Edmonton City Council on Tuesday voted to immediately allocate $ 300,000 in single funding to help address the needs of the Chinatown.
“Our Chinatown needs immediate support,” said Councilwoman Jennifer Rice. “As a city, we have to do something.”
In an unusual move, Edmonton councilors voted to allow members of the public to speak during the council, rather than in a committee or public hearing.
Citizens filled the boardrooms on Tuesday to talk about two particular issues on the agenda: community safety and welfare strategy and the Edmonton Police Service’s funding formula policy.
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Seven people asked to talk about the element of community security and 18 people asked to talk about the element of the police funding formula.
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On Wednesday, two men were fatally assaulted in Edmonton’s Chinatown. The first seven councilors on Tuesday spoke of the need for immediate help from the city to improve security in the area.
1:55 Police Investigate 2 Suspicious Deaths in Downtown Edmonton Police Investigate 2 Suspicious Deaths in Downtown Edmonton
Among the speakers on Tuesday morning was the daughter of one of the men killed on May 18.
“Our family will never be the same again,” Christina Trang said. “It simply came to our notice then.
“We don’t have a father to call.”
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He said his father worked at Albert’s Auto Body for decades and planned to retire this year to spend more time with his wife.
“Maybe if things had been different in Chinatown, my dad would still be with us today.”
Trang said some companies in the area pay out of pocket for private security.
His confidence in the city has been shattered, he said.
“How do you think this situation in the Chinatown is acceptable?”
Citizens gather in Edmonton Council Chamber on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Global News
He said the large turnout at City Hall on Tuesday shows how close the community is.
“The Asian community in the Chinatown is very close and I’m not surprised that everyone came to support,” he said after speaking to the council. “It wasn’t surprising, but it was very, very emotional.”
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1:52 Edmonton body shop owner mourns employee who was killed Edmonton body shop owner mourns employee who died
Trang spoke to the council on Tuesday to “honor the memory of my father” and said he hoped his death would “open his eyes to how things are out of control.”
“The message we want everyone to hear is that Chinatown needs to improve. Everyone wants to feel safe going through Chinatown and feel safe and not have to worry about things … We no longer feel safe in our own community.
“We hope things start to change. The city is committed today, so hopefully we can start to see some change.”
Read more: Edmonton police charged with murder in 2 deaths in Chinatown
Police said Friday that Justin Bone, 36, was charged with second-degree murder and robbery in connection with the death of 64-year-old Hung Trang. Police said he died of severe head and neck injuries. The form of death is homicide.
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Police initially responded to an attack Wednesday afternoon on a bodywork near 106th Avenue and 98th Street, before quickly discovering that another man had also been injured a block away.
Edmonton police said the autopsy determined that Ban Phuc Hoang, 61, died of severe head and neck injuries and that the form of death was homicide.
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Bone has also been charged with second-degree murder and robbery in connection with Hoang’s death.
Bone was not known to any of the victims, police said, adding that investigators are not looking for any additional suspects.
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Hon Leong spoke on behalf of Ban Hoang’s family on Tuesday.
He said Hoang came to Canada in 1989 at the age of 17 as a refugee from Vietnam. He lied about his age so he could work and send money home to his family, Leong said.
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He said Hoang owned and operated Universal Electronics and Video and helped bring karaoke to western Canada.
“Not having him around is an incomprehensible loss,” Leong said.
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Hoang leaves behind a daughter and a woman, who herself have stopped going to the Chinatown in the past two months because she did not feel safe.
“We all failed the Hoang and Trang families,” Leong said. “We told you! We knew this was going to happen!
“Edmonton is not a safe city for everyone,” he added. “We have a problem right now and it’s happening in Chinatown.
“The message is that this cannot happen again.”
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“There’s a lot of pain in the community,” said Councilwoman Anne Stevenson. “It was very significant for them to come forward and share it with us today, but it sure is heavy.
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“They have been fighting for years. They have been asking for these issues for years. It’s not just about last week’s events; it is the culmination of years and years of conversations and concerns that are being raised ”.
He said this council is taking responsibility and will respond.
“There is a call for a short-term response, which is more visible to uniformed officers, whether peacekeepers or police officers … but what I also heard is that the community is also looking for these long-term solutions.”
Part of that is a budget and police conversation, Stevenson said.
“We are always looking at the most effective use of our resources and also understanding whether this is a resource shortage or a resource allocation issue.”
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Mayor Amarjeet Sohi expressed his condolences to the community and families affected by last week’s killings.
“I take my responsibility very seriously. Things need to change in the Chinatown.
“The Chinatown has been neglected for decades and I am committed to working with the community to make sure we are providing the right resources to change the situation, as well as working with other government orders to address long-term issues in the facing the community, the homeless, the mental health crisis, the addiction crisis, and we need to work together. “
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The mayor said he will meet again with community members on Wednesday to hear more.
“This council is committed to finding solutions to make sure all Edmontonians feel safe … The people of Chinatown don’t feel safe and that needs to change.”
Sohi filed a motion last week to try to use $ 5 million to build a joint partnership of police, peacekeepers and social workers “who can work together to address these complex issues.”
After much discussion, the city council voted to approve the community’s security and welfare strategy, as well as adjustments to the 2022 and 2023 operating budget that would allow millions of dollars of real-time funding from the Edmonton Police Service to be reallocated to finance aspects of the strategy. .
The $ 300,000 allocated to Chinatown will come from the 2022 council contingency. The city administrator said staff could meet immediately with members of the Chinatown community to discuss how best to spend the money. The municipal staff is then expected to provide the council with a note on how it plans to use the funds.
Discussion of the Edmonton Police Service’s funding formula policy began Tuesday afternoon. Eighteen people signed up to talk about the police funding formula, some of whom did not finish talking.
Several of the speakers shared stories about their personal safety in danger in and around …