Victoria council have unanimously approved a motion to explore options to change the city’s response to mental health and addictions issues by moving away from policing in some cases, at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Thursday.
Council members have directed staff to report back on what it would take to create a Community Wellness Task Force in time to discuss the city’s 2021 budget.
On June 12, councillors Sarah Potts, Marianna Alto, and Jeremy Loveday introduced a motion to develop a framework for health care professionals to respond to mental health calls instead of Victoria Police.
While discussions around creating a task force to deliver this service have been ongoing for several years, the recent deaths of Indigenous and Black Canadians at the hands of police during wellness checks has brought the issue to the forefront.
“It’s clear now that across the spectrum, there’s an appetite to have a conversation that speaks specifically to whether or not there are better ways for us to respond to particular community crises,” said councillor Marianna Alto.
Support for the move to change responses to those who disproportionately harmed by police responses—BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, and poor and unhoused population—was unanimous.
“As our police chief has made clear, a lot of their work involves dealing with people who are suffering from mental health or addictions issues and I think we could all agree that others may be better equipped to deal with those issues,” said councillor Geoff Young.
“The difficulty is in determining what is the appropriate response. I think in a lot of cases you need both types of response. There is a physical danger and there’s also a requirement for interaction with the individual in a non-threatening way… It’s something that deserves more study.”
Councillor Jeremy Loveday went on to point out that this motion is the first step towards developing a framework, and will involve engagement and consultation with Victoria residents who are most harmed and impacted by the current approach.
