Band-Aid or a good first step? Vancouver mayoral candidate wants more cop-nurse teams for mental health calls
A Vancouver businessman who wants to be the city’s next mayor is calling on the expansion of a long-running police-medical partnership to address mental health crises, but a community advocate is lukewarm to what he considers a Band-Aid solution.
Ken Sim and the ABC Vancouver party announced one of their first acts if he secures the mayor’s chair will be to requisition the hiring of 100 new police officers and 100 mental health nurses to dramatically expand the “Car 87 Program”.
Pioneered in Vancouver, the team-based response to calls involving suspected mental illness or distress has been in place for decades and is used in other B.C. communities, but Sim wants to see it dramatically expanded.
While the mayor of Vancouver chairs the Vancouver police board and has influence on VPD priorities, the nurses are employees of Vancouver Coastal Health, which doesn’t take marching orders from municipal leaders.
“As mayor of Vancouver and with a majority on council, I think it's our responsibility to identify what our issues are and public safety and mental health are big issues,” Sim said when pressed by CTV News to explain how he’d convince VCH to dedicate scant health-care resources to honour his campaign promise.
He dismissed the issue of hiring nurses during a nation-wide staffing shortage, pointing to his co-founding of a private nursing company 21 years ago.
When asked whether he’d consider implementing direct employment for nurses by the city or VPD, he said "we'll leave the hiring of police officers and operational issues to Vancouver police.”
THE RIGHT PRIORITY FOR MILLIONS IN FUNDING?
While community advocates have long argued for a healthcare-primary rather than police-oriented and criminalizing approach to mental health crises, dedicating ABC’s goal of $20 million dollars to so many new police officers isn’t getting a warm welcome.
“I don't like it because it blames the victim,” said Coast Mental Health CEO, Darrell Burnham, who said it’s a Band-Aid solution to a visible problem. “They're homeless, they’re on the street, they have nothing, and the recovery from that is long and arduous -- but it starts with a home.”
While he welcomed an increase in Car 87 teams, Burnham believes 100 is far more than required when the issue of distressed, disruptive and potentially dangerous outbursts by mentally-unstable people is better addressed with a long-term approach.
“I think they really need to go upstream because what you see on the street is evidence of a system not working,” he said. “What hasn't happened in Vancouver for a long time is a really comprehensive plan for mental health and these types of emergencies that engages not only the city but BC Housing, Vancouver Coastal Health and the not-for-profit sector.”
AGENCIES MUM AMID POLITICIZATION
CTV News asked Vancouver police, Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health to discuss the resources, options and pathways for people apprehended under the Mental Health Act, but they all demurred, citing an unwillingness to get involved in the issue as the civic election enters its final months of campaigning.
None of the other three mayoral candidates was available or replied to requests to discuss ABC’s policy proposal.
While an encounter with a specially-trained nurse is likely to be less traumatizing and more helpful than police-alone, the patient’s long-term options after they’re no longer in crisis are a provincial responsibility: housing, mental health supports, potential addiction treatment, all are provincially-funded.
Sim insists while he’d work well with the province and could find the $20 million required for his plan within the city’s current operating budget.
“As a chartered accountant and former forensic accountant, I know we'll be able to find the money without increasing taxes,” he said. “Is it the whole solution? Absolutely not. Is it a meaningful start? Absolutely.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
World's record-breaking hot temperature streak stretches through April
The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending an 11-month streak in which every month set a temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday.
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Trial begins for Winnipeg serial killer who claims he was mentally ill
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.