Vancouver ‘misunderstood’ provincial funding, votes on mental health response plan

Call it a three-million-dollar “misunderstanding.”

The mayor’s office in Vancouver admits it made a mistake when it comes to provincial funding to help pay for a flagship campaign promise made by Ken Sim — an initiative that would put 100 new police officers paired with 100 new mental health nurses on the street.

Vancouver City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on a motion to fund the program, which is meant to respond to non-emergency mental health calls in the city.

To correct the record. The province didn’t offer all $3m to Vancouver. We misunderstood. We will apply for that part of the funding, as well as working on the other initiatives announced yesterday. We are aligned with the new direction on the increase in mental health supports.

— Kareem Allam (@kareemallam42) November 21, 2022

But, according to the mayor’s staff, there was some confusion after Premier David Eby announced a provincial public safety plan Sunday, including available funding to pair police and mental health workers.

Mayor Sim’s Chief of Staff Kareem Allam tweeted a clarification Monday afternoon.

“To correct the record. The province didn’t offer all $3m to Vancouver. We misunderstood. We will apply for that part of the funding, as well as working on the other initiatives announced yesterday. We are aligned with the new direction on the increase in mental health supports,” he posted.

The motion before council Tuesday would give $4.5 million to Vancouver Police Department and $1.5 million to Vancouver Coastal Health from the city’s operating budget to start hiring in January.

The annual cost for the project has been pegged at $20 million to pair 100 new officers with 100 new mental health nurses

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But not everyone supports the idea.

The head of the BC Crisis Line Network feels the funding could be better used elsewhere, and that having officers respond to mental health calls can be “hugely anxiety-provoking” if someone doesn’t trust the police.

“Their role is really public safety … to control a situation and to get folks to comply with their instructions,” Chair Stacy Ashton said. “When somebody is in crisis they are out of control, and the worst thing you can do in that moment is take even more of their control away.”

The plan has also 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.

It’s expected to go to a vote at Tuesday’s Vancouver City Council meeting.

–With files from The Canadian Press