Winnipeg mayor wants new emergency service to handle mental health calls that don't require police

Winnipeg's mayor is floating the idea of a provincially funded emergency service fully dedicated to mental health calls.

Scott Gillingham says the proposed emergency service would be dispatched by 911 to respond to mental health calls that don't involve safety concerns requiring a police, paramedic or firefighter presence.

The mayor said in an interview Friday that like paramedics, the service would be operated by the city but funded by the province, which has jurisdiction over health care.

"I've consistently said that we need the right response for every 911 call, and wellness checks are a prime example," Gillingham said.

"In many cases, a uniformed police officer or firefighter may not be the right response to that person's crisis."

Some community groups have called for an overhaul to the current crisis response model, where police are first responders in mental health emergencies, following a recent string of deaths involving city police.

Winnipeg police have also said a rise in mental health calls is straining their ability to respond promptly to crises.

Former police chief Danny Smyth said at the beginning of the year that, on average, officers were responding to about 21,000 well-being calls annually.

Review a 'good window of opportunity': Gillingham

Currently, the city's alternative response to citizens in crisis, or ARCC, team responds to calls that 911 dispatchers triage as non-criminal and low-risk situations.

The program pairs plainclothes officers trained in de-escalation techniques and a team of mental health professionals at Shared Health's Crisis Response Centre.

In a statement responding to the mayor's proposal Friday, Bernadette Smith, Manitoba's minister responsible for housing, addictions and homelessness, pointed to the province's funding of the ARCC program and groups like Sabe Peace Walkers, the Bear Clan and the Downtown Community Safety Partnership.

"We are already co-ordinating resources with the City of Winnipeg and community groups in ensuring that we are dealing with mental health challenges with dignity and compassion," the minister said.

Gillingham said that while he supports a further expansion of ARCC, there are many times where the presence of a plainclothes officer wouldn't be at all required.

"We could … look at partnering with agencies like the Canadian Mental Health Association and others to handle some of those wellness check calls," the mayor said.

"I'm not going to predetermine what agency or agencies may or may not be able to take a role in this work, but I think what I'd like to see at this point is the conversation begin."

Gillingham said that an ongoing provincial review of the Mental Health Act — which gives peace officers the sole authority to take a person in crisis into involuntary custody — may be "a good window of opportunity" to discuss the proposal.

In her statement, Smith also pointed to the province's commitment to hire more mental health professionals.