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Winnipeg Free Press
25-07-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba reaches settlement with family of woman who died after halted medical flight
WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government says it has settled a lawsuit with the family of a woman who died during the COVID-19 pandemic while in the process of being transferred out of province due to a shortage of hospital beds. Matt Wiebe, minister of justice and the province's attorney general, confirmed a settlement was recently reached with the family of Krystal Mousseau more than two years after Mousseau's mother first sued the provincial government and health agencies. Elaine Mousseau alleged that cuts to health care and improper medical decisions contributed to her daughter's death in May 2021. Mousseau was in intensive care with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and died after being taken by ambulance to a waiting airplane that was to take her to Ottawa. Details of the settlement were not made available. Wiebe says he is pleased the province has been able to reach an agreement with the Mousseau family. 'While it can't bring back their loved one or repair the harms done to their family, we hope this agreement brings them clarity and a sense of closure,' Wiebe said in a statement on Friday. 'Our government remains committed to rebuilding health care in northern Manitoba and across our province.' Mousseau died on May 25, 2021, after an aborted attempt to fly her from an intensive care unit in Brandon, Man., to a hospital in Ottawa. The province, under the previous Progressive Conservative government, sent dozens of intensive-care patients to other provinces that spring due to a shortage of beds as COVID-19 cases rose and hospitals struggled to deal with an influx of people needing care. Elaine Mousseau alleged that the government and Shared Health, the provincial body that co-ordinates many health services, failed to provide proper care. Shared Health said on Friday that any settlement is confidential in nature and it would not be commenting on the matter. Elaine Mousseau's lawyer was not immediately made available to comment on the settlement. A letter from the regional authority in western Manitoba to the family shortly after Krystal Mousseau's death, which was released publicly, said the transport team did not have a piece of equipment that would let them constantly monitor Mousseau's blood pressure, so a blood-pressure cuff was used instead. Mousseau was also being given at least one medication at the wrong rate, the letter stated. The lawsuit alleged the Tory government ignored warnings in 2019 when it privatized some air ambulance services. The government also created a scenario where hospitals couldn't deal with an influx of patients when it reduced the number of critical care beds in 2019, the lawsuit claimed. The statement of claim also alleged staff at the hospital allowed Mousseau to leave while she was in unstable condition and at severe risk. Mousseau showed high blood pressure and a sudden elevated heart rate shortly before she was put into the ambulance on the way to the airport, the statement of claim alleged. She went into cardiac arrest while in the ambulance, was sent back to hospital, and suffered another cardiac arrest and multiple organ failure before being pronounced dead the next day, the document said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
21-07-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
There is no innovation without social accountability
Opinion 'Can a country call itself innovative if its founding wounds remain open?' That's a question I've been sitting with for a while. It came up again during wildfire season, as I watched health systems scramble to meet the needs of evacuated communities, many of them Indigenous, across Northern Manitoba. The co-ordination was messy. Elders were separated from families. People with diabetes or kidney failure were moved hours away from their homes, often without proper followup care. The burnout was visible. And the gaps were predictable. It didn't feel like a health system ready for the future. It felt like one stuck in the past. FILE Modernizing health care involves much more than AI and new technology. Innovation doesn't move forward in isolation. Canada wants to lead in health innovation. We talk about telehealth, AI diagnostics, precision medicine. But how can we claim innovation when access to basic care is still shaped by race, geography, and colonial legacy? Innovation isn't just about shiny tools. It's about what those tools are built on. And who gets to use them. A recent report from Shared Health — REI Data Public Report: Emergency Department Visits & Care, June 2025 — reinforces this reality. Indigenous and Black patients in Winnipeg's ERs wait significantly longer than white patients, despite receiving similar triage scores. According to the report's findings, Indigenous and white patients are assigned comparable urgency levels, a fact that disproves the long-standing myth that Indigenous people 'overuse' emergency services. In fact, Figure 10 of the report clearly shows how closely matched the triage scores are between racial groups, yet Figure 13 reveals that Indigenous and Black patients still face the longest average wait times. Many leave before ever seeing a doctor. This isn't due to differences in the severity of illness. They're triaged the same. It's systemic. It's avoidable. And it's unjust. The data speak volumes: more than half of the patients who leave without being seen are Indigenous. Figure 24 and Figure 27 show that Indigenous people make up nearly two-thirds of all patients who leave against medical advice. These numbers aren't about non-compliance. They reflect broken trust, racial bias, and a system still failing those it was never designed to serve. We can't design our way out of a crisis we're not willing to name. The past isn't behind us. It's stitched into the present. Canada's health systems were not built for Indigenous Peoples; in many cases, they were built against them. From segregated hospitals to forced removals, from medical experimentation to current-day underfunding of on-reserve services. The mistrust isn't imagined. It's earned. And yet, Indigenous communities continue to rise. During COVID-19, many led some of the most co-ordinated, effective pandemic responses in the country. Land-based healing, traditional knowledge, and community governance offer powerful blueprints. But rarely are these seen as the future of health. They're treated as alternatives. Add-ons. Afterthoughts. That's a mistake. Because the future of health care in Canada, especially in a climate-constrained world, requires a different kind of leadership. It requires deep listening, long-term investment, and shared power. It requires systems that are trauma-informed, culturally grounded, and locally governed. It requires the kind of accountability that doesn't just apologize, but reallocates. The wildfires will return. So will floods, smoke and displacement. In just a matter of weeks, Manitoba has faced two separate states of emergency. Climate change is not on the horizon: it's already here. And its impacts won't be felt equally. Indigenous communities are on the frontlines. They've also been leading the responses. But without structural support, they're being asked to do more with less … again. And still, many remain hopeful. That's what humbles me the most. I've spoken with young Indigenous health leaders who are designing mobile clinics rooted in ceremony. Elders who offer counselling and comfort to those evacuated from their territories. Nurses who drive for hours to deliver care where the system doesn't reach. These are not acts of charity. They are acts of sovereignty. The question is whether Canada is willing to follow their lead. To me, equity isn't just a goal. It's a precondition for innovation. If your health system leaves people behind, it's not innovative. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. There's a lot of talk these days about reimagining systems. But reimagining requires reckoning. And reckoning means giving up the illusion that progress is linear or automatic. If we want health innovation in Canada, we need social accountability first. We need to invest in relationships, repair harm, and co-create solutions that reflect the wisdom and rights of Indigenous Peoples. Because until Indigenous Peoples are free to define, deliver, and govern their own models of care, on their own lands, then we are not truly advancing. We're just decorating the same old systems. And no amount of technology can cover that up. Marwa Suraj is a naturalized Canadian, a proud Manitoban, and a physician by training. She is Black, Muslim, and a woman: identities that shape her passion for equity, innovation, and social accountability.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Thompson residents warned to pack essentials as possible evacuation of northern Manitoba hub looms
Officials in Thompson are warning the roughly 13,000 residents of the northern Manitoba city to prepare for a possible evacuation in the coming days, as an out-of-control wildfire burns just north of the city. On Friday, the municipality issued a pre-alert notice in a statement posted to Facebook saying residents should begin packing essentials so they're ready to go if an evacuation order is called for the city, which is a hub for many services in northern Manitoba. A Thompson personal care home is evacuating 33 residents to Flin Flon due to air quality concerns, a spokesperson for Shared Health told CBC on Friday, in what they described as a "limited movement of long-term care residents." The move is a precautionary measure to reduce risks from smoke exposure to vulnerable people with underlying health concerns, the spokesperson said. The province said five other residents of the Thompson hospital's psychiatric ward were also being transferred as a precaution. However, there were no plans for a full hospital evacuation as of Friday afternoon. In a statement to CBC News on Friday, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara acknowledged it's "a worrying time for folks up north right now," but said the health-care system is "constantly assessing the wildfire situation" to make decisions that are best for patients. The wildfire north of Thompson was 16,370 hectares in size, according to the province's most recent fire bulletin on Friday. The fire is still considered out of control. Northwest of Thompson, an out of control fire burning near the community of Lynn Lake has grown to 80,120 hectares, the fire bulletin said. That town's 600 residents were evacuated a week ago, shortly after they returned from a previous mass evacuation last month. This time, Lynn Lake evacuees were taken to Brandon, about 800 kilometres south of their home. At a news conference Thursday, where Premier Wab Kinew declared a second state of emergency this wildfire season, officials said nearly 13,000 Manitobans were under evacuation orders due to wildfires. Garden Hill Anisininew Nation, a fly-in community located about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, began evacuating its more than 4,000 residents on Thursday, when about 1,000 residents were being flown out by the Canadian Armed Forces, Kinew said. Seven flights were planned using a Hercules aircraft, as Garden Hill's airstrip is big enough to accommodate the large military plane, Kinew said. "That really increases the amount of people who could be moved out quickly," the premier said Thursday. The wildfire burning near Garden Hill is about 2,500 hectares in size and is out of control, the province said in its Friday fire bulletin. The province said 500 people stayed at an emergency shelter at a soccer complex on Leila Avenue in Winnipeg on Thursday night. Officials said the Billy Mosienko Arena on Keewatin Street would start housing evacuees again on Friday, while the RBC Convention Centre would become available over the weekend. CBC reached out to Garden Hill leadership on Friday for an update on the fire situation but had not received a response prior to publication. Find the latest wildfire information at these sources: Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Thompson residents warned to pack essentials as possible evacuation of northern Manitoba hub looms
Officials in Thompson are warning the roughly 13,000 residents of the northern Manitoba city to prepare for a possible evacuation in the coming days, as an out-of-control wildfire burns just north of the city. On Friday, the municipality issued a pre-alert notice in a statement posted to Facebook saying residents should begin packing essentials so they're ready to go if an evacuation order is called for the city, which is a hub for many services in northern Manitoba. A Thompson personal care home is evacuating 33 residents to Flin Flon due to air quality concerns, a spokesperson for Shared Health told CBC on Friday, in what they described as a "limited movement of long-term care residents." The move is a precautionary measure to reduce risks from smoke exposure to vulnerable people with underlying health concerns, the spokesperson said. The province said five other residents of the Thompson hospital's psychiatric ward were also being transferred as a precaution. However, there were no plans for a full hospital evacuation as of Friday afternoon. In a statement to CBC News on Friday, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara acknowledged it's "a worrying time for folks up north right now," but said the health-care system is "constantly assessing the wildfire situation" to make decisions that are best for patients. The wildfire north of Thompson was 16,370 hectares in size, according to the province's most recent fire bulletin on Friday. The fire is still considered out of control. Northwest of Thompson, an out of control fire burning near the community of Lynn Lake has grown to 80,120 hectares, the fire bulletin said. That town's 600 residents were evacuated a week ago, shortly after they returned from a previous mass evacuation last month. This time, Lynn Lake evacuees were taken to Brandon, about 800 kilometres south of their home. At a news conference Thursday, where Premier Wab Kinew declared a second state of emergency this wildfire season, officials said nearly 13,000 Manitobans were under evacuation orders due to wildfires. Garden Hill Anisininew Nation, a fly-in community located about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, began evacuating its more than 4,000 residents on Thursday, when about 1,000 residents were being flown out by the Canadian Armed Forces, Kinew said. Seven flights were planned using a Hercules aircraft, as Garden Hill's airstrip is big enough to accommodate the large military plane, Kinew said. "That really increases the amount of people who could be moved out quickly," the premier said Thursday. The wildfire burning near Garden Hill is about 2,500 hectares in size and is out of control, the province said in its Friday fire bulletin. The province said 500 people stayed at an emergency shelter at a soccer complex on Leila Avenue in Winnipeg on Thursday night. Officials said the Billy Mosienko Arena on Keewatin Street would start housing evacuees again on Friday, while the RBC Convention Centre would become available over the weekend. CBC reached out to Garden Hill leadership on Friday for an update on the fire situation but had not received a response prior to publication. Find the latest wildfire information at these sources: Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
CBC
12-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Thompson residents warned to pack essentials as possible evacuation of northern Manitoba hub looms
Officials in Thompson are warning the roughly 13,000 residents of the northern Manitoba city to prepare for a possible evacuation in the coming days, as an out-of-control wildfire burns just north of the city. On Friday, the municipality issued a pre-alert notice in a statement posted to Facebook saying residents should begin packing essentials so they're ready to go if an evacuation order is called for the city, which is a hub for many services in northern Manitoba. A Thompson personal care home is evacuating 33 residents to Flin Flon due to air quality concerns, a spokesperson for Shared Health told CBC on Friday, in what they described as a "limited movement of long-term care residents." The move is a precautionary measure to reduce risks from smoke exposure to vulnerable people with underlying health concerns, the spokesperson said. The province said five other residents of the Thompson hospital's psychiatric ward were also being transferred as a precaution. However, there were no plans for a full hospital evacuation as of Friday afternoon. In a statement to CBC News on Friday, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara acknowledged it's "a worrying time for folks up north right now," but said the health-care system is "constantly assessing the wildfire situation" to make decisions that are best for patients. The wildfire north of Thompson was 16,370 hectares in size, according to the province's most recent fire bulletin on Friday. The fire is still considered out of control. Northwest of Thompson, an out of control fire burning near the community of Lynn Lake has grown to 80,120 hectares, the fire bulletin said. That town's 600 residents were evacuated a week ago, shortly after they returned from a previous mass evacuation last month. This time, Lynn Lake evacuees were taken to Brandon, about 800 kilometres south of their home. Garden Hill evacuees heading to Winnipeg At a news conference Thursday, where Premier Wab Kinew declared a second state of emergency this wildfire season, officials said nearly 13,000 Manitobans were under evacuation orders due to wildfires. Garden Hill Anisininew Nation, a fly-in community located about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, began evacuating its more than 4,000 residents on Thursday, when about 1,000 residents were being flown out by the Canadian Armed Forces, Kinew said. Seven flights were planned using a Hercules aircraft, as Garden Hill's airstrip is big enough to accommodate the large military plane, Kinew said. "That really increases the amount of people who could be moved out quickly," the premier said Thursday. The wildfire burning near Garden Hill is about 2,500 hectares in size and is out of control, the province said in its Friday fire bulletin. The province said 500 people stayed at an emergency shelter at a soccer complex on Leila Avenue in Winnipeg on Thursday night. Officials said the Billy Mosienko Arena on Keewatin Street would start housing evacuees again on Friday, while the RBC Convention Centre would become available over the weekend. CBC reached out to Garden Hill leadership on Friday for an update on the fire situation but had not received a response prior to publication.
