“I just want to say to my fellow British Columbians, this is not the British Columbia that our citizens deserve.”
When interviewing Premier David Eby a couple of years ago, I opened with a quote from Leonard Krog. For two reasons. It was a powerful insight and Krog is a credible, respected source who holds sway in municipal and provincial circles.
“So, what did my former colleague say?” Eby asked, sounding alert.
A lot, as it turns out.
But for the purposes of that interview (and this podcast), Krog said mental health, addictions, homelessness, crime and public drug use have converged to become “the social issue of our time.”
As the mayor of a beautiful major Canadian port city with a long drug history, and its current fair share of public health, crime and disorder issues, Krog would know.
He’s also been around a few blocks. Some, more than once.
A lawyer who spent 17 years as a BC NDP MLA, Krog left provincial politics in 2018 to run as mayor, a chair he continues to fill with a discernible sense of humility and confidence.
He’s known in media circles as a straight-shooting, savvy politician who doesn’t shrink from a tough question. He’s a go-to source for pragmatic, articulate, sometimes eviscerating critiques of public policy that have probably not always brought joy to his former colleague in the big office at BC’s legislature.
Krog is an old-school New Democrat who presents commonsensical and statesman-like. He seems to celebrate the freedom of no longer having to represent a political party. Being an effective mayor requires a certain level of non-partisanship at which he seems to excel. He’s also reached an age, he says, where he feels free to speak the truth.
In town recently to attend the Union of BC Municipalities conference, Krog raised his considerable voice alongside dozens of mayors, and helped lead the charge, calling on the province to reform bail for repeat offenders and build out mandatory care for people with severe mental health, addictions and brain injuries.
Two days after the mayors’ call for action, Premier Eby announced 100 new beds for mandatory care.
Just prior to the announcement, Krog dropped by the Northern Beat press gallery studio to talk about some of the most challenging issues of our time, why they haven’t been resolved, and what can be done about it.
Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.
Fran
Podcast producer: Rob Shaw
Feedback: Fran@northernbeat.ca
