Blackface Scrubs episodes scrubbed

Provincial independence means loss of portable health benefits

During the many decades that I practised internal medicine, at times I would warn patients about the potential adverse effects of medications or procedures. No one accused me of scare-mongering. Most thanked me for spending the time so that they could make an informed decision. Similarly, Albertans and Quebecers need a full discussion of all the risks of amputating themselves from Canada.

On Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on whether to have a referendum on independence. Also, if the Parti Québécois wins the early October election, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has promised to hold a third referendum on Quebec independence, likely toward the end of his mandate. An Ipsos poll found that 15 to 18 per cent of Albertans were committed to separation. Meanwhile, CTV and Global polls found that 26 to 29 per cent of Quebecers favoured separation, a historic low. About 62 to 71 per cent rejected having a third referendum.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith estimated that start-up costs would be about $400 billion. The Calgary Chamber of Commerce warned that Alberta would forego $10 to 15 billion in investment in the first year.

Few have mentioned the effects on access to health care within an independent province or elsewhere in Canada. A vote for independence would cause many physicians, nurses, and health professionals to flee, for they are quite mobile. CBC reported on June 27 that from October 2025 to June 2026, the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New Brunswick granted 47 licences and received 156 applications from Quebec physicians. Also, between late October and mid-November 2025, nearly 300 Quebec physicians applied to work in Ontario; over half were family physicians.

Steamy days and hot nights sizzle city

Hot, humid temperatures continued to grip Winnipeg Sunday with “dangerous” heat — feeling like low to mid-40s — anticipated to last into Monday.

The nighttime temperature Sunday was expected to be close to record setting. The anticipated overnight low of 27 C would mark the second warmest on record in Winnipeg since a 28 C low was recorded during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, said a Winnipeg-based meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“A hot day is one thing, but a hot night is a totally other thing. If you don’t have air conditioning, (Sunday’s) going to be the really hard night,” said Brad Vrolijk.

Vrolijk also said it’s unusual is for such high temperatures to be combined with high humidity, calling the mix a “dangerous heat.”

Artist Bistyek enjoys the freedom of living a creative life in full colour

In pants nearly as wide at the ankle as a downtown sidewalk, Bistyek cuts a striking silhouette on his daily marches through the Exchange District, an area the painter has made his muse since arriving in Winnipeg nine years ago.

He likes it here, loves it even, but as he’s established himself as one of the city’s most vibrant visual artists — with a street-honed style that pays homage to both Japanese anime series Dragon Ball Z and graffiti-inspired American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat — Bistyek won’t forget where he came from: he can’t.

Though the 30-year-old has built an enviable life here, he’s eminently aware that his circumstances are defined as much by sheer luck as they are by determination or talent. When he was growing up in Afrin, a village in Syria, his family was torn apart by civil war and discrimination against the Kurdish minority under the rule of dictator Bashar al Assad.

“I was living in Lebanon as a refugee for seven years, with a big group of friends, but day after day they started to cross the sea from Turkey or Greece. Some of them made it, some of them did not,” says the artist born Ormeya Zagros. “I turned to Mom and said, ‘I want to go across the sea. I cannot stay here. I don’t see a future here. I don’t see opportunities. There is so much discrimination and racism. I cannot build a life.’”

Letters, July 14

I commend James Wilt on his column on Manitoba Hydro’s options for increased electrical generation. For years Manitoba Hydro has put too many eggs in one basket by relying almost entirely on water power for electricity.

Manitoba workplaces becoming increasingly violent

A middle school student file documenting more than 40 violent outbursts in a single year.

A gun kept under the pillow of a home-care patient who has dementia.

A drug-fuelled rage during which a man suffering from a contagious disease spat on and wrapped his hands around the throat of a first responder.

These are among the hazards that front-line employees in health care, education and other public sector positions are navigating when they clock in for a shift.