Council Notebook: St. Catharines supports seeking private partner to run airport
A few happenings from St. Catharines city council this week...
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Police not being asked to patrol beach area
A request to have more police in the Sunset Beach area to deal with illegal activities wasn’t supported by council.
Grantham Coun. Dawn Dodge made the motion after receiving a lot of complaints from residents living near the beach who see people racing, operating vehicles impaired and even riding on jet skis being towed down the road.
But council heard from two members of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association, Vicki-Lynn Smith and Saleh Waziruddin, who said there are members of the community who wouldn’t feel welcome on the beach with a police presence because of their experiences and history.
Waziruddin said black and indigenous people of colour are over-policed and many LGBTQ2+, people with disabilities and those who’ve had trauma do not feel safe when police are around.
“There is no reason we can’t be able to feel safe when enjoying the beach through using city staff for enforcing the rules,” Waziruddin said.
“Even the police have said they shouldn’t be used as a substitute for other agencies and staff.”
Dodge said her intent wasn’t to have police officers walking along the beach but in the area to deal with safety concerns.
“I’ve have a lot of complaints and a lot of concerns for safety from residents with street racing down here, drunk and disorderly, people leaving the beaches,” she said.
Councillors voted 9-3 against the idea.
The city is planning to do increased bylaw enforcement at Sunset Beach this year, have a security contractor provide security services and have student ambassadors whose duties will include notifying proper authorities of infractions.
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