HRP chief says officer’s mental health support expectations cannot always be met

By Katie Hartai

HALIFAX – The city’s chief of police says many Halifax Regional Police officers suffering from mental health injuries are connected with support.

This comes after a recent HRP officer’s allegation about being discriminated against after diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

Halifax Regional Police chief Jean-Michel Blais says mental health injuries have to be managed on a case by case basis.

Blais tells NEWS 95.7 he takes a strong professional interest in helping to guide officers through the process of mental health injuries but sometimes their expectations for support can’t be met.

“We do have some very robust systems and we’re able to help a lot of our people,” said Blais. “In some cases where, for various reasons, our people aren’t very happy with the results or the help that they’ve received expecting that they should be able to get more help. Unfortunately we’re not able to do that.”

The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission is investigating into Const. Mark Long’s claim about having his pay cut by HRP for taking time off work for mental health reasons.

The province proposed a bill Wednesday that they say will make it easier for emergency response workers diagnosed with PTSD to access benefits.

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