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Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 5, 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 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2025 A8 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I CANADA Ottawa pauses preventive health task force T ORONTO — Federal Health Min- ister Mark Holland announced Tuesday he is temporarily sus- pending the work of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, which has come under fire for not recommending routine breast cancer screening for women under 50. The task force provides guidelines for primary health-care providers about screening and other prevention and early detection measures for can- cers and other diseases. Holland ordered an external expert review of the task force, which began last October, after it declined to lower the age for mammograms to 40, contra- dicting many expert opinions including the Canadian Cancer Society. The external review panel has finished gathering evidence and is now finalizing its recommendations, the minister said in a statement. “The panel will make these rec- ommendations to the Public Health Agency of Canada to modernize the work of the task force and ensure it pro- vides evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to primary care providers,” the statement said. “This will ensure preventive health- care guidelines meet the needs of Can- ada’s health-care system and support the well-being of Canadians.” Given the concerns expressed by ex- perts and the public, Holland said he has asked the Public Health Agency of Canada to “pause” the group’s work in the meantime. Last May, the task force said it main- tained its advice that routine breast cancer screening start at age 50 and end after age 74. However, it said women in their 40s could seek a mammogram after weigh- ing the pros and cons of early screen- ing, ideally in consultation with their health-care provider. A spokesperson for the task force said last year that potential harms in- cluded false positives, which could lead to unnecessary painful biopsies, as well as “overdiagnosis,” which puts a burden on patients and the health-care system for cancers that wouldn’t have caused any harm if left untreated. But many experts — and the health minister himself — have countered that most women would risk getting a false positive rather than delay a potential need for treatment. Some provinces, including Ontario and British Columbia, publicly fund mammograms for women age 40 to 49. Alberta funds them starting at age 45. Dense Breasts Canada and Breast Cancer Canada quickly issued state- ments applauding the minister’s move, saying the task force’s recommenda- tions don’t reflect the latest scientific evidence. Dense Breasts Canada said it has been pushing for “revision of the dan- gerous breast screening guidelines” for seven years. “Through four health ministers, DBC has consistently pushed for action on outdated and biased guidelines that limit access to lifesaving screenings and fail to incorporate expert input and the latest scientific evidence,” it said. Kimberly Carson, CEO of Breast Cancer Canada, said breast cancer rates are rising in younger populations. “We must take every possible step to ensure that screening guidelines reflect the realities of patient needs,” Carson said in her statement. “This pause presents a critical mo- ment for progress, and we stand ready to support solutions that will improve breast cancer care across Canada.” But a statement from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care said the suspension of its work “could jeopardize” other screening and pre- vention guidelines that are nearing completion. “In addition to breast cancer screen- ing, guideline topics in late-stage de- velopment include recommendations on tobacco cessation, screening for adult depression and depression in chil- dren and youth, and cervical cancer screening,” the statement said. It said the pause will also affect on- going work on guidelines for lung can- cer and prostate cancer screening and fall prevention in older adults. “The task force has been very much anticipating the insights and recom- mendations of the external expert re- view panel on how to improve guideline development to support clinicians and the health of Canadians,” Dr. Guylene Theriault, the task force’s chair, said in the statement. “We welcome their recommendations which may take time to implement, but are surprised by this announcement from the minister.” The Canadian Cancer Society ac- knowledged the importance of the task force’s work in a statement Tuesday afternoon, but also welcomed Holland’s move as “an unfortunate but necessary disruption before implementing the re- view panel’s recommendations.” “We hope that when the task force re- sumes its role, it has a stronger focus on patient voices, greater inclusion of subject matter experts and increased capacity to meet the demands placed on it,” said Brandon Purcell, the cancer society’s advocacy manager of preven- tion and early detection. — The Canadian Press NICOLE IRELAND Agency has come under fire for not recommending routine breast cancer screening for women under 50 ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Federal Health Minister Mark Holland is temporarily suspending the work of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. B.C. budget brings record deficit, billions in trade-war contingencies VICTORIA — The days leading up to British Columbia Finance Minister Brenda Bailey’s first budget had been a blur, she said, each “blended into the other” as she and her staff tried to keep up with unspooling developments in a potential Canada-U. S. trade war. Hours after that conflict became a reality on Tuesday, Bailey unveiled a budget that she said defended the province against U.S. President Donald Trump’s “unjustified” tariffs on Can- adian goods that risked tens of thou- sands of jobs and tens of billions in eco- nomic losses for B.C. The budget includes a record deficit that tops $10 billion for the first time, as well as $4 billion in annual contingen- cies for each of the next three years to cover “unpredictable costs” including tariff responses. Bailey said the budget was focused on education and health care, while also boosting a “self-sufficient economy.” She said the U.S. tariffs would come at great cost to B.C. — but now was not the time to retreat by cutting spending on public services. “While our economy is built to with- stand this threat better than most prov- inces, the impact would still be severe,” Bailey said in a speech to the legisla- ture. The extraordinary backdrop to Bail- ey’s inaugural financial platform was underscored when Premier David Eby delivered a pre-budget address to media, government staff and stakehold- ers at the Victoria Conference Centre. He said “all bets are off” in the eco- nomic conflict with Canada’s biggest trading partner. “We have no choice but to respond in kind to the United States,” Eby said, standing in front a screen emblazoned with “buyBC” logos. Eby said the budget came in the con- text of a “massive shift in global pol- itics,” citing Trump’s decision to freeze military funding for Ukraine, an event he called “deeply disturbing.” “We will meet this moment with dignity, with courage, resolute in our willingness to stand up for what we be- lieve in,” he said, adding “we will fight and we will win.” Government-run B.C. liquor stores would no longer sell products from Re- publican U.S. states, he said. Despite the peril posed by the trade war, Bailey said core services would not be cut, even if there were no “splashy” expenditures this year. The budget includes $4.2 billion over three years to increase capacity in the health system, and a further $15.5 bil- lion for capital investments in hospitals and other facilities over the same per- iod. “We will manage our finances care- fully so we can continue our work to im- prove health care, education and other core services, without adding fees or hiking costs,” she said. The budget predicts a record deficit of about $10.9 billion in the next fiscal year starting April 1, up from a revised forecast of $9.1 billion this year. The province’s rising deficit has pre- viously been eyed skeptically by rat- ings agencies, with S&P Global Ratings dropping B.C.’s credit score last April for the third time since 2021. Another agency, Moody’s, maintained the prov- ince’s long-standing AAA credit rating but revised its outlook to negative. In updated forecasts provided with the budget on Tuesday, the Finance Ministry said the trade war with the United States could cost B.C. $43 billion in cumulative GDP losses and 45,000 jobs by 2029. B.C.’s annual revenue losses could reach as much as $3.4 billion, a sum Bailey said was more than the budgets for most provincial ministries with the exception of health, education and so- cial services. Corporate profits could tumble by as much as $5 billion per year, the fore- casts show. “When faced with big challenges, there are those who might say we should retreat and respond by cutting spending on the public services that people rely on,” Bailey said. “But we know that this would only weaken the services we all need and drive up costs for people when they can least afford it.” B.C. Conservative finance critic Peter Milobar said after the budget was presented that there was nothing that countered the tariff response for mean- ingful programs or supports or even possibilities. “When the minister talks about $4 billion in contingencies, including supports for impacts of tariffs, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that last year’s budget projected a $3.88 billion contingency fund in this year’s budget. That means $112 million extra is in this budget than what they were already planning on budgeting last year. Hard- ly an aggressive response to potential impacts of tariffs.” Rob Botterell, the BC Green Party’s finance critic, told reporters that Bail- ey has a tough job in these extraordin- ary times and that he will vote in favour of the budget in accordance with the confidence agreement the two Green members signed with the NDP. He pointed out, however, that the province’s systemic issues, such as the need to increase innovation and reduce poverty, still need to be tackled. “This is a standstill budget. It’s not a stand-strong budget,” Botterell said. The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade gave the budget a letter grade of C- and expanded its report card to give the Trump tariffs a letter grade of F. Board CEO Bridgitte Anderson says the multibillion-dollar deficit left the government little room to respond to the unjustified tariffs. “Budget 2025 includes another rec- ord-high deficit, as we spent our fiscal advantage, with overall debt projected to balloon by $75 billion by 2028. While the government has talked openly about the need to grow the economy and attract private sector investment, we await the transition from words to action.” Fiona Famulak, the CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce said the budget was sobering for both business and B.C. residents. “It does not deliver the economic incentives, tax changes, programs or policy shifts that are required to kick- start our economy and which we have been advocating for since before the last election,” she said. — The Canadian Press MARCY NICHOLSON CHAD HIPOLITO / THE CANADIAN PRESS B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey tables her budget in Victoria on Tuesday. ;