A man has died after waiting eight hours in a Winnipeg emergency room. This is not just another tragic story. It is a stark reflection of how far our healthcare system has fallen. The question is not what went wrong that night—it is how many more lives will be lost before we take real action.
Premier Wab Kinew and his NDP government came into office promising to fix health care. They assured us they would reduce wait times and ease the pressure on emergency rooms. In September 2023, Kinew announced his plan to add 12 step-down beds at Grace Hospital. Twelve beds? Does anyone really believe that will make a dent in an overwhelmed system at every level?
Last year, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara celebrated adding a handful of beds at hospitals, personal care homes, and shelters as a way to free up space in emergency departments. Announcements like these might make for good headlines, but they do nothing to address the core issues. People are still suffering, waiting, and dying. A woman lost her leg after waiting days in an emergency room. A man lost his life this week after being triaged as a low-priority patient and left to wait while his condition worsened.
Health Sciences Centre’s chief operating officer, Dr. Shawn Young, explained that the hospital was at capacity that night, with 100 patients in the emergency room and no available resuscitation beds. The system was backed up because patients could not be discharged quickly enough. Cold weather brought in individuals seeking shelter, further straining the waiting room. Staff were doing their best, but the resources weren’t there. This is not an isolated event—it is the norm.
In response, the province has launched a critical incident investigation. Health Minister Asagwara called it a tragedy and promised to review the protocols urgently. But what does that accomplish? An inquiry won’t bring this man back, and an inquest will not prevent the next tragedy. This is not the time for political posturing or deflection. It is time for common sense and solutions.
As someone who spent years in the private sector, I learned quickly that my success depended on surrounding myself with people who knew more than I did. My job was to clear the path for them to do what they do best. If I didn’t, I would fail fast. Why can’t it be this way in politics? Why do we continue to elect leaders who think they have all the answers when they are clearly out of their depth? Politicians are not healthcare experts, yet they make decisions affecting life and death.
Let’s stop pretending this is a simple fix. It isn’t. Announcing 10 beds here and 15 beds there might look good in a press release, but it doesn’t save lives or improve care. This is about more than adding a few beds or blaming one political party over another. The Conservatives made their share of mistakes in health care, and for the same reason—they didn’t check their egos at the door.
Canada’s healthcare system was once the envy of the world. Not anymore. Other countries with universal health care have figured out how to deliver it effectively. Why aren’t we calling them for advice? We quickly compared our wait times to those in other provinces. Regina General Hospital Emergency wait times are between 3 and 5 hours. In Calgary, they range from 1 hour and 51 minutes to 5 hours at the city’s largest hospital. So why aren’t we looking beyond our borders for solutions? Instead, we cling to a broken system and argue about which party is to blame.
The federal government has also contributed to this crisis. Opening the borders without ensuring we had the resources to support new arrivals has added strain to housing, jobs, and health care. We were not prepared then, and we are not prepared now. This is not about shutting the door on newcomers—it is about ensuring we can provide the support they need when they arrive.
This is not the time for politics. Regardless of party, every leader must admit that the system is broken. Fixing it is beyond the scope of politicians and unions. We need non-political healthcare professionals, administrators, and experts to lead the charge. Politicians should step back, remove the red tape, and let the people who understand the system take control.
We also need Manitobans to take action. Don’t just complain to your friends or give up on voting because you think it doesn’t matter. It does matter. Politicians are afraid of the people they serve—they want your vote, and they want to avoid backlash. Write your MLA. Attend public meetings. Demand better. Show them that you will hold them accountable if they fail to deliver real solutions.
This is a crisis. Lives are at stake. We don’t have time for more investigations or half-measures. We need a full-scale overhaul of the system. We need leaders to check their egos at the door and put the needs of the people first. The longer we wait, the more lives will be lost.
This is not about one man’s tragic death. It is about preventing the next one. It is about restoring our healthcare system to something we can be proud of. It is about demanding better—for ourselves, for our families, and for the future of our province. Let’s get to work.