Latest news with #SocialSharingManitoba
CBC
12-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Manitoba formalizing protocol to tell cardiac patients of surgical wait times
Social Sharing Manitoba is introducing changes to formalize the communication on surgical wait times for patients in need of cardiac procedures after a Manitoba woman died while waiting for surgery last fall. Debbie Fewster, a mother of three and grandmother of 10, was diagnosed with an extreme blockage that required a triple heart bypass. While she was initially told surgery would be required in a matter of weeks, her family said she waited almost two months for the procedure and died on Oct. 13. After Fewster's family shared her story with the public last month, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara issued a directive to the province's health-care system leadership to take action and prevent Fewster's story from repeating. Asagwara said the "vast majority of Manitobans" already receive cardiac care within the required benchmarks. But after the minister's directive, health authorities found "there were some pretty clear areas of concern." In response, the province is establishing new protocols the minister said will help ensure there's full clarity for patients regarding timelines on their cardiac plan. The process, outlined in a Shared Health memo sent to the province on Wednesday and shared with CBC, will be coming into effect over the coming weeks, Asagwara said, to ensure there is a system alignment with the rules. Speaking on the new measures, Premier Wab Kinew said patients "are going to have to have both the target, but also what's going on right now, a snapshot of the system, how long people in the cardiac needs category are expecting to wait." Premier Wab Kinew speaks with host Markusa during our monthly chat on key issues affecting Manitoba. From the evolving tariff situation impacting local industries to the ongoing inquests into the deaths of Eishia Hudson and Machuar Madut, the Premier talks about his government's response to these critical matters. He also speaks about the push for a landfill search for Tanya Nepinak and Ashley Shingoose, and the province's efforts to attract scientific talent amid funding concerns. Before a surgical consultation patients will receive information in writing on the targeted wait time for their procedure based on their acuity, according to the memo. Later on, during the consultation, the surgeon will provide the patient with the timeline of when the surgery should happen. Quarterly reports to be publicly released Manitoba will also begin issuing reports every three months on the patients who died while waiting for a cardiac surgery or procedure, along with information on whether or not their death was directly the result of not getting care. The province already tracks patients who die while waiting for surgery and reviews their cases to determine what happened, but with the reports Asagwara said Manitoba has an opportunity for more transparency and accountability in cardiac care. "We will formalize that process to make sure we have full clarity … so that we can understand what steps need to be taken to prevent that in the future," the minister said. At first, the directive will only cover cardiac procedures, Kinew said, but cancer care procedures could potentially be next. "It makes sense for us to look at a lot of these life-saving interventions," Kinew said Friday, adding the province will continue working to slash surgical wait times. PC health critic Kathleen Cook said in a statement the new process is a first step but more needs to be done to ensure patients receive timely access to live-saving care and have clarity about how long they will have to wait for it. The new measures don't talk about providing patients with information on how they can access out-of-province care when waits in Manitoba exceed medically recommended timelines, Cook said. "More transparency is desperately needed in our health-care system," she added. On tracking the date of patients who died while waiting for a surgery, Cook said it is important for the province to expand it beyond cardiac care given that other services, including cancer services, face "significant and dangerous delays." "Expanding this approach to all life-saving surgeries would help ensure more patients receive timely care when they need it most," Cook said.
CBC
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Loreena McKennitt says Juno-nominated album was 'really a second thought'
Social Sharing Manitoba's Loreena McKennitt says she didn't set out to record the album that has put her once again in contention for a Juno Award. The Celtic singer-songwriter's new live album, The Road Back Home, has been nominated for traditional roots album of the year in the 2025 awards. The nomination is the latest accolade for the Morden-born musician, who's already won two Junos and received multiple Grammy Award nominations over a career that's spanned three decades. Last month, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced McKennitt will be one of five artists inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame this spring. "It's always an honour," she said in an interview with CBC News. "Probably most artists, everybody's got their nose to the grindstone. You're not necessarily thinking about awards and honours, but it's lovely when it happens." Listen | Morden's Loreena McKennitt on her Juno nomination The Road Back Home was recorded during a series of performances at southern Ontario folk festivals during the summer of 2023. "I didn't set out to make a recording," she said. Juno Awards 2025: A breakdown Here are all the 2025 Juno nominees "It was really a second thought … but I'm glad we did, because there's something about recordings of live performances that have a very unique kind of energy or electricity that studio ones don't always have." McKennitt was accompanied by The Bookends, a group of Celtic musicians she met in Stratford, Ont., where she currently lives. The singer-songwriter said the album is a departure from her previous explorations of Celtic music, which she discovered when she moved to Winnipeg in the late 70s. "That's when I became really immersed and fell in love with Celtic music," she said. "Those years in Winnipeg were extremely formative, as were the years in Morden … When I look back in my career, I see these two locations being very, very significant in my musical development." Other Manitoba nominees Other Juno nominees with Manitoba roots in this year's awards include: Boy Golden, For Eden (Contemporary roots album of the year). Jocelyn Gould, Portrait of Right Now (Jazz album of the year (solo)). James Ehnes, Williams Violin Concerto No. 1; Bernstein Serenade (Classical album of the year (solo). Big Dave McLean, This Old Life (Blues album of the year). The Secret Beach, We were born here, what's your excuse? (Adult alternative album of the year). Sebastian Gaskin, "Brown Man" (Contemporary Indigenous artist or group of the year). Jordan St. Cyr, My Foundation (Contemporary Christian/gospel album of the year).
CBC
07-02-2025
- Health
- CBC
Manitoba boosts health system workforce by 1,255 but staffing crisis remains, unions say
Social Sharing Manitoba has added 1,255 new health-care workers "to the bedside" since the start of April 2024, Premier Wab Kinew says. That's a net increase, taking into account any departures that happened over that time, Kinew said during a Friday news conference at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg. When the NDP was elected in October 2023, he assured understaffed health-care workers struggling with burnout that help was coming, Kinew said, "and now here we are, heading into our second budget, we are able to say we reached out first budget's target [of 1,000] and exceeded it." The breakdown of new hires includes: 481 nurses. 386 health-care aides. 162 allied health-care workers (diagnostics and others). 138 physicians. 39 residents. 28 physician assistants and clinical assistants. 14 allied health workers (emergency response services). 7 midwives. "After years of losing nurses in Manitoba, we've … started to turn the corner," Kinew said. Fixing health care "is going to take years," he said, "but the good news is, we're making progress." Kinew also said there has been a 45 per cent reduction in the use of mandatory overtime in the Winnipeg health region. ER on track for Victoria Hospital The NDP, during its 2023 election campaign, promised to reopen the emergency departments at three Winnipeg hospitals — Concordia, Seven Oaks and Victoria, starting with the latter, but only once the necessary staff were in place. After his government delivered its first budget last year, Kinew said he expected "shovels in the ground" for Victoria's ER within two years. Asked Friday if that's on track, he said design work is happening and "we're starting to see the staffing improve to a level where we can move ahead," promising south Winnipeg is "getting that new emergency room." The province has also been tackling the issues of safety and security at health-care facilities, said Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara. The province has funded 126 institutional safety officers — a class of security guard with authority to detain people and enforce provincial laws — with 96 already working at facilities and others to be hired or in training, they said. "And if we need to go beyond 126 institutional safety officers, then we will," to ensure "all health-care workers can go to work every day knowing they're safe," said Asagwara. Asagwara also said AI weapon scanners installed as a pilot program at the entrances to Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre will be made permanent there, as well as at the Children's Hospital emergency department and the Crisis Response Centre. Other safety improvements include upgrades at parkades and enhanced safe walk programs, a news release from the province stated, but did not provide details. Asagwara said the province is working with administrators at each site to tailor the security measures to their specific needs. 'Definitely still need more staff': CUPE The Canadian Union of Public Employees, in an emailed news release, called the improvements to the health system a "huge relief" for front-line workers, but said many facilities continue to work short-handed amid an ongoing staffing crisis. CUPE 204 president Margaret Schroeder said the added positions are spread across the province, so the impact in each location is actually minor. "We definitely still need more staff," she said in an interview. "After all the cuts that we've had under the previous [Progressive Conservative] government it's nice to see us coming up to where we once were. [But] we need more everywhere." The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals echoed that sentiment in its own email release, saying while it appreciates "efforts to staff up in health care," the 162 net new allied health professionals — including only 14 paramedics — "is not nearly enough to have a significant impact." "So there's a disconnect between the government's numbers and what our members are feeling on the front lines," the union said. Hiring for allied health positions is slow, partly because they're highly specialized, but also because Manitoba loses hundreds of professionals each year to other jurisdictions with better wages, incentives and working conditions, the release stated. There are currently at least 1,000 vacant allied health positions, with hundreds more poised for retirement, according to the union. "The Manitoba government is not on track to fix the allied health staffing crisis, which means they are not on track to fix health care." Dr. Kristjan Thompson, chief medical officer at St. Boniface Hospital and the former president of Doctors Manitoba, said the announcement gives him hope. "By addressing our staffing vacancies, by reducing our overtime costs, and by providing support — much needed support — to our front-line workers who are working tirelessly day in and day out, this is how we move the needle," he said.
CBC
31-01-2025
- CBC
Fatal police shooting during mental health call in Winnipeg justified, watchdog says
Social Sharing Manitoba's police watchdog says officers' use of lethal force was justified when they fatally shot a 59-year-old man while responding to a mental health call in Winnipeg. The Independent Investigation Unit said Friday it's wrapped up an investigation into the death of Bradley Singer, who was killed at his home on Magnus Avenue in February 2024. Police said the man was agitated and held a crowbar when he opened the door to the officers, and that he sprayed them with a fire extinguisher before barricading himself inside a bedroom on the second floor. They said the officers shot Singer when he left the room, confronting them with a "large edged weapon." Singer's death was one in a series of fatal shootings involving Winnipeg police that sparked calls for change in how local authorities respond to people in crisis. The full report by the police watchdog's acting civilian director said an autopsy at Health Sciences Centre found Singer had multiple gunshot wounds on his torso and right arm. The report said two members of the police tactical support team — who were called in and got into the home through the front window — shot Singer when he confronted them with an axe at the top of the stairway the second time they tried to go upstairs. "It is my view that, in the full consideration of the circumstances of this tragic incident, the use of lethal force by the subject officer was authorized and justified by law," wrote Bruce Sychuk. "There are no reasonable grounds to support any charges against the subject officers." Tactical team called previously The report includes summaries of interviews with 13 police and seven civilian witnesses, as well as written statements submitted by the two officers who shot Singer. It said police were called in after Singer's community health worker indicated he'd been violent, was off his medication and had not been attending appointments. They were served with a Form 2 order under the Mental Health Act, which requires peace officers to take a person into custody for examination by a physician as soon as possible. Witness officers said police had gone to Singer's home for mental health calls in the past, and the tactical support team had also been called once a few weeks before the shooting. Independent Investigation Unit investigators found wooden barricades attached to the home's front and back doors. One of the officers — who was assigned as the tactical team's supervisor — said Singer had exhibited suicidal behaviour in the past, but that he did not have information that Singer could be violent toward police. Witnesses said Singer sprayed them with the fire extinguisher through a cat door when they first tried to speak with him through a closed door upstairs. They said that made it hard for them to see and breathe, and they retreated. Three tactical team members — one leading with a ballistic shield, one with a rifle and the last one carrying a less-than-lethal beanbag shotgun — tried to establish contact while the rest of the team stayed downstairs. 'Chopping motion' The two officers who shot Singer said they noticed a wooden barricade that had been placed under the door was gone. The officer who held the shield said Singer raised his axe in the air toward them in a "chopping motion," after which he fired his pistol. The one with the rifle said he saw the axe handle hit the top of the shield with the blade entering the space between it and the officer's head, after which he fired "between two and four rounds" at Singer. The IIU's investigator found yellow dust believed to be from the fire extinguisher in several areas of the house, including the upstairs rooms, as well as shell casings at the top of the stairs. Police said they had tried to communicate with Singer throughout, using loud hailers and sirens when entering and announcing themselves before going upstairs. The report said there were several CCTV cameras placed around the residence, but they weren't attached to any recording device.
CBC
30-01-2025
- Business
- CBC
Farmers in southern Manitoba anxious, bracing for U.S. tariffs
Social Sharing Manitoba is one of Canada's biggest hog producers with millions being annually shipped to, and processed in, the U.S. So the threat of 25-per-cent tariffs being levied on Canadian goods, including the agriculture sector, is worrisome for farmers in southern Manitoba. "We obviously don't want it. Nobody really wants this or needs it," said John Nickel, who has nearly 6,000 sows — and piglets being born daily — at his two hog farms near Lowe Farm and Tolstoi. The hogs are sold to a farm in Minnesota, with Nickel sending a truck load there every week. He's not sure what the full extent of tariffs would do to his production but says it would be challenging to find an alternative market to sell the livestock. Nickel said he could possibly hold off exports for one to three weeks, but sooner or later the pigs would have to move to the next phase of production. "It would be really difficult for Canada to absorb just the production from our farm — never mind that we are far from the only farm [doing this]," Nickel said. Canada's total exports to the U.S. from all industries in 2023 exceeded $594 billion. Tariffs of 25 per cent applied across the board would increase the cost of those exports by $148.5 billion, according to Statistics Canada. Nickel doesn't want to think about what could happen if U.S. President Donald Trump goes ahead and imposes the tariffs, or what would happen if his American customers couldn't afford to buy from him anymore. "We would we would have to cut back our production or worst case scenario, shut down the farm," Nickel said. Agriculture and agri-food account for seven per cent of Canada's GDP, with the agriculture industry home to one in nine jobs and employing 2.3 million people in Canada, according to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Sixty per cent of Canadian agriculture exports go to the U.S., which amounts to about $1.2 billion from Manitoba. Like Nickel, the thought of tariffs is on the mind of Colin Penner, a farmer near Elm Creek who s preparing to seed wheat, canola, soybean and oats crops — all of which are sold to the U.S. Farming is stressful enough, dealing with uncertain weather and the rising cost of equipment. Worrying about geopolitics compounds anxiety, he said. "I'd rather just be in the tractor, put seed in the ground, worry about weather really," Penner said. Even before the threat of tariffs arose, Penner started preparing for Trump's second presidential term. "We said we better get our fertilizer home because something might go silly. We've [also] locked in interest rates for the next four years." Fletcher Baragar, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba's economics department, wonders how much tolerance Americans will have for rising prices, should tariffs come into effect. "Those prices are going to go up. Now that the big question is, how's that going to impact on the shelves in U.S. groceries?" Even without retaliatory tariffs, food prices could rise across the country for Canadian goods processed in the U.S. before being brought back to be sold in Canada. Baragar says agriculture producers like Nickel and Penner could have an excess of supply, thus driving down the sale price of their products if a trade war gets drawn out. "It can't be good for for Canadian farmers under that circumstance," Baragar said. Penner is trying to not look too far down the road and think about what-ifs, but the potential of being unable to sell his crops to the U.S. could spell disaster. "If the price drops, it would be catastrophic for us. We've got our budgets in place and we've sort of figured things out on how we can make it work," Penner said. "But as an exporter, it wouldn't be a great thing for the Canadian economy. It wouldn't be great for Manitoba. It wouldn't be great for any farm." "I'm nervous," he said. "I'm definitely very nervous." Anxious Canadian farmers brace for U.S. tariffs 10 hours ago Duration 1:59 Manitoba farmers are bracing for possible tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump, but there's only so much they can do to prepare since 60 per cent of Canada's agricultural exports go south of the border.
