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![\"MIKE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4320980_web1_260326-Russ-Wyatt-0129.jpg\")
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MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-Fort Garry) requested an urgent council meeting over Winnipeg\u2019s drug crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cMSP was out there, and the next block over, paramedics were out there, and the cadets, all reviving people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The province\u2019s recently announced the $1-million commitment to fund a dedicated ambulance crew for three months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so unworkable, it\u2019s just like saying nothing. And it\u2019s been months, not weeks, of waiting for a response that is adequate to meet the level of the crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gillingham, who toured the Portage Avenue and Sherbrook Street area where there has been open drug use, said he spoke with Rollins and told her he supports holding a council meeting on the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am deeply frustrated by the impact this crisis is having on our neighbourhoods, emergency responders, and our most vulnerable residents,\u201d the mayor said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy office is already setting up a meeting with councillors next week to look at what further action the city can take. We also need other levels of government to understand the urgency of this situation and deliver the addictions, mental health, and public safety resources Winnipeg needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her letter, Rollins argued the current approach fails to meet the needs of residents, business owners, emergency responders and people dealing with addiction, mental illness and homelessness.<\/p>\n
She called for more provincial funding for mental health and addiction treatment, expanded health-care services and stronger public safety measures.<\/p>\n
The councillor also wrote to the Manitoba government, asking it to step up its response to the overdose crisis by bolstering funding and taking urgent action.<\/p>\n
Rollins addressed the letter to Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe and Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor, in which she said incremental measures, short-term grants and additional studies don\u2019t cut it.<\/p>\n
She lobbied for a formal provincial-municipal task force, made up of officials from the health, justice and social services departments as well as law enforcement and city staff, to co-ordinate the response.<\/p>\n
Asagwara, at an unrelated event Wednesday, said Rollins should help to ensure her council colleagues work with the provincial and federal governments \u201cas a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Coun. Rollins is well aware of the work that our government has been doing,\u201d the minister said. \u201cWe keep city council pretty up to speed on all of the investments that are being made to address mental health challenges, safety and security concerns, addictions, housing \u2014 all of that \u2014 will remain a big priority for our government.\u201d<\/p>\n
The minister acknowledged there is still much work to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the City of Winnipeg to be a full partner in this work. We need the federal government to be a full partner in this work.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her letter, Rollins urged the provincial government to expand addiction and mental health services while addressing growing public safety concerns. She said front-line workers, neighbourhoods and the homeless need immediate support.<\/p>\n
Rollins is asking the province to make addiction treatment available around the clock, send mobile health-care teams into communities, expand outreach and recovery programs, increase supportive housing options and provide more facilities equipped to respond to overdose emergencies.<\/p>\n
The councillor echoed the call by other groups for the province to declare a public health emergency.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnd with the crisis and drug poisoning crisis where the street outreach teams can barely get to anybody, and they\u2019re burning out, and no one is talking about respite for these teams that can\u2019t move a block without assisting, sometimes eight people in a back lane\u2026 that\u2019s why I\u2019m speaking out now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg has recorded its first sustained period with more opioid-related calls for service than alcohol-related calls.<\/p>\n
The sharpest increase was in April, when opioid calls exceeded alcohol-related calls by 380. WFPS data shows crews responded to 810 opioid patients that month alone \u2014 more than triple the number recorded in April 2025.<\/p>\n
\u2014 with files from Morgan Modjeski<\/p>\n
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Scott Billeck Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade\u2019s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.\u00a0 Read more about Scott<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
Reporter
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