Protagonist more than her intellectual disability

Protagonist more than her intellectual disability

British television actress and disabilities advocate Sarah Gordy is well-known for saying “I have Down syndrome, but that is not all I am.”

To some extent, the protagonist of this compassionate and engaging new novel echoes that sentiment. A tale of family dynamics, friendship, romantic entanglements and moral dilemmas, the story revolves around a middle-aged woman with intellectual disabilities who has an artistic flair.

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder in which a person has an extra chromosome. As a result, someone with this condition has developmental delays from birth.

The author of three previous fictional works, Alice Zorn often writes about characters outside the mainstream. Her debut novel Arrythmia chronicles the experiences of five immigrant hospital workers. Five Roses, her sophomore novel, focuses on three marginalized female strangers who become neighbours. This book was a nominee for the 2017 Ontario Librarians’ Evergreen Prize. All of Zorn’s novels, including her latest, take place in Montreal, her current home.

‘Catastrophic’ ending to eventful Manitoba Derby

It had everything you could have wanted for the signature racing event of the season, including plenty of drama and excitement in front of a packed crowd at Assiniboia Downs.

Unfortunately, Monday night’s Manitoba Derby also served up another painful reminder of the potential perils of “The Sport of Kings” and what can occasionally happen when these magnificent animals are pushed to their limits.

Forty Twenty, a three-year-old bay colt who was one of the morning line favourites, looked to be in great shape as he approached the final turn and was near the lead in the nine-horse race.

But disaster struck as he approached the final turn and suddenly pulled up as the rest of the packed passed him.

Concordia doctor denies responsibility for Calgary man’s permanent disability

A Concordia Hospital doctor accused in a negligence lawsuit after a Calgary man was left permanently disabled when he was given a massive overdose of a powerful sedative has denied she ordered he be given the drug.

Zachary Hoogerdyk’s father, Edward Hoogerdyk, and the Alberta government filed their statement of claim earlier this year in Court of King’s Bench naming the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, provincial health agency Shared Health, Concordia Hospital, Dr. Anna Ziomek and two other hospital staff as defendants.

Hoogerdyk, who was 23 at the time, went to Concordia’s urgent-care centre with flu-like symptoms and worsening breathing difficulties on March 25, 2024 while he was in Winnipeg on business and to visit family, the lawsuit says.

The claim alleges Ziomek diagnosed Hoogerdyk with low levels of oxygen in his blood and a strain of the flu, before ordering him to be intubated.

Once hailed as sign of strong bond, U.S. consulate in Winnipeg to close

There was much fanfare when the U.S. government re-established a permanent presence in Winnipeg in April 2001 as it unveiled its consulate and hailed it as a major achievement between two friendly nations.

“It is testimony not only to the importance the U.S. government attaches to our bilateral relationship with Canada but also to the increasing prominence of Winnipeg, Manitoba and the western region of the country in bilateral and multilateral affairs,” said U.S. Ambassador to Canada Gordon Giffin at a ceremony with then-premier Gary Doer.

Fast-forward to this week when it was learned the office at Portage and Main is set to close, meaning the U.S. will lose its primary advocate for American business and trade interests in Manitoba.

Dwight MacAulay was chief of protocol for the Manitoba government in 2001, calling it a time of celebration and strength between the countries.

Steinbach ER nurses ask for triage help as wait-averse Winnipeg patients strain hospital capacity

Forty nurses from the hospital’s emergency department signed an open letter stating because of the current staffing ratio, nurses are witnessing “excessive and unacceptable safety risks on a daily basis.”

Where is Mark Carney going with Senate changes?

A decade after Justin Trudeau dropped Liberal Senators from the party’s national parliamentary caucus and introduced a new appointment process based on non-partisan criteria, his successor, Prime Minister Mark Carney, has recently reintroduced partisanship as a possible basis for appointment to the 205-member Senate.

Commentators were quick to offer immediate, mostly negative assessments of the Carney move. My view is that before rushing to judgment, we need to know more about what Carney has planned for the future partisan makeup of the Senate and its independence from government control.

In law, the Governor General appoints senators, but in practise they are selected by the prime minister.

Historically, appointment was mostly based on past or anticipated future service to the governing party. Trudeau broke with this tradition by making non-partisanship a criteria for appointment. He also created independent advisory committees to identify potential nominees.