Photo: Kelowna RCMP

Kelowna mayoral candidate Tom Dyas is calling on Interior Health to expand a program that partners nurses with police officers for mental health calls.

He would also like to see a full-time nurse stationed in the cells of the Kelowna RCMP detachment.

A Monday news release calls the proposal the “first step in what will be Dyas’ comprehensive crime and safety platform.”

The City of Kelowna and RCMP have been pushing Interior Health to expand the Police and Crisis Team for years, a request that was flatly denied by the health authority during outcry over a violent arrest of a UBCO student in 2020. The PACT program currently includes just one nurse/officer team in Kelowna.

“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,” Dyas said in a news release.

Castanet asked Dyas what he will do differently from Kelowna’s current mayor, Colin Basran, that will convince Interior Health to fund the program.

Dyas said it is up to leadership at city hall to make enough noise to bring IH to the table.

“Simply because Interior Health says no, is not a reason for City of Kelowna to give up,” he said in an email to Castanet. “Interior Health and the provincial government, like any other organization, does not want negative attention.”

“As the mayor of the largest city in the Interior, the mayor of Kelowna is uniquely positioned to apply pressure and provide leadership on issues under the jurisdiction of Interior Health and the provincial government.”

Dyas said the program “makes sense and makes a difference.”

Interior Health, however, said in 2020 an expansion of the program is “not the most effective use of scarce health-care resources.”

“Especially when we know there's such a significant demand for mental health services for the whole population,” said Karen Bloemink, vice-president of clinical operations, at the time.

Dyas, however, said the city should not accept that answer.

“We can’t simply sit back, conduct studies, and watch as crime gets worse when there are actual things we can do to respond to our worsening crime crisis.”

Last week, the commanding officer of the Kelowna RCMP suggested the reason the city’s crime rates are the highest in the country is due in part to a lack of social services in the community.

“Here, we know it can be a six month wait for somebody who has a complex addiction issue, who is committing crime in our area and arrested by our proactive enforcement team, and wanting to deal with their addiction,” Supt. Kara Triance said. “Instead they're released out to the streets without a place to live, and left in a capacity where they'll be committing more crime.”

Basran has so far refused to say if he will be seeking re-election in October.