The importance of regular eye exams
The number of people experiencing vision loss in Alberta is on the rise. While there can be various reasons for this decline, preventative care is often crucial. Our interview features Dr. Shaminder Dhaliwal, an Edmonton-based optometrist and the owner of Prairie Eye Care, who will discuss this important topic.
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CBC
14 minutes ago
- CBC
Regulator criticizes relaxed labour mobility rules, says some Manitoba nurses can't perform 'very basic' tasks
Social Sharing Manitoba's nursing regulator says some of the province's newest nurses struggle with basic tasks like taking blood pressure or administering medication, as the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba speaks out against a recent ministerial order to remove what it calls a guardrail for patient safety in the interest of labour mobility. On Wednesday, the college said in an April letter, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara ordered it to remove a requirement stating nursing applicants registered to practise elsewhere — known as "labour mobility applicants" — needed to have a certain number of hours of practise in Canada in the last two to five years before being allowed to work in Manitoba. College registrar Deb Elias says in 2022, Manitoba's former Progressive Conservative government waived the rule that nurses from other jurisdictions must prove they had worked recently. That means a nurse can now live in Manitoba, but register in another province where it might be easier to get a licence. Elias says it means some new Manitoba nurses missed "critical checks for patient safety," contributing to 35 complaints against labour mobility registrants that involved severe patient harm and two deaths, according to a February college report — something Elias called "deeply concerning and very morally distressing." "The allegations are about really significant, gross nursing incompetence," she told CBC News on Wednesday. "One example is applying a medication patch to an article of clothing, as opposed to skin where it should be — so it's very basic nursing practice issues that have significant effects on patient safety." Manitoba's Labour Mobility Act states that any worker certified by a regulatory authority in another province is recognized as being qualified in Manitoba. But not all Canadian jurisdictions require the same clinical competence assessment. From 2018 to 2022, Manitoba received an average of 168 labour mobility applications, but the number jumped to 637 — a near 300 per cent increase — in 2024, the college said in its February report. Complaints also rose alongside the increase of labour mobility registrants, the report says. Labour mobility registrants were involved in about seven per cent of all complaints in 2023, but that number tripled to nearly 22 per cent the following year. The college says 91 per cent of labour mobility registrants who were subject to a complaint did not meet its standard threshold of 450 registered nursing hours in the last two years, or 1,125 hours in the past five years. 'Looking for loopholes': college Back in December, the college reinstated the rule for Canadian work experience, until the province stepped in. In Asagwara's April letter to the college, the minister cited concerns about compliance with internal trade agreements and provincial legislation, the college says. But Elias claims some nurses are "finding loopholes using the Canadian Free Trade Agreement in order to become registered elsewhere," she said. "Then we have to register them here, so then they're put into practice and potentially put into situations that they're not adequately prepared for." No registered nurses lost their licence due to the change the college made in December, the college said. However, Elias said she'd like to see any nurses who don't have the desired work experience in Canada complete more training before returning to work. "It may delay them being a registered nurse for a period of time, but then when they enter the system, they'll be there for the long haul, providing safe care," she said. Elias says some may think of the requirement as a barrier, but the college sees it as a guardrail for patient safety that's in the public interest. She added that the college is not targeting internationally trained nurses, and that the issue involves "a small group [who are] looking for loopholes to get registered." "We know people are eager to get to work, but being eager and being ready to practise are two different things." 'Have to be reasonable' in welcoming nurses: minister Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson says her organization agrees with the college, because without proper training, nurses are set up to fail. "They are coming into our system unprepared for what a Canadian health-care system is," she told CBC News on Wednesday. "We want these nurses in our system. We want them out there working, but we want them practising [safely]." Health Minister Asagwara says all complaints are being handled, but it's unfair to judge all nurses in the same way. "We have to be reasonable in how we welcome nurses … to the front lines of our health-care system," Asagwara said in a Wednesday interview. "There are hundreds of internationally educated nurses who have come to Manitoba through that pathway, who are successfully working on the front lines of our health-care system and providing excellent patient care every single day." Relaxed labour mobility rules leave some nurses unprepared: Manitoba regulator 2 hours ago Duration 1:59 The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba says patient safety has been jeopardized by the province's decision to remove the requirement that nurses registered in other jurisdictions have previous work experience in Canada before working in Manitoba.
CTV News
29 minutes ago
- CTV News
Fried chicken shops raise over $30K for Ben Stelter Foundation
In honour of the Oilers superfan's favourite post-treatment meal, Popeye's has raised $31,110.63 for the Ben Stelter Foundation. Ben Stelter died from cancer at the age of six in 2022. May 27 marked what would have been his 9th birthday. His favourite meal between his cancer treatments was the spicy chicken tenders, fries and mac and cheese at Popeyes. '(After being) in the hospital, when he'd come home - he'd always request Popeyes as his first meal that we'd sit down and eat as a family together,' said Ben's father Mike Stelter at the fundraising kickoff last week. All net proceeds from 21 Popeyes locations in northern Alberta went to the Ben Stelter Foundation, which is raising money to bring an advanced cancer radiation therapy to Edmonton. Popeyes also set up a campaign to collect cash donations for the charity at its restaurant locations from May 20 to June 3. Stelter said the love for Ben and the support for the foundation are touching. '(It) just speaks volumes about how much the city cares and that they remember him, that they think about him a lot too,' he said. Major fundraiser to mark Ben Stelter's birthday 'I don't think there's anywhere else in the world where the community would rally around one special boy, one family, one foundation.' Donations for the Ben Stelter Foundation can also be made on their website and through the purchase of hoodies and shirts from their new online store. With files from CTV Edmonton's Adrienne Lee
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
B.C. SPCA seizes 34 Bengal cats from Vernon, B.C., breeder
The B.C. SPCA seized 34 Bengal cats from a breeder in Vernon, B.C., with the society saying the animals were in distress and some had diarrhea. Eileen Drever, the B.C. SPCA's senior officer of stakeholder relations, said its animal protection officers executed a search warrant on May 28 after being alerted to the Bengal cats by a member of the public who called their helpline. Drever said the officers encountered a high level of ammonia gas at the property, and the cats had been kept in dirty cages and their litter boxes were overflowing. "The ammonia-type levels were so high it was actually ... affecting the staff attending the property, so I can't imagine how the cats tolerated that," she said. "The cats were underweight, and as a result we removed them from the property and the cats are receiving medical care as we speak." Drever said the cats had access to a "catio" for recreation, but most of them were kept in cages and lacked stimulation. The society said it's unknown when the Bengal cats will be available for adoption. Drever said prospective owners should do their homework on how to care for a Bengal cat. "Bengal cats, really, they're inquisitive," she said. "They've got lots of energy, and when we find homes for these cats, it has to be a specialized home." Drever said the Bengal cats are wild-hybrid domestic cats, a mix of Asian leopards and domestic cats. The SPCA said it is opposed to the breeding of wild animals with domestic animals. "The importation, breeding, and keeping of exotic animals — such as Asian leopard cats and servals, which are used to create hybrid cats — should be prohibited under the provincial Controlled Alien Species Regulation of the Wildlife Act," reads an SPCA statement.
