Winnipeg mayoral candidate plans to ground police helicopter

Murray, who previously served as the city’s Mayor between 1998 to 2004, said that the helicopter was ‘really expensive’ and ‘past its best-before date as a concept’ on Monday 11 July, adding that he thought ‘there’s a lot better way to spend public dollars than on a helicopter’.

The aircraft, known as Air1, is an EC120B Colibri acquired by the city in 2010 for C$3.5 million (US$2.69 million), and which costs around $2.2 million a year to operate – approximately one-per-cent of the police’s $320 million total budget. The helicopter underwent a major overhaul, costing $600,000, in the first half of 2021.

According to the most recent flight operations report, for 2020, the helicopter reportedly attended 2,446 events, helped find 738 suspects or missing people, and took part in 101 vehicle pursuits. The flight operations unit was also credited with preventing seven suicides and saving six people from a house fire that year.

The Mayor of Winnipeg does not have the power to directly control police operations. If elected, Murray would have to advise the Winnipeg Police Board to eliminate the helicopter at their discretion.

Moe Sabourin, President of the Winnipeg Police Association said that he thought Murray underestimated the benefits of operating the helicopter. Speaking to the CBC, Sabourin said: “I think he's hearing from a very small minority that want it trashed.”

However, he admitted that ‘you have to find some saving somewhere’ and that ‘for the cost of a couple of weeks of operating a helicopter, you could have a lot more deployed drones in a lot of vehicles’.