Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 15, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A2 A2 TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM VOL 151 NO 123 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2022 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 Publisher / BOB COX Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Business B4 Classifieds B8 Comics C5 Diversions C6-7 Horoscope C4 Jumble C6 Miss Lonelyhearts C4 Obituaries B6-7 Opinion A6-7 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather D8 COLUMNISTS: Mike McIntyre D1 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada CLOWNS ● FROM A1 MASKS ● FROM A1 W HEN the premiers talk about removing pandemic restric-tions so that we may collect- ively achieve a “return to normal,” which normal are they talking about? Reclaiming some sort of pre-pan- demic normal appears to be Job 1 for Canada’s premiers at the moment. They want it so much, they’re all rush- ing towards a restriction-free state en masse, like a throng of twitchy bargain hunters crashing through the front doors of an electronics warehouse store on Black Friday. They are fixated on that time before terms such as “COVID-19” and “social distancing” invaded our daily lexicon. A time when we moved freely and masklesss about our cities, provinces and country without concern. A time when we could visit our elderly friends and family, and they could visit us, without a care in the world. However, even though Manitoba is joining the ranks of jurisdictions try- ing to roll back the clock, we should all know that this mythical pre-pandemic normal no longer exists. Notwithstand- ing all of the additional freedoms we have been given this month, we’re never going back to the kind of life we enjoyed before the pandemic struck. Not that the PC government isn’t try- ing to boot up the wayback machine. As of today, you no longer need to wear masks indoors, save for working in or visiting a health-care facility. The province eliminated its vaccine mandate on March 1, meaning you no longer need to show proof of full immunization to enter indoor facilities, including personal-care homes. And those testing positive for COVID-19 no longer need to isolate for any period of time. Does all that mean we no longer need to wear masks indoors, get our booster shots or isolate? In an ultimate act of intellectual dishonesty, the Manitoba government still wants you to do all of those things. It just won’t force you. Consider isolation requirements. The province still strongly recommends wearing a mask and steering clear of any “higher-risk people or higher-risk settings” for 10 days after a positive test or onset of symptoms. But it won’t force you, leaving sensible people to ask the obvious and appropriate ques- tion: how can something be important enough to recommend but not import- ant enough to enforce? If recommendations were enough, we’d all be thinner, better drivers and disinterested in any form of video lottery terminal gambling. In fairness, Health Minister Audrey Gordon has tried to acknowledge the new normal. “This path forward will be different for all of us, whether we choose to wear masks or not, or how and when we connect with family and friends,” she stated in a Monday news release. “Let’s be patient, thoughtful and kind to each other as we navigate this new normal together.” However, when you look at what they are doing rather than what they are saying, Gordon and the Tory government are not offering us a new normal; they’re trying to recreate the old normal despite clear signs that it’s long gone. The threat of COVID-19 — and the emergence of a new and possibly more virulent mutation — remains quite high. China is straining under new Omicron outbreaks. In the United Kingdom and parts of the United States where public-health restrictions have been lifted, infections, hospitalizations and deaths are starting to creep back up. These metrics are all reminders that we’re still facing an existential threat from the coronavirus. A threat so clear and present that it will ensure certain groups in society have absolutely no chance at all to return to a pre-pan- demic normal. For the foreseeable future, it will continue to be very risky to be an el- derly person, or someone with underly- ing health conditions. There is simply no way that anyone over 70 years of age, or who is managing a chronic health condition or immune-system deficiency will be able to resume a pre-pandemic normal. If Gordon were serious about a “new” normal, she’d be sustaining the indoor mask mandate. When you’re eliminating vaccine mandates and occupancy limits, an indoor mask mandate might be more important now than it was before. Now that we’ve learned to live with masks, why not keep them? Vaccine mandates should also be part of any definition of the “new” nor- mal. Mandates are the single best way to drive vaccination uptake and are, arguably, just as important now as they were before. Particularly in the health- care sector, where mandates were successful in nudging a lot of vaccine skeptics into getting their shots. For the gross majority of people in this country, masks and vaccines are table stakes for the new normal. Nearly nine in 10 Canadians were navigating daily life with masks and jabs without complaint because they knew it was keeping people safe and protecting our health-care system. We carried masks wherever we went and flashed our vaccine cards without complaint. Will those same people be willing to make the same sacrifices when the next pandemic hits? Maybe, but only if a majority of us reject the false secu- rity being offered by the Tory govern- ment, and accept that a “next” pandem- ic is also part of our “new” normal. dan.lett@ freepress.mb.ca ‘New normal’ really just ‘old recklessness’ DAN LETT OPINION “The therapeutic clown program is not coming to a close,” the spokesman wrote in an email. The “planning work” began years ago, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, adding Shared Health wants to extend programs to ar- eas such as the emergency department. The spokesman said he was unable to get answers about the reason for the program’s reassessment, its annual cost or if its funding has been pulled. The clown therapy program is part of the hospital’s Child Life department, which includes an in-house TV station, music therapy, a toy playroom and libraries. March is Child Life Month. The clown program featured prom- inently in past Child Life literature and campaigns. It is not among the programs mentioned on a webpage for a current $500,000 fundraising campaign by the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba (CHFM). “I believe it’s being reassessed,” CHFM president and CEO Stefano Grande wrote in an email in response to whether the program has been dis- continued. The hospital makes operational decisions based on staffing and pro- gramming to meet the “therapeutic, emotional and developmental needs” of patients and families, a spokeswoman for the foundation added. According to HSC’s website, much of Child Life’s funding comes from CHFM donors. The website describes the clown program as “an integral part” of child health at HSC. Shared Health’s review has sparked fears the program may not continue or may take on a different form. Karen Ridd, who came up with the idea and was its first clown, would be “heartbroken” if it ended. “Winnipeg is seen as the parents of this global movement,” she said. “It would be tragic for so many reasons to see the program discontinued.” The program began when Ridd, a free- lance entertainer who portrayed a silent mime clown named Robo, approached then-Child Life director Ruth Kettner. When Kettner took her to a ward to visit patients, Ridd — wearing her clown costume — heard the cries of a young boy who was undergoing treat- ment after being mauled by a dog. His eyes were fixed on her as she entered his room and began playing with one of his toy cars. “Within minutes, he was playing and laughing with me,” said Ridd. Convinced the program would be a good fit, Kettner found funding for the therapeutic clown role. Hospitals in sev- eral countries have copied it since then. Liberal MLA Dr. Jon Gerrard, former director of pediatric oncology and hematology at Children’s Hospital, wants the program to continue. Ending it would be a “big mistake” because it helps children heal and recover, and a sign decision makers are “poorly informed” and don’t under- stand kids, said Gerrard, the MLA for River Heights. “This program, which people may feel is an add-on, is really essential. It makes a big difference because it helps kids to feel at home.” NDP Leader Wab Kinew agreed. “We’re talking about brightening up the day of a young person going through tough times,” said the Leader of the Opposition and Fort Rouge MLA. “I would shudder to think the aus- terity agenda of government has gone so far that we can’t afford to help kids that are suffering.” After starting the program, Ridd stayed on until 1989, and was followed by clowns Dianne Baker and David Langdon, who worked at the hospital until his retirement in 2019. He was followed by Alexandra Bolton, who has a master’s degree in drama therapy. Known as Dr. Bloomsie, she was “thoroughly vetted through performance evaluations by patients,” according to a Shared Health profile of Child Life in March 2021. CHFM announced Bolton’s hiring in a series of social media posts that month, sharing a photo of her in costume. “A new clown at HSC Winnipeg Chil- dren’s Hospital is bringing laughter, joy, and silliness to sick and injured kids!” posts on Facebook and Twitter stated. “This ‘doctor’ loves to dance, make jokes, and most of all give kids a reason to smile!” “You’re one in a million Dr. Bloomsie, thank you,” the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority tweeted in response. CHFM shared the same photo Jan. 15, as it promoted the program. “The goal of the clown is to give children tools so they’re able to direct play, which is very meaningful in a setting like a hospital where they often don’t have much control,” a Facebook post read. — with files from Malak Abas chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching Both the University of Mani- toba and University of Winnipeg will require vaccinations or exemptions to access most cam- puses, where masks must also be worn indoors until at least early May. Both universities are asking students and staff to isolate if they have COVID-19 symptoms. Meanwhile, Shared Health continues to require staff to use face masks and eye protection “for all patient interactions,” and gloves in certain circumstances. Patients and visitors will still have to wear masks in all health- care facilities. Otherwise it’s up to private businesses, schools and daycares to set their own rules on masks and isolation. “This is a process for everyone to take at their own pace, and we need to remember to support each other as it happens,” wrote Manitoba’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, in a Monday news release. He said guidance could change as the novel coronavirus evolves, “but now Manitobans are empow- ered to make their own decisions about what is right for them- selves and their families.” The disease has killed 10 Mani- tobans in the past week. Starting today, people will be asked to stay home if sick, but the province’s COVID-19 isolation requirement has been removed. Roussin, who was not made available for an interview Mon- day, noted in the release that restrictions place a toll on health, and that today’s changes “may cause different stress and anxi- ety for some.” Stefanson told reporters Mon- day she’ll take steps to go beyond her government’s loosened rules. “Probably, going to the grocery store I’m going to continue to wear my mask; I think it’s something that I’ve just become accustomed to,” she said. NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara argued the Progres- sive Conservatives are leaving individuals and businesses to fill a leadership gap, as looser protocols risk putting even more strain on the province’s massive backlog of surgeries and diagnos- tic tests. “Instead of putting people first, Premier Stefanson told Manito- bans they were on their own,” they wrote. “The PCs continue to abdicate responsibility.” Many are watching Saskatch- ewan to see whether its decision to lift almost all restrictions on Feb. 28 puts added pressure on the health-care system, which officials say they’re closely monitoring now that 14 days have passed (the maximum transmis- sion period for COVID-19). As of last week, 54 per cent of Manitoba adults had a booster shot, compared with 56 per cent of Canadian adults. All adults are eligible for their third shot, which is restricted for children to certain categories. Last month, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health of- ficer, said it was prudent to keep a mask on if cases rise, or if an individual has increased vulnera- bility to COVID-19. “Even if there are no require- ments, depending on the virus activity level, people should choose to wear a mask,” Tam said on Feb. 25. “It may be the last thing that you want to remove in your per- sonal armamentarium of tools.” — with files from Carol Sanders dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The therapeutic clown program, which is now under review, is called ‘an integral part’ of child health on the Health Sciences Centre website. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Premier Heather Stefanson plans to wear a mask while shopping. A_02_Mar-15-22_FP_01.indd 2 2022-03-14 10:22 PM ;