Afterlight shines again

City inundated with thousands of complaints after launch of new transit system

Despite complaints from thousands of dissatisfied users, Winnipeg hasn't hit the brakes on the rollout of its new primary transit network. And it appears that ignoring the public response cost Winnipeg Transit millions of dollars in lost revenue and ridership.

ER wait times have hit all-time highs in Winnipeg and are impacting nearly all aspects of hospital operations

On most days at Health Sciences Centre’s adult emergency department, all 58 treatment beds are filled with sick patients. Another dozen or so brought in by ambulance line the hallways on stretchers, with only one nurse to look after them.

Out in the waiting room, about 30 or 40 people — sometimes more — are slouched in chairs in pain or discomfort, waiting hours to see a doctor. Most have been assessed by a triage nurse, but many will have to wait 10 to 20 hours to be examined by a physician because there’s no room for them in the treatment area.

Some patients leave because they can no longer tolerate the excruciating wait, only to return days later, sicker than they were before.

Welcome to the emergency department at Manitoba’s largest hospital, where some of the highest-acuity patients seek medical care but now face delays that were unimaginable a few years ago.

NDP touts health-care gains, but critics question impact on ER wait times

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara doesn’t mince words when describing how bad things are in the province’s emergency departments and urgent-care centres.

“The wait times that we are seeing in Manitoba are unacceptable,” said Asagwara in an interview with the Free Press.

“I hear from families, I hear from providers, I hear from Manitobans who are concerned about the wait times that they’re seeing, that they’re experiencing, and those concerns are valid — I share those concerns.”

So what is the NDP, who promised voters nearly three years ago it had the answers to bring down wait times, doing about it?

Financial literacy safe space

Safe spaces can seem few and far between for individuals feeling behind the curve of banking online.

It’s often a double whammy of anxiety inducement.

For one, they’re unfamiliar with the technology other Canadians take for granted. Second, using the technology involves their money, leading to the fear a misstep will lead to financial losses.

Mehran Hossain can relate.

Sunshine Fund guarantees a little magic in the summer

To this day, I still remember the morning polar plunges into Moose Lake — a cold shock to the system meant to wake campers up before the sun hit its peak.

Throughout my youth, my siblings and I attended Camps with Meaning, an organization that at the time offered three Mennonite bible camps at Camp Moose Lake, Camp Koinonia, and Camp Assiniboina. I spent many summers at Camp Moose Lake as well as an annual weekend trip with my high school, Westgate Mennonite Collegiate.

I have fond memories of swimming in the lake, picking up a bow and arrow for archery practice, sitting in the cafeteria with all of my friends waiting to devour home-cooked meals, as well as camp-wide games of Manhunt where bouts of giggling echoed around the property.

My parents were able to send all three of us to camp, including my brothers Jonah and Samuel, due to the camp being subsidized by the Mennonite Church. Without the financial assistance, it would have been a strain on my family to support three children going to summer camp on a yearly basis.