MAYOR ON DRUGS, JOBS

In the "first months of 2008," Mayor Sam Sullivan promises to deliver
"new treatment and prevention funding" to help address chronic drug
addiction in the city.

So says the mayor in a recent holiday dispatch to the Courier.

Sullivan doesn't elaborate on how much money will be forthcoming or
exactly what it will be spent on. But he says it will benefit women
in the survival sex trade.

The mayor told the Courier in December that federal Health Minister
Tony Clement set aside $10 million for Vancouver to tackle the drug problem.

Maybe that's what he's talking about?

Sullivan is also waiting to hear from Health Canada about whether the
federal government agency will give his CAST program the go-ahead.
CAST, or Chronic Addiction Substitution Treatment, calls for medical
doctors to prescribe legal drugs to addicts. It's a form of treatment
the mayor hopes will reduce an addict's need to commit crime to pay
for a drug habit.

Other pronouncements from the mayor for 2008 include giving jobs to
inner city residents in the construction of the Olympic Village in
Southeast False Creek and supporting new measures to ensure lanes and
sidewalks in the Downtown Eastside are cleaned more frequently.

The Olympics, as always, continues to weigh on the mayor's mind.

"In a short time, the lights at B.C. Place will go dim. The Olympic
Torch will be lit. And Vancouver will shine for the world to see. It
will be a time for us to show that the best city in the world can
deliver compassionate solutions to social challenges."

More of this kind of talk is expected later this month when Sullivan
delivers his state of the city address.

It will undoubtedly be criticized by opposition councillors, who have
their sights set on toppling Sullivan and his NPA majority in the
civic election in November.

SQUEAKY CLEAN STREETS

The first dispatch of the new year from the NPA camp comes from Coun.
Kim Capri, the mayor's point person on crime and safety.

The issue?

Clean streets in the Downtown Eastside.

According to the dispatch, the NPA majority on council supports an
expanded street cleaning project in the Downtown Eastside. To support
the project, it recommends spending up to $200,000.

Although short on specifics, the plan will focus on "lane cleaning,
education and enforcement" that covers four to six blocks bordering
Columbia and East Hastings.

Expanding the street cleaning project would involve the city's
engineering department, Vancouver Police Department, United We Can
and civil city commissioner Geoff Plant.

"While many of the solutions to our social challenges fall under the
jurisdiction of senior levels of government, street cleaning is a
municipal responsibility," said Capri, noting about 15 per cent of
the city's street cleaning budget is spent in the Downtown Eastside,
an area that encompasses less than two per cent of the city.

The dispatch doesn't say when the plan will be discussed or when the
public can get a look at it. Council agendas are expected to soon be
posted on the city's website.