Manitoba prison capacity grows

Stony Mountain Institution will expand by 96 beds, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews announced in a statement Friday, Nov. 12. The medium security institution’s staff says Toews has ignored their concerns over health and safety since he took over the public safety portfolio in January. The staff was protesting outside of Stony Mountain when the announcement was made. Overcrowding, double bunking and scabies outbreaks are among the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers’ chief complaints, a union spokesperson told the Winnipeg Free Press. A new 50-bed unit will also be built starting in 2012 at the Rockwood Institution.

Real estate agent broke rule, disobeyed request

An Ottawa-based real estate agent who posted an online home listing for a Winnipeg couple is ignoring the Manitoba Securities Commission’s request to take the ad down. The commission informed Joe William he is not licensed to sell real estate in the province. Initially, William took the listing down, but will now ignore the commission’s demand because he’s not selling the property – he’s just listing it. William told the CBC that he is complying with Ontario regulations, and the website the Winnipeg home is listed on is based out of Ontario. If William doesn’t stop listing Manitoba properties, the commission said they will investigate.

Plastic polluting ecosystems

Manitoba lakes, as well as remote islands in the North Pacific Ocean, are littered with lighters, razors, bottle caps and other junk, local scientists and environmentalists claim. University of Winnipeg biology professor Eva Pip sampled diverse Manitoba regions and found “the legacy of our plastic world” at every location, she told the CBC. Pip said plastic bags and packaging are killing wildlife, and called it “heartbreaking.” Plastics are even breaking down and harming smaller life below the surface, like fish, snails and zooplankton. Ocean currents have helped carry garbage through the Pacific Ocean to land on remote islands as well, an American environmentalist said. The American Chemistry Council claims only five per cent of plastic bags get recycled.

Study deflates aboriginal H1N1 immune system theory

It was not poor immune systems that caused aboriginal people to be more susceptible to H1N1, a University of Manitoba-led research team concluded. The infection rate of Manitoba First Nations in 2009 was 20 per cent higher than the overall population, which caused government to see aboriginal people as a priority to receive the H1N1 vaccine. Their immune systems were believed to be less capable of defending against the virus. Scientists studied blood samples before and after vaccination to study immune system response. They concluded immune response was in fact better than in non-aboriginal Canadians. Inadequate housing and poor access to medical services form other theories about the high diagnosis rate, the CBC reports.

Tories under fire in NDP attack ads

The provincial NDP is mailing out and airing televised attack ads against the opposition Conservatives, according to Global News Winnipeg. The ads criticize Conservative Leader Hugh McFayden’s positions, including statements like the Conservatives would “allow E. coli and urine to pollute our rivers and lakes,” The Canadian Press reports. Labour and Immigration Minister Jennifer Howard calls the ads, “an accurate portrayal of what the opposition has said in the house and in public and will do if elected.” The provincial election is set for Oct. 4, 2011.

Published in Volume 65, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 18, 2010)