Public safety has emerged as a prominent business issue in the lead up to the Oct. 19 provincial election—particularly for the ground-level small businesses grappling with crime, vandalism and the consequences of public drug use.
Since January 2014, there have been a staggering 16,337 unregulated drug deaths in the province, according to a BC Coroners Service summary report.
Although the numbers appear to be going down this year, data shows the crisis remains a prevalent issue, particularly for business owners who feel drug use and crime have affected their operations.
A Business Improvement Areas of BC (BIABC) survey of more than 500 small and medium-sized businesses in communities across the province found increased anxiety among owners and a rise in reported vandalism.
Ninety-seven per cent of businesses indicated the cost of doing business has increased over the past five years, with 53 per cent reporting an increase greater than 20 per cent due to factors such as insurance and security.
If conditions don’t change, 39 per cent say they don’t believe they can continue operating successfully after the next two years.
The current number of undecided voters in the election is an opportunity for parties to pitch their economic visions for the province, Greater Vancouver Board of Tradepresident and CEO Bridgitte Anderson said.
“There are issues around public safety, social issues, mental health and addiction,” she said. “We are on a concerning path here in B.C. With an election in front of us, all party leaders have a responsibility to show us what their plan is so we can have a thriving community.”
BC NDP up against their track record
Premier David Eby’s decriminalization pilot project will be remembered for its controversy in the run-up to this election.
Coming into effect on Jan. 31, 2023—just months after he assumed the position of premier—the three-year pilot consisted of decriminalizing the public use of illicit drugs such as opioids, cocaine and meth, as well as possession up to 2.5 grams, in an effort to reduce the stigma and fear of criminal prosecution that prevents people from reaching out for help, according to the province.
Public backlash, as well as concerns from health workers and police, led to the program’s rollback in April of this year that banned drug use in public spaces. Possession in small amounts continues.
BIV requested an interview with Eby for this issue, but he declined.
Business owners have reported that their feeling of safety has decreased since the introduction of the pilot.
Since 2023, 58 per cent of business owners reported increased violence, 56 per cent reported a spike in theft and 53 per cent reported an increase in broken windows, according to the BIABC survey.
Eighty-two per cent of respondents said they have experienced increased fear from street disorder, drug-related activity, vandalism and homelessness.
As a result of property crime, 61 per cent said they have had to invest in safety measures like cameras and alarm systems within the past two years.
Members of the BC Chamber of Commerce have also expressed concerns on these issues, said president and CEO Fiona Famulak.
“It’s important for us to treat them as a business issue, and to urge the government to give us solutions so that we can set up our businesses to succeed.”
The provincial government says it has recently reviewed some of their public safety projects and approaches.
On Sept. 15, Eby announced a new involuntary care plan for those suffering concurrent addiction issues, as some “are not able to ask for help for themselves.”
He added that youth would be covered by the plan, which would include new secure treatment facilities and wings inside prisons.
The program has been proposed more than once the BC NDP since 2020. John Horgan rolled it back in 2022; that same year, Eby reintroduced it, only to withdraw it again.
The province also says it is reviewing a vending machine pilot project that dispenses needles, crack pipes and naloxone kits in Vancouver Island hospitals. It recently suspended a proposed supportive housing project in Richmond.
BC Conservatives commit to rolling back decriminalization
BC Conservative leader John Rustad has been very outspoken on the BC NDP’s approach to public safety.
In an interview with BIV, he said that re-criminalizing drugs, an end to safe supply and a policy of getting people into recovery would be his party’s approach if it were to form government.
“We would get rid of decriminalization. We’re never going to go back to simply arresting somebody for simple possession or use,” he said. “But we have taken away tools from the police to be able to have a civil society.”
He has also described the province’s safe supply initiative as an “utter failure in B.C.”
When talking to BIV, Rustad alluded to a regime of treatment that could include everything from prescribed treatment, to short-term and long-term treatment and recovery, and involuntary care where needed.
Because provinces do not have jurisdiction over the Criminal Code, the mechanism for imposing involuntary care would be the provincial Mental Health Act.
“Where you have these violent, prolific offenders … these people need to be put away,” he said. “They should not be out on our streets, and if the legal system can’t do it, then we’ll look at using the Mental Health Act.”
The BC Conservatives are also proposing to re-open and revitalize mental health facilities, according to their website.
Rustad has been vocal about the decline of areas in downtown Vancouver and the impact this has had on small businesses.
“High taxes, burdensome regulations, and unchecked crime have created an environment where small businesses can no longer thrive,” he said in a party statement, citing Dressew Supply, a long-standing business in Vancouver that was forced to close due to a difficult business climate, vandalism and crime.
Greens support safe supply, more services
The BC Greens, meanwhile, continue to support decriminalization and safe supply, and commit to focusing on the root causes of mental health and addiction issues, according to their website.
In May, Furstenau expressed disapproval of the decriminalization pilot’s rollback, saying the reversal wouldn’t solve deep-rooted issues of inequality.
She also underscored the need to expand the safe-supply program and ensure harm reduction services are available provincewide.
In an interview with BIV, Furstenau said successive governments have allowed the crisis to slowly grow across the province, starting with cuts to programs in the early 2000s that supported vulnerable groups.
The lack of investment in co-op and non-profit housing, and the rise of homelessness and affordability challenges, have a significant impact on mental health, she said.
“People need housing, people need a place to live. People need access to services, access to health care,” she said. “There are currently 20,000 people in B.C. right now in involuntary care in this province. It’s not that we don’t have involuntary care, the problem is we don’t have a voluntary system.”
In July, there were a total of 192 unregulated drug deaths in B.C., equating to 6.2 deaths per day on average and a 15-per-cent decrease from 226 in July 2023. Deaths peaked in April 2023 at an average of eight deaths per day, according to the BC Coroners Service.
From January to July of this year, there have been 1,365 deaths, down nine per cent from the 1,505 deaths registered in the first seven months of 2023. Last year in total, there were a record-breaking 2,572 casualties.
Since the start of 2023, fentanyl has been detected in 84 per cent of deaths where a toxicology test was administered.
—With files from Cindy E. Harnett, Paul Galinski, Nelson Bennett
