The Wrap: Child-welfare system concerns, doctors’ legal fund scrutinized, Prairie potholes, RMTC bucks trend and pickleball popularity explodes

A 2013 inquiry examined Manitoba’s child-welfare system and the circumstances surrounding the 2005 death of five-year-old Phoenix Sinclair.

The inquiry found social workers failed to keep tabs on Phoenix’s well-being and whereabouts, and often closed her file without seeing her.

The inquiry commissioner made 62 recommendations in his report, including mandatory registration of social workers in child welfare.

Now, more than 10 years later, many child-welfare workers are still not licensed, raising concerns about the safety of children in the system.

Millions of Manitoba taxpayer dollars subsidize doctors’ membership in an organization that covers their legal costs — mainly for lawsuits, hospital complaints and professional discipline — but also for certain criminal matters. But the organization refuses to say if it is paying for the legal defence of a former Manitoba physician recently convicted of sexual assault.

Wetland researchers say it’s crucial we rethink routine eradication of the small, but vitally important carbon sinks that once dotted the Prairies, especially in an environment of deepening drought and looming water shortages.

From Broadway smash Waitress to local fringe play turned Warehouse production, the upcoming theatre season from RMTC artistic director Kelly Thornton bucks the trend of many companies, which are truncating seasons and cutting productions, by providing a full slate of dramas, comedies and musicals, including several Manitoba-made productions.

Manitoba’s pickleball revolution is gathering steam with two new indoor facilities accepting customers — one in Winnipeg and another in the Selkirk area.