The Canadian Taxpayer Federation (CTF) is calling on Vancouver to create a permanent municipal auditor general to monitor wasteful spending by the city.
On Wednesday, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) released a preliminary report which found Vancouver benefits from $5 billion in social safety net funding while contributing few positive results when it comes to reducing addiction and homelessness.
According to CTF’s British Columbia director Caron Binda, Vancouver residents deserve accountability from their elected officials when it comes to out-of-control spending.
“The reports we are hearing from media and the police are deeply concerning. We are seeing millions of dollars flowing into the downtown east side (DTES), and all we have to show for it is more overdose deaths, more homelessness and more human suffering. The situation and abject misery on the streets of the DTES is a tragedy,” Binda told True North in an email statement.
“With all the money that government is pouring into the DTES, we deserve accountability. The people living on the streets, and Vancouver taxpayers all deserve to know exactly where these millions of dollars are going, and why they are not seeing any results.”
Binda said that an auditor general would help improve transparency when it comes to programs targeting homelessness.
“The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the provincial government to create a permanent municipal auditor general. A permanent municipal auditor general’s office would be a good first step towards improving transparency and reigning in out-of-control spending by municipal governments,” said Binda.
The VPD report revealed that as much as $14 million a day was being funnelled into social services, yet crime and overdose deaths have dramatically gone up over the years.
Out of that funding, $1 million every day was being contributed to programs directly involved in the DTES.
“It’s clear that the system needs to be fixed,” said VPD chief Adam Palmer.
“Despite more talk than ever, and more money than ever, life is now bleaker than ever for a growing number of people in places like the Downtown Eastside.”
True North contributor Sue-Ann Levy recently wrote a column on her recent visit to the DTES.
