TPS First To Get Gold for Prioritizing Mental Health
The Toronto Police Service was recognized for its focus on mental wellbeing through Gold Certification in Mental Health at Work by Canada Awards for Excellence – a first in Canadian policing.
"I’m thrilled to welcome the Toronto Police Service to the committed community of organizations who have achieved the gold level. This milestone is particularly significant because the Toronto Police Service is the only police service in the country to have achieved the Gold level in mental health,” said Excellence Canada President Scott Slater. “I think that is a real important thing to stop and recognize the gravity of that. It’s a true testament to the extraordinary leadership, and culture of care within your organization."
Slater said there were several strengths that set the Service apart:
- Chief-led commitment to mental health
- Dedicated mental health support prioritizing member wellbeing
- Congeniality among leadership teams fostering trust
- Transparency and fair practices ensuring inclusive and supportive work environment
- Leading return to work process
- Strong communication support and ambassador program
“These initiatives demonstrate a deep commitment to mental health and wellbeing,” Slater said. “It’s important to say it’s not just at a policy level but at the lived experience level. People are feeling it and happy to talk about it.”
Chief Myron Demkiw said the Service is moving in the right direction, but more work has to be done.
“We are proud of our initiatives. This includes wellness training such as the Before Operational Stress program that has been delivered to hundreds of cadets and new officers. We are now looking at ways at expanding this program to reach more people.”
Demkiw noted that the Service has overhauled many of its hiring and promotion processes, placing trust, fairness and transparency at the centre of everything they do.
“We are relaunching a new and improved Peer Support program,” he added. “This will include a new Peer Support team trained to always support members, during a crisis or not. And we have expanded access to care with greater benefits and a new partnership with Trillium Health Partners. It is in everyone’s interest that our members have access to the right resources to help them prioritize self-care. This is something we will continue to focus on.”
As part of its commitment to prioritizing organizational wellbeing, the Service initiated an external evaluation by taking part in Excellence Canada’s Mental Health at Work Benchmark Assessment to measure its progress.
Chief Administrative Officer Svina Dhaliwal said she is proud of the work that has been done and recommitted to moving forward.
“It measures areas such as level of leadership and organizational commitment towards mental health and a safe workplace, maturity of the processes in place to support the physical and psychological health and safety of members, the level of impact that wellbeing-related programs and practices are having on members and the degree to which wellbeing-related plans, goals and outcomes are linked and aligned to the Service’s strategic direction, communication and reporting processes,” said Dhaliwal.
“This recognition of the Service’s strengths is a result of leadership commitment from many areas of the organization and our collective focus on people. It is important to acknowledge that while we receive this recognition, we are very aware that there remains more work to do. We are committed to doing more in areas that have been highlighted such as strengthening trust with members and leaders, continuing to build our return-to-work processes and tying organizational wellbeing into the Service and Board’s strategic framework, reporting and measurement mechanisms and cascading them at all levels of the organization.”
Ann Morgan, the Toronto Police Service Board Mental Health & Addiction Advisory Panel co-chair, said the certification recognizes the strong commitment demonstrated by the Service’s leadership in dealing with Wellness issues.
“Indeed, from the time that recruits first join our organization, mental health is an explicit highlight,” she said. “Chief Demkiw’s Wellbeing Program is a powerful initiative to normalize conversations about mental health, reducing stigma and building trust. We are so proud of all the strides the Service is taking in this regard, including the noted cultural transformation towards embedding psychological health into the operational culture.
“In addition, this achievement underscores the Service’s strengths in dedicated mental health support, exemplary return-to-work processes and strong communication efforts. It highlights the Service’s comprehensive dedication to creating a supportive and healthy workplace for all members.”
