'We just want to be a vibrant community': Rally calls for lasting security in Edmonton's Chinatown
An emotional rally outside City Hall Saturday afternoon called for more permanent solutions to help keep Edmonton's Chinatown a vibrant community.
Community leaders demanded immediate action from all levels of government, the Edmonton Police Service, and social support agencies to ensure Chinatown and downtown as a whole remain safe and accessible to all.
"We want to be recognized that there are some outstanding issues," said Jackson Ho, a community spokesperson.
On May 18, two men in their 60s who worked at different businesses in the Chinatown community — Ban Phuc Hoang and Hung Trang — were beaten to death in the Chinatown neighbourhood.
A 36-year-old has since been charged with second-degree murder in both deaths.
At the rally, incense was burned, as flowers and fruit were placed beside photographs of Hoang and Trang.
"Today is really about I would say creating awareness, not just about the situation that happened last week but overall, Chinatown is a community that requires safety and support of the city and the province," Ho said.
"We just want to be a vibrant community," he added. "We want to make sure that all citizens, all guests that enter into Chinatown have that sense of safety."
People at the rally held signs reading, "we want action," "safety and protection," "protection is safety," "hug your Chinatown shop owner," and "Chinatown here to stay."
"Chinatown is a beautiful culture," Ho told CTV News Edmonton. "It's created through generations of hard-working citizens.
"Chinatown is really a part of downtown," Ho added. "(So) this is really an Edmonton effort. People of all cultures come to Chinatown to enjoy."
'WE NEED ALIGNMENT': EPS CHIEF
Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee attended the rally and affirmed that the police service was listening and responding to the concerns of the Chinatown community.
"We lost a couple of community members," he told reporters. "We've got a community that is obviously grieving.
"They're in need of help and I think as my role as the leader of our police service and a member of our community in a position of leadership I need to be here," McFee said. "We need to find solutions and we need to find them quick, and that's my commitment to them."
While the police service has already pulled officers from other divisions to increase its downtown presence, McFee said the city needs sustainable solutions for the long-term.
"The two underlying pinning things are that the vulnerable need to be connected to services, and we've been doing a really good job (at that)," he said. "The second part is the crime and the violence."
"There's a lot of money and a lot of services in this city, but when you map it out," he added, "we need to get alignment that has outcomes associated. It's not about moving money from one agency to the other. That's never worked. It's about having a continuum of services to get the people the right service they need at the right time."
KEEPING CHINATOWN SAFE FOR GENERATIONS
Doug Cooke, Boyle Street Community Services liaison for Chinatown, agreed with McFee, saying social agencies have a role to play.
"Social services are a big part of this because I mean we are working on the ground floor right now with that doing the best that we can do with the resources that we have," Cooke said.
More consistent funding for agencies providing support to vulnerable populations will help not only those who need it, but entire neighbourhoods, Cooke said.
"Social services are mostly funded through grants," Cooke added. "When those dry up or are pulled from us it makes things a lot harder to get the results we all want to see together."
For Kim Chow, a concerned community member at the rally, whatever actions are taken to help Chinatown, they need to start now.
"There's a lot of people who feel unsafe coming down there," Chow said.
Chow said she's already noticed the increased police presence, but hopes it isn't something that is simply in place for a few weeks after the latest incidents.
"(I want) my kids to feel safe when they go down there in the next few years as well or when they're older and be able to bring their kids down there eventually."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.