Dedication to her patients, colleagues and community has earned a local physician a prestigious award from the Women’s Executive Network (WXN).

Dr. Bittoo Malik, a medical doctor specializing in diagnostic radiology at Dauphin Regional Health Center, was recently named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, an annual awards program which recognizes women across Canada who create meaningful change in the way they lead within their organizations and communities.

“I am honoured to be selected for this prestigious award and am humbled to join a legacy of Canadian women recognized for their outstanding contributions and achievements,” Malik said, reflecting on her selection.

Led by Dr Arturo Tamayo, a stroke neurologist at Brandon Regional Health Centre, and supported by physicians throughout the region, Dr. Malik’s nomination centred on her dedication to advancing medical imaging in Prairie Mountain Health, in particular, acute stroke imaging and assessment.

Dr. Malik is described by her colleagues as a powerful presence and determined force, demonstrating innovative leadership and transformative approach. A forward thinker, she has helped shape the evolution of trauma and stroke imaging and assessment. She is recognized for her inclusive perspective and unwavering commitment to inter-professional mentorship and collaboration in patient care.

“Achieving best possible patient outcome in stroke presentation requires a rapid co-ordinated effort by a team of health care providers, from first responders to triage and clinical assessment in the emergency department via telestroke, to emergent CT scanning, and review and diagnosis by the radiologist, thereby guiding treatment of lifesaving medication or transfer to Winnipeg for further interventional treatment,” Dr. Malik said, adding when she began working in the region in 2008, there was no real stroke imaging program.

“Because we’re in a rural area, it’s difficult for our patients to get very fast treatment. So I’ve, I guess, advanced that to the point where our patients are getting successful treatment because we’re imaging them within minutes of their arrival in the hospital. I’m looking at their imaging and providing a diagnosis so that they can have the treatment that they require, be it a clot busting treatment here in our ER or they are life flighted out to Winnipeg to have clot retrieval by one of our interventionalists in the city. And all of these things are incredibly time sensitive, so that’s one of the things we’ve accomplished quite well. Often it takes a team of people right from our triaging system to our EMS people bringing our patients in to our ER docs, our radiologists, our neurologists, all of us are working together for this.”

The Top 100 Most Powerful Women awards span the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, with the winners selected by WXN’s Diversity Council of Canada. The awards are presented in 12 categories. Dr. Malik received her award in the “Professionals” category.

Raised in Gilbert Plains, Dr. Malik obtained a Bachelor of Science degree and Doctor of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. She then completed a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto and a residency in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Malik serves as a board member for Doctors Manitoba and when not working at the hospital, she can be found nurturing a garden, or practicing a new-found interest of yoga flow and tai chi qigong. An outdoor enthusiast, kayaking and skiing are among her favourites. She enjoys classical and jazz music, and architecture and design.

She is one of two diagnostic radiologists at Dauphin Regional Health Centre, the other being her brother, Dr. Neesh Malik, who has a special interest in oncology imaging, and vascular and interventional radiology.

WXN will celebrate each 2022 winner in person at its 20th annual Top 100 Awards Gala, hosted at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Nov. 17.

This past summer the City of Dauphin reduced the number of lead water service lines in the community thanks to a financial incentive for homeowners.

In June, a $1,000 rebate was made available to homeowners who have lead service lines on their property and who contracted city crews to replace those line.

The incentive was the result of Health Canada allowable lead standards being halved from 10 parts micrograms per billion to five and testing switching from the distribution system to the tap back in 2018.

At the time tests were conducted on 17 homes in Dauphin which had lead service lines - the line connecting the watermain in the street to the residential plumbing system - with 14 of those tests coming back with lead levels higher than the current standards.
In 2018, the city had 445 lead service connections out of 3,500 systemwide. While city officials encouraged homeowners with lead service lines to change them at the time, 420 remained heading into this construction.

“This year alone, we’ve probably replaced 15 to 20 throughout the community, and this incentive helped and we’re aiming for that 10 to 20 a year, just to start to chisel away at this,” director of Public Works and Operations, Mike VanAlstyne said. “We are offering this anywhere in the community where lead has been identified. And if people wonder if they have lead, they can contact us here at the city and we can search their property records.”

While the cost of replacing a service line varies from property to property, the amount is about $3,000.

Under the City’s Water and Sewer Utility System Bylaw, the replacement of lead service lines for property owners is cost-shared. The City pays to replace the line from the water main to the property line and the property owner pays to replace it from the property line to the building.

An incentive which offers around a one-third reduction in costs seems to be making a difference, VanAlstyne said.

“I don’t know if one season is enough to see the success of it, but we’re happy with the way it’s been going with people buying into it,” he said. “We would love to remove all services that carry lead.”

According to a Province of Manitoba fact sheet, although blood levels have fallen significantly in recent decades due to the removal of lead from gasoline and paint, lead remains an important health concern.

The higher and longer the exposure to lead, the greater the effect on health.

Lead exposure has been associated with effects on intellectual development and behaviour of children. Water levels around 0.010 mg/L would be considered a low level lead exposure and may have effects on intellectual development and behaviour of children.

Other health effects, such as cardiovascular effects - increases in blood pressure and reduced kidney function - have also been associated with relatively low levels of lead exposure. High levels of lead exposure have additional health impacts.

Anyone wanting their service changed should contact the city shop at 204-622-3202.

“We can provide them an estimate for the work and put them in the queue if they’re interested,” VanAlstyne said. “Our waterworks crews probably have work until the end of November at this point, doing services with new construction and lead. So I think we’re almost queing into the new year for new people.”

It has long been said that it takes 21 days to break a habit and 21 days to make a habit.

And Dauphin deputy city manager Lisa Gaudet is hoping to help city residents form a new habit through a 9 PM Routine campaign meant to involve the entire community in the fight against property crime.

The campaign will feature nightly email reminders to secure property by removing valuables from vehicles, locking vehicle doors, locking all exterior doors and turning on an outside light.

“There’s a lot of chatter on social media about crime. It’s a hot topic and people are feeling unsettled about the mischief kind of crime, where people are getting into their vehicles and sheds and yards,” Gaudet said. “So this is a positive message that brings us all together collectively and people can be a part of something where they feel like they’re making a difference in a small way. It’s a message of empowering people to take action even though it’s small steps. If we do it collectively, people can take action to prevent crime.”

The idea was first developed by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida in 2017. Since then it has been adopted by police forces and municipalities across North America, Gaudet said.

“It recognizes that crimes against property are often crimes of opportunity. So a potential thief will happen upon an unlocked car with keys or a wallet on the seat and they’re more likely to open the car door and take what’s inside,” she said, adding if people can develop a habit of locking up vehicles, sheds and houses, removing valuables from the yard and vehicles and turning on an outside light every night the community will be far safer.

“We’re trying to just instill this habit.”

As part of the campaign, Dauphin RCMP detachment members will be conducting foot patrols through city neighbourhoods. If they see a car door unlocked or something that’s unsecured on a property they will leave a card pointing out the problem.

“That fosters that connectivity that people want. I think people are feeling lost and they’re saying ‘is anyone listening? Does anyone hear us? We’re not feeling safe in our neighbourhoods’,” Gaudet said. “And this is the way to promote that connectivity where they can see the RCMP were here, they are checking on things. I think there is a sense of security in that.”

To encourage participation in the campaign, Gaudet has arranged for some prizes consisting of $25 in Chamberbucks. Those who complete the routine each night will be encouraged to post a check mark in the comments and share the post with their friends.

“For the people who have engaged the most with our social media posts and that way we get the message out further,” Gaudet said. “The more engagement with our posts, the better your chance to win one of our $25 Chamberbucks prizes.”

Gaudet is in the process of contacting community organizations and other stakeholders, encouraging them to get involved by forwarding the posts on their websites and social media accounts to encourage as much engagement with the campaign as possible.

The more people taking part, the better off the community will be in the long run, she added.

“I noticed posts on social media where people would say, ‘is the city aware that this is happening, that people are breaking into my shed’,” Gaudet said. “We are aware. We are very much aware, but there was a gap in the messaging where there was no connectivity between the city and the residents. So I think this is (connecting) and it’s fun.”

Starting this week the email reminders with tips, hints and graphics will be distributed just before 9 p.m. each night.

“If there’s good uptake on it I might continue and do more of them, but hopefully people will develop a habit,” Gaudet said. “I think for the most part it’s a positive message that the community needs right now to really pull us all together.”

Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa MP Dan Mazier will play a prominent role in the Conservative Party of Canada’s shadow cabinet.

Mazier will serve as the shadow minister for Rural Economic Development and Connectivity after being appointed by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

“I guess the leader identified that I was a very good advocate for rural Canada and our riding in general,” Mazier said. “It is a true honour and it’s good to know that, just like I’ve always done, I’ll be advocating for rural Canada.”

Mazier’s mandate calls for him to hold the government accountable while proposing policy solutions to support rural Canadians.

Poilievre has also tasked Mazier with addressing the lack of internet and cellular connectivity in rural Canada, something Mazier has been spearheading since he was first elected in 2019. Earlier this year, the MP introduced Bill C-288, An Act to Amend the Telecommunications Act, which, if passed, would provide Canadians with more accurate and transparent information regarding the internet services Canadians pay for.

As such, Mazier is pleased Poilievre has “really emphasized connectivity.”

“Inflation is going to be a primary focus on all these files, like how do we get this inflation down. That’ll be the main focus on anything we touch,” Mazier said, adding there is a real crisis that is being created by a number of government policies.

That is where a large part of his focus will be.

“The carbon tax and just how that is impacting our lives. Not only in Canada, but in rural Canada there is a big, way bigger disparity than this government knows about,” Mazier said. “Justin Trudeau’s inflation crisis is hurting rural Canadians disproportionally. Whether that be his carbon tax or his planned tax hikes on gas, groceries and home heating, I will be relentlessly opposing any policies that increase the cost of living to rural Canadians.”

Mazier is looking forward to learning his new role and to meeting with a wide cross section of rural Canadians to better understand their priorities and concerns

“Beyond learning the process, especially being a relatively new MP, this is the first time I’ve been appointed to any type of a position like this, so on that side of it, there will be some learning,” Mazier said, adding he is awaiting further marching orders in terms of committee assignments.

“They’re very well organized and things will come out here and we’ll get a clear direction of where we’re headed. It’s just learning all this and it’s shifting gears a little bit more in our office.”

The Manitoba government has finalized details of its new plan to attract, train and retain veterinarians to support commercial agriculture in rural areas.

“Our government has invested in this new strategy to address the critical shortage of veterinarians providing care for commercial livestock and poultry operations in rural Manitoba,” Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson said in an announcement in Ste. Rose.

“The agricultural sector is vital to our provincial economy and we are committed to providing support to address the sector’s needs.”

The government has expanded its inter-provincial agreement with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) at the University of Saskatchewan to provide increased annual funding for the acceptance of an additional five Manitoba students beginning in 2023-24, as part of its strategy to build the province’s animal health-care capacity.

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The City of Dauphin’s vision and goals for the future, along with the policies that will help make them a reality, were laid out in a draft development plan presented to the public for their feedback, last week.

About 30 residents attended an open house at City Hall, Oct. 6, to review the plan and fill out a survey.

Developed in the co-operation with Urban Systems, mayor Christian Laughland said the plan represents the long-term vision for the community and is meant to guide future decision-making, ensuring development takes place efficiently and sustainably.

“It’s not a document that’s set in stone. It’s a document that is a working document, a constantly working document. It’s for councils to look at in their terms and kind of adjust to it or readjust it,” Laughland said. “Councils obviously make their strategic plans, too, so they kind of try to align the two. But basically it’s a 20-year plan, a supporting document with council’s strategic plan.”

The plan is divided into three main sections. The “Our Story” outlines Dauphin as it is today and what was heard throughout the plan process.

“Our Vision” outlines where the City would like to be in the future and six key goals to make that happen. Those main goals are Community and Innovation; Climate Leadership and Resilience; Housing and Neighbourhoods; Local Economy and Tourism; Health and Wellbeing; and Truth and Reconciliation.

Finally, “Our City Structure” outlines the physical elements of the City, how they work together, and provides guidance for how to adapt and change to support the vision.

“So there’s six main goals with a number of points on each of them of what to focus on within those goals. There is lots of examples in the document,” Laughland said. “It’s a very readable document. I get a lot of documents being on city council and there are quite a few that I’m not too excited to get into and read. But this one, bluntly, I’m pretty excited to dive deep into it.”

The plan is available online on the City’s website at www.dauphin.ca and is accompanied by a survey which will be available until Oct. 21, seeking opinions on the document.

Laughland added there is an opportunity for the plan to change based on insight in the surveys.

Work on the plan began earlier this year as required by the province under provisions of The Planning Act and the Provincial Planning Regulation.

Utilizing funding provided by the province, Urban Systems was contracted to help develop the document.

Background research began in the spring and was followed by stakeholder and community consultations this past summer, which led to the development of the draft plan presented last week.

“Urban systems does this with a number of communities and they said that we’re way ahead of where another community would normally be. This usually takes two to three years, but because staff has worked so well on this, we’re ahead of the game,” Laughland said. “But there’s an election, so that’s going to slow things down a tiny bit. The finalized plan, it’s not probably not going to be until next year.”

Once finalized, the plan will be implemented following ministerial approval.

Brian Werbiski of Rorketon poses with some sizeable vegetables that sprang from his garden this year.

Both the beet and the red potato pictured here weighed in at five pounds each and were representative of the bounty he will enjoy this fall and winter.

A full slate of candidates turned out to address a large crowd of voters at the Parkland Chamber of Commerce candidates’ forum for the City of Dauphin at the Watson Arts Centre, Sept. 28.

The evening began with councillor hopefuls introducing themselves and answering questions gathered from the public on issues such as crime, small business, infrastructure, homelessness, growth, post-secondary education and more.

The second half of the evening featured mayoralty candidates David Bosiak and Kerri Riehl facing questions from the public and each other.

The forum was live streamed on the chamber’s Facebook page and is available for viewing by those who were unable to attend.

The chamber is also hosting a forum for Rural Municipality of Dauphin candidates tonight (Oct. 4) at the Aspen Lodge in the Parkland Recreation Complex.

Dauphin City Hall has some improved curb appeal thanks to the installation of new flag poles which, for the first time, allows the city to fly the flags of the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Treaty 2 Territory Government.

The flags were raised at a special ceremony last week which, Dauphin mayor Christian Laughland said, is an example of the municipality’s desire to operate in partnership with Indigenous governments in the area.

Referring to a proclamation passed by city council at its regular meeting, Sept. 26, Laughland said, “the City of Dauphin and its employees will be observing the national date of Truth and Reconciliation previously known as the orange shirt day to provide time to reflect on the legacy of residential school system and its impact on Indigenous communities and will be flying its flags at half mast.”

For Francis Chartrand of the Northwest Métis Council, the flying of the MMF flag is a continuation of the support city council has shown as her organization increases its footprint in the community.

It speaks to the co-operation between communities and shows a willingness to work together.

“Thank you very much for everything you did for the last four years and we hope to see you around the table in the future,” Chartrand said, drawing attention to the support shown by former mayors Eric Irwin and Allen Dowhan. “I want to do a shout out to them and thank them for everything we did together.”

Representing the Government of Treaty 2 Territory, Scott Lynxleg said flying the flags is an indication of how the relationship between the City and Indigenous groups has improved in the 17 years he has lived in the community.

And he believes it will continue to improve in the future.

“If you have respect for yourself and for others. We are all the same,” Lynxleg said.