Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 15, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free May 2000 regional Simplot taps local Market to Foj skills shortage fertilizer firm nurturing Homegrown Talent crop by Helen fall Lna new manager of one of Brandon main industries thinks he has found a solution to the shortage of skilled grow your Simplot fertilizer Plant manager Hani Riad said after Hir ing 11 new operator trainees from a Pool of 300 local the High school or College graduates were Given aptitude but they have no experience working in chemical operators earn about an hour to but eventually work their Way up to an in our geography we really have to bring Young people into the Nursery and just nourish them Riad Northern reserves critically Short of ads isolated communities face ongoing struggle by John Lyons Manitoba Northern reserves Are critically Short of says the head of the Northern medical it is rarer than a full Moon for us to be fully said Bruce who Heads the unit that supplies physicians to Many isolated Northern native we would All to provide More integrated and comprehensive services to All Community i think it is fair to say we fall Short of those aspirations in All communities we work residents of Norway House were vocal in their criticism of health care when that Community recently found itself Down to just one doctor earlier this the Community is considered fully staffed with five there Are now three in the Community and a fourth on the Martin said such incidents Are com i find Norway House not to be Francis grand chief of Manitoba Keewatin now an umbrella group of Northern said the number of doctors is ridiculously Low throughout the the Island Lake area has residents and no Hospital and no resident he ongoing struggle Martin said it is an ongoing struggle to convince doctors to live in isolated com the Supply of doctors through out Canada is he making it even More difficult to bring doctors to first nations Martin said there Are a Litany of Rea sons doctors do not want to go North the work Load May be too heavy spouses May not be Able to find work and there May be inadequate churches and even though a nurse was sexually assaulted earlier this Spring at Berens Martin said personal Security int a i have not had any comments from my colleagues about the incident in Berens River being a deterrent in being willing to provide these mar tin we see this As an isolated Crim Inal act of an individual who happens to live in the paying doctors More to go North will not solve the he Money can sometimes recruit physicians but it rarely will retain them in an area they Are not Money is not the sole Martin said he would prefer to see recruitment come from Canadian Doc instead of through the University of Manitoba has begun cultural training programs to encourage medical students to consider working on Remote first he the company has a hard time luring experienced engineers and chemists from Alberta or Southern but Riad plans to Start hiring and training recent University graduates from Manitoba and the company employs about 225 per manent workers and another 75 season the new hires should improve employee morale at a company where workers put in Long overtime hours last year to install a new ammonia Plant imported from since joining Simplot in september after managing plants for Calgary Nova Riad has also introduced a new safety program to reduce currently above the Industry Wayne local president for the United steelworkers of America said the new measures seem to be work Riad is also working to restore Sim plots relationship with the Community after noise problems and explosions Dur ing the new ammonia plants new Fence line monitors will help the company detect offensive ammonia lev Els in the neighbourhood before they ruin the experience of people on a Bicy Cle path that runs near the environmental manager Gordon Collis open houses at the Plant will be an annual Riad the first is scheduled for Simplot leads the Market in fertilizer sales in Saskatchewan and North the private Fred green8udewihhifeo Riad is confident Simplot can find the skilled workers it needs at based in has revenues of a few Hundred million annually from its Manitoba Riad last Springs wet weather that drowned Fields in southwestern Manitoba and Southeastern Saskatchewan Hurt but Riad said the company is positioning itself to take advantage of an eventual upswing in the cyclical Agri cultural we want to be in a position to really make Hay when the Sun he the company margins have been squeezed by higher fuel prices Natur Al Gas is a main ingredient in but last years expansion allowed the company to achieve greater economies of health watch diabetes Day is on May As a pin this to your bring your blood glucose Monitor and test strips to shoppers drug Mart on May a health watch pharmacist will make sure its functioning and help you interpret the consult your health watch pharmacist for clinic look like a spend like the ail new discovery 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