Age-old advice: Wifely duties

City to use survey to determine transportation needs

The city wants to know how Winnipeggers get around.

It plans to hire a consultant to conduct a household travel survey next year to provide data deemed critical to planning roads and active transportation routes.

“This (will) help … when it comes to prioritizing road renewal investments because our city is growing, travel patterns are changing. A lot has happened in our city in 20 years. And, especially when we’re a city without freeways, I know there’s some major intersections and major corridors that need refinement,” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West), council’s public works chairwoman.

The survey will delve into everything from the number of vehicles owned by residents to where they go and how they get there, providing the city’s first such fine-tuned poll since 2007. It will involve a representative sample of households in Winnipeg and surrounding communities.

U of M adds capacity to emergency medicine program for family doctors

Manitoba is training more family doctors in emergency medicine to help strengthen the pipeline of emergency physicians for communities across the province.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced Wednesday that the University of Manitoba is increasing the number of annual training seats to 17 from 11. The family medicine enhanced skills program provides physicians with an additional year of specialized emergency medicine training after completing a family medicine residency.

“Emergency physicians do incredibly important work for Manitobans and we need more of them,” Asagwara said at a news conference at University of Manitoba’s Health Sciences Centre campus.

The province is investing in training more doctors, providing more physicians with the opportunity to build their careers in Manitoba and strengthening the workforce that emergency departments rely on, the minister said. The 17 residents began their training on July 1.

MMF walks away from bid to buy Fort Garry Hotel

The Manitoba Métis Federation won’t buy the historic Fort Garry Hotel, President David Chartrand said Monday.

Dynacare must treat workers fairly: health minister

Manitoba’s health minister defended the government’s contract with Dynacare, saying the for-profit company is expected to treat its workers fairly — but wouldn’t say if that expectation was spelled out in the deal.

The 350 private lab workers, who are represented by the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, have been without a contract since March 31 and went on strike on Sept. 8.

The Manitoba Labour Board ordered them back to work and they returned to the job one day later.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara was asked Wednesday about the lack of an essential services agreement and why the government didn’t intervene in March, knowing that a labour dispute could interrupt community lab services.

Opaskwayak Cree Nation tabs up to $20 million to get into aerospace, defence manufacturing

Darryl Bauer arrived with open ears and a business plan: aims for Opaskwayak Cree Nation to enter aerospace and defence manufacturing, either through acquisition or partnership.

Paskwayak Business Development Corp.’s economic development director carried the physical plan through an aerospace procurement event Wednesday in Winnipeg. The day-long conference drew all levels of government and industry executives.

“There could be significant long-term benefits,” Bauer said of breaking into the sector. “The government’s committing a lot of financial resources.”

Ottawa released a $6.6-billion defence industrial strategy in February.

Manitoba mineral production set to triple, premier says

Premier Wab Kinew said Tuesday Manitoba plans to triple mineral production in the next five years “to unlock a new era of wealth creation and growth.”

“We’re going to make sure that opportunity is spread throughout the province,” he told a news conference at the Canada investment summit in Toronto.

The province is working with industry and Indigenous governments to send a message to investors that “we’re going to do mining right in Manitoba,” the premier said.

For too long, Manitoba has lagged behind neighbouring provinces, Kinew said.