A one-day event addressing provincewide public safety concerns was held in Vancouver on Thursday.
Organized by Save Our Streets (SOS), a coalition of businesses and community groups, the Communities Driving Change forum features panels consisting of experts on policy, housing and addiction.
Many incidents of random street violence in Vancouver have been tied to mental health issues, Vancouver police chief Adam Palmer told the forum.
“If somebody is that severely addicted or mentally ill, this is where I agree with the idea of secure mandatory care,” Palmer said. “There’s compassionate care, many other names, but there are some people that are not safe for us, or for themselves to be in community and that’s not compassionate society, that’s not a safe society.”
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One of the topics raised at the event on Thursday was the 2012 closure of Riverview Hospital.
Former B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said that in retrospect, it was the wrong decision.
“There …