Healthcare shortages are everywhere in Manitoba and all across Canada, but St. Anthony’s Emergency Department has been hit hard with over a 50 percent vacancy rate in their nursing staff. This led to a social media post put forward by the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) on behalf of the nurses working at St. Anthony’s, who are asking for help.
The post reads, “The public needs to know what is happening in St. Anthony’s Emergency Department in The Pas. We are not ok! We have a 56 percent vacancy rate with two additional nurses off injured.
“We are working with nurses who are redeployed from the medical ward and are partially ER trained, with some not trained at all to work in ER, meaning they have none of the mandatory courses to work here. Agency nurses are coming to help, but some of them have no ER qualifications, or limited ER qualifications. We need help, but shouldn’t be expected to train and mentor while working short under additional stress.

It was not the news many people in the tri-community wanted to wake up to on a Monday morning, but it definitely was a shocking way to start the week. At around 4:38 a.m. on April 8, The Pas Fire Department received a call that smoke was coming from the Lido Theatre building.
The Pas Fire Department, along with their Mutual Aid partner, Opaskwayak Cree Nation Fire Department spent 17 hours battling the flames, in hopes to save the building, along with the investigation and clean-up.

Staying consistent with its election focus of fixing health care and making life more affordable for Manitobans, Wab Kinew’s NDP government released its first full budget last week.
“Six months ago, Manitobans put their trust in our government to rebuild health care and lower costs for families,” Kinew said.
“Our first budget delivers on those commitments by hiring 1,000 new health-care workers and delivering cost savings for Manitoba families with a $1,500 Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit. We’re strengthening our province’s economy, with help for you and help for those who need it most.”
As it was through the election campaign, health care dominated the province’s budget with $1 billion in new spending going directly to the front lines.
According to Kinew, the record investments in health care support a plan to hire 100 doctors, 210 nurses, 90 paramedics and 600 health care aides over the next year, along with investments to retain and train even more.
It also adds hospital and ICU beds, and opens new minor injury and illness clinics and primary care clinics, so more Manitobans can see a doctor when they need one.
“The challenge that we face in health care isn’t going to be fixed overnight,” Kinew said, adding capital funding in health care is more than doubled this year.
“But based on this document, you are going to start seeing improvements in health care this year.”
The premier noted the budget helps to take better care of seniors, invests in better health care for rural and northern communities takes action to improve cancer care in Manitoba, and will help modernize health records and bring in plastic health cards.
When it comes to affordability, an extension of the gas tax holiday through the summer leads the way in addition to providing renters and seniors with increased tax credits, expanding $10-a-day child care, providing free birth control, increasing funding for fertility treatment and providing rebates for electric vehicles.
“What we heard resoundingly is the reality and the impacts of rising costs, the difficult conversations Manitobans have been having at their kitchen tables in every part of Manitoba,” Finance Minister Adrien Sala said, commenting on the process which resulted in the budget.
“We heard about the difference the gas tax is having for people in this province, of the freedom that lower costs create for your family and we know it has meant a bit more left to put into savings at the end of the month.”
The budget also makes significant investments in community safety, agriculture, the economy and education.
“I want Manitoba to be a have province in the next decade and in order to do that you have to grow GDP per capita by about 10,000 to 12,000 dollars,” Kinew said.
“And the way we do that, the best economic plan, is an education plan.”
The work is hard, Sala added, considering the situation left by the previous government when it was removed from power by voters.
“The previous government left us with a huge mess to clean up - a historic deficit, a health-care system that’s been badly hurt by seven years of cuts, and a failure to strengthen our economy or support families who were struggling with years of rising costs,” said Sala, adding the budget charts a path to balance by the end of the NDP’s first term.
“We’re different. We’re making smart, targeted investments. We can take steps to fix health care and lower costs, and we can do it while being responsible with public money and charting a path back to balance. That’s what Manitobans can expect from our first budget.”
Budget 2024: One Future, One People, One Manitoba, is a document borne of extensive consultations and conversations, Kinew said, and is a plan which should excite every Manitoban and bring them pride.
“A huge amount of work has gone into identiying the needs, to listening to the challenges, but also hearing the opportunities that Manitobans are excited about for our future. We don’t have to agree on everything to do the big things together like fixing health care and lowering costs in this present economy,” he said, adding that in addition to unity, the theme of this budget, is about delivering more help for those who need it most.
“It’s a path forward that is built on compassion. It is built on listening to the evidence and most importantly it is built on listening to you. We are very proud to bring forward this document, so that we can continue to work together making this province such a great place. A great place to grow up and a great place to grow old.”
More budget details are available by visiting www.manitoba.ca/budget2024

While there are plenty of initiatives in the NDP government’s first budget to make all Manitobans smile, there is extra reason for rural Manitobans, to be optimistic, says Dauphin MLA and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn.
Budget 2024 invests in rural families, Kostyshyn said, giving young farmers a fighting chance by lowering their upfront costs, freezing Crown lands and investing $200,000 to reopen two Manitoba Agriculture Services Corporation (MASC) centres.
An investment of $146.9 million will made be made toward Business Risk Management Programs including AgriInsurance, AgriStability, AgriInvest and Wildlife Damage Compensation, including increased funding for the Livestock Predation Prevention Strategy.
“We’ve been hearing a lot of challenges from producers with animal predation. So we’re working on some increased funding to address the predation problem that exists in our Parkland area,” Kostyshyn said.
The budget also provides $135,000 for implementation of a veterinary strategy to help address a shortage of veterinary professionals in Manitoba and makes investments at Assiniboine Community College to support sustainable horticultural practices.
Another highlight for Kostyshyn is a planned increase in the loan amount eligible for the Young Farmer Rebate.
“We increased the lending limits through MASC from a $200,000 limit to $300,000. Plus that provides a 10 per cent rebate based on age of individuals,” he said.
“So I think that really makes things interesting.”
Kostyshyn is also particularly proud of work advancing on the Crown Lands file.
“I talk about that a lot. We’re going to continue to have that 55 per cent discount for this year and we’re massaging the changes that were made,” he said.
“There is definitely going to be some good news in the future. We’re still working on the Crown lands policies and procedures.”
When it comes to his constituency in particular, Kostyshyn is pleased that the Community Justice Centre promised for Dauphin at the kickoff of the election campaign last fall, is included as a budget line item.
Work this year, he said, will include scoping, designing and consulting to ensure the centre provides culturally appropriate supports and vocational training when people are ready to turn their lives around.
“The design of the blueprints, the pre-engineering, everything has to be done,” he said.
“And whether we’re going to have shovels in the ground this fall or this winter . . . definitely by the following year we’ll have some action going, for sure.”
Finally, a lifting of the seven-year freeze on municipal funding will give communities an opportunity to thrive and grow with sustainable annual funding increases and key investments in water and wastewater treatment.
All of the rural-specific initiatives come in addition to the overall themes of healing health care, improved affordability and unity, Kostyshyn said, and come despite the government dealing with a $2 billion deficit and rising costs of work left undone by the previous government.
“It’s one of these things that you just assume you don’t have to deal with it, but reality set in is that it’s a $1.9 billion deficit. Historically, that’s the largest in the province of Manitoba of a new government taking over from a previous government,” he said.
“It’s one of those give and take, you know the Robin Hood scenario, but we have to get our house in order. I think we’ve done great things based on our budget and estimated a balanced budget approach in our four-year term. I feel very confident that we’ll meet those targets.
“It’s going to take a lot of work and it’s going to take a lot of partnerships and understanding with the taxpayers of the province of Manitoba. Based on our budget that was delivered, I think we’ve done a lot of things over and above what people anticipated were going to be done.”
Budget 2024’s other rural investments include:
• over $22 million in the expansion and improvement of medical transportation services across the province;
• restoring the Rural Doctor Recruitment Fund;
• expanding the nurse float pool to allow nurses to work at multiple health-care facilities throughout rural and northern Manitoba;
• training and creating positions for advanced care paramedics to work in rural and northern Manitoba;
• continuing to support innovative health delivery with nurse practitioners through QDoc;
• providing for rural capital investments such as the design of a new Eriksdale Emergency Room;
• constructing a new personal care home in Lac du Bonnet;
• increasing policing grants by $13.7 million for rural and urban communities;
• investing more than $4 million more in new, annual and sustainable funding for sport and cultural organizations;
• building the Lorette arena;
• investing $635 million in capital projects for the health sector, which includes a one-time investment of $110 million for health system capacity expansion including a new hospital, the Neepawa Regional Health Centre, a new Portage Regional Health Centre, a Community Service building and new beds for the Boundary Trails Health Centre and a Western Manitoba Cancer Centre expansion;
• providing a historic $24 million, a $4-million increase, to support the Manitoba Water Services Board for the development of safe, affordable, and sustainable water and waste-water infrastructure in rural municipalities;
• providing a $730,000 increase to support the Urban and Hometown Green Teams, which provides funding to non-profit organizations, education authorities, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) councils and municipal governments that create summer jobs for youth aged 15 to 29;
• investing $1.2 million to implement a new public libraries funding model;
• increasing funding by $1.1 million for Integrated Youth Services, which brings total support to $3.2 million, a 52 per cent increase from last year, which co-locates mental health supports, addictions services, primary care, cultural and spiritual care, social services, and housing resources for youth aged 12 to 29;
• funding to finish construction of new schools in Morden and Steinbach; and
• investing $5.3 million in funding for ATV Manitoba and Snoman for off-road trail maintenance, safety and rehabilitation to make trails more accessible.

It was an epic series, one that will be remembered for years by fans of both teams.
Unfortunately for the Dauphin Kings and their fans, they will think of what could have been after the Blizzard Jr. A Hockey Club won the Manitoba Junior Hockey League best-of-seven quarterfinal series in seven games.
Game seven in The Pas went to triple overtime before Blizzard forward Riley See scored off a rebound to send the Blizzard to the semifinals, with a 2-1 victory.
“When one shot ends your season, it’s really tough. And it could have been either way,” said Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley.
“I think the games were back and forth. We hit the post a couple times, had a couple empty nets in second and third OTs.”
The double overtime loss in game four was especially tough as the Kings could have gone up three-games-to-one.
“If we go up 3-1, the series probably goes the other way. But that’s how close the teams were. Both goaltenders were outstanding. The effort that we had from our backend and the forwards, the work ethic and the battle and the competing was something we wanted to see,” Hedley said.
“We found out we have some will in that room. We found out we have some character in the room. The guys care and they stuck together. It’s disappointing at the same time, but you have to live it to learn it. And they’ve gone through a great experience here.”
Going through almost 10 games worth of playing time in seven playoff games is an invaluable learning experience.
“I think they’re set on coming back. We knew we had a solid group coming back. We have 23 out of 25 guys. We’re looking forward to some big things next year,” Hedley said.
Hedley said everyone is on the same page following the team’s exit meetings.
“They know they’re going to have a special group here next year. What we do in the summertime now, from May to August, is going to define what we do in the fall. Bigger, faster, stronger is our main goal and if we do that, we’re going to be a tough out, that’s for sure,” he said.
With so many players eligible to return, Hedley is still going to recruit players in an effort to make the club better.
“We have guys that are set to come in. Bottom line is it’s based on performance,” he said.
Athletic therapist and equipment manager Haley Choma will be with the team full time in the summer and will monitor the player’s summer workouts.
“They’re going to be on a team builder app where we can see their workouts. They put them in daily. The good thing about this is that we can be real selective with work ethic, competing, with character, with off ice, just basically the general characteristics you want in an organization,” Hedley said.
“We have a whole bunch of guys that can come back and fill that role for us and make us proud of wearing the crest. I think it bodes well for the next couple years with the players we have in here and where we’re looking at going.”
Hedley wishes to thank the fans for their support throughout the season and especially in the playoffs.
“The noise was really welcomed at the games. The atmosphere was outstanding and the guys can’t wait to see them again next year. So thank you,” he said.

Attending camp as a child can create so many life skills and fond memories. Madge Lake Bible Camp (MLBC) has been well-known in the area for its summer camp opportunities for youth and is now celebrating its 70th anniversary in operation. Since its conception, MLBC has not only grown in size, but in the programming, it offers as well.
“MLBC was founded in 1954, with a desire to have the gospel message become more clearly understood by more people,” said MLBC Camp Director Ryan Wiesner. “Jack Shakotko had a vision to start a Bible Camp, and Walter Zinkiew and others from Swan River, Minitonas, Kamsack, Little Woody, Alpine, Durban, Benito, Pelly, and Roblin all came together to have a work bee to clear the area.
“The first summer, there were only tents at the camp. The next year they added a long building with five cabins in it for the girls. The year after, they added another long building with five cabins in it for the boys. Later, they built a chapel with a kitchen in part of it.
“In 2010, the camp board bought the Riding Stables, and it has added so much to our programming,” said Wiesner. “We offer five weeks of Ranch Camps for ages 10 and up, from beginner to intermediate, and these camps always fill up fast. Hardcore Ranch Camp is our advanced riding camp, where campers get to take their horses on an out trip, riding to different locations in Duck Mountain Provincial Park for a few days. Also at the Riding Stables, we also offer riding lessons, trail rides and wagon rides to the public throughout the summer.
“The camp has grown so much from the tent cabins and chapel it was at its beginning. We now have 20 buildings on site including cabins for campers and staff, a dining hall, a chapel, etc.
“Just two summers ago, we added a biotech to our sports pad, a tarp building over a cement pad that we call the gym, which doubles as storage space in the winter,” said Wiesner. “This has immensely helped our program, especially on rainy days.”
Wiesner has experienced firsthand what it was like to be a youth that attended MLBC. Those memories and experiences have stayed with him all through the years and led him to take a more active involvement at MLBC as he got older.
“I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend MLBC as a child,” said Wiesner. “I remember three years, possibly one more, that I got to attend. It was always such a highlight for me and I have many wild stories from time spent at camp.
“Probably what I remember most was the chapel time when the gospel became real to me and later in the evening during cabin devos, I was able to talk and pray with my cabin leader.”
“Camp ministry has always had a special place in my heart,” said Wiesner. “I regularly volunteered as maintenance, cabin leader or even as a cook in the kitchen at various camps in the area, usually, one to two weeks every summer since I was 18. When I was in my mid-twenties, in 2004, my girlfriend at the time, Andrea, who is now my wife, and I decided to go and work at the camp full-time for the summer as cabin leaders.
“The next year, 2005, the camp board called me in April, to see if I would consider being the director for that summer. As I was just graduating from Bible College, I decided I would give it a try, and as they say, the rest is history.”
MLBC has not only grown in size but in capacity and attendance as well. The pandemic didn’t deter youth from returning to camp and last year’s attendance numbers were record-breaking.
“Our attendance has been going up and up the last few years,” said Wiesner. “When I first started as Camp Director in 2005, the camp had 255 campers that summer, which grew to 465 the next summer.
“This past summer we broke the previous year’s attendance record with over 1,000 campers. Lately, it has been very rare when our camps are not at full or nearly full attendance.”
MLBC experienced the challenges, much like other programs and organizations, when the pandemic hit. Staff were creative and found ways to run day camp programming in communities in the surrounding areas, and were able to keep youth engaged during that time period.
“We were unable to run overnight camps in 2020, because of the pandemic,” said Wiesner. “That summer we revamped our program and did day camps in different communities such as Swan River, Roblin, Yorkton and Langenburg. We also did two weeks of day camp at the camp. That year we were still able to see around 400 campers in our day camp programs.
“The next year we had planned for day camps again, but the Saskatchewan government gave overnight camping the green light in June, so we completely redid our schedule and offered overnight and day camps.
“One thing we noticed throughout the pandemic, was how our supporters continued to help the camp in lots of different ways,” said Wiesner. “Financially, we are so grateful for how people continued to help us during that uncertain time.”
With camp programming fully restored, there is a wide variety of camps and programming for youth to choose from. For many years, schools have been doing year-end summer field trips at MLBC as well.
“We have camps for all ages,” said Wiesner. “We have a Squirt Day Camp for ages 3-12 on July 1. We have overnight camps all summer for ages 7 and up. We have weekend retreats for young adults, adults, and seniors. We offer two family camps, the first one is the Family Rodeo Camp from June 14 to 16 and the second one is Family Camp from August 2 to 4.
“We also offer a variety of camp programs. Our Ranch Camps often fill up fast. We have a Wilderness Camp for teens, where they learn basic survival skills. Just a few summers ago, we started offering Sports Camps for kids and teens who love and want to be coached in volleyball and basketball. Junior Sports Camp, for ages 10-13, is July 22-25, and Senior Sports Camp, for ages 13-18, is August 5-10.
“For many years we have been offering programs to school groups that come from both Manitoba and Saskatchewan,” said Wiesner. “Our programming includes a rock wall, archery, canoeing, biking, arts and crafts, field games, geocaching, pond dipping, fire building, and more. We are always looking for creative ways to reach out and support schools in our areas and love having teachers and their classes participate not only in programs but fun and organized ways of creating lasting memories.
“We offer school groups and have a few retreats in June. Our official camp kick-off day is July 1, on Canada Day. We have a Pancake Breakfast in the morning from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the camp. We also run Squirt Day Camp in the afternoon for kids and families.
“The Stables are open from May long weekend to September long weekend,” said Wiesner. “For more information on all of our camps, or to book a ride at the stables, check out our website www.madgelakebiblecamp.ca. We actually offer programming year-round, to the surrounding communities, geared towards kids, teens and young adults through monthly events. For more information on any of these, check out our socials.”
The hiring of staff for MLBC is a big undertaking and there are lots of different positions and responsibilities to fill.
“It takes a lot of staff, which we call summer missionaries, that come in either a volunteer capacity or in a paid role,” said Wiesner. “We have many support staff that help at the camp as LITs, CITs, cooks, nurses, program staff and maintenance. Other front-line positions are cabin leaders, stables staff, and camp speakers, who all work together to help run the camp, especially with as many programs as we have going on at one time.
“There are many weeks that we are offering up to three different programs at the camp. For instance, we may have the main camp going at the same time as ranch camp, at the same time as sports camp or wilderness camp. While we may be also offering a day camp, either at the camp facilities or in one of the surrounding communities, we are also offering public stable opportunities all at the same time.
“This last summer we had over 90 summer missionaries and that is not including all the amazing adult volunteers that come out to serve in the kitchen, maintenance, and nursing positions,” said Wiesner.
Wiesner enjoys every aspect of MLBC, from the programming for the youth to watching them progress from kids attending to becoming cabin leaders.
“We have many returning campers and staff, and the transformation we get to see over the summer and over the years is amazing,” said Wiesner. “We have campers who have started coming to the camp at age 7 and now are cabin leaders. I love seeing their growth in maturity and in their relationships with God and with the other campers and staff. Seeing kids grow in their faith and in their leadership, skills is very rewarding.”
A big celebration in honour of MLBC’s 70th Anniversary is planned for this coming weekend with some entertainment and a look back at the past 70 years.
“On April 13 we will be celebrating the camp’s 70th Anniversary with a Banquet Celebration,” said Wiesner. “Everyone is invited to attend, there will be no entry fee, but will include a free-will offering. We will have a short program with talented musicians, Travis Kranz and Josiah Paul, sharing some music, a slideshow with older to newer pictures, and we want to honour the builders of Madge Lake Bible Camp, the many volunteers that helped to start and continue the camp throughout the years.
“We have been so fortunate over the years to be surrounded by many people in the various communities that have come alongside the camp and have helped in so many ways. If you or someone you know of has poured into the camp over the years, please consider this your invitation to come celebrate our 70th Anniversary.”

Spring is arriving in a hurry, with snow melting and water bodies flooding the countryside. Here, in the Municipality of Swan Valley West, water from a saturated field flows across a low area of a municipal roadway.

Attending camp as child can create so many life skills and fond memories. Madge Lake Bible Camp (MLBC) has been well-known in the area for its summer camps opportunities for youth and is now celebrating its 70th anniversary in operation.

Since its conception, MLBC has not only grown in size, but in the programming it offers as well.

More in this week’s Review.

One never knows the true power of giving, until one is faced with a life altering challenge or medical need. Margaret Lathlin knows all too well about when a loved one is faced with a great need or health challenge. In 2015, one of Lathlin’s granddaughters, Tameka, suffered from Mitochondrial myopathy, Encephalopathy, Lactic Acidosis and Stroke (MELAS), which is a rare combination of medical conditions that lead to her having several seizures a day, some which lasted hours.
Local fundraising took place to help Tameka’s family with their needs during their most challenging times.
Now Lathlin has another granddaughter who faced a severe medical condition and needed treatment immediately.
“My granddaughter has autism and is non-verbal, so we didn’t know anything was wrong or that she was really sick, until we took her to the doctor,” said Lathlin. “She was taken by medivac from The Pas to Winnipeg and that’s when we learned she was having heart complications. They put her in a coma in Winnipeg, due to her having a hard time breathing, so they had to relax her heart. The operation couldn’t be done in Winnipeg, because they didn’t have the equipment, so from there she was taken to Edmonton.

Organizers and directors are already making plans for the 58th Opaskwayak Indigenous Days, (OID) which will be held this year on August 12 to 18. A big part of the events is the OID Princess Pageant and directors have put out a call for all Indigenous girls interested in running.
“It’s really exciting and I’m super pumped to be a part of it,” said OID Senior Princess Pageant Director Jett Bignell. “I ran when I was 17 years old and it was one of my most favourite experiences. I graduated high school and then I ran. It was exciting for me, because I got to be around our elders and involved with the youth kind of like a big sister role model. For the most part, I still talk to many of those women today.