Halifax, Canada, June 2018 — As part of its regular exchanges with Canadian cities, Efus was invited to the annual conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities , held in Halifax from 31 May to 2 June. About 2,000 local elected officials from all over Canada took part in this meeting, whose theme was “tools for tomorrow”.
The role of local authorities in crime prevention
Represented by Carla Napolano, Deputy Director of EU Programmes and Network Life, Efus was invited to contribute to the workshop on “Municipalities at the Core of Community Safety”. Attendees debated about the role of local elected officials and local authorities in preventing crime and ensuring citizens’ safety and security. They stressed the need to address the causes of crime and to base security policies on evidence, and insisted on the crucial role of prevention in countering crime.
Apart from Efus, the contributors were: Randy Goulden, Councillor of Yorkton (Saskatchewan), Leanne Fitch, Chief of Police of Fredericton (New Brunswick), Jan Fox, Executive Director of REACH Edmonton (REACH being the local council for community safety), Paul Lang, Executive Director of the Kent County Regional Services Commission (New Brunswick), and Curtis Zablocki, Assistant Commissioner at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of Saskatchewan.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2017, represents 90% of Canada’s population. Members include Canada’s largest cities, small urban and rural communities, and 20 provincial and territorial municipal associations.
Breakfast debate in Paris with the embassy of Canada
Also as part of their partnership with Canada, Efus and the French Forum (FFSU) organised shortly after the Halifax conference, on 8 June, a meeting in Paris together with the embassy of Canada in France on the topic of “Inclusive urban security policies: the Canadian experience of safer cities for all”.
About 30 people were received at the Canadian embassy, including representatives of several Efus member cities, the French Directorate General of Social Cohesion, the French National Assembly, Unesco, as well as researchers.
Two Canadian experts, Lucie Léonard, in charge of community safety and crime reduction at the Canadian government, and Felix Munger, of the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention, gave an overview of crime prevention policies in Canada, and notably their aspects concerning social inclusion and cohesion.
A criminologist, Lucie Léonard contributed to the design and implementation of Canada’s national crime prevention strategy. She also took part in designing United Nations’ guidelines on crime prevention.
Felix Munger is Adjunct Professor of community psychology at the Wilfrid Laurier University (Ontario) and Managing Director of the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention. He is specialised in issues of fairness and non-discrimination in health and in setting up and operating multi-disciplinary networks.
The European and French Forum organises regular “breakfast debates” with experts, which are open to all members and free of charge. Stay tuned on our website and Efus Network for upcoming meetings!
