Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, left, and Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer listen as B.C. Premier David Eby announces a new public safety plan in Vancouver on Sunday, November 20, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Vancouver City Council has approved up to $16 million for 100 new police and 100 mental-health nurses, part of the campaign platform of newly elected Mayor Ken Sim.
The motion leaves the door open for provincial or federal authorities to contribute toward the plan.
Sim and his ABC Vancouver party, which holds a strong majority on the council, had promised to fund the hiring of the police and nurses to help respond to mental health calls.
The city was originally prepared to spend $4.5 million for the police and $1.5 million for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, with hiring to start in January.
But at Tuesday’s council meeting those numbers were bumped to $8 million for each, inclusive of any provincial or federal funding that may be available.
The change comes days after Premier David Eby announced a new public safety plan that includes expanding mental-health crisis response teams.
Council voted to ask the province to be part of plans to create 12 peer-assisted care teams made up of trained peers and mental-health professionals to respond to people in distress, with or without police.
Sim’s promise received significant pushback from some members of the public and mental-health advocates who say including police on mental-health calls increases anxiety for those in crisis and that the money could be more effectively used elsewhere.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2022.
