Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
National

Vancouver council votes on promised police, nurses

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Nov, 2022 10:54 AM
  • Vancouver council votes on promised police, nurses

Vancouver city council is expected to vote on a motion today launching a flagship promise by the city's new mayor to hire more police and mental health nurses, but the idea facing pushback.

Mayor Ken Sim campaigned on a promise to hire 100 more officers and 100 mental health nurses for programs that partner police with nurses to respond to non-emergency mental health calls.

The motion before council would earmark $4.5 million to the police and $1.5 million to the health authority from the city's operating budget to start hiring in January.

The idea, which is expected to cost a total of $20 million a year, has already received significant criticism from more than two dozen people speaking against the motion at an earlier meeting.

The mayor's office called the promise a vital component to bolster Vancouver’s front-line response to the mental health and addictions crisis in the city.

Stacy Ashton, chair of the BC Crisis Line Network, says involving officers when a person is in a mental health crisis can be "hugely anxiety-provoking" if someone doesn't trust the police.

"Their role is really public safety. Their role is to kind of control the situation and get folks to comply with their instructions," she said.

"And when somebody is in crisis, they're out of control and the worst thing you can do in that moment is take even more of their control away."

MORE National ARTICLES

Prevent spread of monkeypox with safe sex: Tam

Prevent spread of monkeypox with safe sex: Tam
The World Health Organization declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern over the weekend. Tam, the chief public health officer, said there are 745 confirmed cases of the monkeypox reported in Canada and 99 per cent of those affected are men with a median age of 36.

Prevent spread of monkeypox with safe sex: Tam

Over $8 million in drugs and more than $170K in cash seized over gang activity: VPD

Over $8 million in drugs and more than $170K in cash seized over gang activity: VPD
Detectives in the VPD’s Organized Crime Section initiated Project Tint in May 2022 to target drug sales and distributions within a high-level organized crime group linked to the Lower Mainland gang conflict.

Over $8 million in drugs and more than $170K in cash seized over gang activity: VPD

B.C. teen pushed back against extortionist: Crown

B.C. teen pushed back against extortionist: Crown
Kristen LeNoble says Todd also made a post on Facebook, asking people she was connected with to support her, and not judge her, as she feared her harasser was about to distribute a link depicting her in a sexual manner.

B.C. teen pushed back against extortionist: Crown

Hockey Canada paid $7.6M in settlements

Hockey Canada paid $7.6M in settlements
The hockey governing body has been under fire since it was revealed the money in its multimillion-dollar National Equity Fund — which had been reserved for uninsured payments including sexual assault and sexual abuse claims — comes from player fees.

Hockey Canada paid $7.6M in settlements

Canadian Blood Services criticized over masks move

Canadian Blood Services criticized over masks move
The agency says people are still welcome to wear masks if they want, but mandatory masking and physical distancing were suspended as of Monday after consultation with medical and epidemiology experts.  

Canadian Blood Services criticized over masks move

Heat warnings persist in B.C., as records tumble

Heat warnings persist in B.C., as records tumble
In addition to heat warnings of temperatures up to 41 C for much of the central and southern Interior, and conditions only slightly cooler elsewhere in B.C., the weather office is maintaining air quality advisories for eastern parts of Metro Vancouver, the lower Fraser Valley and the Fraser Canyon.

Heat warnings persist in B.C., as records tumble