Addressing the growing issues of crime, poverty, drugs, and homelessness and holding fewer confidential council meetings were some topics that mayoral candidates discussed during a recent online forum.
The Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce hosted a virtual discussion on Oct. 21. In attendance were Coun. Heather Eby, Coun. Kim Robinson, Coun. Crystal Froese, Brett McAuley, Clive Tolley, Sam Morrison, Wayne Watermanuk, Mike Simpkins and Michael Haygarth.
The mayoral byelection is Wednesday, Nov. 3.
Crime and poverty
One question the chamber asked was how candidates planned to address the growing problem of crime, poverty, drugs and homelessness in Moose Jaw.
Many candidates provided similar answers, including working more with police, health care and mental health professionals, and non-profit organizations such as Riverside Mission, the John Howard Society and Salvation Army.
Some candidates also suggested supporting homeless women by turning a vacant school into a shelter and creating a support plan to help drug users when the latter need further rehabilitation.
“I think the other candidates are pretty accurate, in that it’s crystal meth and it’s an epidemic and it’s leading to people to have no money, so therefore they’re in poverty,” said Tolley. “They commit crimes to try to get some money, even though crystal meth is not expensive on the street.”
While these issues are important and should be supported, city council is not responsible for addressing mental health, poverty or crime — that is the responsibility of social agencies, said Eby. While council should have a voice at the table with those social agencies, municipal tax dollars are geared toward issues such as infrastructure and police.
“It shouldn’t be up to five police officers or homeless shelters … it is all of our responsibility to reach out and help these people,” said Haygarth.
The mayor’s chair
A second question the chamber asked was whether candidates would be prepared to treat the mayor’s position as a full-time job for the next three years.
All the candidates agreed that they would give their undivided attention to the job and commit to attending events in the evenings and on weekends. Many also pointed to their experience on council or other boards as examples of their stamina for the role.
Watermanuk was the only candidate to say that he would take a pay cut if elected mayor.
Confidential meetings
The chamber’s final question asked candidates how they would increase transparency and better communicate with residents on issues, especially when many people believe council holds too many meetings in-camera — or behind closed doors.
Robinson, Froese and Eby all pointed out that council must follow privacy policies and legislation when addressing certain topics such as legal, personnel or contracts with businesses. They all noted that they want to have as much openness as possible and denied that council holds “secret meetings.”
Eby indicated that the city’s communications manager could better educate the public about what constitutes a confidential meeting and how it is different from secret get-togethers.
Other non-councillor candidates acknowledged that some issues must be discussed in private and they would take direction from the city clerk about the topics.
“We need to ensure we are doing everything we can to bring transparency to the office,” said Simpkins. “Sometimes there are sensitive things, but somethings I think we are hiding a little more than we should.”
The mayoral byelection is Wednesday, Nov. 3.
