-The Manitoba Nurses Union says cuts to dozens of private nursing agencies, shouldn’t contribute to nursing shortages in Prairie Mountain Health. Starting January 15th, the province will allow only 4 agencies to fill vacant nursing shifts in public health facilities. The Union President says the provincial cuts “will be a great thing for our health care system”, which aims to curb its reliance on private, for-profit nursing agencies.
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-Manitoba Pharmacare says its claims for Ozempic have skyrocketed in the last 4 years… This is the latest provincial data. Ozempic claims, for 2 groups, the anti-obesity and the Type 2 diabetes medication, these claims rose by 70,723-patients, in a two year timespan. Right now, Ozempic, a popular weight loss drug, is only covered for Type 2 diabetes.
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-Manitobans spent $6.9 million dollars on U-S booze during last month’s temporary ban lift. This, from Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries in an email on Wednesday. U-S liquor was taken off of shelves last February in retaliation against American tariffs on Canadian goods. The Province temporarily lifted the ban December 8th to the 31st, with all proceeds going to charities.
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-Virden residents continue to face water challenges after a drinking water advisory was put in place December 19th. The town’s water was found to have about 0.25 milligrams of arsenic per litre, when Health Canada says is should be no more than 0.10. The advisory says residents should use bottled water for drinking and cooking, and that boiling the water won’t reduce arsenic levels.
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-As Manitoba looks at 366 Henry Avenue, in Winnipeg, for its first supervised consumption site, researchers claim similar sites in Toronto weren’t generally linked to local crime increases. A member of McGill University’s research team and associate professor, says supervised consumption sites don’t attract criminal activity. While initially, more break and enters happen in some areas after sites opened, they soon declined. She says polarized views on harm reduction are holding back progress on Canada’s opioid crisis.
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-Prime Minister Mark Carney is meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week, to restore ties with China after years of trade and political tensions. The trip, from January 13th-17th, will be the first official trip to China by a Canadian PM in over 8 years. The trip will also stop in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, January 19th-21st, to meet with investors, and government and business leaders.
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-Canadian tourists are cancelling trips over concerns after the US strike on Venezuela last Saturday. And, Air Canada issued its own travel advisory Saturday for Venezuela and surrounding regions. The destinations in question are the ABC islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. Right now, WestJet and Air Transat both say they are monitoring the situation.
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-Brandon RCMP say they have seized over $150,000 in stolen equipment from a property in the RM of North-Cypress-Langford. According to police, they began investigating after a report of stolen construction equipment in November. Two people face 11 charges of possession of property obtained by crime over $5000. RCMP are trying to get the stolen property back to its rightful owners.
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-A former Sobeys grocery store on 18th Street in South Brandon will remain vacant, despite the Provinces’ attempt to increase competition. According to a CBC report, the building is leased through 2028, and is unaffected by provincial legislation from last summer to prevent grocery stores sitting on leases. The store has been empty since 2017.
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-Researchers with McGill University have found safe consumption sites in Toronto do not necessarily cause an increase in crime. They say while initially, more break and enters happen in some areas after sites opened, they quickly decline. Manitoba is considering opening its first safe consumption site in Winnipeg.
