Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 13, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 A3SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2022 M ANITOBA was hit with another bout of blustering winds and freezing cold Saturday, closing the Perimeter High- way for the seventh time this winter due to poor driving conditions. Fifty-three provincial routes have been shut down this winter overall due to poor driving conditions, compared to 22 in 2020- 21 and 31 in 2019-20, according to Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure. The Perimeter was reopened Saturday around 7 p.m. Environment and Climate Change oper- ational meteorologist Brian Luzny called Saturday’s weather “a muted version” of the blowing snow earlier this week, when re- duced visibility caused a major multi-vehicle collision on McGillivray Boulevard near the Perimeter Highway. The city was set to receive between two and four centimetres of snow and hit a -36 C wind- chill earlier in the day. “Temperatures are warming up, the system is bringing fairly substantial amount of warm air with it… I would expect the windchills to only improve throughout the day, even though we are getting more wind,” Luzny said. There’s a silver lining to the chill passing through — it’ll be quick, and it’s looking like next week will begin to feel like the begin- ning of a Winnipeg spring, and may even hit above-zero temperatures. “I think we unofficially are starting to hit warmer, back to normal (temperatures) and it looks like for a majority of next week, that the melt might be on, somewhere in the highs near zero to five degrees range,” he said. “So it looks like the cold is unofficially, hopefully over.” Lifelong Winnipegger Roland Girouard, 63, was taking the snow in stride Saturday after- noon. He said he was happy to hear warm weath- er was on the horizon, but the cold has never bothered him anyway. “I get sick of it, but I get adjusted. It’s all in the mind,” Girouard, who was on his way to Tokyo Smoke in Osborne Village, told the Free Press. “It’s winter time, it’s Winterpeg, it’s going to get ugly. But this winter was exceptionally ugly.” malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca NEWS I LOCAL / CANADA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM As well, March 15 will also see the end of anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 being ordered to isolate. The province says it will now be recom- mending people with symptoms stay home and isolate for five days after symptoms start until they have no fever or symptoms; people who test positive with no symptoms can come out of isolation five days after the test. A provincial spokesman said in a statement: “Manitoba’s public health emergency leave provides unpaid job protection for workers who are required to take time off due to COVID-19.” “As well, under the employment standards code, employees are entitled to three unpaid days for family-related leave and up to 17 unpaid weeks for long-term leave for serious injury or illness.” The spokesman said employers can provide additional benefits beyond what is in the employment standards code. Manitoba is watching what other provinces are doing regarding paid sick time, and is working with both the federal government and other provin- cial and territorial governments to look into it further, he added. James Bedford, Manitoba Teachers’ Society president, said teachers have sick leave benefits and the union sup- ports teachers staying home if they are feeling sick. But Bedford admits that isn’t always easy. “The challenge to staying home aris- es in cases where substitute teachers are in short supply — as they have been throughout the pandemic,” he said. “Teachers can feel obligated to go to work if there may be no one to fill in and keep their classroom running. MTS is working with the Department of Education, the province’s faculties of education and the Manitoba School Boards Association to make it possible for education students to substitute in classrooms and alleviate the impact of shortages across the province.” Winnipeg epidemiologist Cynthia Carr said North American workers have always been challenged between working and feeling guilty about staying home “with just a cold, for example, when this is still an infectious illness.” “It should not have to be mandated that you stay home when sick — espe- cially if infectious for the well-being of co-workers as well as consumers, clients, (and) patients with whom the worker interacts,” Carr said. “I understand employers have been impacted by employee absenteeism, however, encouraging people to come to the workplace when carrying an infectious disease will result in more disruption to the workplace, not less.” Carr said she doesn’t believe it is time for employers and anyone else to ease up on vigilance against the virus. Tory McNally, director of human resources services at Legacy Bowles Group, said every workplace should make its own rules based on a safety assessment. “If an assessment reveals that social distancing cannot be properly maintained, then the employer can keep mask orders in place for staff,” McNally said. “If an employee is feeling nervous about taking their own mask off, they have the right to request accommo- dation to be allowed to stay masked while at work. I know that many businesses are strongly encouraging that their employees continue to wear masks, but are leaving it up to individ- ual choice.” kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca SICK LEAVE ● FROM A1 Another blast of winter, but spring in forecast MALAK ABAS DANIEL CRUMP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS People walk across the Esplanade Riel as heavy snow begins to fall Saturday afternoon. PETER MacKay says he will not seek the leadership of the Conservative party when one is chosen this Septem- ber. MacKay announced the news in a video message posted to social media on Saturday, saying he came to the de- cision after consulting with friends, col- leagues and family. The cabinet minister in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conserva- tive government placed second to for- mer leader Erin O’Toole in 2020, and noted in the video that he’s still paying off debt from that contest. MacKay was also leader of the Pro- gressive Conservatives when the party merged with the Canadian Alliance to form the Conservative Party of Canada. Four candidates are in the race so far — Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre, former 2020 leadership candidate Les- lyn Lewis, Independent Ontario MPP Roman Barber and former Quebec pre- mier Jean Charest. MacKay says he will continue to sup- port interim leader Candice Bergen and will also support the eventual win- ner of the leadership vote. — The Canadian Press MacKay won’t seek Tory leadership POWWOW RETURN Dancers take part in the Beating Heart Powwow, held to honour missing and murdered Indigen- ous women Saturday afternoon. Organized by the family of 16-year- old Eishia Hudson, who was fatally shot by police in 2020, the event was named after Hudson’s younger sister. Nearly all COVID-19 restrictions, lifted across Quebec SIDHARTHA BANERJEE MONTREAL — Quebecers no longer had to show a vaccine passport to dine out, exercise at a gym or see a movie in theatres as of Saturday, as the province lifted almost all remaining COVID-19 restrictions. With the exception of mask mandates, all other rules came to an end. Restau- rants, bars, casinos and other large entertainment venues are now able to open without capacity limits. Dancing and karaoke are also permit- ted once more, and big venues will be allowed to have full houses for the first time in three months. The Bell Centre allowed a capacity crowd at a Montreal Canadiens game Saturday night. Marc Michaud, emerging from a breakfast restaurant Saturday in the Montreal suburb of Brossard, said he was happy he didn’t have to pull out his phone before stopping in. “It’s nice to see some of these rules starting to subside. I think people are pretty tired with everything after two years,” Michaud said. He felt at ease, he said, though he had to wear a mask when not seated. While masks are still mandatory for now, Quebec has said the rule will lift in most settings in mid-April at the latest. It’s expected to remain in place on pub- lic transportation until May. Quebec was the first province to bring in a vaccine passport last Sep- tember. While its use in the province is suspended, health officials have told Quebecers to keep it on their phones in case it’s needed down the road. Peter Sergakis, who owns several bars and restaurants in the Montreal area, said it would be at least another year before things get back to some nor- malcy. “We feel very good, it was about time, two years now,” Sergakis said, with issues like a worker shortage and rising food prices due to inflation the main problems as customers start to return. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, but to make money is going to take some time,” Sergakis said, add- ing, “we can’t afford another closure.” Rachel Gendron, emerging from a suburban Montreal coffee shop, said it was a good feeling mentally to see the restrictions withdrawn. “We need to be careful for sure, there are still a lot of people in hospital,” said Gendron. “It all seems to going fast (dropping measures), but I’m feeling hopeful.” Also on Saturday, private seniors’ residences no longer need to keep a registry of visitors. And the province will no longer re- quire people who live with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 to isolate for five days if they don’t have symptoms themselves. Other mitiga- tion measures like wearing a mask for 10 days and avoiding places where masks can be removed, are among the new recommendations. The Quebec Health Department an- nounced Friday it would no longer up- date its COVID-19 dashboard on the weekend. Meanwhile, Ontario reported 722 people in hospital with COVID-19 Sat- urday, and 232 in intensive care. That’s compared with 717 people in hospital and 238 in ICUs on Friday. Public Health Ontario is also reported 16 more deaths due to COVID-19. The province said it changed its method of reporting on Friday, which affected the count of COVID-19 deaths. Ontario reported 2,015 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, though the province’s top doctor has said the actual number is likely 10 times higher, given that access to testing is restricted. — The Canadian Press DANIEL CRUMP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A_03_Mar-13-22_FP_01.indd 3 2022-03-12 11:59 PM ;