Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 1, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2025 A4 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I TOP NEWS ‘Fix’ a fantasy as health care still failing Manitobans I F you’ve been stuck in a Winnipeg emergency room wondering why you’re waiting longer than ever to see a doctor, you’re not imagining it. New numbers are in, and they paint a grim picture of a health-care system still in crisis. According to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s 2024-25 annual report released this week, emergency room and urgent care wait times have jumped 36 per cent over the past three years. The 90th percentile wait time — meaning nine out of 10 patients are seen faster and one in 10 waits longer — has ballooned from 7.6 hours in 2022-23 to 10.3 hours in 2024-25. That’s a staggering increase, espe- cially considering the WRHA report does not include Health Sciences Cen- tre — Manitoba’s largest and busiest emergency department — which is operated separately by Shared Health (it has yet to release its 2024-25 annual report). Meanwhile, the most recent ER and urgent care wait times reported online by the WRHA (which includes HSC) show the median wait time hit a new record of 4.02 hours in September (the 90th percentile continued to grow to 11.2 hours). This is a serious crisis. And it’s not what the NDP, now in government for just over two years, promised voters during the 2023 provincial election. The WRHA doesn’t sugar-coat the problem. It points to “surges in demand during respiratory season, challenges to discharge, and staff- ing shortages in critical areas of the health-care system” as key drivers behind worsening wait times. The report also admits that wait times “are above provincial targets” and that efforts to expand programs or open new units are routinely stymied by recruitment challenges. Manitoba simply can’t hire and retain enough nurses, doctors and support staff to keep the system running smoothly. This has become a defining feature of Manitoba’s health-care woes — a system stretched to its limits, with clogged hospital wards and patients waiting hours, sometimes half a day, to be seen. Those sick enough to be ad- mitted to hospital often end up staying days in the emergency department because there are no available beds on medical wards. One of the most telling statistics in the WRHA report is the percentage of people who leave the ER or urgent care centre before seeing a doctor or nurse practitioner. That number climbed from 11.1 per cent in 2022-23 to 15.4 per cent in 2024-25. Much of the gridlock starts after patients are finally admitted. The aver- age length of stay for inpatients — how long someone remains in hospital — has climbed from 10.09 days in 2022-23 to 10.89 days in 2024-25. That may not sound like a signifi- cant increase, but that number has to shrink to improve patient flow through hospitals and reduce wait times. Hospitals can’t discharge patients quickly enough because of a shortage of transitional and long-term care spaces. When there’s nowhere for recovering or elderly patients to go — whether it’s home care, rehabilitation or a personal-care home — the entire system backs up. The WRHA says this “flow” problem — the movement of people between hospitals, home care and long-term care — remains a major challenge. It’s the bureaucratic bottleneck at the core of Manitoba’s health-care dysfunction. To the WRHA’s credit, there have been some modest expansions. The report notes that 67 new hospital beds have been added on surgical and med- ical wards over the past year — 36 at St. Boniface Hospital and 31 at Grace Hospital. Two additional critical-care beds were also opened at St. Boniface, with four more planned for next year. But in the big picture, the total num- ber of beds across Winnipeg hospitals — excluding Health Sciences Centre — remains virtually unchanged. There were 2,242 staffed beds at WRHA hospitals in 2024-25, down slightly from 2,244 in the previous three years, according to the report. Grace Hospital gained 20 beds last year, but other facilities lost or main- tained the same number, effectively cancelling out the gains. (Those figures are calculated on April 1 of each fiscal year and don’t in- clude beds opened since April 1, 2024. So it wouldn’t capture the additional 67 beds added since then.) Either way, it’s hardly enough to keep up with a growing population and an aging demographic that requires more acute and long-term care. These numbers aren’t just statistics — they’re symptoms of a health-care system that continues to fail the people it’s supposed to serve. The Kinew government insists it’s listening to front-line workers and making the investments needed to “fix” health care. But until those efforts translate into shorter waits, better staffing and more hospital capacity, that promise will sound as hollow as ever. For now, the hard truth is this: emer- gency room and urgent care wait times in Winnipeg are at record highs. The system remains gridlocked. And even as government touts expansions and future fixes, too many Manitobans are still waiting and suffering. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca TOM BRODBECK OPINION MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, speaking above at a news conference in early October, will become the CEO of the Collaborative Housing Alliance Real Estate Investment Trust. Homeless efforts on track: premier M ANITOBA’S premier says he would have preferred that his hand-picked adviser on home- lessness stay in her role, after she re- signed less than a year into the job. But a day after Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud confirmed she had submit- ted her resignation, Wab Kinew said he remains confident his government’s Your Way Home strategy — aimed at ending chronic homelessness by 2031 — will stay on track. “Tessa is somebody that I have a ton of respect for, and that I am very close to, personally,” Kinew said at an un- related event Friday afternoon. “To see her move to the (Collaborative Housing Alliance Real Estate Investment Trust) gives me confidence that you’re going to have that crucial part of the equation — getting more housing units built — that we’ve got a very capable hand at the wheel there.” Kinew appointed Blaikie Whitecloud in January to lead the NDP govern- ment’s effort to end chronic homeless- ness, at a starting salary of $177,745. Her mandate included moving people from encampments into stable housing supported by social services. “I would have loved it if Tessa would have continued to work with us going forward, but to see her at a partner organization, still working in common cause to get people out of tents into housing units, is a positive develop- ment,” he said. When asked why Blaikie Whitecloud left the position, Kinew said only that he believed the real estate trust’s vision spoke to her. She will become the or- ganization’s new CEO after leaving the province at the end of November. Blaikie Whitecloud had worked in the non-profit sector serving homeless people since 2013, first as the executive director of 1JustCity and, before taking on her current role, as the chief execu- tive officer of Siloam Mission. Your Way Home is focused on creat- ing a new stream in the Manitoba Hous- ing system that dedicates 20 per cent, or 2,500 residential units, to the estimated 700 people who were living in about 100 encampments two months ago. So far, 89 people have been success- fully housed, with plans to move an additional 70 out of encampments into supported housing in the coming weeks. Blaikie Whitecloud said in a prepared statement it’s been “amazing to work with (Housing) Minister (Bernadette) Smith to get processes of collabora- tion with the sector and the province in place…. She has a bold vision and has taken immediate action to bring hous- ing units online to support people mov- ing up the housing ladder.” She added that she plans to carry the lessons learned from Smith into her new role “building and revitalizing housing across the continuum to ensure deeply affordable units, with the right supports in place, are available for those in need.” In a statement Friday, Smith said Blaikie Whitecloud “is moving on to help build more housing in Manitoba.” “Tessa’s leadership is instrumental in bringing partners together and set- ting our strategy on the right path,” the statement said. “Thanks to her efforts, 100 people who were living in encamp- ments now have homes, and we are in a strong position to keep building on that progress. “We are grateful for Tessa’s dedica- tion to ending chronic homelessness and look forward to continuing to work alongside her as she takes on this new role focused on expanding Manitoba’s housing supply.” Mayor Scott Gillingham said Friday that he doesn’t believe the shuffle will impact the province’s homelessness strategy. “And the city’s commitment to part- ner with the province remains solid,” he said. “Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud is not leaving the work of homelessness. She is just moving to a new, very im- portant aspect of making sure housing is available for people who are current- ly homeless. We all continue on with this work.” Gillingham said he’s not satisfied with the speed at which the province is addressing the homeless crisis in the city, but added he doesn’t think anyone is. He also said he believes Blaikie Whitecloud’s resignation, tendered on the same day the city released its policy and protocol to implement new homeless encampment rules, was just a coincidence. In September, city council voted to prohibit encampments from transit shelters, playgrounds, pools, spray pads, recreation facilities, schools, day- cares, adult care facilities, medians, traffic islands, bridges, docks, piers, rail lines and rail crossings, as well as wherever the camps obstruct traffic or pose a “life safety issue.” Gillingham said he never directly spoke with Blaikie Whitecloud about the city’s plan. — with files from Gabrielle Piche and Joyanne Pursaga scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca Says adviser resignation won’t affect province’s Your Way Home strategy SCOTT BILLECK MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Premier Wab Kinew says while he would have preferred Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud had remained his adviser on homelessness, he feels she will be a ‘capable hand at the wheel’ getting housing built in her new role. Bill to extend drug detention to 72 hours fails to pass THE province’s plan to open a pro- tective detention facility and hold people gripped in a methamphetamine psychosis for up to 72 hours won’t meet the Nov. 1 target. Bill 48, the Protective Detention and Care of Intoxicated Persons Act didn’t pass before the legislature adjourned for the week on Thursday. It would replace the Intoxicated Persons Deten- tion Act, which only allows for 24-hour detention. Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith said the 72-hour protective care detention centre at 190 Disraeli Fwy. would have been up and running today if the legislation had passed in time. “We’re ready to go Nov. 1,” Smith told reporters Wednesday. She said the necessary construction work in the provincially owned building — to hold and care for 20 intoxicated persons for up to 72 hours — had been completed. The bill was introduced Oct. 2, just weeks before the end of the legislative session. It went to the committee stage two weeks ago for public input. The Tories demanded amendments to address concerns about the bill, such as barring a mobile overdose preven- tion component from operating within 500 metres of the detention centre. They want the law to require the minister to publish a plan to address the potential impact of the centre on the community, include a 45-day community consultation about any regulations made or changed under the law, and at least one community meeting with the minister. Progressive Conservative house leader Derek Johnson said attempts to negotiate with the government to pass the bill in time — as well as private member’s bills that would be “positives for all Manitobans” — were rebuffed. “We made a proposal on Monday, Oct. 27, that has gone unanswered from the NDP government,” Johnson said Thursday. Bill 48 was introduced so late in the legislative calendar that there was no guarantee it would be put to a vote and pass by Nov. 6, the last sitting day of the session, he said. Premier Wab Kinew said Friday the bill’s goal should be non-negotiable. “I’m sorry, do we have to negotiate to stop somebody from going on a meth psychosis-induced rampage? No,” Kin- ew said at an unrelated event. “I think this is a matter of principle and Manitobans should ask the PCs why they would delay action on taking somebody off the streets and going on a rampage because of that.” The premier dismissed the PC party’s amendments as “not good,” and said experts and the public have had the opportunity to weigh in on the bill. In response, PC Leader Obby Khan said his party isn’t against the pro- posed law, but “we are committed to getting this right.” Smith said passing the bill will save lives. “We’ve had 570 overdoses this past year and we know that this is about keeping people alive and getting people the supports and resources that they need,” she told reporters Wednesday. “This is something that the former government failed to do.” — with files from Gabrielle Piche carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca CAROL SANDERS MAN KILLED IN GRAIN TRUCK CRASH A DRIVER was killed when his grain truck rolled over in the Rural Municipality of Victoria on Thursday. Treherne RCMP were sent to the crash site on Road 40 North near Road 71 West shortly after 4 p.m. The 47-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation determined the truck began to drift into the right-side ditch, and the driver over-corrected as he tried to keep the vehicle on the road, RCMP said in a news release Friday. The truck did not have seatbelts. TWO NEW MEASLES CASES ANNOUNCED THE provincial government announced two new confirmed cases of measles Friday, for a total of 240 since February. The number of probable cases remains at 15. The latest numbers are accurate as of Saturday. Sixteen people have been hospitalized with measles this year, including 13 under age 10. Two of those 16 people were in the intensive care unit. All 16 were either not immunized, or their vaccination status was unknown. The province also notified the public Friday about five more locations, including three in Winkler, where people might have been exposed to measles. The locations are: Grunthal Auction Service in the RM of Hanover, from 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 20, 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Oct. 21 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 22. Garden Valley Collegiate in Winkler, from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23. Northlands Parkway Collegiate in Wink- ler, from the same times on Oct. 22. Dairy Queen in Winkler, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Oct. 24, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 25 and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday. The emergency department at Bound- ary Trails Health Centre in the RM of Stanley, from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Public health officials asked anyone who was in those locations during those times to check their immunization records and ensure they are up to date with measles vaccines. IN BRIEF ;