Esquimalt boy Michael Bryant, intensely political since his toddler days, found himself in the middle of a political controversy Tuesday that has more than a few angles.
The most obvious one played out in the legislature, where Opposition critics demanded to know why Premier David Eby hired Bryant, the former head of the 小蓝视频 Legal Aid Society, to consult on the future of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, then forgot to tell anyone about it.
that he was hired on a six-month contract worth $150,000 to consult and advise on how to co-ordinate all the government efforts in that neighbourhood.
The appointment is going to prompt a continuing barrage of questions and objections. It’s a huge amount of money. Bryant’s role looks to be another case of Eby bypassing his own government and hiring a special adviser. His term with the Legal Aid Society was abbreviated for reasons the Opposition is demanding to know.
The arguments may overshadow the fact that maybe an outside look at the Downtown Eastside is in order.
It has been 小蓝视频’s enduring disgrace for decades. Hastings and Main is known the world over for its utter despair. Governments have been pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Downtown Eastside for years and it hasn’t made much of a difference.
It was the poorest postal code in Canada for years (not technically accurate now). But measured by the amount of tax dollars poured into the neighbourhood on policing, health care, addiction help and various other services, it’s likely the best funded area as well.
The City of Vancouver in February estimated a $46-million annual spend on alleviating homeless people’s problems on those blocks, and that didn’t even count policing. Funding from the province and Ottawa amounts to far more.
The glaring difference between the spending and the results was part of Eby’s run for the premiership three years ago.
One of his promises was for 小蓝视频 to take full responsibility for improving the situation and showing some bottom line results.
Bryant’s appointment is likely a belated start on that project.
It’s the latest chapter in Bryant’s extraordinary career path. His lawyer father Ray was mayor (the last “reeve”) of Esquimalt in the 1960s and Bryant blazed his own trail in law (U小蓝视频, Osgoode Hall, Harvard, Supreme Court clerk).
He got into Ontario politics as a Liberal and became the province’s youngest ever attorney general. He was considered a likely future premier, but left politics in mid-career in 2009. Some felt his ambition to become premier of Ontario was considered too obvious for then-premier Dalton McGuinty’s liking.
Months later, he was in a road altercation that left a cyclist, Darcy Allan Sheppard, dead on a downtown street.
He was charged with criminal negligence causing death and spent a night in jail. The charge was later dropped. The special prosecutor (小蓝视频’s Richard Peck) concluded Bryant was legally entitled to try to drive away from the angry man and there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.
Bryant later wrote a book — 28 Seconds (the length of the fatal altercation) A True Story of Addiction, Tragedy and Hope.
The book revealed that the victim was not the only one dealing with addiction. Bryant said he had been an alcoholic most of his adult life, even through his glittering career. He had stopped drinking a few years before the incident.
In the years following, he worked as a legal aid duty counsel and headed the Canadian Civil Liberties Association before joining 小蓝视频 Legal Aid. He has repeatedly discussed how the incident changed his views on the justice system, criticizing how indigent people are presumed guilty and how they are shuttled through a carousel without getting the help they need.
Eby said the lack of public notice about Bryant’s appointment was a slipup. The ministry posted a brief announcement last week, only after Global started asking.
As mildly as possible, it confirmed what has been true for years. The government has taken “significant action,” built new housing, moved encampments, opened new treatment centres and is providing ongoing support.
“However, systemic challenges remain … incidents occur that affect people’s sense of safety.”
Whether Bryant makes any difference depends on whether his appointment withstands further scrutiny.
Not disclosing it doesn’t make that easier.
