B.C. hires $150K consultant to advise on future of Downtown Eastside do sex sex to

The British Columbia government has hired a former Ontario cabinet minister and CEO of Legal Aid B.C. on a lucrative contract to advise the premier on the future of the Downtown Eastside. Premier David Eby’s office confirmed Michael Bryant was appointed to the consultancy in February on a six-month contract worth $150,000.“What they really wanted was some fresh eyes to provide them with some feedback on what is working, what isn’t working, and most importantly whether the plans the province has underway and the commitments the province made during the election are going to make sense and what is the best way to roll out these next steps,” Bryant told Global News in an interview on Monday.“So for the last three months, that is what I have been doing.”That interview came after Bryant refused to answer questions on Saturday. 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Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. “I have not been secret about meeting with folks and trying to get tours of SROs, of the not-for-profits providing service, Insite, the Overdose Prevention Society, the municipal, provincial, federally funded services around harm reduction, as well as a host of stakeholders,” Bryant said on Monday.“What matters is what the government delivers in terms of next steps and the impact that it has, and how exactly that gets put together, the transparency on that front is one for the government to decide, but I am happy to do this interview and talk about what I have been doing.” Story continues below advertisement if ( typeof( gn_monetize ) !== 'undefined' && typeof( gn_monetize.Ads ) !== 'undefined' && gn_monetize.Ads.initialRequestMade() ) { // Ads script has been loaded, create the ad. gn_monetize.Ads.create( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-11","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":11,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-11"},"companion":false} ); } else { // if Ads script not yet loaded, queue up ad data for initialization. var gnAdSettings = gnAdSettings || {}; gnAdSettings.ads = gnAdSettings.ads || []; gnAdSettings.ads.push( {"sizes":"[300,250]","biddable":true,"id":"gpt-ad-300250-11","lazy":true,"targeting":{"pos":11,"slotid":"gpt-ad-300250-11"},"companion":false} ); } Along with the salary, Bryant’s contract comes with a $25,000 expense account, the premier’s office told Global News in a statement.Upon becoming premier in 2022, Eby said the province would take over running a coordinated approach to address issues in the Downtown Eastside.“Mr. Bryant was chosen for this policy work due to his legal background and lived experience,” the statement reads.“The intent was to announce this appointment earlier, regrettably this didn’t happen.” 2:06 Eby government planning to take on coordination of DTES services Trending Now Body of Quebec hiker missing since November found in mountains of New York state Foreign student asylum claims hit record high in 2024, set to grow in 2025 Between 2008 and 2009, Bryant served as a cabinet minister in the Ontario Liberal government, holding portfolios including Attorney General, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Minister of Economic Development.In 2009, he was charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death after an incident that left Toronto bike courier Darcy Sheppard with a fatal head injury. 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Rather, they want some action. And that’s what I was retained to do and get it underway and get it happening as soon as possible,” he said.“The question becomes what can we do next that will have the biggest impact and achieve some measure of healing and recovery for people on one hand, continue to deliver the harm reduction services, continue to deliver the social services, provide the housing first that this government has undertaken, but also get the federal government to come in and do their job.”It’s unclear if Bryant could be in line for a permanent government position after his contract expires in August.— with files from Rumina Daya More on Politics More videos Foreign student asylum claims hit record high in 2024, set to grow in 2025 What to expect as Carney set to swear in new cabinet Smith announces freeze to industrial carbon price in Alberta Liberal MP celebrates ‘rollercoaster’ win, flipping Quebec seat by one vote Exclusive: Tariffs not necessarily tied to border issues Recount sees Liberals take Quebec riding of Terrebonne by single vote Putin calls for direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, Zelenskyy agrees Political Panel: White House Meeting and BC’s Bill 15