The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
By Jonathon Naylor Crisis is too strong a word to describe the transportation challenges now facing northern Manitoba health care. But there's no doubt that this is a very troubling matter that demands the full attention and resources of the provincial government. As of July 1, Greyhound has cut its daytime run between Flin Flon and Winnipeg. Bus travel between the two communities now only happens overnight, beginning at 8 p.m. This is a major inconvenience for a whole host of people, from university students coming home for Thanksgiving to lower-income folks looking to visit family in the big city. But it's of greatest concern for patients who require specialist care in our provincial capital because it is not available to them here in the North. No one can realistically expect ill northerners to struggle through a 12-hour overnight trip to Winnipeg, go to their appointment and then get back on another night bus bound for home. Thus the inevitable consequence will be the increased use of air travel to move patients from point A to point B _ at a far greater cost to taxpayers. True, the Northern RHA still maintains its travel subsidy program for patients who use their own vehicles to go out of town. But thousands of northerners cannot drive, either because of physical or financial limitations. Northern RHA CEO Helga Bryant says she is hopeful the Manitoba government will come through with a solution, but it remains to be seen whether her optimism rests on a foundation of truth. As Greyhound receives bad press over its cuts to highway bussing across Manitoba, it is easy to forget that the real culpable party is none other than the NDP government. Between March 2010 and June 2012, the government reportedly subsidized Greyhound to the tune of $8.4 in exchange for a promise not to reduce service. The subsidy was by all accounts working well. Travellers, particularly northerners, continued to enjoy this vital and affordable transportation link. Greyhound's losses were covered. Everybody was happy. Until, that is, the NDP unceremoniously yanked the subsidy and began talking about 'community-led' transportation options. It sounded an awful lot like government-speak for, 'This is your problem now, town councils!' I have spoken with NDP supporters who are as puzzled as anyone about why their government would do something so heartless over so little money. The Greyhound subsidy was worth about $4 million a year. What's that to a government projected to spend $11,823,506,000 in 2012-13 and that has no problem granting subsidies to big corporations like Hudbay? There are three possibilities we must ponder: A) The Manitoba government is mean and does not care about northern patients and other travellers. B) The Manitoba government wants to avoid the accusations of 'corporate welfare' that accompany subsidies to a company like Greyhound. C) The Manitoba government has purposely manufactured a plight that it can then 'solve' for political gain, possibly by developing a government-run bussing company like that of Saskatchewan. While none of these options is acceptable, my money is on C. I just hope the NDP gets to the solution soon so as to limit northerners' suffering and inconvenience. Local Angle runs Fridays.
