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WINNIPEG — The mayor of Manitoba’s capital city is pushing forward to create a fourth emergency response service that would respond to mental health crises.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham has long called for a dedicated service that would answer wellness calls and would dispatch trained, trauma-informed responders so that police could focus on violent and property crime, as well as other public-safety issues.
Gillingham is bringing forward a motion to the city’s executive policy committee requesting that his office work with a consulting firm led by a doctor who previously held senior roles with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and the province to develop the Winnipeg Community Crisis Response Service.
“Winnipeg needs a more appropriate response to mental health emergencies, and a fourth service will make our city safer while giving people the care they need,” Gillingham said Wednesday in a statement.
“This is an important step toward a modern crisis-response system that reduces pressure on police and strengthens the supports available to residents.”
Well-being checks remained the top call for service for city police for the fifth year in a row. Statistics from Winnipeg police show that dispatchers fielded more than 21,000 calls relating to mental health concerns last year.
Current provincial legislation dictates that peace officers are the only people able to detain someone experiencing a mental health crisis and often the only ones able to transport them to a facility if needed.
The province has committed to an extensive review of the Mental Health Act after families and advocates pressed for system changes. The government has said it expects to begin consultations on overhauling the law in the new year.
Gillingham plans to bring forward a motion to his inner circle that would see the development of a proposal outlining what a fourth emergency service could look like with the help of Pensa Consulting Inc., and Dr. Maria Cotroneo, who was previously the assistant deputy minister of housing, addictions and homelessness and a director with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
Gillingham said Cotroneo has expertise in mental health, community health and wellness, and how social and legal systems can work together in Manitoba.
If approved, the proposal would look at how dedicated crisis responders could work with community partners, health-system supports and the city’s 911 operations.
Elsewhere in Canada, cities such as Toronto, have implemented their own services that dispatch mental health workers and paramedics to calls that don’t pose safety concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2025.
Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press
