Physicians to receive overtime bonus

On Wednesday, Feb 1, the Province announced a 20 per cent premium for primary-care doctors and pediatricians who work extended hours. The 18-month pilot project allows physicians to bill the provincial government at a higher rate of services outside of their regular weekday hours. This incentive is a part of the $200 million health human resources action plan announced in November 2022.

Menstruation products @ U of M

As part of a new one-year pilot project, the University of Manitoba will supply free pads and tampons in select women’s and gender-neutral bathrooms on campus. In 2022, the provincial government partnered with Shoppers Drug Mart to bring free menstruation products to public schools, shelters and resources centres. The U of M will be the first Manitoban university to provide free menstruation products to students and staff members.

Lawsuit against Headingley Correctional Centre

William Walter Ahmo’s mother recently filed a lawsuit alleging that correctional guards were negligent and breached their duty of care, among other claims of mistreatment and racism. Allegedly, a correctional officer told Ahmo a racist joke, which escalated to acts of physical violence causing death. Ahmo was airlifted to the Health Sciences Centre on Feb. 7 and died a week later.

Lack of First Nation fire resources

A series of fires in First Nations communities has highlighted a lack of resources. Chief Taralee Beardy of Tataskweyak Cree Nation (about 700 km north of Winnipeg), says a recent apartment-complex fire could have been prevented if the community had a working fire truck. According to a National Indigenous Fire Safety Council report, people in First Nations communities are 10 times more likely to die in a house fire than people living elsewhere in Canada.

Manitoba child-poverty rates worst in Canada

According to a report by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, one in five children in Manitoba – nearly 65,000 – were living in poverty in 2020, which is the highest rate nationally. The report analyzes the province’s Family Affordability Package, which gave families (with a net income below $175K) and seniors (with a net income below $40K) cheques. The report states that child poverty could have been reduced by 10 per cent had the province targeted families living directly below the poverty line.

Annual Women’s Memorial March for MMIWG2S

On Tuesday, Feb. 14, about 200 people marched in Winnipeg’s West End in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people. The march featured a special memorial for murder victims Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified person known as Buffalo Woman. Marchers held signs honouring loved ones while singing and walking to the beat of a drum. The annual march started in Vancouver in 1992 and takes place in more than 20 cities across Canada and the United States.

Published in Volume 77, Number 19 of The Uniter (February 16, 2023)