WildPath

Wait'll those truckers figure out how much money they are lining Trudeau's pockets with on commie carbon taxes by wasting all that fuel driving around pointlessly. 😄

I should clarify well known in the political realm. I'd hazard to guess that Willard Reaves is more well known and would win a popularity contest over Obby among Fort Whyte voters.

Agreed. They pretty much tripled any other party in 2019. But that was when they had an experienced politician and the premier of the province running in the riding. Before there was outrage with the party overall and with Pallister in particular. The approval rating of 21% for Stefanson might indicate a chance for another party to steal a seat. The last time any party came close to winning Forty Whyte was the Liberals in 2012 and the PCs won't have the benefit of an experienced and well-known candidate for the first time in over 2 decades.

I still maintain that the provincial Liberals are clearly better than either the PCs or NDP currently. They don't have a chance of forming government, but having a legitimate third party helps keep whoever wins the next election in check. We've seen what majority governments (especially with the secret bills the PCs introduced last year) look like in this province and its usually not good, regardless of political allegiances. There's too much "Vote for us, we're not the PCs. They would ruin the province.", "Vote for us, we're not the NDP. They would ruin the province." Having Liberals as a legitimate third party and potentially holding the balance of power could begin with Willard Reaves winning Pallister's old seat in the coming months.

That is kind of my point. The government has adopted a policy that will in all likelihood cause these decisions to be made, but they refuse to accept or plan for this ahead of time. Its not just something that can be swept under the rug or fingers crossed that it won't happen because it doesn't sound nice. Agree. I think acute need is the first factor, but I don't think it is the only factor. I did some brief digging and found this - Ethics - General Considerations in Assessment for Transplant Candidacy - OPTN (hrsa.gov). (American Document) This is just a white paper, but it does suggest that lifestyle factors are already in consideration. This even includes incarceration status and ability to pay for treatment, again U.S. system. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, just that considerations of lifestyle choices already exist in some systems. I was pretty sure alcoholism and such have already been known to factor into transplant decisions, but this is the best source I could find on a brief search. The source shown above also shows that Covid vaccine uptake is already taken into consideration in some places for transplant priority. But my point isn't about transplants at all, just that there needs to be a plan in place for the expected surge in hospitalization/ICU admission. This is something Doctors Manitoba has asked for repeatedly.

Yet Doctor's Manitoba has continually called on the province to develop triage protocols like other jurisdictions have done. Articles from last May, last September and yesterday. A difference between regular triage protocols and those being called for by doctors is that the system is at a continual height of sustained need that likely hasn't been seen in the past 50 years. Physicians press for emergency order to triage rising virus caseload - Winnipeg Free Press Advocates, ethicist renew call for triage protocols as Manitoba approaches 4th wave | CBC News COVID-19: Manitoba doctors worried about Omicron surge in hospitals | CTV News I am not familiar with the transplant protocols in place in Manitoba, but other jurisdictions do include Covid vaccine status in their consideration - Organ centers to transplant patients: Get a Covid vaccine or move down on waitlist (nbcnews.com).

A local lockdown or increase of restrictions could help ease the capacity on the healthcare system. This was the same goal with the original - bending the curve. It is not just about what happens when an individual gets sick with Covid, but what healthcare is available to anyone who needs it, even with non-Covid conditions. As Mark F posted above, many procedures are being delayed and this has directly led to the death of non-Covid patients. With the province basically waving the white flag, that has signaled to all Manitobans that the time for restrictions has passed. Unfortunately everyone going about their business as normal is already causing hospitals to push capacity limits when other healthcare services are running in standby mode to deal with Covid surges. We don't have the ability to 'flex' to increase Covid capacity any more than we currently have. If we have decided to basically live as normal (besides that being a decision to basically disregard health outcomes for vulnerable individuals), it has to be paired with a healthcare plan to decide who does not receive care when the system is at capacity.

I've seen no evidence of them playing the anti-feminist and racist cards, but she definitely is ill-fitted for the position. She is a member of Spring Church/Cult, who give out vax-exemption cards, sue the government for restrictions and continually try to defy any measures to try to contain and reduce the harm of Covid. She's personally been at the centre of at least two controversies where she is defying restrictions. I just watched the movie 'Don't Look Up' and I'm seeing some interesting parallels.

Repeatedly pressed if public health has suggested any new restrictions - Stefanson - dodge the question and then say that they talk to a wide variety of different organizations that throw around different ideas. Health Minister Gordon - Places are making things safer by putting up plexiglass and ensuring santization. - Our health minister clearly has not been paying attention to research from the last year on how Covid spreads. "It is up to Manitobans to defend themselves" - Heather Stefanson It's time for Manitobans to receive a tax refund equal to the pay of Stefanson and Gordon.

Watching now ... confirmed.

I have thought similar before - the people most upset with lockdowns should surely be the first in line for vaccinations and trying to encourage everyone to get vaccinated. Unfortunately this is rarely the case. Those that hate lockdowns and are likely to break lockdown protocol are often the least effected by the negative side effects of lockdowns. Those who take lockdowns seriously and often go beyond government protocol are the ones who most want to go back to normal and will do whatever it takes. Part of their mindset is that they should always be allowed to do whatever they want - don't lock us down, don't make us get vaccinated, don't make have any consequences for our choices. I also think those who hate lockdowns are also the "F Turd-eau" crowd that have a really hard time connecting to dots between mass vaccination and a return to normal life. The lack of critical thinking really boggles the mind. I had one of my early years students go on a huge rant about anti-vaxxers today. Hard to imagine kids under 10 can put together a more logical argument than some adults...

I'm 2/3 there. Do I get a prize? Before remote learning, I went from being a teacher to being a lawn care guy so I could keep myself and pregnant wife safe and to be able to see my parents. I've been literally on my death bed in ICU because of my condition before (when I was 24 no less), so I've been playing it pretty safe, especially since each of the 3 vax shots I've had are likely not super effective on me. Not expecting the world to stop for people like myself, but just for people to be aware there are many people who can't "accept living with Covid" and have had really sh**y lives the past two years. When our hospitals are full and access to medical care is limited, that is the time to have restrictions that actually mean something. Agreed that the conversation on here has been great. A lot of the drivel online is disgusting and not representative of the real population that actually has compassion and awareness.

Wondering if they will trust the pill treatment by Pfizer once it becomes available. Judging by monoclonal antibody treatment only being available to the unvaccinated, I'm sure they will get first priority once treatment options like the Pfizer pill become available. I think many of them say they won't go to the doctor if they become sick, funny thing is - gasping for each breath kind of changes your commitments.

No "mandatory" vaccinations, but highly reduced privileges for the willingly unvaccinated. Make society as safe as possible for the vulnerable and those who care about other human beings, let the unvaccinated bear the weight of the pandemic for once. Actually make an attempt at enforcement. Triage protocols that place unvaccinated people near the bottom of priority lists for ICU/hospitalization. Ease the burden on healthcare workers so they actually have some quality of life and maybe unfilled positions won't be the norm. Fix the healthcare system rather than seeing the pandemic as an opportunity to prove the public system can't work so privatization looks beneficial. Plan ahead? Use science instead of politics. Be proactive and see what restrictions make sense rather than "wait-and-see" which leads to more suffering and stricter lockdowns. I haven't gone out too much, so I can't confirm, but I've heard vax checks have been somewhat spotty. Friends only asked for self-check when flying, not being checked when going into restaurants and not checking ID with the cards happening frequently. Is this true or do people find they are checked properly most of the time? Omicron-specific vaccines are apparently coming from Pfizer in March. Hopeful for 6 months - 5 year vax coming in July (it was supposed to be March-ish, but turned out ineffective). Take-at-home pill treatments should be getting more available in the near future as well. Unfortunately testing capacity will be very important for treatments as they need to be administered in the first few days of treatment to be effective. People often don't wear masks properly. There's no way it would be possible to enforce anti-vaxxers to wear a mask properly.

Winnipeg Police Service issues declares state of emergency, public and private organizations having difficulties operating because of large amounts of staff catching Covid, other jurisdictions having severe problems and requiring additional restrictions...... But hey, let's take some additional time to monitor it, but don't gather with family for Christmas, bar is okay though... No reason for a presser, continue as normal, nothing to see here.

I would be surprised if this is true. Hospitalization and ICU admissions generally lag spikes in Covid infections. Infections have been spiking for a while and now we are starting to see hospitalizations jump. I believe the stats indicate that Omicron has to be at least 5x less severe to create the same load on the healthcare system as we had before Omicron. WHO said more study needs to be done, but it appears less severe and should not be labelled as mild. I've known a few people with Omicron, all with pretty difficult symptoms, but none requiring hospitalization. I still find it strange how our government is planning for Omicron based on the absolute most optimistic view. There's clearly a delay between infections and hospitalizations, but barely anything done to mitigate increased load on hospitals beyond hoping Omicron is mild and doesn't cause a health care strain. We've abandoned the precautionary principle and people should demand answers from the government if their optimistic views don't come to fruition.

Last I heard they were hoping for a vax for 6 months to five years for this summer. It was supposed to be early 2022, but the trials were showing it wasn't very effective. Sure hope my 9 month old doesn't have to wait 4 years. I believe the FP had a story about a vaccine being tested in Manitoba (as well as other areas) for kids as young as 6 months.

I have heard that some teachers have tried to bring their own air purifiers and such into their classroom and have been told they are not allowed to use them due to possible interference with the school's HVAC system and air currents. Unfortunately there is also likely to be pushback because we seem way behind the research on airborne spread by still emphasizing 6 feet distance as a safe zone for example. I have made something similar for personal use (with only the one filter) to try to protect my baby when we were getting loads of smoke from forest fires and adapted it for use for Covid filtering. Upgrading to the cube design seems like a pretty good idea as the initial upfront expense would pay back due to increased life expectancy of the filters.

I have been teaching remotely- Seesaw, Teams, etc since March of 2020. I would like to think my practice as a remote teacher as well as our whole remote learning program has made huge strides since then. I think a big reason remote learning often fails is because it is suddenly thrust upon teachers with little notice (like we might see today) and with little support. Our program has been developing steadily to the point that we have extra-curricular opportunities and students and families that really appreciate it. Its not the same as in-person learning and there are things that just can't be done the same. Unfortunately our hospitals are beyond capacity and healthcare workers are stressed beyond the limit for a few years running and we didn't make any plans ahead to flatten this "curve" to ease the burden on hospitals.

I think part of it is waiting to see what other places do so we have an excuse for action/inaction. At a time where leadership, foresight and planning are desperately needed, citizens of Manitoba have been left high and dry. We've known a large Covid wave was coming for a long time, but little has been done. We've come up with a dubious and short-sighted plan to try to keep the economy - reducing isolation times when Covid is contracted, but don't have a plan for the 'keeping people alive with a functioning healthcare system' side of things. Priorities...

In my experience, as a teacher in Winnipeg, both have been true - we've had a teacher surplus within the city where it is really difficult to find a job unless you have a connection. This has meant many teachers spend years subbing which pays really poorly in Manitoba. I am one of the few fortunate ones that hasn't had to do subbing and Winnipeg colleagues are frequently surprised with this. Because of the pandemic and many teachers leaving the profession and subs not bothering to take jobs, there has been a severe teacher shortage, even in Winnipeg, at times during the past two years. Specialists frequently cover classes when teachers are sick and admin has even had to sub for teachers. This isn't just inner-city or less desirable jobs within Winnipeg, but even amongst the most desirable schools to work at in the city. I have even been cold-called by a principal desperate to have a teacher take over a term position despite not applying for it. I believe it was kindergarten which I had no experience in. I had no connection to the school/principal. This would have been unheard of before the pandemic. There are likely still some qualified teachers without jobs before, but as Mark says, they may not be up for handling the job. While I was working in the physical school system, there are some subs that are so bad, the neighbouring teachers basically have to watch two classes that day. All schools I've been in have preferred sub lists to try to eliminate the chaos of a sub that isn't up to the task.

Definitely. I left classroom teaching at the outbreak of the pandemic because of a health condition. Winnipeg is having it rough with teacher shortages, but I'd imagine rural is even worse and northern MB is worse still. I'm not connected to the teacher who passed away on Christmas, but it was reported that she was triple vaccinated and otherwise healthy and only had symptoms around December 20th. I think closing school would have an effect, but it wouldn't stop the spread. Not by a long shot. Judging by ages of cases, I believe schools have been the biggest spreader over the past few months. Many kids being asymptomatic, but spreading also shows lower numbers at younger ages, but higher at older ages. I think Omicron and weaker vaccine effectiveness against Omicron will balance the numbers out more, but I'd imagine kids are still big spreaders. Unfortunately Omicron is also affecting them with an increase of hospitalization in kids over 50% in December alone (US numbers). I think its disgusting that more isn't done to close bars/nightclubs/etc. when our testing capacity is maxed out and we don't know how many cases there are. Our hospitals are at the max to the point where non-Covid patients are dying unnecessarily. I also think its time to consider bumping down unvaccinated Covid cases in terms of ICU/hospital priority.

Didn't know if I should put this in Covid or Politics, but I have some problems with the way PC MLA's have been handing out masks. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/rural-manitoba--liquor-marts-to-offer-masks-575994022.html "They are readily available for sale at many commercial operations, so we don’t really want to compete with them too much," Central Services Minister Reg Helwer said." When I got mine from Audrey Gordon's office they mentioned that it was a gift from Audrey. Apparently Jon Reyes was taking down emails and home addresses when giving out masks along with handing out his business cards with boxes of masks.

I think this is a valid argument. I have had students that lack technology or a supportive household that make remote learning a poor experience for them and I feel there is little I can do. On the other hand, I know of places that kids/families have basically given up on school because of the Covid risk. This is especially prevalent on reserves. I know of one school in particular that gets roughly 15% of the kids they would normally have because they are concerned about Covid in their community. This is before Omicron too. Many schools are going with community members without post-secondary education teaching just to have a body in the classroom. Many reserves on schools close completely whenever there is a single case in the community. Prevalent health issues and lack of proper healthcare when there is an outbreak on a reserve has been devastating multiple times during the pandemic. I'm not sure where to find the data, but I remember there being a pretty strong correlation between remote learning and decrease in cases/severe outcomes when accounting for the lag between exposure/infection/severe outcome. I cannot believe the line "Covid isn't spreading in schools" as Roussin & Co. have said multiple times. There is no part of me that can believe students are only getting Covid outside of school and somehow are immune from spreading it as soon as they walk inside the door. The big thing is, remote learning is inconvenient and harms the economy when parents need to stay at home. Unfortunately, I think this is changing the message given to the public. Cases are being under-reported and the government has even changed the definition of an outbreak to make things look better than they are. I personally know of teachers that have had to argue with health officials regarding close contacts and have been overruled. There was a teacher(triple vaxxed) in WSD that caught Covid at school and died on Christmas day. Not many days after the principal sent the message out to families about the teacher passing, the principal also passed away. I do not know if the principal's death was related to Covid, but it is clear that school staff are at risk as well. I'm not sure what the staffing plan will be when teachers are exposed other than reducing the amount of time they need to isolate.

I've finished reading The Premonition by Michael Lewis. Really interesting stuff for how Covid was mishandled. One of the experts in the book discusses how bad schools are for spreading viruses. I believe he refers to them as living petri dishes. Nowhere else in society are people as close consistently. He read the statistics on how physically close kids are in the classroom, on the bus and in the hallways and did not believe them so he went to his kids' school and brought measuring tape. In the US, twice as many kids ride the bus daily as people taking public transit. He said the most effective containment measure for viruses is closing schools. It should be the first option and for some viruses may be the only requirement. This is all from a medical perspective, not a social perspective. I teach remote learning to a class of medically-advised students. These are kids who are at high risk of death and severe health complications from Covid. These are kids who haven't really been able to see friends for the past two years. The more Covid that is spreading in the community, the more anxiety and risk these kids and families face. The more our medical system is under duress, the more dangerous it is for these kids to go for medical procedures, which they unfortunately have more than the average kid. Many students and teachers hate remote learning. For some kids, its all they have. I think closing schools for a period to give our medical system a chance to deal with what is on its plate right now would be really helpful for a section of society that is at medical risk and can't get vaccinated.