Rally For a Better Manitoba

Communities Not Cuts is holding a Rally For a Better Manitoba at the Legislature on March 24 at 12:30 p.m. The rally aims to draw attention to harms caused by the provincial government’s COVID-19 policies and austerity approach to program funding.

Survivors legacy conference

From March 29 to 31, Wa-Say Healing Centre will hold We Are Still Here, a free conference focused on survivors of the Residential Schools, Indian Day Schools and the 60s Scoop, as well as the family members of survivors. The conference will be held at the Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre. Registration is free at wa-say.com.

The high cost of cutting healthcare

Tevin Obiga, a Kenyan international student at the University of Manitoba, died of blastomycosis on March 3. On March 10, his family received a $517,764 medical bill for his hospital stay. There is a fundraiser for the funeral and repatriation costs on GoFundMe, and advocates are calling on the provincial government to reinstate universal healthcare for international students.

New resource for Indigenous students

On March 17, a new initiative to provide academic support for Indigenous students was launched by the Manitoba Industry-Academia Partnership. The Horizon Ecosystem Map provides a comprehensive asset map of programs and services for Indigenous students in Manitoba and will be available at miap.ca.

Understanding performance-based funding

On March 23 and 24, the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations will host two seminars on performance-based funding, a model of university funding based on post-graduation earnings and which tends to restrict access to post-secondary education for marginalized populations. The seminars are free, and registration is available at mofa-fapum.mb.ca.

All health orders lifted

As of March 15, there are no public-health orders in effect from the Government of Manitoba. The mask mandate, the mandate for those with COVID-19 to isolate and orders restricting travel to Manitoba have been lifted, and the province will no longer generate key codes for the federal COVID Alert app. Masks will only be required for individuals entering a healthcare facility. The University of Winnipeg has announced it will lift its vaccine and mask mandates for the spring term, beginning on May 1.

Published in Volume 76, Number 21 of The Uniter (March 17, 2022)