THUNDER BAY – Health Minister Patty Hajdu says it’s time to review how money for emergency services is allocated, as Black Lives Matter protests highlight police violence and spur calls to defund police across North America.
The Thunder Bay-Superior North MP sees opportunities to “realign” spending, saying police are often sent into situations where social services could be more effective.
“I think we rely on policing to do things that quite frankly might be better handled by mental health services, by outreach services,” she told TBT News.
Hajdu said her experience as executive director of Shelter House had convinced her of the need to “reallocate how we fund emergency services.”
“Police are on the front lines of responding to so much despair – whether it’s homelessness, substance use, or mental health,” she said.
“Wouldn’t it be amazing if we were to look at the whole portfolio of emergency services and say, how could we realign how we’re spending that money and make sure [it’s] going to the right service for the right type of distress call? It’s a big, big project, but I think it’s doable.”
A recent ride-about the MP took with Thunder Bay police only reinforced that impression, though she praised the local force’s approach.
“Of the 12 or 14 calls we responded to, mental health or substance use was at the core of the majority,” she reported. “I’m not saying the police didn’t do a fabulous job – they did a great job. In fact, for many of them, they called their partners at the mental health association to come and help them alleviate the distress the person was in.”
The Black Lives Matter protests that have swept the continent provide an opportunity for a broad conversation about policing and community safety, Hajdu said – but added those were largely a matter of provincial and municipal jurisdiction.
Recent events, however – including the fatal shooting of six Indigenous people by RCMP officers since April – have brought renewed focus onto the federal police service.
