‘Sense of frustration’: province-funded community safety pilot project remains grounded By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2023

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This article was published 29/03/2023 (969 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba communities faced with increased crime rates continue to wait for provincial help with targeted, local safety plans, after a rural and northern crime prevention program has been set back a year.

Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak his community has been waiting eagerly for the government’s community safety and well-being pilot program to launch.

“We just have a sense of frustration that we could probably be a little further down the road to dealing with our issues if we were able to secure this funding or get the consulting help that’s supposed to come as part of this funding program,” Bosiak said by phone from Dauphin, about 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

Like other rural and northern communities, Dauphin has experienced an increase in crime, homelessness and other general safety concerns coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and compounded by a shortage of Mounties in the region, Bosiak said.

About 8,000 people live in the city north of Riding Mountain National Park.

A network of community agencies and volunteer groups has provided services to people who have “fallen through the cracks” for the past four years, but gaps continue to exist, Bosiak said.

The city had hoped to use the $100,000 provincial grant to increase co-ordination between groups and develop a strategic service delivery plan, the mayor said.

“We’ve identified the fact that crime is not simply a policing matter, and this is why we were so looking forward to being involved in this provincial program, because of the ability to work with other groups and agencies and other organizations in our community to try to come up with some solution,” he said.

“It’s just unfortunate but the wheels of government sometimes turn very slowly. We could have had a lot of traction if we were a year into it already.”

Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen first announced $1.3 million to launch the pilot program in 12 communities at the end of April 2022. It was billed as “reconciliation in action,” and was intended to assist communities experiencing high rates of violence and to alleviate demand on local police.

Participating municipalities and First Nations will receive a grant to develop and implement a safety plan, in consultation with a program lead and local groups, targeting four priority areas: social development, prevention, risk intervention and incident response.

Portage la Prairie, Steinbach, The Pas, Swan River, Dauphin, Selkirk, and six First Nations, including St. Theresa Point and three Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak communities, are involved.

St. Theresa Point, located more than 400 km northeast of Winnipeg, is currently in crisis, after two teens were found dead outdoors March 1. Its chief and council have called for additional powers to address illicit drugs and addictions in the First Nation.

The Keewatin Tribal Council has also declared a state of emergency for its 11 member First Nations, which are represented by MKO, owing to “system-wide deficiencies in public safety, health services and infrastructure.”

“Unfortunately, the procurement process took longer than expected, but it is back on track now.”–Spokesperson

However, the province has yet to hire a manager to lead the program.

A request for proposal seeking a consultant to develop and implement the program was first posted Feb. 15. The province hopes to have a consultant in place by May.

“Unfortunately, the procurement process took longer than expected, but it is back on track now,” a government spokesperson said in a statement when asked to explain the delay.

Recent statistics from the Manitoba RCMP indicate calls for service jumped by 17 per cent last month, compared to February 2022.

Selkirk chief administrative officer Duane Nicol said the initiative will support the city as it shifts its response to community safety concerns.

“It’s really about preventing crime and disorder in the first… and addressing those social and health conditions that are the root cause of community disorder and safety risk,” Nicol said, noting municipal governments have long been challenged to address issues that are often provincial jurisdiction.

“At each level of government, we have these different tools and responsibilities, but there tends to be a gap, and in the past, we’ve used policing as that stop gap,” Nicol said. “We need a better approach.”

“It’s really about preventing crime and disorder in the first… and addressing those social and health conditions that are the root cause of community disorder and safety risk.”–Duane Nicol

Funding for police takes about one-quarter of Selkirk’s annual budget, which is supported by about 10,500 taxpayers.

Nicol said he expects a lot of service gaps to be identified during the process, and the city is looking forward to coming up with a comprehensive plan.

“This will be a tool that we will be able to use to sit down and talk with the provincial government, service providers, granters, funders, all of those people, to say here’s where the gaps exist and here’s what we believe we need to do to address them.”

The delayed program launch is not a concern, he said, noting administration appreciated additional time to prepare and reach out to community partners. “We’d rather do it right and do it well, than do it fast.”

MKO, which has partnered with the province to roll out the program to its communities, was unable to provide comment on the initiative Wednesday.

A request for comment from Goertzen was not returned.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca