The territorial government and RCMP have partnered to research ways of involving health professionals when police respond to mental health crises.
At a September public briefing for MLAs, Jolene Saturnino, an assistant deputy minister for the Department of Justice at the time, said staff from the Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Justice and RCMP have contracted someone to look at how other jurisdictions are responding to mental health calls.
“The goal is to better understand how policing, health and social services, and community organizations can work together to respond more effectively to people experiencing mental health crises, while recognizing the unique needs of NWT communities,” a spokesperson for the justice department told Cabin Radio.
The spokesperson said a report with options is expected to be ready by the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year and will be presented to the next assembly.
During the September 17 briefing, Chief Superintendent Dyson Smith – commanding officer of NWT RCMP – said 17 percent of calls to which RCMP responded in 2025 were mental health-related and each call took about four hours on average.
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“That is a significant amount of police resources and time being utilized,” Smith said, adding other jurisdictions had “taken a lot of that off the police’s shoulders.”
Responding to a question from Yellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan in the Legislative Assembly last Friday about progress on establishing programs like a mental health response team, justice minister Jay Macdonald said the department is “working toward” a solution.
“The RCMP are often called to deal with these situations because they are the primary resource available,” said Macdonald.
“The situations can have broader causes – including whether it’s mental health, addiction, addiction challenges – and could be better addressed through community services and other supports.”
The justice department didn’t identify the contractor hired for the work. Saturnino described them as a trained health professional who was raised in the NWT, has worked throughout the territory, and “understands the intricacies and the differing services that are available throughout our varying communities.”
