Health care at heart of spring session as MLAs head back to legislature

Health care bills top the NDP government’s legislative agenda as MLAs return for the spring session Wednesday.

Premier Wab Kinew said Tuesday that a patient safety charter, nurse-to-patient ratios “and then ending mandatory overtime” are his government’s priorities.

“Those are the ones I really want to see,” Kinew told reporters Tuesday, echoing messages contained in November’s throne speech.

The Manitoba Nurses Union said it supports bills to strengthen health care but isn’t sure how and when they can be enforced.

“Our nurse-to-patient ratio committee spent 18 months developing the template for nurse-patient ratios for the entire province,” Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said Tuesday. That report was submitted late last year to Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara whom the union expects to meet with on Thursday.

“I’m seriously hoping that the legislation supports the research we’ve done in the document we provided, but none of us have any idea what this legislation is going to be about,” Jackson said.

“As for mandated overtime, I don’t think we’re in a position right now where we can actually have no mandated overtime,” Jackson said. “We still have quite a few vacancies in this province,” she said. “I’d love to see it happen, but I’m not sure we’re there yet.”

The labour leader said she has questions about the contents of a patient safety charter.

“I’m hoping that once the legislation is introduced, we can actually have a better idea of what that means.”

The Progressive Conservatives say they’re going to press the government on not living up to its promise to fix health care.

“Manitobans are concerned about the state of our health care, with the longest wait times ever in the province, three hospitals are grey-listed and all the NDP can do is finger point,” opposition house leader Derek Johnson said Tuesday.

The nurses union has grey-listed St. Boniface Hospital, Health Sciences Centre and Thompson General Hospital. The designation means nurses discourage their colleagues from taking shifts at the facilities owing to safety issues, violence and unsustainable staffing levels.

Johnson said the Kinew government has been in power for two-and-a-half years and can no longer blame the Tories for its failings.

His colleague, health critic Kathleen Cook, has introduced several bills to improve health care transparency and accountability, Johnson said.

One proposed law would require reporting when timely care is not available, for example.

“Manitobans have been asking for this. We’re answering that call and bringing this legislation forward,” Johnson said.

“Safety is a big thing as well. Manitobans are feeling less and less safe in their homes.”

The PCs are pressing on with a Criminal Trespassers Act and Amendments to the Occupiers Liability Act to prevent property owners from being sued by injured trespassers.

“Affordability is a huge issue as well,” the Tory said. “The NDP are talking about commissioning a study on the skyrocketing prices of groceries. That’s a little bit late, I would suggest,” the Interlake-Gimli MLA said.

“The right thing to do is keep the pocket money in the pockets of Manitobans, quite frankly, and let them decide on how they’re going to spend it.”

The government is expected to make good on long-promised legislation to protect renters from exorbitant rent increases over and above provincial guidelines. The Right to Housing Coalition Manitoba said it hopes the premier keeps his word.

“There’s a strong indication that he is finally going to fulfil the promise he made during the election campaign to do something about the high rent increases that tenants are facing across the province,” said Yutaka Dirks with the coalition.

“What we’re just asking for is a fair system. We don’t want landlords not to repair their buildings. We want tenants to live in good well-maintained homes. But we don’t want a system that is unfair that uses this as a method to increase profit margins at the extent of the affordability of the tenants.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca