October 8, 2024 - Minutes
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Community Safety Committee
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Date: |
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 |
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Place: |
Anderson Room |
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Present: |
Councillor Alexa Loo, Chair |
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Also Present: |
Councillor Chak Au Councillor Michael Wolfe (entered the meeting at 4:01) |
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Call to Order: |
The Chair called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. |
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MINUTES |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on September 10, 2024, be adopted. |
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CARRIED |
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DELEGATION |
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1. |
John Cameron, presented his report on street drugs (copy on file, City Clerk’s Office) and spoke to his personal perspective on the on-going drug problem in the lower mainland and expressed his support for the four pillars strategy (education, treatment, harm reduction, and enforcement) in addressing substance usage. |
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Discussion ensued with respect to (i) the four pillars approach, (ii) the importance of drug education in schools, and (iii) secure care for people with acute drug addiction. |
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As a result of the discussion the following motion was introduced: |
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It was moved and seconded |
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The report titled “Street Drugs,” from the delegation John Cameron, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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Staff were directed to circulate the report from Mr. Cameron to Council, staff and the Council/School Board Liaison Committee. |
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COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION |
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2. |
Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report – August 2024 (File Ref. No. 12-8375-02) (REDMS No. 7804523) |
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In response to queries from Committee, staff advised that (i) staff are actively examining businesses that offer money exchange services to establish that they are registered in the FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada) database, (ii) the Provincial government will be rolling out their own money service business registry that will be accessible to the public, (iii) federal, provincial and municipal licencing and registration processes carry their own enforcement measures, and the City works closely with other levels of government to share information and to pursue parallel investigations, (iv) the City requires that businesses comply with federal and provincial legislation, (v) commercial truck parking on Westminster Highway is being actively investigated and continues to be monitored on a daily basis and (vi) staff will report back to Committee with more information about the herbicide bylaw. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the staff report titled “Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report – August 2024”, dated September 12, 2024, from the Director, Community Bylaws & Licencing, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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3. |
Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – August 2024 (File Ref. No. 09-5140-01) (REDMS No. 7795291) |
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Councillor Michael Wolfe entered the meeting (4:01 p.m.) |
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In response to queries from Committee, Chief Wishlove advised that (i) there is a wide-scale City emergency plan that is managed and updated regularly, (ii) the numerous smaller activities that are reported on monthly are a part of the update to ensure that the emergency plan is valid, accurate, practiced and current, (iii) in an emergency situation, the first 72 hours is critical for emergency services to assess viable assets for sheltering, (iv), the Emergency Services department will present on the Emergency Preparedness Plan for Richmond, at the December Community Safety Committee meeting, and (vi) the City has a contract with the Canadian Red Cross to provide services to support those people that are evacuated temporally from their homes in certain emergency situations, however, primary support is provided by the City through Emergency Programs, RFR and the Richmond RCMP. |
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Chief Wishlove provided a reminder that October 17, 2024 is the annual BC ShakeOut drill. RFR and Emergency Programs have planned a week long public outreach campaign with a number of drills being held throughout the city. A memorandum with more information on this initiative is forthcoming. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the staff report titled “Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – August 2024”, dated September 9, 2024, from the Fire Chief, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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4. |
FIRE CHIEF BRIEFING |
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Items for discussion: None. |
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5. |
RCMP Monthly Activity Report – August 2024 (File Ref. No. 09-5000-01) (REDMS No. 7781081) |
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In response to queries from Committee, Chief Supt. Chauhan advised that |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the report titled “RCMP Monthly Activity Report – August 2024”, dated September 13, 2024, from the Officer in Charge, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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6. |
RCMP/OIC BRIEFING |
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(i) |
The Autism Decal Project |
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Chief Supt. Chauhan briefed Committee on the launch of the Autism Decal Project, an initiative through the BC Association of the Chiefs of Police in partnership with the BC Law Enforcement Diversity network and Pacific Autism Family Network. The Initiative involved distribution of decals that can be placed in homes or on vehicles to indicate the presence of autistic or neurodiverse individuals allowing police and first responders to be aware of who they will be interacting with so that their actions can be conducted in a sensitive and delicate manner. |
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MANAGER’S REPORT |
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None. |
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ADJOURNMENT |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the meeting adjourn (4:21 p.m.). |
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CARRIED |
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Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. |
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Councillor Alexa Loo |
Raman Grewal |