Left to right, Lois Laing, David Gillan and Ryan Bater (incumbent) presented their views at the mayoral candidates forum Tuesday evening. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Mayoral Hopefuls

Chamber’s mayoral candidates forum puts hopefuls on the hot seat

Oct 28, 2020 | 10:15 AM

Reducing crime and making the community safer were among the main topics discussed in the mayoral candidates forum Tuesday.

The hopefuls answered questions on a variety of issues, including economic development and downtown construction during the event.

Hosted by the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce at the Western Development Museum, the forum was closed to the public due to COVID-19 restrictions. Instead it was filmed by Access Communications. It was also live-streamed via the chamber and the Downtown North Battleford Business Improvement District Facebook pages.

Candidates Ryan Bater (incumbent), David Gillan and Lois Laing participated in the event, while social distancing. Of the remaining candidates, James Sieben did not attend due to illness, while the chamber said Misa Nikolic indicated he did not wish to participate as he was not happy with the event format.

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The central challenging question candidates grappled with was tackling the city’s crime problem.

“The biggest issue facing this community is still crime, and crime image. It affects everything we do,” Gillan said.

He said policing resources need to be efficient and coordinated.

Gillan also proposed accessing the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit through the province, an investigation unit available for the region.

The candidate, who was the city’s finance director three years ago, also recommended looking at long-term generational crime. In response he proposed allocating funding in the budget to benefit youth activities, so more young people can have access to affordable programming.

Gillan questioned the city’s continuous investment in the local airport that he said serves only a few, saying it does not make any sense.

“This money should be reallocated to this [crime] problem,” he said.

Incumbent Bater said the current council developed an aggressive strategy to combat crime. Among the initiatives used are the RCMP Gang Task Force – a complement of city-allocated members dedicated to dealing with gang-related violence.

“They have been doing a superb job of that,” he said.

He said the aim is to expand the Task Force to a five-year program.

Bater said the city is following several strategies to help reduce crime. The city is also working with its regional partners to “examine the root cause of high-risk lifestyles and criminal behaviour.” Other programs in place to reduce and prevent crime are the Eyes that Care security camera registry to assist the RCMP; Citizens on Patrol; as well as the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design initiative.

“Lighting up parks like Central Park in the downtown. Those aren’t just Christmas lights to look pretty,” Bater said, adding the lights help make the park safer.

On tackling crime, Laing suggested sometimes policing isn’t always the best approach in dealing with issues in some cases, and may even make a situation worse. She also recommended the Community Safety Officers receive more focused training, so they are better prepared if their work takes them into situations that may involve gangs and drugs.

She mentioned during the forum what many young people involved in high risk behaviour need is counselling, mental health support and perhaps addictions treatment because they are likely dealing with complex social problems that are not simply fixed by offering them sporting activities to occupy their time. Laing doesn’t believe that is the answer.

A question on making the downtown safer and more commercially vibrant was also addressed to the candidates.

Laing said she has heard from people complaining about individuals loitering around the benches downtown, and “accosting” people for money.

“The only thing I have ever heard from the citizens I’ve spoken with is: ‘Take the benches right out.’ If that is what the people want, that is what I am here to do,” the candidate said.

Laing said there is also a need to bring more business downtown.

“That is what I want to do,” she said.

Gillan said he is aware the city invested a lot of money on downtown improvements, but parking is still an issue. He recommended parking at the theatre be available to the public free during the day.

“We have to solve the parking problem before we’ll get anybody to come downtown,” he said of attracting more business.

Concerning downtown safety, he said business owners should be required to pay for their own security guards to look after their own facilities, while adding the sidewalk is the city’s responsibility.

City growth

As far as bringing more business to the city, Bater said North Battleford has seen tremendous growth in the current council’s term.

“There has been more economic development in the last four years than there was in the decade leading up to it, and this is all during a recession in Western Canada and a global pandemic,” he said. Bater mentioned the downtown area alone saw over 20 new businesses.

He said the city completed extensive work over the past four years replacing aging underground infrastructure and failing pipes in the downtown area; work that was necessary.

“While we were doing it we beautified the streetscapes and our sidewalks consistent with the Downtown Master Plan, which was developed in consultation with business owners downtown, and extensive open houses and public consultation,” Bater said.

He said council did not hesitate to begin the revitalization of downtown North Battleford.

“The result speaks for itself,” Bater said. “Four years ago there was no [Capital Annex] cinema. No Giant Tiger. There are new restaurants that are there [now] and boutiques. This is all incredibly important. So when we talk about attracting more businesses downtown, we have been doing it, and my priority will be to continue to do it.”

Also among the questions the candidates responded to, was why the city embarked on the scheduled 100 Street construction project this summer when many businesses were just coming out of the extreme slowdown due to the pandemic.

Gillan acknowledged it would be the engineering decision to replace the pipes, but said “I think there possibly could have been other places that money could have been spent that was less disruptive to business.”

In giving his response, Bater said the city appreciates the patience of all the businesses as it completes the necessary Underground Pipeline and Asphalt Rehabilitation (UPAR) Program construction work.

He said the underground pipes located downtown were over 80 years old, rotting and had to be replaced.

“We have a responsibility to do that… The work that was completed was awarded to local firms through a bid process,” Bater said. “It put local people to work during a time of economic slowdown. Also, the bids came in 30 per cent under budget. So we were saving taxpayers dollars. When you are saving that much taxpayer dollars, and you’re employing local people, it’s an obvious thing to do, on top of actually replacing necessary infrastructure.”

Access Communications is broadcasting the forum on Access community TV to air on the following dates: Nov. 2 at 8:30 p.m., Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 4 at 8:30 p.m., Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW