WRHA scraps Churchill gathering

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This article was published 31/08/2016 (3322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Plans for a Winnipeg Regional Health Authority board meeting in Churchill in September have been derailed.

Minutes from a June 28 WRHA board meeting state the plan was to hold their September board meeting in Churchill. It would have been the first time the meeting would be held in the northern community.

The WRHA amalgamated with the Churchill Regional Health Authority in 2012, when the number of regional health authorities in the province was scaled down to five from 11 — a move that was expected to save the province around $10 million in administrative costs.

Anne Bennett, a spokesperson for the WRHA, said the authority will get a new board of directors. “There is a wholesale change, and current board members have been invited to reapply for their positions,” she said.

Bennett said discussions were held about the Churchill meeting during the board’s last meeting Aug. 23. “The board decided collectively to revisit the opportunity to hold a board meeting in Churchill once the new board structure is announced,” she wrote.

Bennett said the September board meeting will take place in Winnipeg as usual.

In early August, Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Kelvin Goertzen announced in a news release the WRHA board of directors would downsize to 15 board members from 21. Rural and northern regional health authorities will move to 12 board members from 15.

The regulation changes will also include updates to eligibility requirements for board members in an effort to reduce potential conflicts of interest. Goertzen stated in the news release the current boards will remain in place until the reduction in board size takes effect.

“They need to make the best decision for the board on behalf of folks, and if they believe there’s value to going up and spending time in Churchill, certainly that’s something they should look at — they represent the people there,” said Todd MacKay, prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “But whether or not this is the right time, that’s for them to decide.”

Churchill recently received a serious economic blow with the announcement Omnitrax Canada will close the Port of Churchill and lay off its entire unionized workforce.

The province is accepting nominations for new board members. Any resident of Manitoba may nominate a person or themselves for the board, and nominees must be 18 or older. Nominations close Sept. 16, and appointments are expected to be made by early November.

— with files from Larry Kusch and Martin Cash

alexandra.depape@freepress.mb.ca