Police services board chair says Ottawa mayor 'out of touch'
The chair of Ottawa’s police services board says Mayor Jim Watson is ‘out of touch’ with the work being done to fight violent crime in the city.
Coun. Diane Deans says the mayor’s meeting this week, at which he established a ‘leadership table’ to address violent crime and suggested more funding for the city’s police service, was a ‘simplistic’ response to a violent Labour Day weekend in the city that saw two shootings and a stabbing.
“For the mayor to respond to an incident and say we need to form a new committee and we need to throw more money at police is just too simplistic a response to a very complex set of issues,” Deans told CTV News Ottawa on Friday. “I would like to be involved in helping him get up to date on what those issues are.”
Deans, who chairs of Crime Prevention Ottawa along with her police services board role, said she wasn’t invited to the meeting.
“I know that the mayor is more comfortable dealing with members of council that tend to agree with him on all of the issues,” Deans said.
The mayor’s office said in a statement that he meets “frequently and almost daily” with city leaders and officials to address city-wide concerns.
“After the recent rash of violent incidents, the Mayor’s Office has no record of Councillor Deans contacting the Mayor’s Office to seek or propose a meeting,” the statement said. “Mayor Watson is always amenable to dialogue with members of Council who engage with him on their priority concerns or issues.”
In an open letter to the mayor, Deans said she wanted to ‘introduce’ the mayor to the efforts of people working every day toward ‘evidence based, holistic, upstream solutions to community safety and crime prevention.’
“I am shocked and surprised that as the Mayor you are so out of touch with the work that is being done on these fronts and the importance of funding these initiatives,” she wrote.
Deans said groups that work to address the root causes of violent crimes, such as community health agencies and groups that provide mental health services, need adequate, predictable funding.
“Those groups have had to beg the mayor to get funding,” she told CTV News. “If the mayor really wants to be part of the solution, he needs to be the person that loosens the purse strings to get the agencies the money they need to help us create a safer community.
“The strategy can’t just be let’s give police more money or let’s form a new committee.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with Maple Leafs, dead at 79
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
Fort Nelson, B.C., wildfire doubles in size as 3,000-plus ordered to evacuate
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
Eurovision Song Contest final kicks off after protests, backstage chaos and a contestant's expulsion
The final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off Saturday in the Swedish city of Malmo after days of protests and offstage drama that have tipped the feelgood musical celebration into a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza.
IN PICTURES Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Grand Bend, Collingwood and Guelph, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Haitians demand the resignation and arrest of the country's police chief after a new gang attack
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'I am angry': Alberta farmers will continue fight over world class motorsport resort
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.