This is a page from the 2023 Manitoba general election.
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Healthcare platforms

Here's what the candidates in Dawson Trail, and their parties, are promising.

Cancer care

PC

  • Create a charity license plate for the Manitoba Motorcycle Ride for Dad

    "In addition, a re-elected PC government will work with Manitoba Public Insurance to create a charity licence plate to support the Manitoba Motorcycle Ride for Dad, which raises funds every year to support the fight against prostate cancer. Funds raised by the Manitoba Motorcycle Ride for Dad go toward the Prostate Cancer Fight Foundation." — pcmanitoba.com, 2023-09-26

Cardiac care

We don't have any PC policies on Cardiac care.

Diabetes

We don't have any PC policies on Diabetes.

NDP

  • Create a Centre of Excellence for Kidney Care at the Seven Oaks hospital, with an expanded dialysis programme

    "We will create a Centre of Excellence for Kidney Care at the Seven Oaks hospital and expand their dialysis program to address the high rates of diabetes in Manitoba. This will also reduce the stress on HSC and free up paramedics in the process by reducing interfacility transfers." — 2023 Election Platform

Drugs and addiction

Green

  • Legalize the growth of cannabis plants for personal use, in harmony with federal laws
  • Advocate to the Federal government to decriminalize possession of controlled substances for personal use
  • Establish overdose prevention sites and a legally regulated safer drug supply
  • Increase the accessibility of safer drug use supplies, including, but not limited to naloxone, drug-checking kits, glass pipes, and sterile needles & syringes.
  • Use taxes raised from the sale of all controlled substances, in part, to fund education and health services to prevent and treat substance abuse
  • Work towards addressing the social and economic conditions underlying substance abuse

PC

  • Provide $10M to build the Quest Health Recovery Centre in Downtown Winnipeg to provide 180 treatment beds to First Nations people

    "A re-elected PC government will provide up to $10-million in capital funding towards the Quest Health Recovery Centre. This facility is planned to include 180 mixed-gender addictions treatment beds for both on- and off-reserve First Nations clients. It is a culturally-sensitive, 12-week program, focused on the evolving needs and preferences of the First Nations community. The Quest Health Recovery Centre also plans to offer second stage treatment beds, which will allow for longer-term addictions treatment and facilitate soft landings back into the community." — pcmanitoba.com, retrieved 2023-09-20

  • Fund 1,600 more treatment spaces over two years

    "Today’s commitment to invest $8.7 million in 1,600 new spaces will add to the 1,648 spaces funded in Budget 2023. It also builds upon the ongoing investments being made into Manitoba’s five-year Mental Health Roadmap, including $17.3 million this year to advance the following addictions recovery priorities:

    • $600,000 to create residential withdrawal management beds in Brandon to ensure that people have the necessary time to safely detox from dangerous drugs and access extended treatment; and
    • $448,000 in ongoing funding to Klinic Community Health Centre for mobile withdrawal management services, making addiction services as accessible as possible in the community." — pcmanitoba.com, 2023-09-21

NDP

  • Establish a supervised consumption site in downtown Winnipeg
  • Pass an Unexplained Wealth Act to target drug traffickers
  • Expand detox beds

Emergency wait-times

We don't have any PC policies on Emergency wait-times.

NDP

  • Hire 200 paramedics within 4 years

    "The NDP also pledged to bolster the front lines and replace the nearly 100 paramedics cut by Stefanson since 2019 with a plan to add 100 more by the end of a first term." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-01

  • Build 3 new ERs in Winnipeg and a new ER in Eriksdale

    "Build 3 new ERs in Winnipeg starting at Victoria then Concordia and Seven Oaks Hospitals" — mbndp.ca, retrieved 2023-09-18

Gender-affirming care

Green

  • Establish dedicated gender-affirming care clinics in each regional health authority and urban centre across the province of Manitoba
  • Require that no individual wait more than 90 days to meet with a specialist following referral to a dedicated gender-affirming care clinic
  • Require all general-practice physicians and nurse practitioners to receive training in respecting and caring for transgender individuals, including basic training on the prescription and maintenance of puberty blockers and hormone-replacement therapies
  • Use reasonable, patient-centred, informed-consent procedures to determine eligibility for all gender-affirming care such rather than mental assessments or requiring diagnosis of gender dysphoria
  • Eliminate all fees involved in changing the gender marker on provincially regulated identification
  • Eliminate all fees involved in the legal name change process;
  • Eliminate the fingerprinting requirement for a legal name change in Manitoba for individuals without a criminal record
  • Eliminate all fees involved in the replacement of Identification documents following legal change of name or gender marker
  • Prohibit medically unnecessary non-consensual 'sex-normalizing' surgeries on intersex children
  • Mandate appropriate training of medical professionals on malpractice relating to non-consensual ‘sex-normalizing’ procedures
  • Investigate past instances of unnecessary non-consensual surgeries on intersex children to make amends and implement a patient-led response going forward
We don't have any PC policies on Gender-affirming care.
We don't have any NDP policies on Gender-affirming care.

Health staffing

NDP

  • Hire back 300 nurses that were cut by the current government, and expand retention benefits to all nurses

    "Expanding the retention incentives to include all nurses who were excluded by Heather Stefanson’s PCs." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-07

  • Hire 400 more physicians in 5 years
  • Create an office to help internationally-accredited health professionals work through credentialling and registration, waive permanent residence requirements for language courses, and provide financial aid for professionals to take required courses

    "The Manitoba NDP will streamline the credentialing and registration process with a 5-step plan: 

    • Creating a Newcomer Workplace Navigator Office within the Government of Manitoba to support IEHPs through the credentialling and registration process.
    • Waiving the permanent residence requirement for language courses.
    • Providing financial aid for IEHPs taking required courses.
    • Working towards creating more opportunities for practice clinic hours in the province
    • Bringing colleges, academic institutions, and health employers together to collaborate on registering more health professionals and reversing the PCs cut to health coverage for international students." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-15
  • Expand the University of Manitoba's Bannatyne campus with a new building to train more staff

    "The new seats will make up for the 300 cumulative nursing seats the PCs cut from Red River College in 2019 and address the doctor shortage that has reached an all-time high under Heather Stefanson’s watch.

    The innovative campus capital expansion will start with a new building, built by Manitobans, that will have more spaces for nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners and physicians' assistants and will include new technology for virtual classrooms to make programs more accessible for rural students." — mbndp.ca, 2023-07-28

  • End mandatory overtime for nurses

    "Developing a plan to end mandatory overtime for nurses and work to implement better nurse-patient ratios." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-07

  • Provide continuing education for nurse practitioners

"Kinew said if his party forms government on October 3rd, he will commit to an ambitious health care recruitment plan. He promised to hire back the 300 nurses to make up for the 300 nurses Heather Stefanson cut from Winnipeg, a corresponding commitment for rural and northern nurse staffing and he committed to Doctors Manitoba’s target of hiring 400 more physicians. He also committed to hiring more paramedics, home care workers and personal care home staff. This plan will cost $500 million dollars over four years." — mbndp.ca, 2023-08-27

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Hospitals

We don't have any PC policies on Hospitals.

NDP

  • Open 5 new Neighbourhood Minor Illness and Injury Clinics

    "Clinics like The Minor Illness and Injury Clinic reduce pressure on ER’s and reduce overall costs to the health care system by accepting lower acuity patients for single visits. These clinics provide families with an after-hours option for minor injuries and illnesses like a broken bone, minor cut or strep throat. You can book an appointment on-line and be seen within a 20-minute window of your appointment time." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-06

    "A Manitoba NDP government will support five new Neighborhood Illness and Injury Clinics. These clinics will be staffed with a team of ER doctors, nurses and technologists. The clinics will be open for extended hours and offer same-day appointments through on-line booking. A Manitoba NDP government will offer incentives to health care staff to open these clinics with expanded hours in the neighborhoods where they are needed most." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-06

  • Create a Centre of Excellence for joint surgery at the Concordia hospital
  • Add an MRI machine at the Thompson Hospital
  • Add 12 new step-down beds to the Grace hospital, and provide $5M per year to clear the surgical backlog

    "The day after wait times at the Grace emergency room hit 17 hours, Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew announced his plan to bring wait times down by adding 12 additional step-down beds to the Grace hospital." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-18

    "The NDP's commitment to add 12 additional step-down beds will cost $3.6 million. These beds will have 1-1 patient ratios for higher acuity patients who are ready to move out of the ER." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-18

    "The Manitoba NDP also committed today to expanding surgical capacity at the Grace hospital. Instead of ignoring the surgeons at the Grace, Kinew said a Manitoba NDP government would work with them to find solutions to clearing the surgical backlog starting by adding five elective orthopaedic surgery beds, two surgical slates and restoring the physiotherapy department to its full capacity after it was cut by Heather Stefanson. The NDP is committing $5 million per year in operating funding to get this done." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-18

Mental health

Green

  • Introduce legislation to abolish Daylight Savings time in Manitoba and permanently observe Central Standard Time (UTC–06:00)

PC

  • Provide $12.7M to support organisations providing mental health services to children and youth

    "A re-elected PC government will also invest $12.7 million to support organizations that provide services to children and youth struggling with their mental health, Klein said. Funding will include a $2.5-million increase to annual funding for mental health service organizations, and $680,000 annually to support the Canadian Mental Health Association Service Navigation Hub, an information and referral service for mental health and addiction resources." — pcmanitoba.com, 2023-09-21

We don't have any NDP policies on Mental health.

Prenatal and postnatal care

We don't have any PC policies on Prenatal and postnatal care.

NDP

  • Double the Prenatal Benefit

    "We will double the Manitoba Prenatal benefit to help new moms with healthy food." — 2023 Election Platform

  • Restore birth services to northern Manitoba

    "Restoring birthing services to Northern Manitoba, including in Pimicikamak Cree Nation and Norway House, so that families have culturally appropriate care in their home communities surrounded by friends and family." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-23

Primary care

PC

  • Work with regulators to allow pharmacists to treat common conditions

    "A re-elected PC government will facilitate pharmacists treating common conditions such as strep throat, pink eye, minor skin infections, tick bites, sprains and strains, and painful menstrual periods, as well as enhanced management of chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes, Teitsma mentioned." — pcmanitoba.com, retrieved 2023-09-20

NDP

  • Open 4 new team-based primary care centres in Winnipeg and one in Brandon

    "This plan will help new and existing clinics become one-stop shops where families can have all their needs met by Primary Care Teams. These teams can include family doctors, nurse practitioners, mental health workers, physician’s assistants, social workers, pharmacists and other allied health professionals. This initiative will respond to local community health needs while complementing services already available in local clinics and will make Manitoba a national leader in transforming medical care." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-08

  • Include social workers, occupational therapists, mental health clinicians, and pharmacists in primary care teams

    "Including allied health professionals like social workers, occupational therapists, mental health clinicians and pharmacists in Primary Care Teams within family medical centres to offer wraparound supports with extended family-friendly hours." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-27

Rural healthcare

NDP

  • Create a path for LPNs to become RNs in their home community
  • Incentivise allied health professionals to work in rural and northern communities

    "Offering targeted incentives to allied health professionals to work in rural and Northern communities, including more diagnostic imaging and lab technologists." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-27

Seniors' health and services

PC

  • Allow seniors to defer some or all of their annual property taxes with interest until the home is sold

    "The median income for Manitoba seniors aged 65 and older was $34,800 in 2021. Through a new property tax deferment program, the provincial government would pay deferred taxes to local governments on a qualifying senior’s behalf, which would be repaid with interest when a home is sold—ensuring the program is cost-neutral." — pcmanitoba.com, 2023-09-07

  • Provide a $500 tax credit for walkers, wheelchairs, and home improvements

    "Several such tax deferral programs already exist in jurisdictions across Canada, including Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Johnston noted. A re-elected PC government will also introduce a new $500 tax credit to help cover the cost of equipment such as walkers and wheelchairs, and improvements to their home, Johnston added." — pcmanitoba.com, 2023-09-07

NDP

  • Legislate an independent Seniors' Advocate
  • Increase homecare hours for seniors, hire 100 homecare workers, and reimburse workers for mileage

    "Kinew committed $5 million toward mileage increases and hiring incentives to restore homecare services that have been cut, clawed back and privatized under Heather Stefanson." — mbndp.ca, 2023-09-10

  • Provide more hours of care for residents in Personal Care Homes

Sexual and reproductive health

Green

  • Provide full public funding for abortion services
  • Require every Regional Health Authority to offer abortion services within its geographical boundaries
  • Fully publicly fund all family planning, conception, and contraception services and products in Manitoba under Medicare and Pharmacare
  • Require all Manitoba pharmacies to provide access to contraception and abortion products, such as the ‘morning after pill’ and the ‘abortion pill’

Women's health

We don't have any PC policies on Women's health.

NDP

  • Reopen the Mature Women's Centre at the Victoria Hospital
  • Expand coverage for more menopause hormone therapy drugs
  • Create a Centre of Excellence for Women's Health at the Victoria Hospital