Mayor Kennedy Stewart’s COVID-19 Update for April 22, 2020
The following is the full text of Mayor Kennedy Stewart’s April 22, 2020 update to the city on COVID-19.
Check against delivery.
Good afternoon and thank you to everyone for being here.
We are gathered upon the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations and I thank these nations for their generosity towards all who live on these lands.
Before I begin, I want to once again send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to COVID-19.
Since my last update a week ago, three more people in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, and 12 more people province-wide, have died. My heart goes out to their friends, family, and caregivers.
I also want to extend my deepest condolences to the people of Nova Scotia who have gone through such a terrible loss.
I have many family members who live there and know they are all shocked and horrified by this unspeakable act of violence.
I’d also like to take a moment to thank all of our frontline workers and first responders.
Many of you have seen photos of the new murals being unveiled around town, as a tribute to their hard work and bravery.
Thank you for all you do.
Finally, I want to again thank members of Council for their hard work and concern for our City. We have shifted to virtual council meetings and are continuing the business of governing the City through these challenging times.
I appreciate the willingness of Council members to adapt swiftly to the changing circumstances, in a spirit of working together.
As I said last week, I have four key priority areas for our COVID-19 response in Vancouver:
- City-wide compliance with health orders to flatten the curve
- Support for vulnerable communities, especially in the Downtown Eastside
- Our City government’s internal financial health
- Vancouver’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery
Today, I’ll touch on each of these areas and turn an eye to the future in terms and how we can prepare for the weeks and months ahead as we — hopefully — stabilize the pandemic’s impact.
1. City wide compliance with health orders
As always, I continue to be proud of how Vancouver residents are following the public health orders of Dr. Bonnie Henry and staying home, as much as possible.
Data show we are indeed flattening the curve, but we cannot stop working together.
As the outbreak at the East Van chicken processing plant shows, we are still in the thick of things and cannot lapse into complacency.
Unless we continue to Stay Put to Save Lives we risk losing ground to Covid 19.
Over the last few weeks, our streets have become busier with street parking filled all day.
When we made the decision to stop enforcement of parking metres a few weeks ago we did it to support first responders and help small businesses.
We didn’t do this to encourage people to drive more.
As such, the City has gradually reintroduced enforcement in key areas around beaches and parks.
And unless people modify their behaviour and keep pay parking spots clear for first responders, we will resume enforcement in more parts of the City.
Remember, the better we follow the rules, the faster we can put this crisis behind us.
2. Support for vulnerable communities
Secondly, I want to share more good news when it comes to our efforts to protect our most vulnerable neighbours in the Downtown Eastside.
A few weeks ago Premier John Horgan called me and let me know help was coming for the Downtown Eastside.
I know the Premier has a strong commitment to our City, but in this call he singled out the need for immediate and more robust aid to help Downtown Eastside residents.
Subsequently, the Premier announced a cross-ministry team led by Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Shane Simpson.
Minister Simpson is now responsible for our province’s response to the two public health emergencies in the Downtown Eastside.
On Monday, I had a very productive and positive conversation with Minister Simpson where we discussed the situation in the Downtown Eastside and how we can move forward.
I understand we will hear from the Minister this week about how the provincial government plans to ramp up their efforts in the DTES in the short and long terms.
During our call, I reaffirmed Vancouver’s priorities including:
- support for Downtown Eastside agencies who deliver housing and services;
- food delivery;
- cleaning in Single Room Occupancy residences;
- increasing access to safe shelter and;
- the need to make safe supply provisions permanent.
I am hopeful these key areas will be addressed in Minister Simpson’s plan.
When it comes to supporting vulnerable neighbours, we need to work together, but our success depends on a vision and plan that is shared by the City and the Province.
The City of Vancouver has already taken unprecedented action on our own to fight Covid 19 in the DTES such as:
- expanding access to sanitation;
- cleaning SROs;
- delivering thousands of meals to residents, and;
- supplementing incomes of Downtown Eastside residents who lost work due to closures.
I want to thank the entire council for these actions which, when coupled with our support to fight the overdose epidemic, are the most any council has done to address the intense and growing need of our most vulnerable residents.
But, it’s only when we work together, and only when the Province brings it’s significant resources to bear, that things really start to move for the better.
This partnership created the 58 units of new modular housing we opened just last month on Copley Street in East Vancouver when the City put up land for housing and the Province provided capital and operating funds to build modular housing with wraparound services.
This partnership also temporarily converted empty community centres into emergency response centres to help slow the spread of COVID-19 with the City providing space and BC Housing providing funds.
When the federal government joins we can do extraordinary things such as our trilateral effort which made safe supply a reality and is right now helping those suffering with addiction to physically isolate and stay safe.
That’s the power of partnerships.
Because we just can’t do it alone.
Some things just aren’t in a city’s jurisdiction or within our financial means to provide.
We can try our best — but even in good times, it’s very hard for local governments to devote the resources needed to build and maintain quality housing, programming, health, and outreach services.
And these are far from the good times.
So any time the Province plays a leadership role in these areas, I want to acknowledge that commitment and say thank you.
Thank you Premier Horgan, for your commitment to our city.
And I — like many of the residents and workers in the Downtown Eastside — look forward to hearing the details of Minister Simpson’s plans in the coming days.
3. Our internal financial health
Now, as I just said, COVID-19 has had serious impacts on the services and programs we provide to residents and businesses — and a serious impact on our budget.
This is of top concern for me and Council, and we have some difficult decisions ahead of us with very real short-term and long-term consequences.
Last week, I walked everyone through our very serious financial situation.
Since that time, it has become clear we are far from alone.
Cities across Canada are in financial distress and are also asking for direct financial help to cover their operating expenses.
From Toronto to Calgary, from Montreal to Halifax, mayors of the countries biggest cities share my concerns.
And here in our region, the layoffs and cutbacks show the local financial crunch is emerging as a critical national crisis to which our region is not immune.
When I said earlier that these are far from good times, I meant it.
To date, the City of Vancouver has responded by laying off nearly one in five civic workers.
These are real people who provide the services that make our city the great place it is and it breaks my heart to have to do this.
Library workers, youth workers, childcare workers, community centre workers, parks and rec workers, and many many more.
Think about that for a moment.
Right now, we are in a situation where residents are looking to us for support more than ever before.
We need firefighters and police officers to keep them and their businesses safe.
We need building and permitting staff to make sure applications for developments move quickly, so that we can build the infrastructure we need to stimulate our economy and put people back to work.
We need support from our homelessness services teams to make sure our most vulnerable know where to turn for shelter, hygiene, and food.
The basics.
But right now, we have fewer resources than ever before.
That’s not a recipe for a safe and healthy City.
Or the foundations of a strong economic recovery.
To date neither federal or provincial governments have offered direct financial help.
And while Victoria is making it possible for the first time in the history of our province for municipalities to borrow money to pay for operations, this would saddle Vancouver with a massive deficit.
A deficit we could not repay without deep service reductions or large property tax increases in future years.
This is a poisoned chalice which I categorically reject.
This is not a viable solution to the serious financial challenges cities are facing, and other mayors from across the country, like Toronto’s John Tory and Edmonton’s Don Iveson are saying the same.
4. Vancouver’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery
Despite these challenges, Vancouver remains a city of promise and opportunity.
That’s why we also need to begin taking action to get people back to work as soon as possible.
In the coming weeks, I will outline my plan to bring together leaders and workers from across Vancouver’s economy to plot a path forward.
National political leaders have already asked for my input, and I am more than willing to join the Premier’s economic recovery team if asked.
Whether it’s film, television, visual effects and our world-class tech sectors, development and financial services, or our hospitality and cultural sectors.
We need to work hard now, and all work together, to help these sectors recover and grow.
I have already begun assembling virtual roundtables from key sectors of our economy to help us come back stronger than ever.
But in order to do that, we will need everyone’s help — starting with senior levels of government.
For example: I was heartened to hear that the Premier is thinking about how we can find a way to safely restart our film and television industry.
We are ready to work with the Province and the industry to think creatively and make it happen — while keeping everyone safe.
Because if we can, Vancouver can be among the first places in the world that re-opens for business in this multi-billion-dollar sector.
That is a huge opportunity for us.
Then there is the advantage we can offer tech corporations and their employees from around the globe.
If we can be one of the first major cities that can keep flattening the curve, while at the same time restoring the essential experience of living in our beautiful and attractive city, we can offer a safe haven for even more of these highly-paid tech workers.
Plus, Vancouver may be even more appealing, if the US makes the mistake of denying entry to tech workers from outside their borders.
With these creative and tech industries back in action, coupled with Ottawa’s ongoing wage supports for small business, Vancouver’s service and retail industries may also recover sooner, rather than later.
Right now, we have streets that are far less busy than usual, so perhaps there’s an opportunity with warmer months coming to expand outdoor seating — and find ways for customers to eat-in, while still staying safe.
Or, we can explore ways to facilitate more curbside shopping and pickup on our sidewalks and side-streets to boost brick-and-mortar retailers.
Again, it’s these kinds of creative pitches I want to hear.
But it’s not just about getting businesses back up and running.
It’s about making sure we as a City learn from the COVID-19 pandemic — and find ways to make ourselves more resilient.
That means building neighborhoods with more affordable rental housing and commercial space so people spend less of their income on rents and leases.
That means ensuring families have access to quality childcare so they can work more flexible schedules.
That means being ready to capitalize on the billions of dollars that will be coming from Ottawa and Victoria to stimulate the economy.
And put our construction workers and engineers back to work building the mass transit, green energy infrastructure and social housing projects our City will need in the future.
This is going to take all of us working together to find new and creative ways to do business.
It means our staff continuing to modernize our policies and practices to help residents and businesses solve problems.
It means our Council finding creative ways to keep rental construction and other building on track so we don’t lose out on capital investment.
And it means securing a new deal for cities, where senior governments recognize our unique leadership role and provide the resources we need to help get Canada back on track.
This is precisely the time when great cities show the way forward.
And if there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that Vancouver is ready to think big and start building Canada’s post-COVID future.
Thank you, and I’ll now take your questions.
