Half a million seniors had trouble getting specialized health services: StatCan

Woman died while getting wisdom teeth out; case raises questions about transparency of dental association

The parents of a 23-year-old southwestern Manitoba woman who died after receiving a local anesthetic during a wisdom tooth extraction say they are in the dark about the investigation into their daughter’s death.

Dulaney and Victoria Blatz say the Manitoba Dental Association has been unwilling to give them information about the probe into their daughter’s death, saying the self-governing regulatory body must be more transparent with the public.

“We have pushed through various channels trying to get information, but it’s nothing but stalling and sidelining,” Victoria said Friday. “This has crashed our world to pieces and we just want answers.”

Virginia Blatz went to Boundary Trails Dental Centre in Morden on Nov. 27, 2024, to have her wisdom teeth removed, but never returned home.

Half a million seniors had trouble getting specialized health services: StatCan

A new Statistics Canada report says half a million seniors had trouble getting specialized care.

StatCan estimated more than 4.5 million people 65 and older visited medical specialists, got non-emergency tests or had non-emergency surgeries in 2019 and 2020.

More than 15 per cent of the seniors reported having difficulty while they were trying to access those services.

Common barriers included trouble getting a referral, difficulty getting an appointment, long wait times and services not being available at the time they were needed.

For newcomer pizza purveyors, it’s all about crafting solid foundations

A recent poll conducted by an Internet-based market-research firm determined that close to 20 per cent of people eschew their leftover pizza crust.

Some argued that the residual crust lacks flavour. Others submitted that it’s too hard or crunchy to enjoy sans toppings. Given that information, what are we to make of Crusty Craft Pizza, a five-month-old takeout spot whose owners are so confident in their European-style pizza crust that they’ve chosen to highlight it in their business moniker?

Whenever somebody informs them they don’t like pizza crust, their response is, well, they haven’t tried theirs, says Oleksii Samokvhal, who together with his wife, Iryna Mehedyn, opened Crusty Craft Pizza in early April, at 1311 Day St. in Transcona.

“It’s thin in the middle, with raised edges we hand-form ourselves,” says Mehedyn, a native of Ukraine who, like her Kyiv-born husband, relocated to Winnipeg to escape the conflict in their home country.

US tourism groups want to win Canadian visitors back. A testy trade war isn’t helping

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Appeals from American tourism organizations seemed to be everywhere Josh Loewen looked over the last year. Billboards and banners proclaimed a state or city's love for Canada. Online and social media ads offered special deals for travelers from north of the border.

As a Vancouver resident and marketing executive himself, Loewen said he understands the conciliatory overtures. The number of Canadians traveling to the United States plunged after President Donald Trump returned to office with remarks about making Canada the 51st state. An acrimonious trade war between the two countries now is threatening to reinforce the informal boycott just as it appeared to be easing slightly.

"It’s such a big ask right now,” Loewen, 45, said of the U.S. tourism industry's attempts to woo Canadians like him back before a new president occupies the White House. “It’s just a wasted effort.”

Relations between the U.S. and Canadian governments have deteriorated sharply since their trade negotiations collapsed last month. Trump imposed import taxes of up to 50% on a range of Canadian products. Canada’s government responded in kind. Trump ordered the U.S. government to change the name of border-spanning Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney dismissed insults from members of Trump's Cabinet as childish and undignified.

What’s open, what’s closed, what’s up in Winnipeg on Labour Day

Here's a roundup of hours of business for services and things to do on September 7.

Manitoba doctor denies working to revive Carberry ER in response to recruitment lawsuit

A Manitoba doctor has denied he was working as a recruiter after an Ontario doctor accused him of misleading him about a position at the Carberry hospital.

Dr. Klevis Iliriani, who worked at the hospital in Carberry from May to August 2024, filed his statement of claim in Court of King’s Bench earlier this year.

Iliriani, who lives in an Ottawa suburb, has alleged recruiters negligently misrepresented the job at the Carberry hospital and breached the terms of his contract, which resulted in less pay than promised.

His court filing names defendants Dr. Dave Maharajh and Barry Banek as the recruiters.