The city’s eigth murder of the year is prompting a mayoral debate.
Mayor Keith Hobbs says he’s “disgusted” with his opponent, Ken Boshcoff.
The comment comes after Boshcoff said he will address violence in the community at a town hall meeting, within one week of the election.
Hobbs says he shouldn’t use homocide as a platform to further his campaign.
“In 1997, when Boshcoff was the mayor and, again, we addressed it in 2003, in his last year as mayor, and nothing was done,” Hobbs says. “So it really surprises me that he’d be coming out with a fix now for this crime.”
Boshcoff, however, says the city’s crime rate has vastly surpassed the crisis point.
“This is a very serious issue and the community takes it very seriously. You would expect a candidate for mayor to take a position on this, and I’m looking for a solution,” he says. “That’s my intent – to bring people together to make it a community solution.”
Boshcoff adds the community has to be fully engaged in showing support for frontline workers.
“The intent of a town hall meeting is to have a summit of those people who are tasked with addressing this, so that the community can have some input and have some answers, and also to provide some solutions,” says Boshcoff.
However, Hobbs says, in order to combat violence, city council must first address the root causes of crime – widespread drug and alcohol use.
“As I got news of the eigth homocide in Thunder Bay this year, I was in a meeting, looking at a plan to present to the Minister of Health, to come up with a plan and get funding to address once and for all the drug and alcohol issues that are plaguing this city,” he says. “I’m really disgusted that he’s picking homicide to launch and further his campaign, and I’m going to add that on July 24th of this year, Boshcoff declared that this city is safe, so I don’t know which side of his mouth he’s talking out of today.”
But Boscoff says, yes, the city is still safe.
“It’s the pockets of problems that are causing our concern, and those are the ones that have to be addressed,” Boshcoff says. “The community coming together is to address problem areas and to make sure that those other areas remain safe.” (File photo)
