Candidates talk downtown crime, housing at Whitehorse election forum

Four of the five candidates for mayor of Whitehorse offered their visions Thursday for the city's next four years, but mostly struggled to outline any clear plans. 

Dan Bushnell, Kirk Cameron, Stephen Kwok and Dino Rudniski took part in a forum hosted by the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce. Jack Bogaard was unable to attend following a death in his family.

Candidates were given pre-selected questions to answer and did not debate one another directly.

Bushnell, who owns a tattoo shop downtown, spoke about property crime and said his business has been broken into more than a dozen times. He said it's important to draw a distinction between "street-involved" people and hardened criminals. 

"We have to make sure we fight desperation in our city," Bushnell said. 

But he added that repeat offenders need to be held accountable.

"The RCMP don't feel supported, so they're not arresting people," he said.

One way to reduce the burden on police, Bushnell said, was to have city bylaw officers take over traffic enforcement, which is currently done by the RCMP.

Kwok agreed that any solution to downtown crime must include help for the marginalized. He said the city must work with police and other levels of government to tackle the problem.

Bushnell and Rudniski both fielded questions about how to speed up housing construction and both called for streamlining the permitting process. City officials have said staff shortages and changes to the national building code are responsible for the most recent backlog.

In his opening remarks, Cameron said the current permitting regime emphasizes "safety over economy."

"We have to find a balance between the two," he said.

Cameron also warned the city will need at least half a billion dollars in the coming years for infrastructure and climate resilience, citing landslide-prone Robert Service Way, and needed upgrades to the city's water and transportation infrastructure.

"This is not small-change stuff," he said. "We have to worry about that."

Plenty of options

Fourteen of the 18 candidates running for six city council seats took part in their own forum after the mayoral candidates were finished.

Resident Neil Hartling was there as a spectator. He said the sheer number of candidates is a good sign. 

"In a day and age where we seem to have a hard time getting people to contribute to community life, and in a volunteer capacity... to see this number come out is great," he said. "Gonna be a daunting decision-making process for the voters."

Others in the audience saw a wide gap in quality between the candidates.

"Obviously some are a little more polished than others, at least from the speaking standpoint and from the experience standpoint," said Don McCready. 

Business owner Betty Burns was encouraged after watching the forum.

"I think there's a lot of work to do right now for our city, for the health and well-being all the way around," she said. "But I think there's a lot of really great ideas and a lot of passion right now to see a lot of change."

Also Thursday, the city announced dates and locations for advance polls. They'll be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 10 at the Canada Games Centre and the Sternwheeler Hotel.

Election day is Oct. 17.