Second highest in Canada for missing children, Manitoba to spend $3M on integrated response

Another announcement made by the Manitoba government will see millions put into scaling down the number of missing people across the province.

A statement released on Tuesday says $3.1 million is going into the Manitoba Integrated Missing Persons Response.

The project was introduced in March and originally funded with just over $2 million from the Violent Crime Strategy.

Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen said the money will strengthen police services and enhance inter-agency collaboration.

According to the statement, this will create “a consistent and streamlined reporting, tracking, and investigation approach to missing people from rural communities, municipalities and First Nations across the province.”

1:34 Manitoba to spend $2 million on missing persons response strategy

The funding should help across several areas, Goertzen said, such as lowering the number of missing people, increasing timely and effective investigations into missing persons cases, and generating more referrals to supports and programs focused on well-being for chronically missing people.

“Anytime there is a person missing, whose whereabouts is unknown, there is concern for their safety and well-being,” said Chief Doug Palson, Manitoba First Nations Police Service.

According to the Government of Canada’s most recent Missing Persons Fast Fact Sheet, in 2022, Manitoba had the second highest number of missing children per capita after Saskatchewan.