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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Animal abuse and rodeos
Opinion Rodeo season is upon us, and last week the nation's attention was focused on the Calgary Stampede. It didn't take long for animal welfare concerns to rise to the forefront, starting with the collapse of a horse during the opening Stampede Parade, and ending with the death of Rider, a horse participating in the chuckwagon races. Calgary Stampede CEO Joel Cowley called it 'an unfortunate incident.' The Vancouver Humane Society has been collecting statistics on animal deaths at the Calgary Stampede since 1986. The total is 110, with 2024 being one of the deadliest rodeos in Stampede history. Last year, four animals died: a steer used in steer wrestling and three horses used in chuckwagon racing. Chuckwagon racing is one of the deadliest rodeo events for horses, pushing them beyond their limits at tight speeds in tight spaces. This leads to tragic outcomes such as broken legs, heart failure, and fatal collisions. Other rodeo events, such as bronc/bull riding, animal scrambles, team roping, and wild horse/pony races, are also outdated and cruel modes of using animals as entertainment, as they cause significant mental and physical distress to the animals involved. Stock animals like calves and steers used in these events are often roped, chased, roughly handled, and extensively practised on even before entering a rodeo event. Negative reinforcement training methods such as electric shocks and flank straps are commonly used to train animals such as bulls to buck as violently as possible, with no reprieve until the desired behaviour is attained. The physical pain and immense fear that many animals experience in these events does not justify the entertainment value of the spectacle. While the Calgary Stampede may be the most nationally visible example of the unnecessary and cruel exploitation of animals for rodeo entertainment purposes, Manitoba has its own rodeo circuit. In addition to annual events in Morris and Selkirk, the Heartland Rodeo Association also travels to towns throughout Manitoba over the summer months. Event organizers and supporters often make the case for these rodeo events as supporting rural roots and traditions, citing concerns are raised by a largely urban population that doesn't understand rural life and values. Their position is that events such as animal scrambles, where youth chase animals around a loud crowded arena in an attempt to remove a halter from the animal's neck, provide an educational opportunity for urban dwellers on the day-to-day nature of farm life. However, this approach shows little regard for the physical and mental distress suffered by the animals involved. Framing the issue as simply a difference in values between urban and rural is a red herring. Whether one lives on a farm or in a condo, the majority of people do not want to see harm come to an animal. In fact, most Manitobans would agree that compassion and empathy for all living beings are not rural or urban considerations; they're human values. As we grow in our understanding of animals, many people are choosing to support events that celebrate them with care and compassion. In 2022, polling showed that 67 per cent of Canadians were against using animals in rodeos, with this number growing as public education on rodeos becomes more readily available. Moving away from rodeo events that cause mental and physical distress and suffering gives us the chance to create new traditions that honour animals without causing them stress or harm. By embracing humane alternatives, we can enjoy meaningful experiences that reflect our values of empathy and respect. Many agricultural fairs and events throughout the province have family friendly activities that do not harm animals or cause them distress. The midway, carnival games, vendor markets, mud bogging, tractor and machinery displays, live music, strongman competitions, bouncy castles, dog agility and flying disc displays, face painting, chainsaw carving, clowns, and parades are all more humane alternatives. It's time to move toward rodeo traditions that honour animals rather than placing them at risk. Krista Boryskavich is the director of animal advocacy and legal and government affairs at the Winnipeg Humane Society.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
A necessary search winds down
Opinion It was the right thing to do. It was always the right thing to do. And most Manitobans knew it. Early this week, Premier Wab Kinew visited the Prairie Green landfill to mark the end of the search for human remains at the site. He was joined by family members of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, by supporters, and by people involved in the search for a ceremony and smudging. The search was not completely a success — the family of Myran had hoped the search would find a larger part of her remains than were located, and wanted the search to include a larger area — but there is at least the consolation that Myran was found. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Prairie Green Landfill in the RM of Rosser, Man. Watching the conclusion of this part of the search for the remains of victims of Jeremy Skibicki — a further search continues at the Brady landfill for Ashlee Shingoose — brings home how important the search was in the first place, and how dispiriting it was that the PC government of the day not only wouldn't launch a search, but actively campaigned on the decision not to search. There have been plenty of apologies and admissions that the decision was a poor one since then: the Progressive Conservatives have apologized, the Winnipeg Police Service has said it regrets its decision to say that a search was not necessary, and the list goes on. But what's surprising is that anyone ever thought the matter was up for political debate, that anyone felt that the potential cost of the search was a legitimate reason to say that two women should have their final resting place be a landfill. Consider this. George Mallory and Andrew (Sandy) Irvine disappeared while climbing Mount Everest in June of 1924, and there have been questions ever since about whether the pair had made it to the mountain's summit. Mallory's remains were found in 1999, but nothing was found of Irvine until September, 2024, when a documentary team found a foot inside a boot and sock protruding from a melting glacier. The sock had a label with Irvine's name sewn on it, and the remains are being compared to the DNA of family members for final confirmation. The film crew that found foot, sock and boot knew how important the discovery was — and not just for understanding more about the Mallory expedition. 'It's the first real evidence of where Sandy ended up,' Jimmy Chin, a National Geographic filmmaker, told National Geographic. 'When someone disappears and there's no evidence of what happened to them, it can be really challenging for families.' Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. Irvine's relative Julie Summers said was 'moved to tears' when she learnt of the boot's existence a report from the PA Media news agency said. 'I have lived with this story since I was a seven-year-old when my father told us about the mystery of Uncle Sandy on Everest.' It's why we search for the lost. Because it matters. Because it's important to family members to know what has happened to their relatives, and where those relatives rest. It matters days after someone disappears, and it matters 100 years later, and it continues to matter, no matter how many years pass. All of us should be able to try and put ourselves in others' shoes. We search for the remains of those lost at sea, lost on land, lost in war and lost in terrorist attacks. Millions of dollars have been spent on all sorts of searches, from hunts for famous explorers and the remains of their expeditions — like those of the Franklin expedition — to searches for individuals who vanish from their vehicles in blizzards, seeking, and failing to find shelter. Helping find the missing is part of being in the community that we call humanity.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
HSC screening visitors to high-risk wards for measles
Manitoba's largest hospital is screening visitors to its most high-risk wards for measles as the number of cases of the highly contagious virus continue to rise. Health Sciences Centre began screening visitors to its neonatal intensive care unit, Children's Hospital, Women's Hospital and ambulatory care clinics earlier this month. Visitor screening is held away from patient care areas using an intercom, or at reception desks where a staff member will ask the visitor if they have recently had symptoms associated with measles, including a rash, a Shared Health spokesperson said Friday. 'If someone arrives at a facility presenting with symptoms of the measles virus, staff that are screening visitors consult with infectious disease physicians and infection control professionals to determine appropriate next steps,' the spokesperson said in an email. Additional restrictions were put in place at the neonatal intensive care unit, including a limit of two-visitors at a time per patient, including the infant's designated caregiver. Children under age five are not allowed to visit, except a twin of a baby admitted to the ward. Manitoba has confirmed 146 measles cases since February and nearly all were in the last three months. There were 72 confirmed measles cases recorded by the province in May and 28 confirmed and four probable cases in June. Twenty-seven cases have been recorded in July. Doctors Manitoba said the HSC decision reflects physicians' concern about the spread of measles. 'Seeing Manitoba's largest hospital take pandemic-like screening precautions should be a wake-up call to Manitobans,' said spokesperson Keir Johnson. Epidemiologist Cynthia Carr said she'd like all Manitoba hospitals to employ measles screening, and for HSC to expand restrictions for visitors under five years old beyond the neonatal intensive care unit. Young children, who account for the majority of measles cases in Canada, can develop particularly severe complications. 'I hope that this will be expanded throughout the province to high-risk settings and high-risk groups, in terms of the specific, targeted approach for exclusions,' she said. 'Because we don't want to head toward this becoming endemic again, meaning routinely transmitting in Canada. But we're at risk.' It's a rite of passage for parents to take older siblings into the hospital to meet their new baby brother or sister, Carr acknowledged, but the risk of unknowingly spreading a severe infection is especially high. She called the restrictions a 'dual opportunity' to reinforce the serious nature of measles cases while preventing transmission among high-risk people. 'Having gone through COVID-19, and people still recovering from feeling like things got too strict, that they had a lack of agency in making their own decisions… It feels like it's trying to take sort of a step approach with a continued effort (toward) relationship building, trust.' Manitoba's most recent exposure sites were in the southern region: the Winkler Walmart, Boundary Trails Health Centre and a building in the Rural Municipality of Roland. On Friday, Southern Health did not say whether administrators would implement restrictions at its hospitals. When Triangle Oasis Restaurant in Winkler was listed as an exposure site last month, co-owner Jonny Neufeld worried it would affect his business, either by a drop in customers or the virus spreading among staff. Neither happened, he said Friday: 'There's been some scares, but no measles.' He said the conversation around measles in the community has settled after a large spike of cases earlier in the summer. He still has some concern for southern Manitoba's youngest residents. 'Some people around me talk about how they don't want to get their kids vaccinated and whatnot,' he said. 'In my church, the preacher was talking about it once, (saying) you can heal naturally, of course, but there's a reason there are doctors out there, you should go see a doctor.' Manitoba isn't the first province to introduce mandatory screenings in hospital settings. In Ontario, where measles cases have exploded, visitors to the London Health Sciences Centre pediatric and women's care wards are screened for measles. They must provide proof of measles immunity or wear an N95 mask at all times. Alberta media outlets reported last week that some hospitals in the province were triaging probable measles patients to wait in ambulance bays, rather than waiting rooms. Alberta has recorded more than 1,300 infections since March. Malak AbasReporter Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg's North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak. Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Time to pay the piper for Hydro's old, ignored infrastructure
Opinion Manitoba Hydro's decision to spend an estimated $7 billion to upgrade the Bipole I and II transmission lines may be a necessary investment, but let's be clear: it's just the tip of the iceberg. The Crown utility has been falling behind on asset upgrades for decades which has allowed a critical backlog of aging infrastructure to pile up. It's not a new problem, and it's not limited to the Bipoles. Hydro's own 2022 asset management report says the corporation faces a mountain of long-overdue upgrades in nearly every part of its system — from substations to transformers, aging wooden poles to buried cables, and even dams. Some of the infrastructure is decades past its best-before date. The longer it gets put off, the more expensive the fixes become. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Manitoba Hydro must be transparent with the public about the full scope of its infrastructure backlog, writes Brodbeck. About 27 per cent of Hydro's generator assets exceed the economic life cycle of 60 years 'where there is an increased risk of a prolonged outage should a failure occur,' the report says. Another 23 per cent fall within the 40- to 60-year range 'where planning of unit overhauls should be initiated,' it says. 'Manitoba Hydro is projecting that many of its asset populations will require significant intervention today, and increasing in the near future, in order to avoid accelerated system performance degradation and diminished supply,' the report says. 'Manitoba Hydro can anticipate a large number of generator assets approaching economic end-of-life prior to intervention, if the current intervention pace is not significantly accelerated.' If you're shocked by the $7-billion price tag for Bipole I and II, wait until you see the full bill coming due for the rest of Hydro's neglected infrastructure. We're not just talking hundreds of millions here — we're talking billions more. Hydro's asset management report pulls no punches. The utility admits it has not replaced aging assets fast enough to keep pace with their deterioration. Take wooden distribution poles, for example — thousands across the province are well past their expected life span; some are approaching 60 or even 70 years in service. Hydro estimates that a significant portion of its assets are in 'poor' or 'very poor' condition. And no, that doesn't mean they'll all fall apart tomorrow. It does mean they're more prone to failure, harder to repair, and more expensive to replace in emergency situations. That's a dangerous place for a power utility to be. Manitobans shouldn't be too shocked, though. The 2022 report was not the first to shine a light on Hydro's failure to keep up with infrastructure upgrades. Countless reports have detailed how far behind Hydro has fallen in infrastructure upgrades. So how did it get this bad? Part of the problem is systemic. Like many large public utilities, Hydro has struggled with balancing long-term maintenance needs against short-term financial pressures. For years, the Crown corporation kept rates artificially low by putting off major maintenance in favour of keeping electricity affordable. That may have worked politically — who doesn't love cheap power? — but it came at the expense of sustainability. Then there's the legacy of major capital projects, such as Bipole III and the Keeyask Generating Station, which drained billions from Hydro's borrowing capacity and diverted attention and resources away from basic asset renewal. By the time Keeyask was completed — years late and billions over budget — Hydro was facing serious debt challenges. Meanwhile, the quiet deterioration of the system continued. Now, the chickens are coming home to roost. But identifying the problem is only half the battle. Fixing it is going to require sustained investment and political will. Unfortunately, the current political climate doesn't bode well for that. Premier Wab Kinew's NDP government is under pressure to keep electricity rates low and deliver on promises to freeze hydro bills for at least a year. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. That's the bind the province is in: everyone agrees Hydro needs to fix its aging infrastructure, but no one wants to pay for it. Delaying it further will only compound the problem. What's needed now is honesty. Manitoba Hydro must be transparent with the public about the full scope of its infrastructure backlog. How many substations are past due for replacement? How many kilometres of transmission lines are vulnerable to weather events? What's the real price tag to get the system back into good shape? Manitobans deserve to know. Likewise, the provincial government must stop pretending that rate freezes and deferred maintenance are a long-term strategy. They're not. The cost of rebuilding Hydro's system is going to be substantial — and there's no getting around it. Whether it's through modest rate increases, government support, or some combination of both, someone is going to have to foot the bill. Bipole I and II are just the beginning. If Manitoba wants to keep the lights on — and its economy humming — it needs to stop kicking the can down the road. The time to invest in Hydro's aging infrastructure is now, before the problems get worse and the cost skyrockets. Tom BrodbeckColumnist Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the Free Press and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom. Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The Free Press's editing team reviews Tom's columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
a day ago
- General
- Global News
Manitoba to spend $2M on upgrades to Spruce Woods Provincial Park
The province says it's spending more than $2 million to spruce up Spruce Woods Provincial Park in western Manitoba. Environment and climate change minister Mike Moyes announced the upgrades Friday, and said the funding will go toward 'significant' work on two trails — including a new floating boardwalk and viewing platform, as well as the replacement of a flood-damaged bridge — plus 70 new electrical pedestals for campers and additional equipment. 'This investment represents our government's commitment to improving Spruce Woods Provincial Park in the Westman region for families to explore and enjoy,' Moyes said in a statement. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'With free park entry for 2025, this summer is the perfect time for Manitobans to enjoy our beautiful parks and take in all they have to offer.' A volunteer non-profit group aimed at enhancing public enjoyment at the park said it's proud to be working with the province to make needed changes. Story continues below advertisement 'These upgrades reflect our shared values of environmental stewardship and community engagement, and we look forward to the lasting positive impact they will have on Spruce Woods and the Westman region,' said Ann Stout, president of Friends of Spruce Woods Provincial Park.
