Justin Bieber stuns Cambridge pub with surprise visit for pool and karaoke

‘Please excuse us from writing these notes …’

It’s a common-sense prescription for the health-care system. The only wonder is that it took so long to happen.

On Oct. 1, new provincial legislation came into effect that will stop employers from requiring employees to get a sick note from a physician unless the employee has been absent for more than a week or has called in sick 10 or more times in a calendar year.

And the legislation could have a big effect.

Doctors Manitoba has calculated that its members write over 600,000 sick notes every year — a process that costs the provincial health-care system approximately $8 million annually. And the effort doesn’t even help sick workers get better: one-third of sick notes are written for patients who don’t even have symptoms anymore, making them little more than a comfortable fiction. To put it simply, doctors have to trust that a symptom-less patient was sick and write a note saying they were ill, in order to satisfy an employer who doesn’t share that same level of trust.

Province to fund livestock cop to cut down on theft

BRANDON — The Manitoba government will fund a new RCMP position dedicated to investigating livestock theft.

The province made the announcement Thursday.

Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said the investigative role will fill a pressing need.

“Personally speaking, I think this has been a long time waiting for this to come to reality,” the Dauphin MLA said Wednesday. “We are doing a great thing for the industry.”

Letters, Oct. 8

Computer scientist Melvin Conway once stated, “Any organization that designs a system (defined broadly) will produce a design whose structure is a copy of the organization’s communication structure.”

Sex offender who changed name sent back to prison

The father of a boy repeatedly abused by convicted sex predator Ryan Knight said he believes his son would have been kept safe had there been a law in place preventing sex offenders from legally changing their name.

Justin Bieber stuns Cambridge pub with surprise visit for pool and karaoke

Bartenders at a local Cambridge pub and billiards lounge were left starstruck after Justin Bieber made an unexpected visit on Sept. 10.

Chicago Pub & Billiards said they had no idea the singer-songwriter was coming by but were happy to host him for his evening out with a friend playing pool, singing karaoke and posing for fan photos.

After Bieber shared a photo of him playing at one of the pub's billiards table, the pub says customers, both regulars and new faces, began pouring in to catch a glimpse of the celebrity.

Even if they missed him, they stayed for drinks and enjoyed the buzz.