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MLA Report− Dec. 7, 2018

There’s a lot to be happy about in December
Kelly Bindle stock image

It’s great to see passenger rail service to Churchill restored. The first passenger train in close to 18 months arrived there this week from Winnipeg, much to the relief of all northerners along the Bay Line who rely on this transport route for employment, freight and a connection to services and family.

Our government will do all it can to assist Manitobans who are helping loved ones struggling with addictions and mental health. Five new Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM) clinics are providing services to patients throughout the province, including access to treatment programs and primary-care physicians. 

As well, the current threshold to release personal information of patients dealing with mental health issues is felt by many health-care providers to be too high, as some people have been released from hospital without family notification and proceeded to harm themselves. For this reason, our government has introduced the Mental Health Amendment and Personal Health Information Amendment Act to make it easier for health-care providers to inform families when their loved ones are likely to harm themselves or others. These changes will allow those in a patient’s circle of care to be informed in a more timely fashion, resulting in a greater ability to put preventative measures in place to protect the patient and others. Personal privacy will be rigorously guarded and any release will be carefully considered before action is taken, striking a balance between privacy and prevention of serious harm to vulnerable Manitobans. 

Finally, I congratulate the Thompson Trailbreakers Snowmobile Club on the official opening of its new building in Thompson. It’s a long-held dream come true for them to have a home base where they can store their groomer, work on their machines, organize their volunteer trail maintenance programs and meet to go sledding. Northerners rely on the members and volunteers at Thompson Trailbreakers to maintain safe trails. We thank them for their dedication.

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