ManitobaWinnipeg’s drug crisis came directly to the steps of city hall last week, when the mayor was forced to rush from his office to help save a man who was overdosing.Mayor Scott Gillingham says the incident is just one example of how bad the drug crisis is in WinnipegDave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Oct 14, 2025 11:18 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoWinnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham is speaking out after an incident at city hall last week that saw him rush outside to assist a man who was overdosing on drugs. (Rudi Pawlychyn/CBC)Winnipeg’s drug crisis came directly to the steps of city hall last week, when the mayor was forced to rush from his office to help save a man who was overdosing. According to Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham, last Thursday just after 5 p.m., a staff member looked out the window of the mayor’s office, which faces Main Street, and witnessed a man who they believed was overdosing on drugs.Gillingham said he immediately grabbed a naloxone kit that is kept in his office and headed downstairs to the main level, where he also told a security guard who works in the building that someone was likely overdosing outside.He said the security guard grabbed his first-aid packet, which contained naloxone nasal spray, and they both headed outside to assist the person. “We’re not exactly sure how bad it was for the individual, but he certainly was not breathing,” Gillingham told CBC News in an interview Tuesday. “And really the security guard deserves so much credit. He took the lead and began to work on the individual who had overdosed.”According to the mayor, he and the security guard administered multiple doses of nasal spray and a needle injection of naloxone, and were able to get the person breathing. A Naloxone kit, similiar to one used last week by Winnipeg Mayor Mayor Scott Gillingham to assist a man who was overdosing outside of city hall is seen in this photo (Ben Nelms/CBC)“We were just doing all we could to get the response from the individual, and finally got the evidence of breath,” he said. “At the same time that this was happening, in the midst of giving shots of nasal spray, our security guard was also doing CPR.” He said emergency responders arrived on scene and were able to further assist the man.Although he was relieved they were able to get the man breathing, the mayor says he believes the incident is another example of just how dire issues with drugs and drug overdoses in Winnipeg have become in recent years.“So it just speaks to the prevalence of the drug crisis that we have in our city,” Gillingham said.“And as I was walking away from that incident, I was reminded that we have people working in agencies who work with Winnipeg’s homeless population, and our city’s emergency service members, who administer naloxone and reverse overdoses every day. “For too many people working with the addicted population, this is an everyday occurrence that they’re intervening and reversing the effects of overdoses.”He added this is not the first time the security guard who assisted the man has been forced to work on someone who was overdosing.“He indicated he’s probably had to do this five or six times, and he’s been here for a couple of years now,” Gillingham said. “So we really have to get upstream and attack this drug crisis that is plaguing our streets and is killing people in our community.”The mayor added he is in favour of a proposed bill introduced recently by Manitoba’s NDP government that, if passed, would allow severely intoxicated people to be held for longer periods of time. The bill is aimed at dealing with the rising use of methamphetamines in the province, which can affect people for several days, and would increase the maximum detention period to 72 hours from the current 24 hours. “The longer we can hold individuals when they’re under the influence of, whether it’s meth or fentanyl, the more hope there is to get the people into detox and long-term treatment, and get them the other supports they need,” Gillingham said.ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.With files from Meaghan Ketcheson
Winnipegs mayor, security guard help to save overdosing man outside city hall
