EDMONTON- One man was taken into custody Wednesday, after the Edmonton Police Service’s Tactical Unit was called to a meeting regarding cuts to the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program.
The Associate Minister of Services for Persons with Disabilities, Frank Oberle, was meeting with the public about recent cuts to the program when the incident occurred.
Edmonton police say they were called shortly before 4:00 Wednesday afternoon, after a man with a weapon allegedly made threats towards a political leader at the meeting. Witnesses say the man had a knife, and the threats were allegedly made towards Oberle.
“He came outside and said that he was angry, and I said calm down, nothing good comes from violence. He said he could do a lot of good with the knife,” said Rebekah Sevigny, who was in attendance.
Police were called and the man was taken into custody. Oberle was escorted out of the meeting by police for a short time.
“I don’t really know the whole story, but the police, for whatever reason, asked me to step out and I did that. That’s a little bit rattling, of course, but we came back in and continued the meeting,” Oberle said.
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) says the man was taken into custody without incident. Officers are now investigating and say charges are pending.
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The meeting was being held at the Italian Cultural Centre in north Edmonton. Approximately 500 people were in attendance, to ask questions of the minister and address their concerns with cuts they say will be devastating.
“We’re really concerned because it seems these things are going forward with not a lot of thought processes behind it,” said Linda Popowich, who has a 35-year-old son with developmental disabilities. “We were told last Wednesday that our budget is being cut by 26 per cent which would possibly mean that our service provider would no longer be able to provide services for us.”
“As an individual support provider, I have a lady who lives with me, her funding is being cut to almost nonexistent, which means I can no longer afford to support her in my home and I’m not going to do it for free,” added Cathy Cross.
While the government maintains the overall PDD budget has actually seen a net increase of about $3.5 million, the community access category of services has been reduced by about $42 million.
“The fact of the matter is, is major cuts have been communicated to service providers throughout Edmonton. People are going to lose their jobs, services are going to end, and people with disabilities are going to suffer,” said NDP MLA Rachel Notley.
Oberle maintains people who need services will still get them.
“We don’t want this to be a budget issue. It’s not about dollars. It’s about appropriate care to individuals who need it.”
Because Wednesday’s meeting was cut a bit short by the interruption, Oberle says another meeting will be scheduled.
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