Yorkton Mayor Mitch Hippsley took part in a meeting of leaders from 11 cities from across the four western provinces yesterday in Saskatoon, to share concerns with Statistics Canada, over how the annual Crime Severity Index (CSI) is having a negative effect on their communities.
Hippsley says a major concern is that inaccuracies in the way the numbers are applied have had an unintended trickle-down effect on a number of areas, when the public sees those figures, including job, business and population growth, and the inadvertent promotion of systemic racial bias in terms of crime figures, causing a negative impact on the process of reconciliation.
The group is calling on StatsCan to halt the release of the annual CSI until more discussions can be held with smaller communities and Indigenous leadership, and until changes can be made to allow for more accurate interpretation of the numbers.
L-R, Back Row: Langley City Councillor Paul Albrecht, Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers, Langley City Councillor Delaney Mack, North Battleford Councillor Thomas “Bill” Ironstand, Portage La Prairie Mayor Sharilyn Knox, Portage La Prairie Councillor Colin Doyle, North Battleford Councillor Kelli Hawtin, Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland.
Image courtesy of the City of North Battleford