The Wrap: Surgery costs, highway debris and a tale of wilderness survival

Good evening. Here’s a look at what our newsroom has been working on today:

Just 478 surgeries were performed on Manitobans who travelled outside the province for surgical care under Manitoba’s COVID-19 pandemic backlog task force — but the approximately $24 million paid for their procedures and related travel has eaten up 18 per cent of the task force’s budget.

Randy Wood’s rural dirt-bike ride wasn’t supposed to last more than a half hour — but instead, it left him fighting for survival in “big bush country” east of Brandon for more than 24 hours.

And family and friends of a man killed last year when his motorcycle slipped on wet mud that covered a section of a Manitoba highway are calling for the province to require warning signs and lights to be posted when debris poses a danger to road users, and significant fines when roads are not cleared in a timely manner.

'Staggeringly expensive and wildly inefficient'

Danielle Da Silva:

Taxpayers paid $24M for out-of-province surgeries

Out-of-province surgeries contracted by Manitoba’s COVID-19 pandemic backlog task force have devoured about 18 per cent of its multimillion-dollar budget but account for less than one per cent of the ... Read More

 

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'I’m just glad to be alive'

Erik Pindera:

Done with dirt-biking after hellacious 24 hours in the bush

The trail off Provincial Road 351, just west of Carberry, was torn up by dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles and the sand was loose when Randy Wood went out for a quick Sunday-afternoon ride from his ... Read More

 

'This can’t happen to somebody else'

Chris Kitching:

No charges in fatal motorcycle crash, drive for road safety continues

A widow is pushing for accountability and safety improvements on Manitoba’s roads, after learning charges will not be laid in the 2022 crash that killed her husband. Winnipeg resident Denis L’Heure... Read More

 

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