Winnipeg mayor calls for fourth emergency service focused on mental health

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Peggy

Winnipeg’s mayor is looking to create a fourth emergency service that would respond to mental health calls and wouldn’t require police.

Scott Gillingham said the “specialized mental health teams” would be funded by the provincial government and dispatched by the city, similar to paramedics.

The new service “could provide better support for people in crisis while allowing police to focus their resources on other critical safety priorities,” Gillingham said in a statement to CTV News.

At the beginning of the year, former police chief Danny Smyth said officers conducted 21,000 wellness checks in 2023.

The city said wellness check calls have increased by 40 per cent over five years, quickly becoming the number one call for service.

“We need the right response for every call, and wellness checks are an example where a uniformed officer may not always be required,” the mayor said in his statement.

CTV News has reached out to Manitoba’s minister responsible for housing, addictions and homelessness Bernadette Smith for comment.

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