Province asks public to weigh in on rules for AI

The Manitoba government may consider setting age limits on using artificial intelligence or require private sector users to ask for consent before accessing residents’ data.

The province is launching a series of public consultations to explore changing the province’s data privacy laws so residents have enforceable rights, Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz said Wednesday in a news release.

The consultations will also look to establish clear rules for responsible AI use, particularly when the systems are designed to “make, recommend or influence decisions that affect a person’s rights, opportunities, benefits or access to essential services,” the release said.

The measures aim to address risks such as identity theft, deepfakes, child-targeted manipulation, biased algorithms and misuse of personal data in public and private systems.

Moms describe being trapped in a cycle of anguish when a loved one faces mental health crises

TORONTO - Nancy Saunders says her son Ben Brennan accomplished so much in his short life.

He was an exceptional musician, loved writing and was a freelance recording engineer, she said.

Brennan played in bands across Canada and toured Europe. He studied at the University of King’s College in Halifax.

Deeply kind and compassionate, “he just had a huge soft heart,” Saunders said.

Unpredictable health-care costs a given, redundant health-system bureaucracy an unaffordable burden

It’s an annual ritual in Manitoba politics: the provincial government blows past its health-care budget, critics cry mismanagement and the government responds that the spending was unavoidable because people got sick, needed care and deserved treatment.

This year is no different. The NDP government last week approved an unbudgeted $200 million to cover health-care costs in the 2025-26 fiscal year. The province signed off on a special warrant declaring the spending is “required for the public good.”

That language sounds dramatic, but the reality is far less scandalous than critics would have people believe.

It’s not unusual for governments to exceed their health-care budgets. In fact, it happens virtually every year, no matter who’s in government.

Sustained scabies outbreak frustrates families of PCH residents

A months-long outbreak of scabies at a Selkirk personal care home has families upset and the local MLA urging health officials to do more to eradicate the problem.

Tudor House has confirmed it is battling an ongoing outbreak of scabies, which was first declared on Sept. 12.

Dave Ramsay says his 85-year-old father, Neil, moved into the 76-bed facility the day before the outbreak was declared. His dad, who suffers from dementia and is unable to stand or walk independently, contracted scabies several days later.

He has been in and out of isolation since, and was reinfected with the skin infestation in mid-December. His roommate has also been infected multiple times.

‘We need to act,’ health minister says as Canada seeks feedback on men’s health

OTTAWA - Canada needs to take action to improve the health of men and boys, Health Minister Marjorie Michel said Monday as she launched an online consultation to inform a national strategy.

Michel made the announcement in Ottawa with MPs from other parties in attendance. She said the government's approach to the issue must be non-partisan and the solutions will require co-operation among governments and community organizations.

The federal government is seeking feedback from people across the country through an online consultation that will run from March 2 to June 1.

"We invite everyone, and especially men, to participate in this important conversation," she said.

Resident challenges Anne Oake centre variance

A resident has appealed a zoning variance for a women’s recovery centre, claiming the project’s parking lot will bring too much traffic and disruptive lighting to the neighbourhood.

Farhad Ghazizadeh-Ehsaei says the approval of 68 parking spaces for the Anne Oake Family Recovery Centre will cause disturbances in the Montcalm neighbourhood.

“This is likely to contribute to congestion, unsafe vehicle movements, and increased pressure on nearby residential streets not designed to accommodate this volume of traffic,” Ghazizadeh-Ehsaei said in an appeal application for a city variance granted for the project.

The applicant claims the expanded parking area will have noise impacts on the surrounding neighbourhood, as well as a loss of privacy and a disturbance from vehicle headlights.

Manitoba to screen infants for defect that causes sight, hearing problems

Manitoba has become the third jurisdiction in Canada to implement universal newborn screening for congenital cytomegalovirus, which can lead to complications as a child grows up, including hearing loss, vision problems and developmental disabilities.

Canada should work to recruit bilingual health workers, Senate report says

OTTAWA - Many Canadians face barriers to accessing health care in their own language and the federal government should prioritize fast-tracking immigration and credential recognition for bilingual and francophone health-care workers, a new Senate report says.

The Senate committee on official languages recently wrapped up an 18-month study of language barriers in the health system.

It heard from witnesses from across the country — including anglophones in Quebec and francophones in the rest of Canada who said that they have trouble accessing care in their own language.

"There is an acute shortage of health care professionals all across Canada, which has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing influx of newcomers," the report said, adding that attracting more health professionals to Canada and more training and foreign credential recognition are all needed.

Food-culture extremes reverberate back to farm

The absurdity of our civilization’s extreme relationship with food hit me like a runaway snowboard the other night while watching the Ozempic Olympics in between commercials advertising pizza and french fries.

The relentless marketing, alternately promoting weight-loss support and foods that lean towards making us fat, isn’t aimed at the elite winter athletes strutting their stuff on the world stage in Italy. It’s a safe bet they didn’t achieve the peak of human fitness on a diet of pizza and french fries. It’s equally doubtful they require injections of the GLP-1 class of drugs to help manage their weight.

These athletes deserve our admiration and respect, but to be fair to the rest of us, most working stiffs don’t have the time, drive or resources to devote full-time to the pursuit of extreme fitness.

No, those commercials are aimed at the couch potatoes back home, subjecting us to both temptation and a shortcut to redemption as we bear witness to these feats of human endurance.

Province warns of measles exposure at Jets game as cases surge

Manitoba public health officials are warning attendees of a Winnipeg Jets game they may have been exposed to measles, as the province continues to grapple with outbreaks.

When it comes to fixing health care, province must follow doctors’ orders

To get an honest assessment of Manitoba’s health-care system, it’s best to skip the government news releases and listen to the doctors.

Get vaccinated for flu, COVID-19, measles to protect crowded hospitals: top doc

The province’s top doctor is asking Manitobans to get vaccinated as respiratory virus season threatens to strain hospitals and measles outbreaks tear though parts of Manitoba.

Parent group urges funds to help spot reading disabilities sooner

It may be too late for their children, but parents are appealing to school boards to fund teacher training to spot struggling readers sooner.

Caregiver Advocates for Literacy Equity is launching a new campaign this week, against the backdrop of I Love to Read Month.

The coalition represents dozens of families, many of whom have children with dyslexia. It is planning a series of presentations for trustees across Manitoba.

“The damage has been done to my son, sadly — we’re trying to propel things forward for him — but I just want to make a change for other kids,” said Allison Guercio, a mother of two in Winnipeg.

Class-action suit against care home, WRHA can proceed, judge rules

A Manitoba judge has certified a class-action lawsuit against the owners of Maples Personal Care Home and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, more than five years after 56 residents died during a COVID-19 outbreak at the north Winnipeg facility.

Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Associate Chief Justice Shane Perlmutter said the suit, put forward by Lawrence Lewsey and Eddie Calisto-Tavares, who each lost a parent during the outbreak, is the best way to deal with the allegations that both defendants were negligent.

“Broadly, the allegations relate to alleged failures to adequately plan for, and respond to, the COVID-19 outbreak at Maples,” Perlmutter wrote in a 24-page decision released last week.

“I am satisfied that the proposed class action would be a fair, efficient, and manageable method of advancing the claim and is preferable to other reasonably available procedures to resolve the common issues.”

As men’s health enters the national conversation, advocates call for co-operation

OTTAWA - The upcoming launch of a national strategy on men's and boys' health is a positive sign that men's well-being is becoming part of the mainstream conversation in Canada, advocates say — even as they warn that it should not become partisan political fodder.

The Movember Institute of Men's Health and researchers from the University of British Columbia called on the government to launch such a strategy in a report released last summer.

Health Minister Marjorie Michel said she plans to launch a national strategy on men's and boys' health in 2026 by working with colleagues in multiple departments, including Veterans Affairs, Women and Gender Equality and Indigenous Services.

Catherine Corriveau, Movember's director of policy and advocacy, said the government has taken an important first step by acknowledging the problem.

Report sheds light on critical incidents in Manitoba health care

The failure to recognize and intervene when a patient’s health has deteriorated continues to be a leading cause of death and injury in Manitoba’s health-care system.

Eight people died and 24 others suffered major medical consequences between Jan. 1 and March 31 of 2025, says the province’s latest critical incident report. That’s a slight decline in the number of critical incidents compared to the final quarter of 2024, when Manitoba logged 28 major incidents and eight deaths.

The provincial nurses union said the chronic staffing shortage is a factor.

“One critical incident a year is too many, but I am just seeing more and more incidents that have to do with issues that are preventable, which tells me loud and clear that we do not have enough nurses to monitor and oversee our patients,” Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said.

Tell-tail dedication, instinct for compassion drive staff at the Winnipeg Humane Society

Tell-tail dedication, instinct for compassion drive staff at the Winnipeg Humane Society

Manitoba has most measles cases in Canada — and it’s likely much worse, doctors say

Manitoba has the country’s highest number of reported measles infections in 2026 — a year after the province’s outbreak began — while a surge brings stronger messaging from the government.

Dr. Davinder Singh, who is Manitoba’s public health lead on measles, said the province is seeing its highest monthly totals since May.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing an increase in the number of detected or reported cases. We also know the number of cases that are diagnosed are only a relatively small fraction of the true number of cases out in the community,” he said Wednesday.

“We can estimate that there may be about 10 times as many infections as we have that get reported to us or that get detected.”

Some blind fans to experience Super Bowl with tactile device that tracks ball

Some blind and low-vision fans will have unprecedented access to the Super Bowl thanks to a tactile device that tracks the ball, vibrates on key plays and provides real-time audio.

The NFL teamed up with OneCourt and Ticketmaster to pilot the game-enhancing experience 15 times during the regular-season during games hosted by the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings.

About 10 blind and low-vision fans will have an opportunity to use the same technology at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California, where Seattle will play the New England Patriots on Feb. 8. With hands on the device, they will feel the location of the ball and hear what's happening throughout the game.

Scott Thornhill can't wait.

Body’s cellular makeup leads to big, existential questions

French science journalist and author Lise Barnéoud’s first book Hidden Guests is a fascinating, well-researched, atmospheric book on micro-chimerism — the presence of genetically distinct cells from one person circulating in another person.

Province hunting for web-based system to better assess and help youth with mental-health, addiction issues

As a drug crisis rages in Manitoba, the province is looking for a better web-based mental-health and addictions assessment tool for youth to help connect them to the services they need.

Shared Health said it’s seeking an evidence-based assessment system that focuses on mental health and substance use challenges in youth. On Monday, it posted on the public-sector tendering site MERX that it’s looking for systems and tools that are secure and ready to go.

A spokesperson for Shared Health said the authority is trying to determine whether there are any stronger screening tools and digital platforms than what is currently in use. The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth has sounded the alarm over substance use among children and youth, and the need for the province to do more and better.

Shared Health currently has a screening tool and digital platform — the Child Behavior Checklist and the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA-Web), the spokesperson said.

U of M researchers studying whether genetic testing helps zero in on effective mental-health treatment meds

A team of University of Manitoba researchers is recruiting people seeking mental-health treatment for a study that could take the guesswork out of medication with the help of genetic testing.

The study will offer free pharmacogenomic testing — which predicts how a person may react to medications based on their genetic makeup — to 200 adults who are looking to start a new medication or switch their medication treating a mental-health issue.

“Someone with mental-health conditions, they (try) multiple medications, and sometimes it takes months or years to get to a point where those drugs work for them, or to have less side effects,” said Dr. Abdullah Maruf, the lead investigator on the study and assistant professor in U of M’s College of Pharmacy.

“Pharmacogenomic testing can find out how our body will respond to these kinds of medication.”

Beleaguered parents of young children with diabetes ask province for help in schools

Parents of children in elementary school with Type 1 diabetes pleaded for help from the province Tuesday at the legislature.

Two mothers — one who has to leave her job at lunch, the other who had to quit her job altogether — in order to get to their children’s schools in time to make insulin-pump adjustments say other provinces, including B.C. and Nova Scotia, have trained school staff to help.

“It’s heartbreaking to have to gauge whether or not I can maintain my livelihood or my child’s health care,” said Christy Peterson, whose five-year-old daughter Lillian is on an insulin pump.

The pumps support better blood-glucose management, help reduce the risk of long-term diabetes complications and their use results in fewer insulin injections.