There’s still very little known about what made a man allegedly drive through the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver on Saturday, killing 11 people, including a five-year-old child. But it’s clear the tragic event will have major implications on municipal and provincial policies, from security at public events through to mental health.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim reiterated calls Sunday for the provincial government to move faster and more aggressively on involuntary detention for those suffering severe mental health and addictions issues.
His comments, directed mainly at the provincial government, came after Vancouver police revealed the driver had a long history of numerous mental health interactions with police.
“We can’t create a police state here,” said Sim, responding to questions of whether enough security was deployed at the event.
“It doesn’t get to the root cause. And the conversation keeps coming back to mental health. We need to take care of people that are sick, get them the care they need. It’s the only humane thing to do for these individuals. And then we start to avoid horrific events that are occurring on a regular basis.
“That’s the conversation we have to have going forward. Or this isn’t going to change.”
The tragedy occurred just two days after Premier David Eby opened the province’s first 10 involuntary treatment beds, dedicated for those in prison at the Surrey pretrial centre. He was asked Sunday if the Lapu Lapu attack would accelerate or change his approach.
“Obviously this person is profoundly ill,” said Eby.
“But there are so many questions that I have, there are so many questions British Columbians have about how that could take place, how we got to that moment. And as we learn those answers we’ll take the answers that are necessary to ensure it can’t happen again.”
Eby, quite rightly, said his first task is to support the Filipino community in its grief. The Lapu Lapu days were a celebration of pride in Filipino culture and heritage, with music, food trucks, dances and a local market.
But within that grief, in the days ahead, there will also be inescapable anger and outrage at how the 30-year-old man facing more than eight counts of murder was not provided the necessary help by the health system, and how eventually he could be allowed to walk free before hurting so many others.
Already, critics are demanding answers.
“The accused in yesterday’s senseless tragedy had far more than 50 interactions with police related to mental health,” Opposition Conservative public safety critic Elenore Sturko posted on social media Sunday evening.
“It is clear that there are gaps outside the Mental Health Act that need to be addressed.”
Sturko, a former police officer, said she will “bring forward recommendations to government to help prevent senseless tragedies” based on future information.
In the meantime, the pressure will undoubtedly increase on the provincial government to ramp up its efforts on involuntary care.
So far, Eby’s expert on the issue, Dr. Daniel Vigo, has concluded B.C. does not need new laws. That conclusion may need another look, especially as other provinces like Alberta move more swiftly to pass legislation and reform their mental health and addictions systems in this area.
Whatever lessons will be learned, the mayor and police chief made clear the province will have to play a big role in the structural and societal problems that underpin acts of extreme violence.
Vancouver police interim Chief Steve Rai expressed exasperation at a series of violent cases, including a Toronto tourist randomly attacked on the seawall April 15, allegedly by a man whose mother had tried to alert police of his mental health crisis. Or the man last year who is accused of killing a person in downtown Vancouver and chopping off a second person’s hand. Or the man who allegedly stabbed three people at a festival in Chinatown in 2023 while out on an unescorted day pass from a psychiatric institute.
“Why is this constantly happening with people that need help?” asked Rai.
“The question would be, how do we get to the root cause and fix it? It’s not policing the symptom. We’ve got to get to the root cause. We have to get people help. It's not put more cops on the street. Certainly, we are crime fighters. We are not health-care fighters.”
Sim laid down a challenge for Ottawa and Victoria — regardless of who wins the next federal election — to get moving on the issue.
“We do need mandatory care for people with significant mental health challenges or substance use disorder, it’s the most humane thing to do,” he said.
“We have people on the streets who cannot direct their own care, and they are causing harm to themselves and other people…
“We owe it to them and owe it to Vancouverites to go a lot faster on this.”
Rob Shaw has spent more than 17 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for Glacier Media. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, host of the weekly podcast Political Capital, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
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