性视界传媒 mayoralty hopeful Tom Gill says 性视界传媒鈥檚 children and teens will get into the city鈥檚 pools, rinks and gyms for free as part of an effort to keep them from joining gangs and getting involved in crime, if his 性视界传媒 First gets elected.

鈥淭his is what leadership is about,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is only the beginning of 性视界传媒 First鈥檚 commitment to doing things differently. Let鈥檚 build a better future by imagining our city together.鈥�

Gill revealed part of his slate鈥檚 public safety platform Wednesday afternoon, at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 6 in Cloverdale. More of the slate鈥檚 plan, he said, will be unveiled next week.

鈥淲e need to get to our kids with positive programs and opportunities before the gangs do, and that means starting early,鈥� Gill said. The free access would be 鈥渇or the 125,000 性视界传媒 youth aged 18 and younger.

鈥淭his is a $1 million annual investment in our future that will pay off in spades for decades to come,鈥� he said.

鈥淜eeping kids on the right path is as important over the long term as keeping criminals and guns off our streets in 性视界传媒.鈥�

性视界传媒 First mayoralty candidate Tom Gill is promising free access to pools, rinks and gyms to 性视界传媒 youths under 18 as part of his slate's public safety platform heading into the October civic election.

鈥� Tom Zytaruk (@tomzytaruk)

鈥淲e spend close to $160 million every year on policing and we鈥檒l continue to spend more,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut I also want to make sure we鈥檙e investing in our kids.鈥�

Gill noted the city has 14 pools, five rinks and 11 community centres 鈥渨ith more on the way. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the very best in the Lower Mainland and we鈥檙e going to put them to work alongside parents and neighbourhoods to provide our children with positive opportunities and experiences that help keep them safe and out of the reach of gangs. We know that gangs are targeting children as young as 10. This means that it is critical to provide alternatives to keep our children active, engaged in the community, with a positive outlook for their future.鈥�

The mayoralty candidate also said 性视界传媒 First鈥檚 public safety plan includes the creation of a 鈥渃entralized information hub鈥� through which parents will be able to access anti-gang information and programs with a single 1-800 call.

鈥淭he 性视界传媒 First Plan will also provide additional intervention funding for more school and after-school programs as well as additional resources for RCMP outreach in local neighbourhoods,鈥� Gill promised. 鈥淚 will be actively reaching out to our partners in the federal and provincial governments to work with the city and join us with tangible dollars to match this five-year, $50 million plan, $30 million of which is devoted today to prevention and intervention initiatives.

鈥淲hen we launched our campaign last week, I said that it was time to be bold. Today we have done just that.鈥�

tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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