THUNDER BAY — Mayor Ken Boshcoff’s absence loomed over a discussion on community safety Tuesday, offering silence in the face of concerns over the city’s approach to homelessness and other issues.
That left a panel of leaders from Fort William First Nation, local non-profits, and police to set the terms of a conversation touching on poverty, addiction, and social connection hosted by the Thunder Bay Public Library at its Brodie branch.
The event, attended by over 100 people, was billed as a night for critical conversations and the “hardest questions” the community could throw at local leaders. It was livestreamed and remains available to view online.
Moderated by library CEO Richard Togman, the panel featured Chief Michele Solomon of Fort William First Nation, police Chief Darcy Fleury, Elevate Northwest executive director Holly Gauvin, and Canadian Mental Health Association Thunder Bay branch CEO Jennifer Hyslop.
Boshcoff was billed as a panelist leading up to the event, but notified the library a couple of weeks ago he would not attend.
In response to a TBnewswatch inquiry, Boshcoff said he cancelled due to a previous commitment to serve as guest speaker at an Airport Management Council of Ontario meeting also happening Tuesday.
The mayor said no city councillors had come forward to speak in his place, though a handful showed up to listen.
Boshcoff’s absence was questioned by residents and panelists alike.
“If in fact the mayor has chosen to go to another event, that is unfortunate, because this is a very important conversation,” said Solomon.
Gauvin called it representative of a larger absence of city leadership on homelessness and poverty.
“I’m told in the media the mayor is following the issue very, very closely, and yet he and I have never once had a conversation,” she said.
“I saw an awful lot of campaigning from city council members as well as [those] in the mayoral race” on homelessness and addictions, but little follow-through, she suggested.
Tuesday’s conversation unfurled against the backdrop of Thunder Bay’s higher-than-average rates of violent crime, including a record 15 murders in 2022 — the highest homicide rate in the country.
It also came as the city contends with high levels of homelessness and addiction, and what local leaders call badly inadequate services in those areas.
Togman noted “less than 30 per cent of people strongly agree that they feel safe letting their children play outside in their neighbourhood,” based on the city’s satisfaction survey.
Marginalized groups are more likely to be victims of crime or violence, he said, naming anti-Indigenous racism as a major threat to community safety.
One audience member said it’s not homeless people, but hatred targeting them and towards the city’s LGBTQ+ community, that make them feel unsafe, drawing applause from the crowd.
Solomon said Indigenous people continue to face racist policies, singling out “do not readmit orders” at Thunder Bay’s regional hospital as an example.
“Certainly there’s been bright lights on the police for systemic racism, but systemic racism exists in all institutions,” she said.
Gauvin said local organizations need to take a hard look at their own approaches and listen to marginalized voices, saying participation by Indigenous women in Elevate’s programming more than doubled after the agency launched a review on the issue.
Panelists described a social and mental health service system stretched to its limits by underfunding.
Gauvin said the system still hadn’t recovered from cuts made in the 1990s, leaving people vulnerable.
“Lots of this is what we’re living through as a result of the Harris government,” she said. “We’re seeing a generation that came up under devastating, crippling poverty.”
Panelists didn’t let today’s political leaders off the hook, either, with Hyslop calling out a recent city council decision to cut outdoor skating ponds.
“Why would we make a decision that’s going to further impact marginalized families and their children, and only support, say, those who can afford high-level hockey?” she asked.
Gauvin said while housing and addictions may be primarily provincial responsibilities, other municipalities are taking leadership by committing more dollars.
“The city should actually have some responsibility around this,” she said.
She contrasted city council’s commitment of $20,000 to assist with encampment outreach against millions for a new art gallery.
Panelists and audience members pointed to a lack of services like acute withdrawal beds as an example of where the province is falling short.
Fleury called further investment in supports like that crucial to police work.
“A large part of that is working with all different agencies that are engaged in these areas like housing, mental health, addictions,” he said.
“There’s no way we’ll ever enforce ourselves out of some of the things that are going on. We need to work together to find ways to get people out of these unhealthy lifestyles.”
Panelists opposed the call by some advocates to cut police funding to support health and social services, but said police are asked to do too much.
“Police shoulder so much responsibility for mental health and addictions-related calls” but often aren’t the most “appropriate” response, said Hyslop.
She called the IMPACT program, which partners mental health workers with police on crisis response, a step in the right direction.
Gauvin agreed other services need to be supported to take the lead.
“I’d be interested in a model… that is less dependent on police, puts social workers and health care providers in the front seat working with people with health care issues, and it’s pennies on the dollar,” she said.
While levelling some tough criticisms at municipal and provincial leaders, panelists called community safety a community effort, urging citizens to take leadership themselves.
“When you see somebody struggling on the street, how often do you stop and say, ‘Hey, are you okay — do you need anything?’” asked Hyslop. “It would do a lot of healing if all of us tried to do that.”
She added the COVID-19 pandemic had provided a glimpse of what’s possible.
“I saw how the city pulled together during COVID, and we created all these shelters that were supported, and people had a place to go, they were staffed,” she said.
“Then COVID ended, and all of that support ended. Yet those are the people you see on the streets, and there’s even more now.”
One attendee called Tuesday’s discussion a hopeful step.
“For me, the opposite of addictions is community-building and connection,” said resident Ola Calderon. “I thought this event really went towards that.”
“There can be so much hate and negative rhetoric in the community, and sometimes those minimal voices are very loud. Coming together as one community to say we’re not okay with that, we don’t want to see stigmatization or racism, and we want to come together to help support our fellow community members — that was what really came out tonight.”
