FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2022
VANCOUVER — ABC Vancouver mayoral candidate Ken Sim released the following statement in response to Mayor Kennedy Stewart’s remarks regarding the August 6th stabbing on Granville Street.
“After three years and ten months of silence, Kennedy Stewart finally decides to speak up about crime. Rather than accepting responsibility for his administration’s lack of action on public safety, he chose to release a statement pointing the finger and blaming others for his mistakes.
“Since his first day as Mayor, Kennedy Stewart has created a culture of hostility towards Vancouver Police, whose board he is the chair of. Not once in the four years of his term has the Police service plan been fully funded. The Mayor’s attempts to cut the police budget were so poorly thought out that Minister Mike Farnworth had to intervene to restore funding.
“Over the course of his term, Kennedy Stewart has demonstrated a lack of ability to work with other levels of government. He has failed to hit his own housing targets and has failed secure funding to support mental health and addictions services.
“The statistics speak for themselves, under Kennedy Stewart, serious assaults have gone up by 36%, assaults against peace officers have gone up by 21%, and robberies have gone up by 21%. Crime has been rising in our city for years and Kennedy Stewart’s choice to start commenting just weeks before an election demonstrates a profound lack of leadership.
“Our city needs leadership that is committed to working with other municipalities and the provincial and federal governments to secure additional resources to fight crime and ensure the most vulnerable residents of Vancouver have access to the support they need.
“Kennedy Stewart’s approach has failed. Vancouver needs a new mayor, it’s time for a change.”
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Media Contact:
Taylor Verrall
604-968-3067 | taylor@abcvancouver.ca