Defund and Reallocate Resources to Health and Social Programs

I worked in a social work context for 2 years and not once did I have a positive interaction with police. Police seem to be woefully unprepare to handle those experiencing mental health crisises often restoring to physical violence. In similar situations me and my coworkers were able to descalate the situation without laying a hand on the individual in question.

The only times I have seen police makes arrests in Ottawa in public those in handcuff were indigenous people who seemed not to be causing any kind of distribence.

The only times I have been stopped by the police in Ottawa I was with one of my POC friends.

More resources should allocate towards social programs, housing, safe injection sites, and similar resources. The police have proved time and again that they should not be the actors engaging with the most vunerable memebers of our community.