A Vancouver mayoral candidate says converting portions of a hospital into an involuntary care facility is essentially building a prison in the downtown area.

The proposal is one of two plebiscite questions in the upcoming municipal election and part of Ken Sim’s plan to tackle public safety.

“It is prison, let me be clear,” mayoral candidate Kareem Allam told Global News.

An election plebiscite question asks whether the city should formally request the province to use part of the old St. Paul’s Hospital for involuntary care beds.

“Vancouver needs treatment, not a prison on Burrard Street,” Allam said.

B.C. goes to the polls to vote in the municipal election on Oct. 17.

The new St. Paul’s Hospital is set to open in 2027, leaving the question of what is going to happen to the old building.

Sim and his ABC Party say this question on the ballot is part of their plan to tackle public safety, in addition to mandating drug consumption sites away from schools and parks, and directing police to crack down on drug use in public spaces.

All mayoral candidates say they plan to address public safety in the city in different ways.

Pete Fry with the Greens wants a whole new outreach team for addiction and mental health calls, saying it would be non-police and non-medical.

“Low acuity, peer-led intervention teams that can go in and deal with folks who are maybe creating a disruption in a shop because they have nowhere better to go, or sleeping and camping in front of a store because they have nowhere better to go, and deal with them, give them a diversion and direct them to better spots,” he said.

Colleen Hardwick with TEAM says the focus should be on enforcement and recovery.

“I want to see block watches brought back in a meaningful way,” she said.

“Recovery gives us hope and unfortunately we’ve put all our eggs in the harm-reduction basket.”

Rebecca Bligh with Vote Vancouver says if she is elected mayor, she would advocate to the province.

“We are short psychiatric beds across our health-care system in Vancouver,” she said. “We know we need a comprehensive response to repeat offenders.”

The municipal election takes place on Saturday, Oct. 17.