North Cowichan is considering introducing a Mobile Integrated Crisis Response team in the Cowichan Valley.
A MICR is a partnership between police and healthcare professionals, like nurses, who respond to mental health and substance-use crises in the community, rather than sending just police officers.
Coun. Becky Hogg introduced a successful motion at North Cowichan’s council meeting on Sept. 17 for staff to prepare a report that explores the costs and opportunities to replicate the MICR model in the Cowichan Valley, which would include North Cowichan, Duncan and Cowichan Tribes.
She said mental-health related calls for service have increased significantly in recent years, placing a considerable strain on police resources and often requiring specialized care beyond the scope of traditional law enforcement.
“In 2024, our local RCMP detachment responded to more than 1,100 mental-health calls,” Hogg said. “We have 69 RCMP officers right now in our detachment and that results in just over three calls a day in the period of a year. Bringing the unit to Cowichan would not only add another service, it would transform how the municipality responds to vulnerable populations and complex community challenges.”
Hogg said the MICR model has been successfully implemented in other jurisdictions in B.C. and Canada, and the province has demonstrated support for the integrated health and safety initiative through grant funding and program development.
All the other councillors unanimously agreed with her.
Coun. Mike Caljouw said establishing a MICR program in Cowichan could save a lot of lives.
“Our community needs better tools to respond to people in crisis,” he said.
“A MICR team would bring together health professionals and first responders providing compassionate, effective support while easing pressure on emergency services. Exploring this option through a detailed staff report is a smart and responsible first step.”
Mayor Rob Douglas said the opioid crisis, mental-health crisis and homelessness are some of the top issues the municipality has been dealing with on a day-to-day basis in recent years.
“It’s easy to get frustrated with this file and to point fingers at one another, and at senior levels of government,” he said. “We should be holding the senior levels of government to account for not doing enough to support our communities in addressing these challenges, but as elected leaders in our community, I think it’s important that we show leadership and step forward with some solutions.”
Coun. Bruce Findlay said he agrees that establishing a MICR program in Cowichan could have a lot of potential.
He said he’s interested in seeing what staff determines the costs to be in their report, and what the costs for the program have been in other jurisdictions.
“The police on the front lines are sometimes dealing with mental health concerns that I’m sure they’re trained for to some capacity, but obviously not all of them are at the levels that they might be,” Findlay said.
“So if there is a potential partnership with Island Health that can make something like this work, then I think it’s definitely something to explore, so I’m looking forward to the staff report."
