Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an extraordinary man, His Worship Philip Owen, the longest serving consecutive-term mayor in the history of Vancouver.
During his nine years at the helm, Vancouver maintained a triple A credit rating and was judged for the last three years on the William Mercer Index as the best city in the world in which to live.
However, the distinguishing feature of Philip Owen's career as mayor is his vision and courage in implementing an innovative solution to the growing open drug problem in our city. Modelled on the successful approach of some large European cities, he treated substance abuse as a health problem and established a comprehensive, integrated strategy with four pillars: prevention, enforcement, treatment and harm reduction. With 90% community support he brought together three levels of government under the Vancouver Agreement to implement this plan.
He raised his voice for the forgotten and voiceless of our city. In recognition he recently received the B.C. Provincial Health Officers Award, given for the first time to a non-medical professional.