Valuing the Voice of People Living with Disabilities in Manitoba

By Carlos Sosa Recently the Manitoba Government made a decision to reject a core funding application from the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD) for the 2018-19 fiscal year. It can be very difficult for an organization …

Social Impact Bonds: A Costly Innovation

by Jesse Hajer Social Impact Bonds or ‘SIBs’ are a relatively new mechanism for governments to fund social services, but since being introduced they have been controversial, due to higher costs and payments to private investors. Despite funding …

Why is milk so expensive in First Nations Communities?

By Mengistu Wendimu and Annette Aurélie Desmarais This study finds milk is significantly costlier in First Nations communities than in Winnipeg and Northern Manitoba. The cost was higher in First Nations with and without access to an all-weather …

Legacy of departed life-long activist at risk with possible reversal of pesticide ban

By Anne Lindsey I went to visit a friend and colleague recently – someone I hadn’t seen for awhile. Sandra Madray was in the final stages of cancer. She was dying. I was shocked and deeply saddened to …

Health Care Blind Spot

By Jim Silver Manitoba’s health care system is undergoing major changes. Many Manitobans fear that the changes are more about saving money than improving health, and that privatization of parts of the health care system may be a …

Response to Premier’s bike tour from Selkirk to Peguis First Nation

Premier Brian Pallister announced will be riding his bicycle from the St Peter’s Reserve (Selkirk) to Peguis First Nation this June 16 – 17 to recognize the 200th anniversary of the Selkirk Treaty. This blog summarizes the responses by …

Budget 2017: Health care changes concerning

Changes to Manitoba’s Health Care system are coming fast and furious. This will invariably impact key services we all rely on and limit access to needed services. On April 7th, the Friday prior to the budget, the Winnipeg …

Caring for Home Care in Manitoba

By Pete Hudson In January, the government released the Toews report The Future of Home Care Services in Manitoba. The report was commissioned by the NDP government in 2015 as a follow up to an earlier report on …

Responding to the Fentanyl crisis: Constructing better drug policy in Manitoba

First published on CBC online edition Dec 3, 2016 By Ellen Smirl Increasing tragic deaths from Fentanyl are raising calls to deal with this crisis. Evidence shows that controlling supply and criminalizing drug users does not address the …

Honouring Ellen Olfert, founder of SAFE Workers of Tomorrow

By Lynne Fernandez In 1995, 19 year old Stephen Nicholson was on the job site working in a paint booth. He was working on the exhaust system and had been lowered into the vent when suddenly paint residue …