Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 28, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba ARE YOU LOOKING TO EARN SOME EXTRA CASH? Become a part-time carrier for the Free Press! • Average route takes just 3 hours daily from Monday to Saturday. • Mileage is compensated. • Perfect part-time job for students and retirees looking to supplement their income. • No collecting or selling. • Must have valid driver’s license and own vehicle. For more information, scan the QR code or call us at 204-697-7155 or email freepress.depot@freepress.mb.ca *Earnings depends on route size. Most range from $1,000 - $1,500 /month PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2025 A4 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I TOP NEWS JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES MPI is ready to begin working on its troubled Project Nova, which would allow customers to renew online, said MPI president Satvir Jatana. Driver-testing backlog eases during winter MANITOBA Public Insurance has eliminated a huge driver-testing back- log and is getting ready to restart its troubled technology mega-project. MPI said a months-long backlog, which became even longer because of a 10-week strike in 2023, is now in the rear-view mirror. “We are very pleased that Mani- tobans looking to take driving tests are not experiencing wait times,” said MPI spokeswoman Tara Seel on Monday. “In most places in the province, there are same-day appointments available … I can gladly share that present test- ing availability is keeping pace with customer demand.” In 2022, MPI had a six-month backlog for driver testing. The Crown corporation was work- ing to address the problem, but then, in 2023, the prolonged strike put them behind again. Seel said the backlog was cleared be- cause more staff were hired. Harold Tabin, owner of A Confidence Driving School, said the waiting times are better, but that’s because it’s winter. “Lots of people don’t want to take a test when there is snow on the ground,” said Tabin. “At this time of year, things are a little bit more free.” Another reason, he said, is that MPI recently implemented a policy that re- quires people who fail three tests to go back to driving school before taking a fourth test. “They have to do mandatory five hours training with a school,” he said. “Then, if you fail the next test, you have to get five more hours of training. The driving instructors have to docu- ment the training and send it to MPI. That stops people from scheduling an- other test quickly,” Tabin said. Satvir Jatana, CEO of the Crown cor- poration, said it is ready to begin mov- ing forward with the troubled Project Nova. Jatana said the project, which is de- signed to allow motorists and insurance brokers to renew insurance online, had been on hold for the last year. “We took a pause to review our mis- steps, learnings and took the time this year, truly to understand, what is it we need for the corporation, as a whole, to ensure Manitobans have a safe and re- liable services into the future,” she told members of a legislative committee last week during a meeting to discuss MPI’s annual report. Project Nova was estimated to cost $107 million when it was unveiled in 2021. One year later, the budget had ballooned to $290 million and resulted in the firing of MPI president Eric Her- belin. Last year, Matt Wiebe, the minister responsible for MPI, said the project had completed the second of four phas- es by launching a system “to manage customer and fleet/vehicle participa- tion in the international registration plan for commercial customers who travel outside of Canada.” “We are now starting to see the cor- poration get back on track,” said Wiebe. “It is a step in the right direction, but there is more work to do.” Jatana didn’t say when the new com- puter system would be completely up and running. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca KEVIN ROLLASON ‘They want us to be delivery personnel’: home-care nurse A POLICY change to save on deliv- ery charges and reduce waste is threatening nurses’ health and safety by requiring them to schlep medical supplies to home-care clients themselves, says a nurse. “(Managers) just lectured us to not be walking with things in our hands be- cause of the higher risk for falling, but now they want us to carry supplies into clients’ homes,” said the nurse who the Free Press agreed not to identify. “Do you think people shovel their walks for us if there was a big blizzard overnight?” On Jan. 15, several ACCESS clinics operated by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority adjusted how home- care clients receive supplies. Instead of getting the items shipped directly to homes, nurses must gather them at the beginning of their shift and take them to each home. They must transport supplies such as insulin shots, as well as items for eye care and wound care. The nurse said they can freeze in sub-zero tem- peratures or are at risk of being stolen from vehicles when a nurse is in a home treating a client. She said the change will force nurses to work longer hours. “We are now getting up to eight plus hours of work on our day. We are regu- larly missing meal breaks. We are regularly missing coffee breaks, and we are rushing around like chickens with our heads cut off.” An email that was sent to River East ACCESS Clinic employees and obtained by the Free Press says the change was tested in other WRHA regions and is to “help reduce costs associated with the wastage and delivery of supplies.” Since then, home-care supplies are available in supply closets while “high- cost” supplies require special access. “Please ensure to take only the ap- propriate quantity for each client,” the email reads in bold. The email says management will work with nurses and clients for whom required supplies are too much for nurses to reasonably transport. A WRHA spokesperson said the home-care program is working to stan- dardize the ordering and delivery pro- cesses of community home-care teams to “create consistency in operations, minimize waste, and ensure changing supply needs for clients are met.” Supplies such as medical and surgical dressings can often only be ordered in large quantities and sometimes go to waste, the spokesperson said. It’s estimated $100,000 worth of new medical supplies were discarded each month in the WRHA under the old de- livery system, the spokesperson said. Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said the cut is at the expense of nurses; she rejects the cost-saving rationale. If nurses are over-ordering, the WRHA should discuss the issue with the employees in question before mak- ing sweeping changes, Jackson said. “It is a workplace health and safe- ty issue… but it’s also an issue of re- specting that they are skilled and ex- perienced and know exactly what needs to be done for the client,” she said. “I think it’s disrespectful.” The nurse, who said she sees from 15 to 25 clients in one day, fears the new system will constrain her tight sched- ule if she were to miss a client’s sup- plies when loading up for the day. “We are exhausted going to work. We are petrified we’re going to make mistakes or we’re going to miss some- thing,” she said. “The home-care nurse wears many hats, and now they want us to be delivery personnel.” On Monday, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara backed the change and said it would better prioritize home-care cli- ents, move the service in a better direc- tion and minimize supply waste. “My understanding is that this is an approach that meets the needs of pa- tients, and they’re working with nurses to make sure it’s delivered well,” the minister said. While the change was implemented in the St. Vital area in 2022 and is already underway in all of the Southern Health region, Asagwara said the province will work with nurses and the union to address concerns that the change may have on day-to-day operations. nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca NICOLE BUFFIE DRUGS SEIZED FROM STOLEN CAR A CALGARY man is facing charges after police pulled over a vehicle stolen from Winnipeg. Officers patrolling in the area of Ellice Avenue and Furby Street saw a Toyota Camry with no licence plates parked on Furby at about 12:30 a.m. Monday. Police determined it had been stolen from the 200 block of Pembina Highway on Oct. 10. The lone person in the car allegedly gave officers a fraudulent, out-of-province driver’s licence. Police seized about two kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated $80,000 and about $3,500 in cash, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release. A 22-year-old man faces seven charges and was detained in custody. RCMP WARN OF PHISHING SCAM THE Royal Canadian Mounted Police is warn- ing about a scam in which fraudsters send text messages pretending to be the RCMP. The “delivery notices” say RCMP were unable to deliver court documents, providing a phony link to avoid missing a court date. The RCMP and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre urge Canadians not to click the link and to delete the message immediately. People who have clicked the link should contact their financial institutions and report the case to police and the anti-fraud centre. The RCMP will never ask an individual to transfer money or make a payment, for re- mote access to their computer, or for personal information such as a name and date of birth. The RCMP’s official home page is https:// www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/. The anti-fraud centre can be reached via its online reporting system or 1-888-495-8501. MAN FACES GUN CHARGES A MAN has been charged with five gun and drug offences after someone on an e-bike pointed a gun near Isabel Street and Elgin Avenue Sunday. Police were sent to the area at around 5:30 p.m. and arrested a man behind a home on the 500 block of Elgin. They seized a loaded .22-calibre semi-automatic rifle and a magazine with one round in it, five grams of crack cocaine worth $400 and about $2,700, police said. A 38-year-old Winnipeg man was detained in custody. IN BRIEF ;