Ken Sim proposes public-safety plebiscite questions for October election

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC party are proposing two non-binding public-safety questions for the October municipal election. The first would ask whether voters support strengthening city laws that prohibit public use of hard drugs, though Sim did not provide specific wording for potential bylaw changes.

The second question would ask whether the city should formally request that the province convert the former St. Paul’s Hospital site, or a similar location, into a secure medical facility with acute voluntary care and more than 100 involuntary-care beds. The proposal was amended after an initial 16-page version was printed to include the option of another similar site.

Sim called the former hospital location the most turnkey option, while acknowledging it would be temporary. The Burrard Street property was sold to a developer to help finance the new St. Paul’s Hospital near Main Street and Terminal Avenue.

He said the province, which is responsible for health care, should act on treatment and mental-health capacity. The province has said staffing shortages are a key constraint on expanding those services, and B.C.’s chief justice has struck down public-consumption laws, warning they could cause irreparable harm.

OneCity Vancouver mayoral candidate William Aaroff and Vancouver Liberals candidate Kareem Allam criticized the proposed questions, saying the matters are largely provincial and that a plebiscite would not resolve them. Sim defended the initiative as an effort to pursue major policy and cultural changes.