oakville news: Oakville to establish new cross-government local crime roundtable
By Tyler Collins
'The good news is there is strong partnership,' reads a rare joint statement from five of Oakville's elected representatives, launching a new, cross-government response to address criminal activity in Oakville
In a rare joint action from all three levels of Oakville's governance and representatives from multiple parties, five of Oakville's elected officials announced today, May 30, they have created a new 'Local Roundtable on Crime' to address crime rates in town.
The announcement was jointly signed by both of Oakville's newly elected MPs and re-elected MPPs, along with Halton Police Board Chair Jeff Knoll, who also serves as an Oakville town and regional councillor.
For its initial meetings, the five confirmed members of what the officials are calling this "cross government initiative" include:
Oakville West MP Sima Acan
Oakville East MP Anita Anand
Oakville MPP Stephen Crawford
Councillor Jeff Knoll
Oakville-North Burlington MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos
While all five listed members signed the announcement, first made late this morning, no timeline has yet been set for when and where the first meeting will take place.
How did this roundtable come together?
Multiple sources have confirmed to Oakville News that conversations have been happening between the five members for months (especially over both the recent February provincial election and April federal election.)
Even though there are no roles or further details on what the round table will address first, sources say it was Anand's who is leading the effort in co-ordinating the meetings of the five current members.
Anand spoke briefly with Oakville News this afternoon, saying, "I am pleased to convene a roundtable of elected officials to ensure that we are each doing our part, within our respective spheres, to fight criminal activity in Oakville."
The need is clear among residents in all areas of town. Concern on crime rates - and specifically cases like vehicle thefts and residential break-ins - have been notably growing over the last 2-3 years in Oakville.
While concrete progress on preventing cases through policing and new legislation and bylaws, there's still a sense of concern as of these kinds of cases are still being reported on daily. Oakville News has counted a 14 per cent increase in case totals in just the last two weeks.
"We will work together to identify the actions that we will each take to strengthen community safety," continues Anand. "This is an all-hands-on-deck moment where we will put partisan politics aside and work collectively for the safety and security of our beloved Town."
What's bringing everyone to the table?
Speaking with Oakville News, Knoll warmly described the new roundtable as "an effort to get all of the relative parties to the table to talk about issues confronting Oakville."
He mentioned break and enter cases and car thefts "the issues that have been top of mind for the last years."
"For this initiative, we want to ask what recommendations can be made of what will be done. It’s an opportunity to ask about what’s reality, what’s not, and deciding what everyone needs to get things done across all levels."
MPP Triantafilopoulos said today that "With this round table, all members of parliament hope to decrease crime especially auto theft which has become a big issue in Oakville."
"Anita brought up the initiative to all parties and they all agreed to be a part of it," though "the initiative is just in its infancy and no roles have been assigned just yet."
"We all agreed that decreasing crime is very important for our community and we all wanted to help accomplish that goal."
Oakville West MP Sima Acan adds that "We can achieve more by getting all levels of Government working together. That’s why I am very excited about the new round table initiative as it will give Oakville opportunities to go further."
"I am pleased to be a part of the important conversation through the Crime Roundtable with all levels of government so that we can discuss and coordinate necessary measures to combat crime and keep our Oakville community safe," said MPP Stephen Crawford.
"The Halton police are doing a great job," adds Knoll. "But there’s only so much we can do without support from other levels of government. The problems we face in this Oakville community affects all levels of government, and we need to come together to find these solutions."
"Really the bottom line is to put people that have influence on an equal footing and ask: 'What do we need to do as a community to get things done?'"
A copy of the full announcement can be read here:
"We regularly speak of the importance of working across levels of government to serve our constituents. While that is always critical, it is even more true today with the complexity and urgency of the issues our community faces.
The good news is there is a strong spirit of partnership among your elected officials to make meaningful progress for our community by working together.
Crime has been a leading issue of concern in our community. We have seen some positive trends, such as the 19% decline in auto thefts over the last year, but it is clear there is much more we need to accomplish together. We want to reduce the incidence of crime in Oakville and give our residents the peace of mind to feel safe in their neighbourhood.
That is why we are planning to launch an Oakville community roundtable on crime, meeting throughout the year. As your local representatives, together with law enforcement, we will share concerns, experiences, identify and implement local solutions, and track progress.
This is not intended to be just a forum for more talk. It is a cross-government local initiative for action, on behalf of our residents and their shared concerns. We will keep our community informed as we move this initiative forward."
Oakville News reached out to staff for MPP Crawford, though he was unavailable for remarks at press time.
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