Tom Dyas Announces Support for RCMP Recommendations

August 8, 2022

KELOWNA — Kelowna Mayoral Candidate Tom Dyas has announced that as Mayor of Kelowna, he would seek to expand the Police and Crisis Team (PACT) and ensure there is a full-time nurse at the Kelowna RCMP detachment’s cell block. This is the first step in what will be Dyas’ comprehensive crime and safety platform.

“As Kelowna’s RCMP continues to face mounting mental health-related calls, we need to ensure that the City takes a leadership role in demanding that our RCMP officers are partnered with nurses, who have the experience in helping those facing mental health challenges,” said Tom Dyas. “Our RCMP officers have been clear that they need stronger partnerships with health professionals to to effectively do their jobs and keep people safe. As the leader of our city, it’s a Mayor’s duty to fight to ensure they have those supports — and that’s what I’ll do.”

According to the Kelowna RCMP, they received more than 3,100 mental health-related calls in 2021. In an interview in January 2022, Kelowna RCMP’s media relations officer called specifically for an expansion of PACT and an on-duty nurse at the Kelowna RCMP detachment’s cell block. Currently, there is one nurse in the PACT program and no full-time nurse at the detachment.

“Our own RCMP detachment is telling us that they need support from those with professional training or experience to deal with the increasingly challenging situations they’re facing when it comes to mental health-related crises in their day-to-day work,” said Tom Dyas. “As Kelowna’s Mayor, I will demand that the province and Interior Health come to work with us to provide this support. We can’t simply sit back and hope that things will get better, we have demand and take action if we want to get results.”