Mental health trouble leads to public safety issues, Vancouver’s mayor says

VANCOUVER — People are “sick and tired” of inquiries and reviews into a recurring pattern of people in a mental health crisis becoming involved in violent incidents, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said Wednesday.

His comments came days after an SUV was driven at high speed through a crowd at a Vancouver festival held by the Filipino community, killing 11 people and injuring dozens more.

Later Wednesday, the province announced it was declaring a provincial day of remembrance and mourning for the victims, to be held on Friday.

The mayor said the man accused of the attack at the Lapu Lapu Day festival was under the care of a mental health team and on “extended leave,” a term referring to leave from involuntary treatment.

“This is incredibly difficult to hear and even harder to accept because it points to a deeper failure in the mental health system,” Sim said. “The mental health crisis is not just a health crisis. It has become a public safety crisis.”

British Columbia Premier David Eby later addressed some of Sim’s criticisms, saying there would be a review and modernization of the Mental Health Act.

“Well, the concern of the mayor and my concern about the need for people who are struggling in our streets to get care, even if they’re not able to ask for it, is exactly why I brought Dr. Daniel Vigo on, an expert in this area,” he said of the provincial chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders.

Vigo’s recommendations prompted the opening of a 10-bed unit at a B.C. jail last week for those who have severe mental illness, addictions and brain injuries, and more such facilities will follow, Eby said.

A statement from Eby’s office said Friday’s day of remembrance and mourning would be an opportunity for people to “come together, grieve the loss of innocent lives and recognize the contributions the victims made to their communities and the province.”

It’s also a time to offer comfort to people who have lost loved ones, those who are recovering and those who witnessed the horrific scene, it said.

There were some signs of a return to normality on Wednesday in the South Vancouver neighbourhood where the attack took place, with most police barriers now removed.

But the street where so many died and were injured remains blocked off. A memorial continues to grow along a fence, with mourners leaving hundreds of bouquets of flowers, candles, stuffed animals and cards carrying messages of grief and condolences.

A steady stream of people arrived at the site, most remaining sombre and silent.

Vancouver resident Richard Dobbyn stopped at the memorial and said the city had never seen a tragedy on this scale.

“It hurts,” he said. “It really does.”

Dobbyn echoed the sentiments of several others who declined interviews, saying the attack will — and should — change the way public festivals and events are secured against possible violence.

“Sometimes things don’t change until there’s a catastrophe,” he said.

His voice cracked with emotion as he spoke of the victims of the attack.

“And I think it’s a harsh learning experience (with) what’s taken place.”

Sim urged the provincial and federal governments to step up in addressing the mental health crisis, including expanding mandatory care for people “in severe crisis who pose a risk to themselves and to others,” saying Vancouver cannot take on the issue alone.

Sim and his ABC party won election in 2022 on a platform that emphasized public safety, including a promise to hire mental health workers to ride with police officers on calls.

Sim said they’ve hired 38 mental-health workers and plan to hire 11 more.

He said the city can’t take on the crisis alone and needs provincial and federal government help.

“We need to urgently roll out mandatory care for people in severe crisis who pose a risk to themselves and to others, and we need meaningful bail reform, so repeat offenders aren’t cycled back into our communities without proper support or supervision,” he said.

The tragedy on Saturday made the situation even more urgent, Sim said.

He said they owe this action to the victims who were at the Lapu Lapu Day festival, their families, and the public, who simply want to feel safe while in their community.

Eby has said he will call an inquiry if the criminal trial doesn’t provide answers about the attack.

On Wednesday, he asked people to “reserve judgment” on what went wrong in this case, after being asked about the suspect’s mental health care situation. Eby said the accused had been “compliant with his medication.”

“The vast majority of people who live with mental health issues are no threat to anybody in the public,” Eby said.

But Sim said he wondered how many more reports are needed into what they know is a pattern of mental health challenges that lead to “significant negative incidents.”

“So sure, come up with another commission, come up with another report. They’re important, but let’s come up with action now.”

Thirty-year-old Adam Kai-Ji Lo is accused of eight counts of second-degree murder and police say more charges are likely. Dozens were injured in the attack and police said on Wednesday that 16 people remain in hospital, five in critical condition.

Mental health has been cited in several attacks in Vancouver, including the stabbing of three people at a celebration in Chinatown in 2023. The suspect was on an unescorted day pass from the forensic psychiatric institute.

The mayor said the city had started a comprehensive internal review of the events surrounding Saturday’s attack, including the festival’s permitting, site safety, planning and emergency response, and will identify steps forward for future events with a preliminary report out in a few weeks.

Sim said they’ll also look at areas at risk in the city, including schoolyards, restaurant patios and beaches, and while they won’t be able to secure every possible target in the city, they will do their best to make sure risks are reduced.

“And I think people have to realize that if you go to the root cause, this is a mental health crisis which is manifesting into a public safety crisis.” he said.

— With files from Wolfgang Depner in Victoria

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press