On September 5th, Peterborough City Councillors received a report for information regarding funding levels for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) of Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge and the Peterborough Drug Strategy (PDS). 

Councillor Keith Riel immediately made a motion to defer this report until such a time as Council could hear presentations from the Peterborough Police Service, Fourcast and CMHA on the programs that support vulnerable populations. The motion also asked that MP Michelle Ferreri and MPP Dave Smith be invited to hear these presentations.

The deferral would later pass unanimously following a lengthy discussion. 

Key to Riel’s motion for deferral were concerns regarding the lack of support the City is receiving from the Province and Federal Government on mental health supports. 

“This is a Federal responsibility,” Riel emphasized. “I have to ask again where is the Province and the Federal Government on this file? This again is a download on the municipalities as we are forced to go it alone on mental health.”  

The key recommendations from staff included an extension for the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team (MCIT) funding to be extended for a further year past its current agreement until August 16th, 2025 at a cost of $83,500. Staff suggest that $53,000 of this amount be taken from the Community Development Program budget and the remaining $30,500 be included in the 2024 budget.

These recommendations from staff come after a 2022 decision to approve $60,000 for the PDS for the purchase of a mass spectrometer for the Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site. An additional $185,000 over two years was also granted to CMHA in order to support the MCIT program. 

In 2022, these funds were sourced from the City reserves and the Peterborough Police Services 2020 budget surplus. 

Mass Spectrometers are used as a means of allowing people who use drugs to ensure that their substance is safe to use and aid in the reduction of overdoses and drug poisonings.

“I have to question why it was the City’s responsibility to purchase the new mass spectrometer when it should have been done by a Peterborough Public Health expense,” Riel stated. “This piece of equipment has never been used to my knowledge, no one has been trained on it and even if it was used…the staff has no right to confiscate the drugs from people who brought it in.”

The report notes that to date the mass spectrometer is not being used due to a number of issues concerning delays in delivery, the training requirements, and the availability of staff. PDS is also facing difficulties with the “prolonged resubmission process” for Health Canada for drug checking “as part of the exempt status as a supervised supervision site.”

The goal at the time of the report is for Peterborough Public Health (PPH) staff is to start drug testing in mid-August as part of a “soft launch” which will include additional training. The intention following the soft launch is for the service to expand and include a regular schedule that will be available to the public. PPH suggests that particular attention will be paid to recreational drug users. 

Councillor Bierk questioned staff about the role of the MCIT and how they are embedded within the police services.

“I want to hear from the MCIT team to hear what they’re doing are there other agencies in the community on the ground that are doing crisis intervention and can they quantify their work,” Bierk said pointing to the work being done in London, Ontario where similar teams are able to point to reductions on emergency room diversion and police criminalization diversion through street-level interventions in mental health crises. 

The report, while short on details on the matter, does note that “there is no doubt that this program while health related at its core, is assisting the police in its business and assisting the City in reducing the impacts of mental health on the downtown and the community.”

City Staff explained that when mental health-related calls come in to police through 911 when an MCIT unit is operating they are dispatched to those calls specifically.

“They are trying and do their best to prevent arrests, or apprehensions, of people dealing with mental health issues,” Peterborough’s Community Development Project Manager, Chris Kawalec said. “Dispatch triage has them so that they are sent to those versus say an assault or a break and enter or something more criminal code related. That’s the nature of how that service is dispatched in the community.” 

Councillors also had questions about the reported number of interactions the MCIT team is having with individuals in the city. As the report noted, the two teams combined had served 319 people in the first year of operation while facilitating 1060 follow-ups.

Councillor Bierk sought clarification along these lines, specifically squaring community feedback with what the report outlines.

“Is that an issue of capacity?” he asked, noting that he was still not entirely clear on how the team worked. “MCIT workers are in the police station or separately or they have their own access to 911?”

Kawalec responded by confirming that MCIT staff do have a desk at the police station and reiterated that they are operating outside of regular business hours, from 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM Monday-Saturday as outlined in the report. 

“One case does take a lot of work to make progress on mental health issues,” he explained, stating that while the number of individuals served may only be 300, the actual number of interventions, including follow-ups is more reflective of the team’s larger workload.

Prior to the vote, Councillor Riel stated emphatically that he would be “over the moon” if MP Ferreri and MPP Smith got up and spoke and answered any questions Council had for them.

The motion did not set a timeline for when Council would hear from the agencies involved, however, the current agreement between the City and the MCIT is currently set to expire in August of 2024.

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