Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 11, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 Psychology works for: S MOKING C ESSATION Manitoba Psychological Society Visit us at www. mps. ca 1717 WAVERLEY 204- 284- 7650 or 1- 877- 432- 8670 mymidtownford. com Price & Payment plus freight, taxes & fees. Eligibility required for Costco discount. See dealer for details. OAC. 4X4, XTRA PACKAGE, REAR VIEW CAMERA & MUCH MORE. Mid- Town Ford Collision & Glass Professional Repairs All Makes 2013 F150 SUPERCAB # D1382 Was $ 45,599 84 Months @ 5.49% APR ONLY $ 18 5 BI- WEEKLY OVER $ 17,500 IN DISCOUNTS Mo $ 26 , 18 7 Ming Mirror Paint Finish . We only discount this in the winter . 5 year written warranty Ming Rust Protection . New & used vehicles warrantied . Free maintenance inspections Ming Undercoating . Reduce Road Noise . Protect Undercarriage from rust Window Tinting . Lifetime Warranty . 99% UV Protection Chip Protection Film . 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Carol Bellringer has criticized legislators in the past for failing to promptly replace two other watchdogs - the chief electoral officer and provincial ombudsman. Bellringer gave MLAs nearly a year's advance warning of her retirement so the same thing wouldn't happen to her office - which audits the province's books and undertakes investigations to ensure government departments and agencies are complying with their mandates. " I don't know what's holding things up. It's obviously not a priority for somebody," Bellringer said Monday. The offices of the auditor general, children'sadvocate, ombudsman and chief electoral officer are independent of government, reporting directly to the Manitoba legislative assembly. In Manitoba, the appointment of the heads of these organizations has traditionally been done on a consensus basis by a bipartisan committee of the legislature. Last summer, the legislative affairs committee named Shipra Verma as chief electoral officer more than three years after the retirement of her predecessor, Richard Balasko. Verma, formerly the deputy chief electoral officer, had been doing the job in an acting capacity since Balasko's retirement in April 2010, overseeing the 2011 general election. The ombudsman's job is still vacant two years after Irene Hamilton left for a job in the provincial Justice Department. Mel Holley, the office's manager of investigations, assumed the position of acting ombudsman in January 2012. Bellringer and others have raised the concern placing people in acting roles for any length of time puts them in an awkward position - especially if they wish to apply for the top job. Bellringer said she has a capable deputy in Norm Ricard, who can step in when she leaves, but that's not the point. Legislative committees do important work and it's important they be efficient, she said. In an interview Monday, she expressed surprise she would be nearly done her term without a successor close to taking over. " I seriously did not think we'd have this conversation. I really did not see this coming," she said. Bellringer, who was appointed in 2006, said she doesn't know whether it's inertia or politics that's prevented MLAs from filling her position or naming a new ombudsman. " It's really important for the independent offices to not be used as political ammunition," she said. " Are we being used politically?" She said it's a " simple thing" to initiate an appointment process. " If they ( MLAs) can't get that done, then how do I have confidence that... more complex ( government tasks) are going to get done?" she said. Progressive Conservative caucus whip Ralph Eichler ( Lakeside) agreed Monday legislators should be much closer to naming a successor to Bellringer than they are now, particularly given the notice she gave them. " We're not to the stage where we should be," he said. However, Eichler laid the blame on the government side. He said the onus was on the NDP, whose members dominate the committee, to get the ball rolling sooner. Cabinet spokeswoman Sally Housser said the government has been " working closely with opposition parties to put a hiring process in place" for both the ombudsman and auditor general positions. She said a non- partisan expert advisory panel has been named to assist in the process. " Our understanding is that this panel has held numerous discussions and will be posting advertisements in the very near future," Housser said. larry. kusch@ freepress. mb. ca A REMARKABLE University of Manitoba and provincial government study suggests older kids counselling younger kids in nutrition and activity can reduce childhood diabetes by at least 15 per cent. The year- long study, released Monday, showed children could reduce their waist size by 1.42 centimetres - taking into account normal growth over a school year - because they'll tune in to the advice of their school's oldest students. One centimetre less on a child's waistline " can translate into 15 per cent long- term difference in diabetes," Prof. Jonathan McGavock, a U of M professor of pediatrics and child health, said Monday. " Small changes lead to big changes in overall health. Overweight kids, they might experience three to four centimetres" less on their waistline, said McGavock, who is also a research scientist at the Manitoba Institute of Child Health. The study was conducted in the 2009- 10 school year in 19 randomly selected schools with 647 randomly selected students, he said. McGavock conducted the research along with U of M Prof. Robert Santos, a community health scientist who is with Healthy Child Manitoba. The Healthy Buddies curriculum had older kids advising younger kids on personal health - teachers taught the older kids the information, who then took it to the younger kids once a week for talks and intense fitness activity. The idea worked in British Columbia, said McGavock. " They developed a curriculum that healthy messages coming from older children would be taken up more effectively than if they came from teachers or health- care professionals." It's the same principle as Book Buddies, McGavock acknowledged, in which older kids read to younger kids to encourage literacy or any number of mentoring programs in which older students bond with younger ones. Each school chose one Grade 5 or 6 class to mentor one Grade 2 or 3 class, said McGavock. The only criterion was the school neither pick out all the athletes nor the overweight kids. " A big component was feeling good at any size," he said. " Be comfortable with your own body weight." The researchers will not name the schools involved, but they included those in remote northern First Nations, inner- city Winnipeg, affluent south Winnipeg and a mixture of rural schools. Even where availability and affordability of nutritious foods were issues, McGavock said, " It still had an effect." McGavock said he and Santos will present their findings to the province, which could develop a larger peermentoring program. Meanwhile, tracking those children's waist sizes has not been possible, but child health officials are compiling data on the 647 students - without knowing individual names - on their health compared to the population their age. " We can look at visits to doctors, to hospitals, their medications," said McGavock. Gordon Bell High School principal Arlene Skull, a home economist whose school has employed a professional chef for several years, applauded the idea. Gordon Bell has had great success with its free breakfast program by encouraging varsity and junior varsity athletes to grab a plate and glass of milk after before- school practice, Skull said. Younger students in the grades 7 to 12 school now think free breakfast is cool. " They look up to the kids on the teams," Skull said. " You get these big dudes and wonderful girls go in and eat a healthy breakfast. It's a good place to be. Having them go into the cafeteria encourages the younger children that this is an OK thing and not a stigma," Skull said. " Kids obese on their 18th birthday are more likely to be obese as adults," said Dr. Randy Fransoo, a researcher with the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. Not only will those kids in Healthy Buddies learn, they'll take their knowledge home to their parents, Fransoo said. While those aged 45 to 60 have the highest rates of obesity, those ages 18 to 34 have had the sharpest increases in recent years, he pointed out. Mentoring has made a huge difference in literacy skills while reducing bullying, and could work in other areas, Sargent Park School vice- principal Ken Romaniuk said Monday. nick. martin@ freepress. mb. ca Healthy child, healthy future THE University of Manitoba and Healthy Child Manitoba launched their study of the effects of student- to- student mentoring on obesity just as Manitoba schools were launching an all- out campaign on childhood health problems. The Healthy Child, Healthy Futures task force led to the enacting of a provincewide nutrition policy from the Department of Education. Gone from schools are vending machines spewing pop, chips and chocolate bars; cafeterias serve fries, hotdogs, and pizza only on special occasions. Now, vending machines and school cafeterias offer healthy choices. The task force's recommendations led the department to implement major additional school time to physical activity, including the introduction of compulsory grades 11 and 12 physical education credits designed to get students involved in lifelong physical activities. Educators drew the line at a proposal from Winnipeg School Division trustee Mike Babinsky in 2008 to put a child's body mass index on his or her report card. Letting kids help kids Mentoring program fights weight problems SCAN TO READ MORE ABOUT THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC AND TIPS FOR TRIMMING FAT By Nick Martin Auditor says job still not posted Gave 11 months notice of departure By Larry Kusch KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Grade 9 student Harvey Cabarlo helps Grade 2 student Lillian Hutchinson with her reading skills as part of the Book Buddies program at Sargent Park School. The Healthy Buddies program follows the same principle, with older kids mentoring younger ones in personal health. Carol Bellringer A_ 05_ Feb- 11- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A3 2/ 10/ 14 6: 48: 13 PM ;