Car 60 up for discussion

PRINCE GEORGE – A Notice of Motion was part of the most recent Council meeting. It was authored by Councillor Kyle Sampson and it seeks Administration ” … to explore the opportunity of growth and expansion of the Prince George RCMP Car 60 Program by engaging with the program’s partners, the RCMP and the Northern Health Authority in an effort to meet Councils strategic priorities of improving the safety and security, health, and quality of life of residents in the City of Prince George.” It goes on to ” … Direct the Intergovernmental Resolutions Committee to bring back appropriate correspondence/resolutions to Council that requests further aid from the Provincial and Federal levels of government towards supplying additional mental health support services that are supplemental to policing and public safety in our community.

“Well, I think the City, the RCMP, our partners with Northern Health just need to look to expand this program because we’ve seen how successful it is,” explains Kyle Sampson as the rationale for introducing the Notice.

Car 60 pairs an RCMP officer with a mental health professional to help adequately deal with some of the mental health and addictions issues in the community. In his argument, Councillor Sampson says, according to statistics, there has been an increase of well over 100% in the number of calls associated to mental health in Prince George.