980 CFPL hosted a London Mayoral debate. Devon Peacock moderated the nearly 90 minute debate and asked mayoral candidates Kirsten Krose, a businesswoman, Susan Stevenson, a city councilor for ward four, and Josh Morgan, the current mayor of London, many questions. The candidates were asked what they would do to deal with issues related to London’s Homelessness, Housing, Construction, Public Safety, among others.
One of the key talking points that was repeatedly mentioned in this debate was the use of open drug use in London. “We are currently under the harm reduction model which supports and uh tries to make illegal drug use safer in our city. It’s making the problems worse,” said Stevenson. “The province gave us an extra $8.5 million in 2023 and 5 million of that 8 and a half went to increased shelter costs with no additional beds. Money that we’re getting is not getting to the people who need it.
Morgan, on the other hand, mentioned how London police’s open air drug policy is approaching it’s second phase, which he expects to reduce the amount of open drug use in the city. “We know that there is a gap in the amount of service available to refer to and that creates a barrier,” he said. “But ultimately, all of this is meant to say we’ve got to make people safer. We’ve got to continue to not only drive the stats, but make sure that it’s a feeling for people out on the streets and in our core, in the downtown.”
Krose did not mention much of Londoner’s facing open-drug use, instead, she described how she would enact policies that would broadly help those in need, such as the homeless. “This is a very complex issue and I don’t think that it’s a one-size fits-all. This is something that is going to require many different solutions,” she said. “I would like to implement a 10-year stabilization strategy. I built this strategy from consulting as many as I could. The front line organizations, so everything from Unity Project, London Cares, St.Leonard’s, Ark Aid, Paul’s Place, you name it. I want to make sure that we have a broad spectrum of services that meet everywhere, meet everyone from temporary transition all the way to long-term.”
