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The Minnedosa

Since 1883
Volume 137 Issue 47 Friday, January 31, 2020 www.minnedosatribune.com 90 cents plus tax

Local RCMP Report Over

800 Incidents in 2019
Dashing Through The Snow
By KAREN MITCHELL

R CMP had another busy year of calls for Minnedosa

area in 2019. There were a total of 872 reported
occurrences with 55 being unfounded, resulting in
817 actual reports. Even though calls end up being
unfounded, RCMP are responsible to follow up and
check out every call received, investigating all leads.
872 reported occurrences equal an average of 73 calls
per month.
Under the Traffic Offences – Traffic Accidents
Category, there were 31 occurrences including; Traf-
fic Collision – property damage –reportable and non-
reportable, Non-Fatal Injury and Fatal.
The Provincial Traffic Offenses category saw 205
occurrences; the highest offense being Moving Traffic
–speeding with 66 actual occurrences. The next high-
est was Other Moving Traffic Violations with 44 occur-
rences, followed by Other Non-Moving Traffic with 38
occurrences.
Under the Impaired Operation Related Offences
category, there were 22 actual occurrences, with op-
eration while impaired (over 80mg%) coming in the
highest with 19 occurrences. Traffic Offences – Dan-
gerous Operation of Motor had two occurrences under
Dangerous Operation of Motor Vehicle.
There were 84 occurrences under the Provincial
Statues (except traffic) category. The highest number
of offenses being the Mental Health Act with 20 occur-
rences, followed by the 911 Act with 18.
For the Violation group – Provincial Statutes and
Other Federal Statutes – there were 10 actual occur-
rences with the highest being Firearms Act and Mu- Photo by Karen Mitchell
nicipal Bylaws with four occurrences each. There are many opportunities to enjoy the fresh winter air and get some physical activity.
Above, a boy pulls his younger brother through the snow while out on a walk around town
Continued on Page 3 with their mom last Saturday headed toward the post office.

NDP Concerned Over Prairie Mountain Health Cuts

By KAREN MITCHELL Manitoba NDP Leader, Wab Kinew and the Mani- ever did, with funding for the Prairie Mountain Health
toba NDP Caucus gathered in Dauphin last weekend region up by $24.6 million from when they formed gov-

A ccording to a January 23rd media release by the

NDP caucus, The Pallister government (PC party)
has cut nearly $5 million dollars from Prairie Mountain
Regional Health Authority for this year. It goes on to
state that documents obtained via freedom of informa-
tion requests also show that over $2 million of that cut is
part of a cost saving measure to increase the patient to
nurse ratio.
“This cut means less staff providing care to patients
when they need it most. PMH residents deserve more
care, not less,” stated NDP Health Critic, Uzoma Asag-
wara who also points out that cutting the ratio of health
staff to patients was just one of the recommendations
made by the consulting firm, KPMG, which was hired by
the NDP government to carry out their health care cuts.
to meet with local health care professionals, discussing
ways to fight the Conservative cuts.
When contacted for a statement, Manitoba Health,
Seniors and Active Living Minister, Cameron Friesen,
provided the following quote; “For years, the former
NDP government failed to improve the health-care sys-
tem, while  health services wait times grew year-after-
year.  Our government recently announced a provincial
clinical plan – a multi-year roadmap focused on better
co-ordinating healthcare services, decreasing travel to
Winnipeg for rural residents, strengthening primary and
community care, and expanding the role of key hospi-
tals outside of Winnipeg.”
Minister Friesen also pointed out that the PC Gov-
ernment is investing more in health care than the NDP
ernment in 2016. “This level of funding, combined with
better management of the health system, has allowed
for investments that provide more and better services
closer to home for those in the Prairie Mountain Health
region,” said Friesen. Some of these investments have in-
cluded the opening of a $23 million emergency depart-
ment and a new MRI machine at the Dauphin Regional
Health Centre; the completion of a $17 million renova-
tion to the Brandon Regional Health Centre that mod-
ernized multiple units and added 12 medical beds at
the facility; expanding dialysis treatment for the region
which included 12 additional spaces being announced
in Dauphin recently, as well as $500,000 in increased
supports for home dialysis.
Continued on Page 6