Some of you civic affairs watchers might already know this: Vancouver school board chairperson Christopher Richardson is a traffic cop.
Yep, he gets dressed up in a uniform and stands at intersections, blowing his whistle among crowds going to and from events around this city.
As a matter of fact, I saw him one day quite ably doing his job while on my way to a Whitecaps game; he helped me get safely across the road.
Thank you, Mr. Richardson.
Anyway, I saw the NPA school trustee again Thursday night at city hall. He was there, in a suit, to speak to council about city staff's proposal to regulate Vancouver's 90-plus pot shops.
After what transpired during his time at the microphone, Richardson probably wished he had brought his whistle and cleared a path for himself out of the chambers.
Let me explain...
Off the top, Richardson told council the school board supported the regulations, although he requested council consider increasing the distance between schools and pot shops from the proposed 300 metres to 500 metres.
"Unless very firm boundaries are set in place and enforced strictly, we have significant concern that these outlets could easily result in an increase in marijuana use by youth in the city," he said.
Richardson also urged the city to stick to its proposed ban on marijuana-infused goods, despite the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling that said all forms of marijuana such as cookies and brownies are legal for consumption.
Another request was that a portion of the proposed $30,000 annual licensing fee for pot shops be used for "educational purposes" and youth addiction support services.
He finished with this:
"The board is not making a broad statement on the use of this drug. We do, however, wish to make it very clear that use of marijuana by youth is illegal, medically harmful and very likely to create barriers to life success. We therefore ask that you carefully consider the impact of any bylaw amendments on this particular group of citizens before making any decisions that will negatively impact the current youth and future adult citizens of the city of Vancouver."
OK...
Notice how he used the pronoun "we" and the noun "board."
Vision Vancouver councillors sure did as questions fired at Richardson unravelled that he wasn't actually speaking on behalf of the full board, which includes four Vision Vancouver trustees.
"What I'm hearing now is [your presentation] is from a committee, and not from the Vancouver school board," said Vision Coun. Tim Stevenson. "So I'm wondering can you tell me what committee it is, and who is on that committee?"
Richardson: "I'm going back in my memory, and rather than me guessing as to who was present at the meeting when this was specifically [discussed] — and I think it's a good point — I will correspond through the clerk."
Stevenson: "With this particular committee, were you in attendance?"
Richardson: "Yes, I was."
Stevenson: "How many people were at that committee meeting? Was it very long ago?"
Richardson: "It was about two weeks ago. But we have up to four committee meetings a week. So rather than me guessing, I would prefer to correspond directly."
Reimer, a former school trustee, did a quick search online for the minutes of the committee meeting but told Richardson she couldn't find them.
Vision school trustee Patti Bacchus, the former longtime chairperson of the board, was following the back-and-forth and took to Twitter to comment.
Here's a thread of some of what she wrote:
• "Surprised @RichardsonYVR was presenting to council. I thought VSB was just submitting a written staff response."
• "Pretty sure that was a committee that only has NPA/Green members. Not representative of full board."
• "That submission was not actually approved by the @VSB39."
• "Good grief. Decisions need to be made by board at actual board meetings. We have at least 2/month."
So, dear readers, I'm not sure what to make of this.
It's an odd one.
But not a big deal, right.
Depends who you talk to.
Regardless, I'm sure the public wants to know whether the school board supports city staff's proposal to regulate pot shops.
Apparently, Richardson does.
So does this mysterious committee.
For now, I guess, it's stay tuned for more details when and if they become available.
In the meantime, all you politicians be careful out there.
The intersection of politics and policy can be a dangerous place.
Sometimes even for a traffic cop.
Note: Since posting this piece last Friday morning, Richardson announced his resignation as chairperson at Monday night's school board meeting. He cited "personal reasons." He will remain a trustee. Green Party trustee Janet Fraser is now interim chairperson until an election for a new chairperson June 24.
@Howellings
