Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 31, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba 436 Academy Road (204) 487.4193 www.europeanshoeshop.com Clearance Sale Large Selection of Last Pairs at Huge Discounts Sale ends August 15 S TAFFING levels at nursing stations in northern Manitoba First Nations won’t improve unless wages and working con- ditions do, the union representing federal health-care workers warns. Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation in Nelson House, located about 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg, closed its nursing station to every- thing but urgent cases a year ago. Pimicikamak Cree Nation, also known as Cross Lake, located about 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg, declared a state of emergency in March, citing a nursing shortage. Most of the 21 nursing stations serving Mani- toba First Nations that are operated by Indigen- ous Services Canada are doing so with half the staff needed, Professional Institute of the Pub- lic Service of Canada health services president Lynn Ohlson told the Free Press. The union represents 4,400 federally em- ployed health staff, including more than 125 nurses who work in northern Manitoba First Nations. Most of the nursing stations are supposed to have between four and five nurses on staff, but are instead operating with a minimum of two, Ohlson said. “We have a huge recruitment and retention problem,” she said. The positions require a minimum of two years experience in emergency nursing, and several advanced certificates. To fill gaps, Ottawa is turning to private staff- ing agencies, which offer nurses higher wages and provide flexibility over work schedules and locations. Ohlson fears further privatization if the cur- rent trend continues. “It’s care for profit, and that’s just something that we are just ideologically against,” she said, adding the shortage is not strictly a money issue. “Working conditions are so deplorable at the moment.” The nurses working in the isolated and under- resourced communities are always on call, even after working a full shift. Concerns about personal safety in the com- munities, and the complexity of emergencies — handled, at times, by just two nurses — add to the challenges. “One of the biggest problems that we’re fa- cing right now … is just complete and utter burnout,” Ohlson said. The situation has given rise to tired and over- worked staff and communities that are “very frustrated that they’re not getting the services that they need,” she said. “From a working point of view, it’s getting to be pretty much a crisis.” To improve conditions, the union says nursing stations need to be better staffed, but federal wages will need to rise in order to compete with private staffing agencies. Ohlson doesn’t know precisely how much agency nurses are being paid. “All I know is it’s a substantial difference,” she said. The average hourly wage for a federal north- ern nurse is $47 per hour. In 2022, Indigenous Services Canada tripled recruitment and retention bonuses from previ- ous levels, through to 2025. At hiring, a full-time nurse currently receives $6,750, followed by an additional payment of $9,750 after a year of employment. A “retention allowance” of $16,500 is also paid out annually. The increased financial incentives haven’t improved the situation, Ohlson said. “You get to the point where you can’t pay someone enough money to do something, and it’s getting close to that,” she said. Federal nurses have been working under an expired contract since October 2022. Ottawa and the union are currently at the negotiating table and nearing a tentative agree- ment. PIPSC acting president Eva Henshaw wouldn’t divulge details Tuesday about the talks, but told the Free Press an expected ten- tative agreement will fall short of what’s re- quired. “It could easily take the government up to six (more) years to fix this gap in order to solve the problem around recruitment and retention for nurses,” Henshaw said. jordan.snobelen@freepress.mb.ca TOP NEWS A3 WEDNESDAY JULY 31, 2024 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM “(Crews) go to a three-storey, well-involved fire and it’s just another Wednesday for them,” the union president said. “It’s now expected you’re going to have one of those every shift and it’s really bizarre.” The Workers Compensation Board received 467 claims for physical injury from firefighters and paramedics in 2022, up from 372 claims in 2021. First responders filed 43 claims related to psychological harm in 2022, a slight decrease from 50 in 2021. Data for 2023 and 2024 was not available. WFPS Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson called the fire statistics “very concerning” and said he’s worried about the impact the blazes are having on staff. “We are experiencing a level of burnout, and because of injuries, long-term injuries and men- tal-health injury, we’re having to call them in on overtime,” he said. “It’s a vicious circle where eventually people, you know, aren’t going to be available for all that over- time.” The refusals have impacted the city’s ability to deploy crews on occasion, he said. Other Canadian cities aren’t dealing with anything like the problem here. Last year, Mississauga count- ed three fires at vacant buildings, Calgary firefight- ers battled 38 and Edmonton recorded 41. Mayor Scott Gillingham blamed the issue on back- lane debris and said the city has recently started picking up bulky waste such as mattresses, couches and chairs from problem areas every second week. “We need to see (fires) reduced for several reasons. First of all, it represents neighbourhood life; it’s unfair to area residents … to be looking at vacant and derelict buildings day in, day out,” Gillingham said. “It represents a fire hazard, and too often they’re areas where criminal activity takes place, as well.” Bilous is happy with the steps the city is taking, but said tougher regulations should have been imple- mented decades ago. “This has gotten to ridiculous levels. Citizens are the ones paying the price for it because now their safety is jeopardized through long wait times,” he said. Bilous is also concerned that outdated staffing ratios, which are regulated by the municipal gov- ernment, will further increase response times and continue to burn out personnel. Staffing ratios in the WFPS currently sit at 1.29 staff per position to account for illness and vacation. While more staff is always welcome, the issue is prevention, Wilkinson said. “We can’t just throw more and more firefighters at it. We need to slow down these numbers, he said. Bilous, Gillingham and Wilkinson all agreed that the root cause of fires falls on socio-economic issues that lead homeless and vulnerable people to shelter in vacant and derelict buildings. The mayor maintains the onus to care for the prop- erties falls on owners. Recent changes to the city’s vacant building bylaw will require owners to board up properties with thicker plywood and longer screws. The amendment also increased the first inspection fee to $1,685 from $1,355 and adds $1,000 per subsequent inspection. The city is also reconsidering the current fee structure to further hold vacant property owners accountable and incentivize proper care of derelict properties, Wilkinson said. Bilous wants to see a reduction in red tape and quicker condemnation of vacant and derelict build- ings. Gillingham recently travelled to New York City for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, a professional development course for mayors to discuss and work toward addressing a key issue in their cities. Vacant and derelict buildings were highlighted as the key issue in Winnipeg. To date, the city has identified about 700 problem properties needing redevelopment. nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca FIRES ● FROM A1 BY THE NUMBERS A breakdown of the source of fires at vacant properties, according to the city’s Open Data portal 2023 Residential (homes, apartments, rooming houses, motel, hotel, trailer): 72 Storage property (warehouses, lumber yards): 6 Outdoor (brush, grass, other vegetation): 6 Outdoor property (area where trash or debris is collecting, fences, poles, forested areas): 17 Non-residential buildings (commercial proper- ties, schools, health-care facilities, public venues): 10 Vehicle (immobilized, stored on property): 16 Outdoor (trash cans, bins): 13 No classification: 5 Miscellaneous (bridges, transit shelters, hydro poles, barbecues): 8 Vacant property: 3 TOTAL: 156 2024 Residential (homes, apartments, rooming houses, motel, hotel, trailer): 49 Storage property (warehouses, lumber yards): 3 Outdoor (brush, grass, other vegetation): 8 Outdoor property (area where trash or debris is collecting, fences, poles, forested areas): 15 Non-residential buildings (commercial proper- ties, schools, health-care facilities, public venues): 8 Vehicle (immobilized, stored on property): 8 Outdoor (trash cans, bins): 8 No classification: 2 Miscellaneous (bridges, transit shelters, hydro poles, barbecues): 12 Vacant property: 1 TOTAL: 114 Better pay, working conditions crucial for northern nursing station staffing improvements, union says JORDAN SNOBELEN JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Lynn Ohlson, president of Professional Institute of the Public Service Of Canada health services NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson is worried about the impact fires at derelict properties is having on staff. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Garbage and furniture remain at the scene of a recent fire in a vacant home on Burrows Avenue. ;