On the night table: Andrew McLaren

Dynacare labs quickly reach capacity ahead of strike

Patients were being turned away from several Dynacare locations Saturday morning as people packed the labs in hopes of getting their blood collection done before workers strike.

By 10:30 a.m. the lobby at the Dynacare at 1581 Regent Ave. was standing-room only and walk-up patients were being turned away as the wait time for those lucky enough to get in creeped past two hours.

One woman got in right before workers cut off walk-ins at 10 a.m. after travelling to two other locations.

“I was driving by at 7:15 this morning and there was already a line-up to the road, so I was like ‘nope, not going there’ so I went to the one on Sterling Lyon (Parkway) and it was closed, and then I went to the one at St. Vital Mall and there had a line zig-zagging all the way through the corridors so I gave up and came back,” said Joanna, who declined to give her last name.

On the night table: Andrew McLaren

Principal, InterGroup ConsultantsMost days I only have 20 minutes to read for pleasure so I like essay and short-story collections.

I just started Pulphead, a collection of essays by John Jeremiah Sullivan. He writes about his subjects in a way that conveys his curiousity and intelligence, but is also casual and generous.

The last full-length book I read was Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks about the woman whose cells (“HeLa” cells) were used for research without her consent. I thought the book did a terrific job of connecting the reader to the woman and documenting the long-term effects on her family.

It definitely made me think about how gender, class and race influence how our rights as individuals can be affected during interactions with the medical system and medical research.

All that glitters … could work here

Sometimes, it’s hard to even suggest a change, because it seems there is always a plethora of people ready to tell you that your idea just won’t work.

NDP minister needs lesson in political civility

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine’s decision to intercede in Winnipeg’s mayoral election may be surprising to some political observers. To others, however, it is entirely on brand.

On Tuesday, Fontaine posted a video on social media in which she expressed concern that former city councillor and Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Kevin Klein was entering the race to challenge incumbent Mayor Scott Gillingham.

The caption on the video was blunt: “I mean, really, who chooses to work for Count Dracula?”

“Kevin Klein once worked for Peter Nygard. Peter Nygard is Canada’s equivalent to (American sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein — had his own little island, did unspeakable, disgusting things to women and girls … anyways, I just thought that Winnipeggers would want to know that Kevin Klein, at one point, worked for Peter Nygard,” she says in the video.