When I think of defunding, I think more about funding all social services. Having policed in the north myself, I know that in many communities there is no addictions counselling. There are no mental health crisis centres. In times of crisis, we are the first response. Even if there were those services in those areas, when a person is in crisis, at three o'clock in the morning when somebody is wielding a knife and is suffering from a mental health crisis, that is not the time to bring in mental health practitioners. It's time for the RCMP to go in and to get that person calm, get them to a place of safety and get them the help they need. Often it's not in the community. We actually will physically escort them on the plane and bring them to a place where they can get the help they need.
It's not about defunding; it's about funding everything that goes along with it. I think we can work better with our mental health practitioners. We had a model, for example, in Grande Prairie, Alberta. I'm familiar with it because I was in charge of that district. A mental health practitioner was on the mental health de-escalation team in Grande Prairie. They would attend the call and stay in a safe location, but as soon as it was safe, that person was in.
We have to look at those various different models and not be stuck in a traditional response mode.