So Suzanne Anton is the provinces minister of justice and attorney general
Wow!
Thats not a comment on whether Anton deserves the post. But sheesh, I say, it was only 18 months ago that she lost the mayoral race to Gregor Robertson.
Then, in February 2013, she resurfaces and loses the Liberal nomination race in Vancouver-Quilchena to Andrew Wilkinson. Surely, that defeat would have put an end to her political career. Apparently not. The former park board commissioner-turned-councillor-turned-mayoral candidate surfaced as the Liberal candidate for Vancouver-Fraserview.
Anton, who lives in Dunbar, won the riding in the May 14 election and now has one of the most prestigious posts in the provincial government.
So, yes wow!
But what skills, you ask, does she bring to the job? Well, she was a Crown prosecutor for 13 years. She has taught overseas and she proved to be popular at the polls during every civic election except the 2011 loss to Robertson, although she did collect 58,152 votes.
But where, youre wondering, did she stand on justice-related issues in Vancouver now that shes in charge of them for the provincial government? The Occupy Vancouver protest outside the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2011 is probably the best example of how Anton reacted to a high-profile justice issue while in government.
As readers will recall, the decision on whether to shut down the camp became the main issue for Anton and Robertson in the waning days of the 2011 election campaign. Anton then: These tents need to go now. Gregor needs to come up with a plan, he needs to come up with a timeline, he needs to come up with a plan and they need to be gone.
But, if youre elected mayor and sworn in to office in December and the tents are still there, what will you do?
Then Ill give them a weeks notice and theyll have to be gone.
Or, else?
I will make sure that theyre gone.
How?
Lets wait and see.
As it turned out, a combination of court orders, firefighters communicating with protesters and police not resorting to riot gear led to a peaceful dismantling of the camp.
Unfortunately/fortunately, we never got to find out what Anton would have done.
But we did find out that she was a big supporter of then-mayor Sam Sullivans plan in the 2005-2008 term to reduce homelessness, public disorder and the open drug market by 50 per cent by 2010.
Remember Project Civil City?
Though fewer people are sleeping on the street (Vision Vancouver will argue their work did that), there are still more than 1,200 people in shelters, public disorder in the Downtown Eastside is still an issue and the drug market, wellwalk down a back alley off East Hastings and check it out for yourself.
Anti-poverty activists saw Project Civil City as an attack on the poor and put an exclamation point on their accusations by dumping a jug of Coke over Sullivans head.
Sullivan, in case you havent heard, also joined the Liberals and got elected in May. But he didnt get a cabinet post. Was it payback for beating Christy Clark in the NPAs 2005 mayoral nomination meeting?
Who knows.
As for other justice issues Anton has weighed in on: She isnt opposed to more supervised injection sites for Vancouver, she lobbied to have a new pre-trial centre in Vancouver and is a big fan of Police Chief Jim Chu.
That was then. A true test of her ability in her new post will come in how she implements the recommendations of the Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. That is one challenge many in this city will tell her she cant afford to lose.
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