A proposal to create a new emergency service dedicated to mental-health calls drew mixed reactions at Winnipeg city hall Tuesday.

City council's executive policy committee approved a motion from Mayor Scott Gillingham for a single-source consultant contract with Pensa Consulting to create a detailed proposal for what the city is calling the Winnipeg Community Crisis Response Service.

Gillingham says it would ease pressure on police and paramedics and offer people in crisis a more appropriate response.

The new unit would respond to mental-health crises that don’t involve threats to safety or require medical intervention.

Gillingham first floated the idea in 2024 , pointing to the 21,000 well-being calls Winnipeg police have said they respond to each year, on average.

An alternative

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