Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 21, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Squirrel strategy Instead of using poisonous slow acting gas to kill the ground squirrels, why not use contracep- tives combined with feed? I have heard of other cities effectively imple- menting this method. It would take a little longer but it would be a humane alternative. MARIE CARRINGTON Winnipeg Simple solution Re: ‘Just show me, how can I do this?’ (Sept. 17) There are a host of health-care professionals, doctors, nurses, technicians currently living in Winnipeg, all of them endeavouring to get certi- fied/licensed so they can practise their profession here in Manitoba and Winnipeg. There is no syllabus, program, or road map pro- vided for these aspiring professionals to follow. Myself and other concerned people have con- tacted the premier’s office, the health minister’s office, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, St. Boniface Hospital and the University of Manitoba for some helpful guidance for these health-care workers, all to no avail. In September the Free Press ran a story on Dr. Mohamed Elgadi, a Ukrainian War refugee, who was a practising doctor in the Ukraine when he came with his family to Canada. The headline reads ‘Just show me, how can I do this?’ — as in, succeed at becoming a doctor here in Manitoba. In my mind the answer is simple. The Manitoba government has to discard all the old legislation that discouraged health-care professionals from moving interprovincially and immediately de- velop a program which provides encouragement, leadership and financial assistance to those pro- fessionals who want to practise here in Manitoba. WOODY PIKE Winnipeg Beware of scam I received a text claiming I had an outstanding speeding ticket. The source of the text was from a 250 area code and in the text information, Man- itoba was spelled incorrectly. Red flag. To be sure, I called Manitoba Justice and talked to a very helpful operator. She searched the licence plates, my driver’s licence and every- thing was clear, no outstanding anything. Manitoba Justice does not send texts. Hopefully this note can help others to be cau- tious and to read texts carefully. JAN BONES Winnipeg Strained system I am sure that most people agree that repeat offenders should not get bail easily. The question is, where will we keep them? As far as I know all of our jails are at or over capacity. Will we need to spend tens of millions to build new facilities? Probably. KARL LANG Navin There’s no question people are tired of seeing repeat offenders arrested one week and back on the streets the next. Politicians across the coun- try, at every level, are promoting bail reform as if it’s the silver bullet that will fix everything. I don’t believe it is, and if we’re not careful, it will turn into a shell game, moving people and responsibility around without actually making our communities any safer. It took us time to get into this mess and it’s going to take time and investment to fix it . Bail reform is not a bad thing, but it doesn’t mean much if the rest of the system can’t keep up. We can tighten release conditions all we want, but if there aren’t enough prosecutors to handle hearings, or officers to follow up on breaches, nothing really changes. Without investment in mental health, addictions and homelessness, it continues to be a revolving door and we just prolong outcomes. The problem just shifts from the street to the courthouse, then to the remand center and back again. Real community safety doesn’t come from one piece of legislation. It comes from a system that works from start to finish. That means faster court processes, enough staff to enforce condi- tions, treatment and support for those who can be rehabilitated, and detention for those who can’t be trusted in society. Everyone needs to start look- ing at a more integrated and layered approach to community safety. Every part of this system has to carry its own weight. Otherwise, we’re just shuffling the same people between police, courts, and corrections and calling it progress. Bail reform can be part of the solution, but it’s not the whole solution. MARC ROBICHAUD Winnipeg Right idea, wrong spot The pedestrian-only corridor on Graham Ave- nue was a great idea, but it flopped because the wrong stretch of Graham was selected. There are next to no street-facing restaurants or shops in that stretch (I count just two: Tavern United and Rudy’s Eat & Drink) — ergo, nothing to draw foot traffic. As a downtown resident who loves the idea of a pedestrian corridor, I hope we take another stab at this project, but be a bit more strategic about the location. This time, block off Graham between Vaughan and Edmonton, as well as Ken- nedy between Portage and St. Mary. By my count, this stretch alone has four restaurants, three cafés, seven retail stores, six salons and spas, and several other street-facing amenities, with many more on the surrounding streets. Put a community stage in the centre of the Graham/Kennedy intersection, let the arts community do their thing, and folks will come for the live music and stay for the coffee and food. The businesses which are struggling after the bus rerouting will be revived, and by all likeli- hood the increased foot traffic will attract new ventures into the vacant storefronts. The vibrant downtown we’re all wishing for is within reach, we just need to rearrange the puzzle pieces a little bit. SAMANTHA KLASSEN Winnipeg Covering transit costs The first thing to do to reduce the cost to the city for transit: do not allow riders on without paying. Some safety patrols are enforcing this, but it’s supposed to be the job of the driver. If the protection barrier prevents drivers from enforc- ing the rules, then take them down. Second is the fare structure. When I was a child there was a fare for children, another for teenagers (youth), another for adults, and another for seniors. For some reason, children are now allowed to ride for free. Bring back that fee. Since the 1970s, city councillors have pointed out ridership declines every time fares increase. So stop increasing fares. Fare for an adult is $3.35! Fares have to come down. Don’t ask for subsidies from other levels of government, be- cause there is only one taxpayer. One thing is to reduce fare for cash to equal the price of Peggo or paper tickets. Make full fare $2.50, youth and seniors $2, and children $1. Adjust passes accordingly. ROBERT DYCK Winnipeg CFL not broken It is not easy living next door to America. Their culture infiltrates every aspect of our society, including the CFL! Proposed changes would pull us ever closer to playing four-down football. We have been down this road before when then-commissioner Larry Smith expanded the “Canadian” league south of the border. Thankfully, it was a dismal failure. He was banished to the inner sanctum of the Senate to live out his days in obscurity. At age 88, I have experienced countless football games, (CFL, university and junior) with re- markable touchdowns, unbelievable big plays and hysterical fan support. Unfortunately, junior and university levels do not get much exposure from the Canadian media, while American college games saturate the airwaves. The American way is not the way to enhance our game. The influx of castoff American players from the NFL has forced so many Canadian athletes to forgo their dreams of ever playing football in their own country. The CFL is not broken, but is lacking self confidence within its egotistical administration. If other Canadian sports can succeed, like soccer and rugby, why not the CFL? If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Elbows up. BOB FUNK MacDowall, Sask. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR WHAT’S YOUR TAKE? THE FREE PRESS WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU. The Free Press is committed to publishing a diverse selection of letters from a broad cross-section of our audience. The Free Press will also consider longer submissions for inclu- sion on our Think Tank page, which is a platform mandated to present a wide range of perspectives on issues of current interest. We welcome our readers’ feedback on articles and letters on these pages and in other sections of the Free Press ● Email: Letters: letters@winnipegfreepress.com Think Tank submissions: opinion@winnipegfreepress.com ● Post: Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, R2X 3B6 Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. OUR VIEW YOUR SAY COMMENT EDITOR: RUSSELL WANGERSKY 204-697-7269 ● RUSSELL.WANGERSKY@WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A6 TUESDAY OCTOBER 21, 2025 Centralized system a start for wait times I T’S encouraging news that Manitoba is performing more hip and knee replacement surgeries than in recent years. The expansion of orthopedic surgery capacity — including at Selkirk Regional Health Centre — is a positive step toward addressing the prov- ince’s long-standing backlog. But despite these improvements in output, Manitobans are still waiting far too long for these critical procedures. According to the province’s most recent data, the median wait time for hip replacement sur- gery has climbed to 29 weeks — the highest in seven years. Wait times for knee replacements are also longer than in the past two years and are now the second highest they’ve been in the same seven-year span. That’s a troubling trend for patients who often live in chronic pain and whose mobility and quali- ty of life depend on timely care. The fact that Manitoba is performing more surgeries but still seeing longer waits highlights the complexity of health-system reform. More surgeries do not automatically translate into shorter waits if demand is growing faster than capacity or if the system is still sorting through inefficiencies left over from years past. One possible factor behind the recent rise in wait times is the province’s new surgical wait-list information management system, rolled out last year. The project — long overdue — requires sur- geons who want to book operating room time to submit all patient information into a centralized, provincewide database. The data are shared among primary care doc- tors, hospitals, surgeons and central organizers, offering, for the first time, a comprehensive view of surgical demand and patient wait times across the system. This level of transparency and co-ordina- tion has never existed before in Manitoba. For decades, individual surgeons managed their own wait lists, often on paper and sometimes hap- hazardly. It wasn’t uncommon for patients to be lost in the shuffle — literally buried in a pile of paperwork — as surgeons juggled their own lists without visibility into the broader system. Under that old, fragmented model, some surgeons had far longer wait lists than others. In some cases, a patient’s wait depended more on which specialist they happened to be referred to than on how urgently they needed surgery. That’s precisely the kind of inequity the new centralized system is designed to fix. By giving primary care doctors access to a shared database, the new system makes it easier to refer patients to the next available surgeon rather than the first name that comes to mind. It also allows the province to better track and man- age surgical demand, identify bottlenecks, and plan resources based on real-time data. Still, these changes come with short-term side effects. As surgeons begin uploading their patient backlogs into the centralized database, it’s possible that some people who had been waiting the longest — perhaps overlooked in the old paper-based system — are now finally being scheduled for surgery. If that’s the case, the median wait time may temporarily rise as the system corrects itself and begins to treat those long-waiting patients. That would be a positive development, even if it looks bad in the statistics. But it’s also unclear whether this is what’s happening, or whether oth- er factors — such as staffing shortages, operating room limits, or rising surgical demand from an aging population — are driving wait times higher. The provincial government hasn’t provided enough analysis or data to say for certain. The bottom line is that while Manitoba’s new system is an important step forward, it has yet to deliver the result that matters most to patients: shorter waits for surgery. Until that happens, the government cannot credibly declare victory on reducing surgical backlogs. EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis MIKE APORIUS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitobans are still waiting too long for critical proced- ures. ;