36 | Policing in Vancouver (w/ Chief Constable Adam Palmer, Vancouver Police)

04/02/25 • 22 min

On this edition of Journal, we take a look at the dramatic changes we have seen in policing in the last few decades through the eyes of retiring Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police Department, Adam Palmer.

1987 was the year Adam joined the VPD, becoming Chief Constable in 2015. He leaves as the longest serving Chief in the department’s history. Just imagine how the streets have changed over those four decades.

In ’87, Vancouver was coming off the high of Expo ’86. There was a feeling of pride in our step; after all, we invited the world to our beautiful city. Of course there was a darker crime story as well, but not like today. Now, we are experiencing new and seemingly intractable and overlapping problems. Despite recent data indicating violent crime is actually declining, that’s not how it feels. We have an area of Vancouver that is almost a no-go zone, with homelessness exacerbated by drug addiction and mental illness.

How has our police department had to adapt to these challenges? How has their mandate expanded? What should we be thinking about from a public policy point of view going forward?

Sir Robert Peel, thought to be the father of modern policing, believed in the principle that “we don’t police the community, we police WITH the community”. That has been a hallmark of Adam Palmer’s time as Chief Constable.

At his retirement announcement he said, “This career is full of ups and downs, various crises, challenges, laughter and tears, but it’s also incredibly rewarding and I would do it all over again, in a heartbeat, without thinking twice.”

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How has our police department had to adapt to these challenges? How has their mandate expanded? What should we be thinking about from a public policy point of view going forward?

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35 | Supportive Housing (w/ Julian Somers)

On this edition of Journal, Dr. Julian Somers joins me to examine the need for a province-wide plan to support those with Complex Co-occurring Disorders, or CCDs. This refers to those individuals with substance abuse and mental disorders at the same time. The care required is complicated, involving “medical, psychiatric, housing, social and legal issues,” according to a paper co-written by Dr. Somers.

Mayor Ken Sim of Vancouver shocked many when he announced the city would no longer permit net-new supportive housing. On the surface, this seems crazy when we see the homelessness on our streets, the criminality, and the crying need for mental health support. How could we say no to more supportive housing?

However, surprisingly to me, Dr. Somers sent a letter of support to the mayor, complimenting him on this initiative to put the brakes on more supportive housing in Vancouver. As a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in addiction who has worked in this field for 37 years, one would expect him to say give us as much supportive housing as you can.

His perspective on what we are doing wrong is illuminating.

Why are we concentrating so much of our support systems and services in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver?

Why are rural areas so under-serviced that people feel they must come to Vancouver to get help?

Why do we see crime and violence increasing in these areas rather than decreasing despite the concentration of services?

Perhaps we are offering the wrong kind of support in the wrong places?

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37 | Columbia River Water (w/ Alec Lazenby, Vancouver Sun)

On this edition of Journal, we take a close look at something we all take for granted: water. That is, we took it for granted until President Trump started talking about taking it away from us.

This is particularly important for British Columbia since he has focussed on the mighty Columbia River, whose headwaters are north of Cranbrook.

This is the faucet that the president suggests could be opened so that more of Canada’s water could flow to the US, helping with the drought and wildfires of California. Experts shake their heads at his concept – there is no faucet and the Columbia River doesn’t flow near to California. But politicians are paying attention.

In 1964, after some pretty heavy negotiations, Canada and the United States signed the Columbia River Treaty, giving the two countries shared management of the river. Canada would build dams to control water flow, thus preventing flooding in Washington State. In return, Canada received 50% of the profits from the hydroelectric power produced downstream.

Interestingly, Senator Jack Austin, who was involved in those negotiations, says that Canada got more than it deserved in that Treaty.

As it stands, more than 40% of US hydroelectric power comes from this Columbia River system. So you can see why it has caught the President’s attention.

The Treaty was due to be renegotiated last year but try as they might, to have a new deal ratified before the change in presidency, it didn’t happen. As a result, there is plenty of uncertainty about how aggressive the US will now be to change the deal to their advantage.

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