Increased provincial funding and services for transgender Manitobans will help increase the number of recognized practitioners able to conduct patient assessments for gender dysphoria within the province.
More services will include coverage for procedures like chest masculinisation surgeries.
“People who don’t identify with their biological sex and strongly identify with the opposite gender need timely access to quality care and services to help them transition,” said Healthy Living and Seniors Minister Deanne Crothers. “We’re increasing access to care, providing more funding and adding coverage to make it easier for people going through the gender transition process.”
Endangered
Five additional animal and plant species and two ecosystems have been designated as threatened or endangered by the Manitoba government.
Under regulatory amendments to the Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act, the following species will be declared threatened or endangered:
• olive sided flycatcher – threatened;
• little brown bat – endangered;
• northern long-eared bat – endangered;
• Gastony’s cliffbrake – endangered;
• Canada warbler – downgraded from endangered to threatened.
“Bats in Canada are fascinating and ecologically important animals but face unprecedented threats especially from the invasive fungal disease, white-nose syndrome (WNS),” said Dr. Craig Willis, associate biology professor, University of Winnipeg and leading bat researcher.
The Manitoba government has deemed tall grass prairie and alvar as two ecosystems now on the endangered list.
Tall grass prairie is “a complex ecosystem that is host to a vast array of grasses, flowers and wildlife. Tall grass prairie has declined from historical ranges by more than 90 per cent,” read a government media release.
Alvar is “a plant community of thin soil over limestone in the Interlake region. Alvar is globally rare and found only in a few provinces and states in North America, making it an important habitat for a variety of birds, reptiles, mammals and insects,” the release stated.
