The B.C. NDP government has been put on the defensive yet again over crime and public safety, with the high-profile departure of London Drugs from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

The B.C.-based retailer delivered a body blow to Premier David Eby’s promises to improve the neighbourhood, by announcing this week it would close its location at the Woodward’s building due to “persistent safety incidents and significant operating losses at this site.”

Customers and staff are being exposed to an inhospitable environment of drugs and disorder, perpetrated by chronic, repeat offenders who cause chaos and violence in the area, the company has repeatedly warned.

Three years ago, Eby made the DTES one of the first public tests of his premiership, promising in a press conference on day one to take action on homelessness, encampments, crime and disorder.

“What won't be an open discussion is whether or not we just let the neighbourhood continue at best drifting, but at worst continuing to devolve into chaos,” he said in 2022.

The closure was so politically sensitive that Eby’s office tried to intervene, urging London Drugs to reconsider, reported the Vancouver Sun’s Dan Fumano. It was an unusual step, which underscored just how damaging the optics were.

“I had........

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