Will we spend less on police? That's the question we'll be exploring April 8 at the next listening session for our People's Agenda project.
Join us at noon for another discussion to uncover what is important to you as we head towards the municipal election on Oct. 18. Please register here to attend.
The topic reflects the synthesis of a number of responses to our People's Agenda question related to policing. Some of those we have heard from want to know whether candidates will be willing to defund or decrease funding for the police. Most who prioritized this item want to redirect some or all of the police budget to social services and community support; a few said it was important to maintain police funding, and we have heard from people who feel that not enough is being done to reduce crime, and wonder how it is possible to address that without bolstering the police budget.
Host Chris Chang-Yen Phillips will discuss the topic with Rob Houle, a member of the Community Safety & Well-Being Task Force that recently made 14 recommendations to city council regarding anti-racist actions that should be taken to address community safety and well-being in the city. Then we'll head into discussion groups where participants can share their thoughts on the matter.
If you can't make it, we will recap it on Friday, as we did last week on the question Will we be able to move around the city easily?
We'll be holding listening sessions every Thursday throughout April:
- April 8: Will we spend less on police?
- April 15: Will we house everyone?
- April 22: Will we act on climate change?
- April 29: Will we build our city intelligently?