Vancouver council debates where to spend opioid-crisis tax dollars
VANCOUVER — Councillors in Vancouver are mulling how to spend about $3.5 million in tax money earmarked for addressing the ongoing illicit drug overdose crisis that claimed 215 people in the city last year.
A 0.5 per cent property tax increase was approved in December and council is considering putting more than $400,000 of the funds toward community policing, including the creation of a new community police centre on the edge of the Downtown Eastside.
Mayor Gregor Robertson said that the volunteer-driven police centre would support community safety and enhance quality of life.
But Katrina Pacey, executive director with the legal advocacy group, Pivot Legal Society, said more policing won’t help solve the overdose crisis.