminals are 'taking advantage of vulnerable folks.' Ms. Alto said council had to make 'hard choices,' but the 'urgency of responding to the city's social-disorder crisis is paramount.' The moves are in line with the city's new Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan announced last month. Councillors are expected to ratify the plan Thursday. The city says it will not raise taxes to pay for the new measures. Rather, $4-million will come from a city emergency fund, while other funding is being reallocated from other projects, including upgrading a local athletic park and a downtown square. On the list of changes is a 'comprehensive rebuild' of the 800, 900 and 1000 blocks of Pandora Avenue, where a transient homeless community has been long established, growing larger during the pandemic. Early design estimates put the rebuild at more than $7-million, but the city said 'preliminary work will make tangible changes with a $3.75 million budget' starting in 2025. Canada's anti-money-laundering agency steps up fight against fentanyl trafficking The city has been under increasing pressure to respond to deteriorating public safety. A Leger poll earlier this year showed that 73 per cent of Victorians think downtown has gotten worse in the past year, far higher than any other Canadian city. The top reasons given for the perceived decline of the core include homelessness (91 per cent) and drug addiction (87 per cent). Forty-four per cent of respondents said that they or a close friend or family member had been the victim of a crime or dangerous experience within the past six months. Commercial vacancies in Victoria reached a historical high of 10.7 per cent in February, 2025, up from 6.1 per cent in 2023, according to Colliers, an investment management company. In its news release Wednesday, the city notes it hosts most of the social and health services provided in the region – 89 per cent of shelter beds and 83 per cent of supportive-housing beds. But it says demand for those services is increased by neighbouring municipalities transporting recently released hospital patients to parks and shelters in Victoria. 'While continuing to urge neighbour local governments to create their own social and health services, the city will begin to relocate vulnerable residents to needed services at suitable service delivery locations throughout the region, such as hospitals, clinics, and social services.' The city will also work with experienced service providers to establish new secure, short-term emergency shelter spaces outside the downtown core by investing what Ms. Alto said was a 'significant amount of money.' But Mr. Hammond said the most important new measure is the boost to enforcement. 'We have surpassed the tipping point as a city [in terms of chaos],' he said. 'We can't go on like this any more.' With a report from The Canadian Press
CTV News
02-07-2025
- CTV News
Victoria mayor announces $10M in spending for community safety
Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said residents will see a difference in community safety within six months after announcing $10.35 million in funding for additional police and bylaw officers, temporary housing and the 'huge task' of cleaning up parts of the city. Alto's announcement comes after the city released a Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan last month on how it will tackle declining social disorder in the city set off by homelessness and addiction. The council will not raise taxes to fund the measures, but will divert money from existing plans in this year's budget, with a focus on Victoria's Pandora Avenue, which is considered the centre of the city's homeless problem, the mayor said. A tent community on Pandora Avenue set up along temporary fencing that separates it from the nearby church was bustling on Wednesday with residents coming and going. Alto said council had to make 'hard choices,' but the 'urgency of responding to the city's social disorder crisis is paramount.' The mayor said her announcement is not in reaction to recent chaos, including several assaults, that Victoria police said they've responded to in the last few weeks, but it is instead an intentional and thoughtful plan they've been working on for months. Victoria city council is expected to ratify the safety and well-being plan Thursday following its approval in principle last month. Alto said about $1.9 million of the announced funding will go toward additional bylaw enforcement, with the city set to hire 12 enforcement officers to focus on Pandora and Princess avenues, and the downtown generally. It will be an ongoing expenditure, she said, along with the hiring of nine more police officers to support enforcement downtown, without giving a timeline for their hiring. 'But I do know that Chief (Del) Manak has suggested that there are ways to do this quickly, and I will rely, of course, on his expertise to figure out how to do that,' she said. The city is budgeting about $1.35 million in on-going costs for the additional officers. The city said in a news release that 'resources are needed to demonstrate that criminals can no longer thrive in Victoria,' and Alto acknowledged that 'in some parts of the community,' criminals are 'taking advantage of vulnerable folks.' The city will also work with experienced service providers to establish new secure, short-term emergency shelter spaces outside the downtown core by investing what Alta said was a 'significant amount of money.' Figures from the city call for a one-time infrastructure investment of up to $1.95 million, up to $300,000 for property rentals and up to $250,000 to boost existing shelter capacities. 'Let me be clear — we do not have any specific destinations in mind at this point,' she said, referring to where those in tents would go. 'But we do know, that if we don't step in, at least on a temporary basis for a couple of years, and create some destinations for these folks, they are still going to languish where they are.' Alto added that the city still has much work to do to determine how these spaces would work. 'Could we have moved faster?' Alto said. 'Yes! Was it important for us to allow there to be time to figure out what to do and how best to do it? Yes! Were we trying to make sure that we were playing ball with the other orders of government? Yes! At a point, we realized that we can't wait any longer.' Also on the list of changes is a 'comprehensive rebuild' of the 800, 900 and 1000 blocks of Pandora Avenue, where a transient homeless community has been long established, and it grew larger during the pandemic. Early design estimates put the rebuild at more than $7 million, but the city said 'preliminary work will make tangible changes with a $3.75 million budget' starting in 2025. Alto also used the occasion to remind senior spheres of government about their responsibilities to help the city with financial resources and legislative changes, including bail reform that allows repeat offenders back into the community. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025. Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
Global News
02-07-2025
- Global News
‘There's an urgency': Victoria unveils $10M for first steps of public safety plan
Victoria's mayor has unveiled a $10-million plan to boost public safety in the city's downtown core, which she says will have a visible impact before the end of the year. The money will go primarily to hiring new police and bylaw officers, temporary housing, and public works to ensure 'the cleanliness, hygiene, look, feel, atmosphere of the whole city.' The initiative is meant to enact the first steps of the city's recently completed Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan. 4:07 Calls for safety crackdown in downtown Victoria 'That plan will unfold over a number of years, as you know, but there's no doubt whatsoever that there's an urgency to certain aspects of it,' Mayor Marianne Alto said Wednesday. Story continues below advertisement The city's long-term plan envisions a larger enforcement role for bylaw officers, and Wednesday's announcement includes $1.9 million towards that goal. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We're going to immediately put enough resources into that to hire a dozen new staff, people who will be able to execute their jobs more frequently, more intensively, more regularly throughout the downtown,' Alto said. The plan also includes $1.35 million to hire another nine police officers to focus on the downtown core, including Pandora and Princess avenues, which have been the epicentre of addiction and homelessness in the city. The city is also matching about a quarter million dollars in provincial funding to the C-STEP program aimed at tackling non-violent crime. The plan includes a $390,000 boost to Victoria's public works budget to address the 'huge task' of street cleaning, along with $4.86 million to repair and rehabilitate Pandora and Princess avenues. It also includes more than $3 million for 'temporary' housing solutions to fill the gap while the province works on more permanent facilities. 2:10 Victoria business association calls for safety in downtown core 'We do know that if we don't step in, at least on a temporary basis for a couple of years, and create some destinations for these folks, they're still just going to languish where they are,' Alto said. Story continues below advertisement Alto said the city has committed to not raising property taxes to enact the plan and will instead shift money from existing programs and services. That includes postponing some planned upgrades to Royal Athletic Park and the Centennial Square revitalization project and the use of millions from various city reserve funds. City council is expected to ratify the safety and well-being plan on Thursday, after it was approved in principle last month. 'We must do this, and I think the fact that I've been able to stand before you and tell you not just what we're going to do, but how we're going to pay for it is an indication that it will happen,' Alto said. 'There'll be many challenges along the way, but we will surmount them.'
