Earlier this month, Ottawa Council passed the 2023 municipal budget, which included a $15.2-million increase to the police. Two city councillors, Shawn Menard and Ariel Troster, made a last-minute attempt to divert $500,000 from the Ottawa Police Service budget towards building and sustaining a citywide mental-health crisis response, but the motion failed. This effort did, however, spark a critical conversation around the council table about what a police-free alternative to mental-health calls looks like and why it is necessary.
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