Lifestyles 55 2022 December

How Manitoba is feeding the world

The next time you sit down to a meal or even a snack, make sure you thank a farmer or fisher for the food you are about to enjoy because that is where it all starts.

Food and food security is top of mind for many people today, but have you ever considered where that food origi nated?

In the past Manitoba (and to a large extent Saskatch ewan and Alberta) grew crops and raised livestock which were in turn exported out of province and country for fur ther processing.

Farming practices and the food processing industry have radically changed the landscape in Manitoba, and this is having a positive impact on our province and the world. Today’s agricultural industry continues to adapt to chang ing climate conditions with precision agriculture for both crops and livestock. Improved genetics, nutrient planning, automation, GPS and biodiesel mean farms are producing

We cannot afford NOT to build a second port on Hudson Bay

All three prairie provinces have a critical need to de velop better access to the world through a second northern port on Hudson Bay. From Europe to South America to the Far East, there is a demand for the prairie products we can send them if only we can reach them.

Given the federal government’s determination to block interprovin cial trade for gas pipelines using its ally, Quebec, in the East and sup porting the hereditary chiefs (al

though often not the communities at large) in B.C., there is but one answer: Hudson Bay.

The serendipitous thing about

this is that transportation through the Bay also opens opportunity to allow disadvantaged and isolated northern First Nations to further build their own economy.

A brief history of the Arctic Gateway deal to Churchill This was started when Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, AGT Food and Ingredients Inc., and Mis sinippi Rail Limited Partnership (a consortium a partnership of 41 First Nations and Bayline communities), formed Arctic Gateway Group and acquired ownership of the railway from the Pas to Churchill and the Port itself, from OmniTRAX. In

Ihave a neighbour who is a snowbird. Ev ery December, he and his wife head down south for the winter months and don’t re turn until spring. And like most snowbirds, he has extra keys to the house that he hands over to the neighbours to check on his place from time to time and feed their fish while they are away. On several occasions, I suggested that he install some smart technology to monitor his home himself, but he would shrug it off by saying it was a waste of money and that he didn’t think he could learn how to use it.

One winter, during a very brutal cold spell, I headed over to his house and immediately noticed that it was unusually cold inside. He normally turns down the heat while he is away, but it seemed a little extreme when I realized a thin layer of ice had formed along the top of the aquarium. I checked the thermostat and noticed that it was below freezing inside his home. I quickly called him, and he began to make arrangements to get a furnace tech nician out to his house as soon as possible. Fortunately, my neighbour has family in the

Blaine Pedersen

Dorothy Dobbie

Joe Borges

Bunkhouses and warehouses at Port Nelson, 1918, with the train bridge in the background leading out to the port terminus.

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Angela Birdsell, Joe Borges, Dorothy Dobbie, Rick Duerksen, Hon. Myrna Driedger, John Einarson, Michael Gibbens, Stefano Grande, Hon. Scott Johnson, Jim Ingebrigtsen, Ian Leatt, Myron Love, Fred Morris, Manitoba Seniors Coalition, Manitoba Association of Senior Centres, Connie Newman, Blaine Ped erson, Peggy Pendergast, Brent Poole, Sanja Rossi, Senaka Samarasinghe, Wayne Weedon, Nathan Zassman.

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u

ISSUES IN THE NEWS

cannot afford NOT to build a second port on Hudson Bay

2018, the Federal Gvernment provided $117 million to acquire the assets from Omnitrax including the rail line, the Port and the Tank Farm. The deal included funding to repair the line dam aged by flooding.

Since then, Fairfax and AGT have divested themselves of their interest. The Arctic Gateway Group then transi tioned 100 percent ownership to OneNorth, a consortium of 29 Indigenous and two northern communities, according to an Arctic Gateway press release on March 1, 2021. The co-chairs of this group are Mike Spence, Mayor of Churchill for the past 27 years, and Christian Sinclair of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation Onekanew.

In the late summer of 2021, the federal gov ernment gave the railway another $40 million to make improvements to the line. Recently, the provincial and federal governments injected an additional $133 million to stabilize the line from just north of Gillam to Churchill. The rail way plans to use a vinyl-based geocell technol ogy to shore up the rail bed. This technology got the line back into operation after the floods. However, it remains to be seen how long this technology will hold out under the boggy sum mer conditions of the rail bed route.

Why a second line is imperative

There are compelling reasons to build a second line, again owned by the First Nations. First, it provides an alternative to the Churchill line which, as recent memory will recall, can be flooded out and become unusable for long periods. If NeeStaNan is used as a utility corridor, it would bring cheaper energy to the folks, some of whom are spending half their monthly income on heating their homes in winter in this part of the province.

NeeStaNan will create closer access to communities such as the very isolated Shamattawa. It would make it feasible to build road access to the Port which would open the community up to the outside world via the rail lines. Currently Shamattawa is only accessible by winter road and air.

Most compelling is that, aside from being a shorter route (only 104 km as the crow flies compared to 295 km to Churchill), the roadbed is on an esker ridge made of stone and gravel pushed up by glaciers that once covered Manitoba. This means a much more stable route and faster trains carrying heavier loads. Cur rently, the trip from Gillam to Churchill takes nine and a half to 10 hours at speeds that average 29 kmh. If you have taken the train in summer, you will know how it sways going through the muskeg on parts of the line. It can slow down to walking speeds. The Port Nelson spurline will not be so constrained. Nor will it require the extremely expensive and constant main tenance of the Churchill line.

The second port is not meant to replace the OneNorth/Arctic Gateway Group. It is meant to add a second option so that commerce can continue if something happens to the Churchill route. In addition to facilitating the transport of heavier goods,

it more than doubles the capacity for ships entering the Bay to load goods during the short summer season. As well, since this is a saltwater port, it does not freeze as solidly as the fresh waters of the Bay at Churchill, making Port Nelson accessible for up to nine months of the year as opposed to the very short three-month operation of Churchill.

Finally, the site is an historic one and the line would make it accessible to tourists where cur rently only the most intrepid adventurers dare to come even though it is manned by Parks Canada each summer. Remember, at one time 1,000 peo ple lived and worked here – the romance of the area is palpable, and visitors would love the old railway bridge spanning the water from the shore to the manmade island a half mile away, not to mention of the rusty bones of the ill-fated barge on its shores.

Arguments against the location of this port were based on knowledge and technology of the past. The Bay is shallow here, just as it is in Churchill, but preliminary findings say that the silt borne into the Bay by the Nelson River is fairly friable and could be pumped out to a depth required for freighters. Further engineering stud ies will confirm the best location for the ultimate construction of the Port.

What’s holding it up?

The rail line could be built in one year. Even if the war in Ukraine ends within that time, they will still be starved for en ergy and products from our prairies, including lumber and fertil izer and minerals that can reach them at least one day faster from Port Nelson than it could through the St. Lawrence. That is just one destination. As Manitoba develops its mining capacity as it is starting to do, then even more exciting opportunities will open for the Port and just as importantly for the folks who live in this part of the province.

So, what is next? An engineering study, first. NeeStaNan is looking for partnerships from the three prairie provinces and the Indigenous communities to get that started. The amount is very small compared to what has been poured into the Churchill branch. Currently, no potential Indigenous community partner has not agreed to sign on.

The excitement is building among the proponents. This Port could be the answer to making the OneNorth/Arctic Gateway Group a success by bring in new customers who will pay to use the first two-thirds of the line. It will also provide that back up in case anything goes wrong with the Churchill line.

NeeStaNan will enhance access between communities. There is no reason a road could not be built between Churchill along the Bay to Port Nelson that would add more tourism attractions.

And perhaps the most compelling argument of all is that the Port could consolidate the economic union between Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta where we would be once again in control of our own provincial and regional destinies.

Stay tuned. We are getting closer.

Dorothy Dobbie

The original Hudson Bay Route Plan of the Nelson Estuary (1927). Created by F. Palmer

With Christmas fast approaching, we will soon be experiencing the delicious aromas of cook ies baking and turkey cooking. When I smell cookies baking in the oven, I am transported back in time to the home of my Baba on the farm. It’s interest ing how the sense of smell is such an important stimulus for our memory – I can close my eyes and imagine myself in her kitchen as a little girl.

My Baba always wore an apron at home. I remember her using it also to carry veg etables and tomatoes from the garden. My Mom also had several – some frilly and some plain. Are these aprons a fading his tory? Although I have friends who wear an apron whenever cooking, it’s a custom that I never adopted. But I have heard many speak of the versatility of this quaint piece of clothing.

As long as there has been dirty work and the need to keep our clothing clean, there has been some form of apron worn by women in the past. The earliest recorded instance of aprons can be found in me dieval paintings almost 1,000 years ago. By the 1600s there are pictures of very ornate aprons with embroidery on them. Most aprons, though, were just worn below the waist. When aprons travelled over to the new world, it became a custom of the Pilgrim women, who kept it very simple. By the 1700s “pinner” aprons became popular. This is the style that consisted of the skirt plus the top pinned near their shoulders. This style remained popular into the mid-1800s when shoulder straps were introduced.

By the 1920s and into the mid-1930s flour companies introduced the idea of feed sack or flour sack aprons and other garments. By the 1940s aprons were becoming a fashion statement in their own right. The use of fashion able aprons continued through to the 1960s. But by the 1980s, with more women working outside the home, they spent less time in the kitchen and the custom of

wearing an apron has gradually diminished. However, in the last 10 to 15 years it seems that aprons have ex perienced a bit of a resurgence with crafters and retro fashion making them attractive again.

When our grandmothers wore an apron, it was a gar ment with a multitude of uses. Its main purpose was to protect the clothing of the wearer, but over the years it was used for many other purposes. In addition to being used as a basket for bringing vegetables into the house from the garden, many used it to carry eggs in from the chicken coop or carry wood in for the stove. It could also be used as a potholder to take a pie out of the oven. Over the years they even made aprons for men who wore it on the patio cooking on the BBQ.

Some more unconventional uses of the simple apron included wiping sweat from your forehead or wrapping it around your arms and shoulders in the cold. It served as a face cloth to wipe children’s dirty faces or tears from their eyes. Often shy children would hide in the apron when strangers entered the house. And above all what this simple gar ment symbolized was love – Baba’s love for her family shown in her preparations for feeding her family.

Many children today will grow up without seeing an apron used in their home so it may be a disappearing phenomenon. Above all it has always served as a symbol of hospitality. Along with aprons becoming just a faint memory, the smell of baking in the kitchen may also be a fading memory. The convenience and allure of picking up our Christmas baking at bake sales or the grocery store is becoming increasingly popular.

It is incumbent on us as parents and grandparents to ensure that we provide something to take the place of the simple apron and all it represents. Perhaps we can find that in building a gingerbread house with our grandchil dren, playing board games, or making crafts for Christ mas. We hope to make new memories with our family

members and it’s not important if it’s baking or cooking for our family or some other activity.

May the sparkle and joy of the holidays season warm your heart. I wish you a season filled with happiness, merry-making, and time spent with family and friends making memories.

Myrna Driedger is the Speaker of the Manitoba Legisla ture and the MLA for Roblin.

Dear friends,

For the past months, I shared the oppor tunity to get involved in public consultations towards the development of a new seniors strategy, and you have responded in big ways. Thank you!

The 2021 Speech from the Throne committed to consulting with Manito bans to modify, enhance and implement a renewed seniors’ strategy so aging Manitobans can stay safe in their homes and communities for as long as they choose. Our commitment to develop ing a comprehensive seniors’ strategy and action plan relies on hearing the perspectives of Manitoba seniors, their family members, and those who care for or work directly with older Mani tobans.

I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the broad engagement op portunities offered during these con sultations and to express my gratitude to everyone who has been part of these efforts. We used many techniques and tactics to gain the input of Manitobans from across the province and to receive critical guid ance throughout the process.

The Minister’s Advisory Committee formed early on was comprised of experts working directly with seniors bringing advice with a range of perspectives.

A major highlight was meeting in-person with Man itobans in 11 communities: Winnipeg, Selkirk, Stein bach, Winkler, Brandon, Carberry, Portage la Prairie, Dauphin, Thompson, Flin Flon and The Pas. These meetings reinforced how important it is that together, we make bold and steady progress on our shared plans to improve the quality of life of Manitoba seniors. I look forward to continuing the discus sion with more communities across the province.

Another important step to informing the Seniors Strategy are my meetings with stakeholders who support seniors province wide. Over the past several months I have been meeting with dif ferent organizations to discuss seniors’ needs, to give them the opportunity to share their thoughts as to where the more supports are needed.

As part of the consultation process, three highly detailed surveys launched on EngageMB and over 10,000 Manitobans partici pated. We held 20 focus groups, and 25 in depth inter views conducted with community leaders and subject matter experts.

We also took a multi-pronged approach to build and strengthen relationships, to share information, and to expand upon Indigenous participation, using a gov ernment to government approach with Indigenous-

led organizations and leaders.

One of the most effective means of engagement was through Community Engagement Networks (CEN). These are community organizations that actively work with seniors, especially those in hard to reach communities. The CENs provided invaluable guid ance, experience, and insights to inform the future seniors’ strategy. They ensured the gathering spaces and consultation practices met accessibility standards, recorded all participants’ responses, and maintained a schedule of planned and completed events. Perhaps most important of all, they helped seniors complete the surveys, so everyone could be heard, regardless of their level of computer skill, visual acuity or dexterity.

Three key questions have been driving all these con sultations. How can seniors live in their homes and communities for as long as possible as they age? How can we improve access to services and supports? And, how can Manitobans be supported to maintain active and healthy lifestyles?

The seniors strategy will be released in 2023. In the months ahead, the work continues, as our teams take what we heard from Manitobans and build the plan. I look forward to sharing what’s next. Your govern ment is listening to what matters to you. Thank you for helping to build a plan for Manitoba seniors that brings greater optimism, hope, and strength for to morrow.

Hon. Scott Johnson is Minister of Seniors and LongTerm Care.

Hon. Myrna Driedger Broadway Journal

out Flora & Fauna the new E-Digest presented by Canada’s Local Gardener!

Hon. Scott Johnson Minister’s Message

We become what we think about

Is there any value in reading a book? We should be telling our grandchildren how worthwhile a book can be.

Reading inane fantasy may give some one a little bit of entertainment, but cer tain books may be the tools necessary to lift the veil of ignorance which is prevent ing people from seeing “Truth”. For many, these books have been worth their weight in gold.

During the 1960s and 1970s, over 1,000 radio stations worldwide were broadcasting Earl Nightingale’s program, Our Changing World. Nightingale advised that there are hundreds of books in your local library which are priceless. These are handbooks needed to obtain a happy and successful life.

Although most people measure success with the accumulation of money, Richard M. Huber, in his book, The American Idea of Success, tells us that success is not just about money. Individuals must decide what success means for them. Huber states, there is no excuse for anyone not to succeed. He notes that over 95 percent of people who succeed monetarily began their life in poverty. Libraries have literally thou sands of rags-to-riches stories of people who, through their own efforts, became some of richest people in the world.

The problem is most young people fail to learn how to plan their life. Building a life is no different than building a house. Begin with the end in mind. What kind of house do you want? What style of house? Where do you want to build you house? How many bedrooms do you want? First, a house is built in your brain, next it is drawn out on a piece of paper. Finally, it is built in real life. A wise person will plan and build their life in the same manner.

Nightingale speaks to American youth in his audio recording, What Every Young Person Should Know. This recording could be worth thousands, maybe mil lions, to our grandchildren. This recording not only describes how one may accumulate money, but, more importantly, it describes how to achieve happiness and contentment in life, which is more valuable than any amount of money.

Nightingale describes how money by itself is just worthless bits of paper. Money only has value when it is used. The main theme in his recordings is, “We become what we think about”. This is not a new idea; wise people have been stating this for thousands of years. In a nutshell, Nightingale is telling us, our success is determined by how we plan our life and how much effort we put into achieving our goals. Most people, Night ingale notes, never plan their life; they are like a ship without a rudder, just aim lessly drifting along. Socrates referred to these kinds of people as the walking dead whose brains have turned to stone from lack of use.

Individualism is the most valuable gift which democracy gives us. Every citizen has the right to plan and live their life in whatever manner they so choose. Night ingale points out, even people who have lived in oppres sive societies have managed, through tremendous ad versity, to achieve remarkable success. There are literally thousands of biographies of people who have succeeded by planning and using shear willpower, even in the most adverse situations.

Will and Ariel Durant, in their book, The Lessons of History, tell us that history repeats itself. We may look at any period in history and find diverse peoples and governments as we have today. Two and three thou sand years ago we had communism, democracy, dicta torships, monarchies, and military rulers. Nothing has changed.

Lucky for us, the Durants note, democracy is the best form of government for individual people to succeed. A true democracy is a secular republic, a government by the people for the people. A true democracy gives freedom to individuals to run their lives as they see fit with as little as possible interference from governments. A nation such as this has strong family units which are mature and self-sufficient. Maturity is one’s ability to handle life’s problems. An immature person seeks help from somebody else to fix their problems.

How does one learn to handle life’s problems? Sim ply by handling life’s problems. You will make mistakes, but it is from these mistakes that you will learn how to

handle problems. Better still, one can learn by reading about how others have handled their problems in life. By reading books of fantasy with superheroes and wishing some powerful being will handle all your problems, will keep you from growing up. Children become addicts; mature people never do. Teach your grandchildren how to plan their lives, make decisions, take responsibility for their mistakes and grow into mature adults. Anyone can become what they think about.

Next month: Climbing the Pyramid • • •

Wayne Douglas Weedon is a Manitoba author. Some of his works may be downloaded, free of charge in various formats, at https://archive.org. Any of this authors articles published in Lifestyles 55+ magazine, may be freely copied and circulated in any format, if the source and author are acknowledged.

Woodlawn Street, great start, confused ending

To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of St. James (starting just west of St. James Street to Sturgeon Road) breaking away from Assiniboia to form their own mu nicipality, I am doing street profiles. This column features Woodlawn Street.

Between 1882 and 1916, Homer Chadwick operated a popular hotel and meeting place, Chad’s Place (also known as the Deer Lodge Hotel.) By June 1916, the federal government had taken over the property on Portage Avenue at Wood lawn and opened a conva lescent home for soldiers returning from WW1.

For over 100 years, this facility has been an im portant part of St. James. Deer Lodge Center is cur rently a provincially-run, 418-bed facility for reha bilitation and long-term care. This story will exam ine the street that borders on the east side of the health care facility.

Portage And Woodlawn

Starting in 1917, Harriet Walker and Harriet Waugh spearheaded a more than decade-long fundraising drive to build a memorial club house for soldiers return ing from WW1. In 1931, their dream was realized when Women's Tribute Memorial Lodge with its art deco archi tecture opened. The building had one of Winnipeg's first wheelchair ramps. In 1986, the building became vacant. MLA Bonnie Korzeniowski spearheaded a drive to reopen it. In 2006, the building with an addition in the back reopened as the Mood Disorder Clinic.

Ironically around the same time that

200 Woodlawn was saved from demo lition, Harriet Waugh's last home right across the street at 2116 Portage Avenue was demolished.

During the early 1960s the Red Stone apartment block was constructed at 203 Woodlawn. This apartment block was the first home of Heather Cook (eldest daughter of Paula and John Cook) the first member of the next generation of our family.

From Portage to Ness Bob Flock spent part of his adolescence years on Woodlawn. Bob played in 19 Police Curling cham pionships winning a na tional title in 1981. Bob is an Honorary Life Member of the Police Curling and Manitoba Curling Associ ations. In 2019 Larry Bol onchuk was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. Larry played pro fessional hockey. After re tiring from professional hockey, Larry led the North End Flyers to the 1983 Hardy Cup.

Woodlawn Street residents have made their mark in various ways. Edward Weldon and Horace Weldon of Douglas Park Road were involved in the grocery store business. In the 1920 Henderson Directory, the Weldon’s grocery store at 383 Portage is listed. This location is where Portage Place now stands.

World War 1 veteran William Duncan Wright was a member of the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association. William worked at both the Deer Lodge Hos pital and Deer Lodge Pharmacy. Prior to moving to Woodhaven, David Best resided on Woodlawn. During a long public service career, David served as

the Reeve for St. James, the MLA for Assiniboia, and as the Chair of the St. James Board of Trade

In 1938, Leslie Warnock won the Waugh Shield Children Garden Contest for her carrot garden. In 1940, William Newman won the Greater Winnipeg Garden Competition for his 33 by 66 feet Garden.

In 1953 Murray Smith, Judy Smith, Laurine Newman, and Bobby Murray all Woodlawn Street children set up a cold drink stand at Portage and Wood lawn and raised $25 to help with the fight against polio.

North of Ness

Woodlawn Street north of Ness is a fascinating story of what was, what could have been, and what the future may hold. Woodlawn Street North has been home to three different sports facil ities. Between 1922 and 1937, the Deer Lodge Golf Club, an 18-hole golf club, existed where the St. James Civic Centre is now located. An advertisement for the Club on page 2 of the June 10, 1922, Winnipeg Free Press confirms this loca tion. During this time the Assiniboine Golf Club also existed at Mandeville and Ness. Charles Gosbee, a Woodlawn Street resident, was the golf pro.

Besides the golf, newspaper archives reveal that the club hosted many dances. On August 8, 1927, J. B. Quinn scored a hole in 1 on a 345-yard hole. Econom ic issues and airport expansion doomed the club.

In 1958, the Deer Lodge Curling Club opened at 425 Woodlawn. Dur ing the early 1970s, Harry Monk Jr. of College Electric installed a light ing system that made Deer Lodge one Canada's best lit arenas. Since the Woodlawn facility opened Wayne Johnson, David Iverson, Sean Grass

ie, Scotty Anderson, Hal Tanasichuk, Barry Fry, Dot Rose, Darcy Kirkness Kathie Allardyce, Kathie Ellwood, Marlene Cleutinx, Marilyn Sigurdson, Kelly MacKenzie, Alex Forrest, Jill Thurston, Braden Calvert, and Jor don McDonald have all skipped Deer Lodge teams to provincial champion ships.

In 1963, the St. James Council had a plan to relocate the Assiniboine Golf Club and make the Assiniboine Golf Course land into a recreational com plex which included football fields, baseball fields, a manmade lake, and bowling green. The plan did not ma terialize. Part of the plan had been a hockey rink just east of the Deer Lodge Curling Club. However, in 1966. The St. James Civic Centre with an arena, swimming and auditorium opened just west of the Curling Club.

The Civic Centre recently reopened after a one-year renovation that took over two years. Will the St. James Se nior Centre ever become part of the Civic Centre? The lot at 415 Wood lawn is a small piece of undeveloped City-owned land. This lot is listed as a park. Is it time for a public debate about how to use this land?

I hope to have a 2023 St. James Triv ia night. Let us conclude with a trivia question.

Question: Is there another Winnipeg Street that can be easily confused with Woodlawn Street?

Answer: Yes. There is a Woodlawn Avenue in St. Vital just south of Bish op Grandin. However, they have dif ferent numbers. The lowest number on Woodlawn Street is 200. The highest numbers on Woodlawn Avenue is 195.

Fred Morris is a Grandfather, Sports Fan and Political Activist.

Statue of Booker T. Washington "Lifting the Veil of Igno rance," by Charles Keck located at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. Photo by Carol Highsmith, Courtesy of the US Library of Congress.

Wayne Weedon Food for Thought

Fred Morris From the desk of a gadfly

DOUBLE your donation impact for kids like Emma this holiday season

It can be terrifying when your child needs ur gent medical attention but getting help can lead to hope. I want to share a story with you about seven-year-old Emma and her family, and how a visit to HSC Children’s Emer gency Department led to an important diagnosis and life-changing surgery.

When Emma was six months old, her parents, Sarah and Sean, could tell something was not quite right. Her lips began twitching and she started making strange faces as if she were in pain, so they took her to HSC Chil dren’s Emergency. There she was di agnosed with infantile spasms, also known as West syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy.

The rapid diagnosis in emergency meant doctors could move on to a treatment plan. Emma has had two major procedures at HSC Children’s Hospital, including an anatomical hemispherec tomy, where the entire half of the brain affected by seizures is removed.

enjoys riding her bike and quality time with her family.

“Eating, drinking, walking, being more indepen dent, verbalizing – we have lots of goals for her, but the main thing is that she’s so happy,” says Sarah. “She’s always been happy but now I feel like she’s living her best life.”

For many children like Emma, emer gency is the first stop on their health journey. Right now, Children’s Hospi tal Emergency needs donor support to upgrade the space for patient experi ence, comfort and safety.

Stefano Grande Healthy Living

Now Emma has gone more than two years with out seizures and her parents are thrilled.

“She’s doing amazing, it’s so nice not to see her having seizures. You can tell she’s learning and comprehending things a lot more. I’m so happy,” says Sarah.

Emma does face side effects including visual loss in both eyes and a loss of mobility in her left side, but she is a resilient girl, adapting well. She loves going to school and is learning to communicate using sign language and voice pads. Emma also

Sarah is very thankful supporters continue to give, because it means kids like Emma get the care they need close to home.

“Thank you for your generosity. Without donors, kids in Manitoba don’t get the opportunity to have the special care that they need. We’re just thankful.”

You can make the worst day better, by supporting the HSC Children’s Hospital Emergency Depart ment, the only emergency department specifically for kids in Manitoba, and leading-edge research into emergency care for kids at Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.

Donate now and, thanks to the generosity of Transolutions Truck Centre Family and the Talbot Family Foundation, your gift will be DOUBLED in life-saving value. That means $5 becomes $10, $25 becomes $50 and $50 becomes $100.

We’re so grateful for the generosity of the Tal bot Family, and challenge you to make your special

Geocaching in winter? Yes you can – and without GPS

Wow, the snow sure settled in. I guess that this is a good time to discuss winter geocaching. First, I am going to answer a question that came in in the last week. I was asked whether or not there was a way to geocache without a GPS receiver or a phone with data. Appar ently cost was a factor.

If you have a com puter, go to geocaching. com and sign up (if you have not already) and sign into the site. You can then print the online map to the geocache and use that map to locate it. One of our board mem bers actually did this when she first started geocaching.

If you are without a computer or printer and have access to Wifi, you can obtain a smartphone that someone doesn’t need anymore, it does not need to be activated (sim card) to use for geocaching. With Wifi you can down load the app from which you can down load the geocaches to the phone and use that to find the geocaches. If you do not

have Wifi, go to a location that has free access to it such as most popular coffee shops, most grocery stores and local li braries among other places. Make sure the phone will hold a charge.

Another way is to geocache with other people. I know of a group of three that do that, only one of them has a GPS receiver. Geocaching with a group also increases your chance of finding the prize quicker and easier. You also may feel more comfort able geocaching with a group of friends.

ers still look for them and are quite happy when they locate one under the snow. It is seen as a challenge.

Probably the most important advice I can offer you for winter geocaching is to dress for the weather. Nothing spoils the sport more than being uncomfortable do ing it. When you get to the location of the geocache you will be stationary or only moving slightly while looking for it as well as when opening it and signing the log book or paper. Remember to take this into account when preparing to go out.

called a geotrail. This is the series of foot prints left by the last person (or people) and will usually lead you right up to the geocache. Be careful though, there are those who will, as soon as they find it, make a false trail or two to distract you from the real geotrail.

Gary Brown Geocaching

With the snow here to stay some of the geocaches disap pear as they are covered by the snow, but there are thousands of hides not affected by snow still waiting for you The good news is that there are no bugs, fewer people to worry about seeing what you are doing and a lot less foliage to block your view of the geocache. Last is sue we spoke about attributes. Now is the time that the winter friendly one is impor tant as looking for a “not winter friendly” one may be difficult. That being said, some of the more experienced geocach

If it is very cold out you may find your hands get cold fast so consider doing the geocache opening, signing of the log and closing it up and returning it to its loca tion in stages. Hand warmers in a good pair of mitts may help as well. Also, a pencil may be a good choice for signing the log. If you use a pen, keeping it under your coat is a good idea. I keep mine in the shirt pocket even though it is rated as usable to minus 30.

Check the online logs to see if anyone has found the geocache since it snowed. This will tell you if it is accessible with a fresh layer of snow around. Some search ers will wait until someone finds a geo cache right after a snowfall and go out at the nearest opportunity to find what is

In the later part of winter when all the open water is solid and there is sufficient snow many geocaches are found using cross country skis or snowshoes. Quite of ten this is done as a “group cache” and ar ranged ahead of time. As your experience grows so too will the circle of geocachers that you meet and get to know.

Geocaching events are held fairly often throughout the year and are open to any geocacher and normally there is no cost. The event information can be found on the website. This is a great place to find out some secrets about the geocaches or some advice for the sport itself. Feel free to drop in and introduce yourself and you’ll be surprised at how quickly you become a part of the community. Most of the events are outdoors so don’t forget to bring a cof fee or snack if you want them.

Gary Brown is the vice president of the Manitoba Geocaching Association (MBGA) and can be reached at MB GAexec@outlook.com.

u How a little technology could have saved the fish!

heating business, and he was able to have a technician at his house in a few hours. By the time they resolved the issue and began heating the house again, it was -5 degrees Celsius, and ice was forming everywhere. By some stroke of luck, there was no dam age to any of the plumbing. But had an other day passed, the consequences could have been much different. Unfortunately, the fish weren’t so lucky!

The next summer, he approached me to install a smart thermostat. We installed the thermostat and set it up to send a notifica tion to his phone if the house temperature dropped below a set amount. Now he can

monitor the temperature of his house from anywhere and can raise the temperature to a more comfortable level when they are on their way back.

Over the next winter, he was so happy having that control that we installed anoth er smart thermostat in his garage/shop the next summer to help prevent a frozen pipe issue from occurring there. So, not only will he receive a notification when there is a problem, he can also monitor the tempera ture and see if a neighbour has been in his shop and forgot to turn down the tempera ture when they left.

Now my neighbour has embraced more

smart home technology, and we have since installed a water sensor in his sump pit to alert him when there is a problem with his pump while they are away (or even when they home, since they don’t check their sump pump regularly). We have also in stalled cameras to monitor all the entrance doors in the house and garage to ensure they are closed properly whenever their daughter comes into town and stays at the house.

If you are interested in embracing smart home technology and need help with planning and installation, contact Joe Borges at joe@ technojoe.ca or 204-479-3913.

holiday donation today to DOUBLE your impact. Donate and #GiveBetterFutures now at good bear.ca

Stefano Grande is the president and CEO of Chil dren’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.

Joe Borges

Techno Joe

Manitoba notable towns: Wawanesa

- Millford Cairn Nellie McClung

Located 143 miles southeast of Winnipeg, in a valley strewn with the meanders of one of the misfit Southern Manitoba rivers, the Souris, on PTH1 E Route, there is a charming town of Wawanesa.

The Souris River and the valley created by its banks offers a magnifi cent visual experience. The sheer cliffs over a kilometer wide and 35 meters deep of Wawa nesa Gorge were cut by the glacial meltwaters. It represents the unique scenery of the Canadian prairies, and the most rugged scene in Mani toba. The magnificent view down Pelican lake and the Pembina valley extends from the sanato rium of Ninette, high on the east bank of the old valley.

Free land and wide space brought the first settlers from Ontario in the late 1800s. The early pioneers spent the win ter on the riverbank. They had chosen the land so that they could claim it when the surveys arrived in the spring. By 1882, the year when many important events happened on this site, a small commer cial center called Souris City developed three miles west of the Sipiweske site. Small town was already equipped with groceries, hardware, a parkade for horse and wagon, grist mill, hotel, several houses and a post of fice.

Sanja Rossi Manitoba Through

Original inhabitants of this area were Cree, Sioux, Blackfoot and Lakota, who hunted, camped and traded their furs at the local forts in this region for centuries. Many native artifacts such as arrowheads and tools have been found here.

The town of Wawanesa has its origins as far back as 1797, when on November 28, David Thompson, extraordinary ex plorer, surveyor and fur trader in the em ploy of the Hudson Bay and North-West Companies, camped on the edge of the Souris river in a place the Cree called Sipi weske, meaning “light through the trees”. Thompson was a great geographer. Wher ever he stopped on his travels, whether it was in canoes, on horseback or on foot, he made surveys, took astronomical ob servations for latitude and longitude, and created maps.

History timeline of Wawanesa from the beginning of the 20th century:

Time

The same year, the first clergy was formed and they were community leaders who constructed church buildings for Presbytarians, Methodists and Anglicans. St. Andrews Presbyterian was opened the same year and St. Paul Anglican was built in 1900. St. Paul was designed by archi tect George Burgess from Windsor, Ontario. In 1912 Methodist and Presbyterian churches were joined and became the union church. Significance of St. Andrews church is where on August 25th 1896 at 7:45 am a wedding was held between Robert McClung and Nel lie Mooney. Nellie McClung would have a huge impact on Canadian history.

Since education was of great importance to the pioneers, the next important thing was establishing the first school. Teachers were David Lent, Edmund Batty, Misses Jenny and Merry Nichol. In 1890, a small wood-frame building was constructed for school, but until then school classes were held on the second floor of R.J. Neith cut’s hardware store.

In the election of 1888, the Liberals came to power and they announced two things: the end to the monopoly of the C.P.R and that Northern Pacific Railroad, later C.N.R., would build a lane through this area. However, the site at Souris City was very difficult for a crossing and

St. John the Divine Anglican Church 1882, which was moved from near Roun thwaite to the museum ground where it can be admired and enjoyed. It is still used for special services.

a new site was chosen by the railway site of Sipiweske. Some buildings were lifted up and moved to the new town. This new site was eventually called Wawanesa (name may come from the Ojibwa word waa’oonesii for “Wip-poor-will”). By 1890 line was completed and a station was built, followed by construction of two grain elevators along the line, Martin and Mitchel and Manitoba Elevator Com pany. Railroads played a tremendously important role for this region and con tributed to the village’s growth and the thriving of Wawanesa. Two more bridges were constructed in town, one for horses called Black Bridge and one for cars called Red Bridge. Unfortunately, in 1924 a ma jor disaster happened, a railway bridge collapsed as a train was crossing, killing one man. Later that year, a new bridge was constructed. The rail line was aban doned in 1984.

The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Com pany was founded in 1896 by Alonzo Fowler Kempton and Charles Kerr of Souris. The insurance company was ini tially developed by and for local farmers and provided a significant addition to the economy of the village. Kempton knew that the farmers were struggling with paying premiums for coverage on their

William Leishman – the Flying Bandit

Jim Ingebrigtsen

Ken Leishman was born in Hol land, Manitoba on June 30, 1931.

His father Nor man Allan Leishman was from Treherne and his mother Irene Beatrice Ag arand grew up in Holland. The couple married in Winnipeg on September 25, 1928 and had three children. Ken was the sec ond eldest.

His parents divorced in 1943 leaving his mother to care for three young children. She was eventu ally forced to put Ken in foster care.

Ken bounced from fos ter home to foster home and eventually landed in a residential or phanage after Children's Aid seized him from an abusive household.

In 1943, after the divorce was granted, Irene married Bill Brooking of Treherne. He, too, had issues with Ken who at age 14 was sent to live and work on his grand parent's farm. The farm brought a stabil ity to Ken's life, though he was prone to accidents. One incident involved being kicked in the head by a horse, something Irene claimed in the 1960s may have ac counted for some of Ken's bad behavior. At age 16, Ken reconciled with his fa

ther and came to live with him and Nor man’s new wife on Lipton Street. At age 17, Ken met Elva Shields and the two were married the following year. Elva got a sign of things to come when Ken spent a few months of their newlywed year in jail.

Ken worked part-time with his father at an elevator repair company which gave him access to various buildings. He would look for items he wanted, come back after hours and break in. Posing as an employee, he would call a transport company to pick up the goods and deliver them to the couple's suite on Ger trude Street.

In February 1950, his thefts included a radio, a fridge and range, a ches terfield suite, dinette suite, a bed and a kitchen suite. The goods were valued at just under $1,000.

The transport company dispatcher was suspicious of the late night call and tipped off police. Ken pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine months in jail but got out in three for good behav ior. After jail, Ken pursued another inter est of his: flying.

During the 1950s and early 1960s, Ken committed numerous crimes, in cluding bank robberies, plane thefts, and prison breaks. Street directories show that through the 1950s he had a new job and a new address each year until 1956. That's when the family, which now consisted of five children, bought a house on Lindsay

Street in River Heights. Although appear ing to do well, he began supplementing his income by robbing banks. On one oc casion he flew to Toronto in the morn ing, robbed a bank in the afternoon and returned to Winnipeg in the evening to a wife and children none the wiser.

In March of 1966, with the help of two accomplices, Leishman, the mastermind behind one of the greatest gold heists in history, intercepted a shipment of gold that had just arrived from Red Lake, On tario. Posing as Air Canada employees with a stolen company vehicle, Ken’s co horts drove off with almost $370,000 in gold bullion.

1903 - Telephone service began 1909 - Wawanesa Village was incorporated 1921 - New era of modern machines began 1929 - Hydro service came to Wawanesa 1931 - Dam was built

1976 - Flood 1989 - Wawanesa Centennial 2003 - Manitoba’s first geothermal subdivision begins construction

threshing machines and felt that mutual company could charge lower premiums. He persuaded 20 local farmers to invest $20 each to help finance the new com pany. Eventually Wawanesa Mutual Com pany grew into one of Canada's largest general insurance companies. Today, the original Wawanesa Mutual office is a Pro vincial Heritage building that houses the Sipiweske Museum. The annual meeting of the company is still held in the village every year.

Wawanesa residents were particularly fond of culture, sports and recreation. Among sports, people enjoyed skating, curling, tennis, golf, hockey and baseball. The first agricultural fair was organized in 1898 with displays of livestock, gar dening, cooking, paintings, needlework, school work and canning. The first horse race happened in 1893, and in 1902 a race track was developed. There were theatri cal productions, piano lessons, and in the winter of 1908 the first silent movies were shown.

All were apprehended in a bar in Gary, Indiana after stealing a plane in Steinbach and making their way across the border. Another jail sentence awaited him.

After being released and finally a free man, Leishman moved his family to Red Lake, Ontario. In 1977, he took a job as a bush pilot and opened a tourist shop. The couple became devout Mormons and were well liked by the community.

Ken continued to fly and on December 14, 1979, Leishman was performing a medi-vac flight out of Red Lake when his plane disappeared in Northern Ontario. The following spring, a Canadian Forces search flight found the wreckage. The bodies of the patient and medical assis tant aboard were positively identified but all they could find of Leishman was his wallet and some scraps of clothing.

Given his colourful past, there was speculation that the Flying Bandit had escaped again. At the inquest, however, experts concluded that his body was likely taken away and eaten by wolves.

On December 16, 1980, Leishman was declared legally dead at the age of 48. He left behind his wife of 30 years, seven children and quite a legend. By all ac counts, he was always polite, respectable and well dressed. No surprise he was of ten referred to as the Gentleman Bandit.

William Kenneth Leishman, also known as the Flying Bandit, has been referred to as “one of the most beloved of Canadian criminals.”

Jim Ingebrigtsen submits stories of Memo rable Manitobans each month to Lifestyles 55 on behalf of the Manitoba Historical So ciety.

William Kenneth Leishman: The Flying Bandit (1931-1980)

“They trusted in God and went on triumphantly May we as their descendants honour their memory By following their example”

Memorable Manitobans

CN Bridge collapsed plunging the train into the Souris River in 1924.

The challenges of the health care system also present opportunities

Dorothy Dobbie

“When we work together across the country, we can accomplish great things for all our communities,” announced Premier Heath er Stefanson, when she took over the chair of the Council of the Federation this fall. “We have a historic opportunity to build a sustainable and more resilient health-care system with more health-care workers to better address the needs of all Canadians.

All premiers continue to call on the Prime Minister to effectively collaborate with us in funding the necessary action that all Canadians so urgently expect and deserve.”

That set the tone for her own radical health care reforms that cannot wait for a turgid federal system to fund. The Pre mier’s plan is a comprehensive program attacking more than 30 systemic issues, but that is just the beginning. The pre miers and territorial leaders are calling for an increase in funding from the Federal government from 22 percent to 35 percent of the cost of the public health care system so that they can tackle long term systemic issues within the system. That does not preclude forming a national task force to look at best practices worldwide, said the Premier and chair of the Council!

Canada is second last only to the United States when it comes to effective international healthcare delivery. The

Council of the Federation meets again on Dec. 9, and Premier Stefanson said federal support for health care will still be the top priority. When the original Federal provin cial-deal was struck back in the ‘60s, the federal share was 50 percent.

“We are seeing some signs that the Prime Minister may be willing to increase the transfer. And that is very posi tive, but we need him to come to the table to have that conversation. He needs to be a true partner with us,” said the Premier. “The Prime Minister owes it to Canadians to sit down and hear why a one-size-fitsall approach will not work.”

She added, “The problem with federal strings-attached-funding is that often the funding is only good for three to five years, then it’s gone, and the provinces are left struggling to fund the program.”

She also points out that there is too much incursion into provincial jurisdic tion. There is a reason the division of powers exists. Every province and territo ry is different – populations alone can vary from 40,000 in Nunavut to 15 million in Ontario. It is simply naive to imagine that there can be equal access across the nation, but, said the Premier, “The PM can set some benchmarks for services. The premiers are open to negotiation.”

“We also need the Feds to reexamine federal restrictions on immigrant health care workers. We have been working with our own health service colleges to expedite creden tial recognition. And we have been creating ways to bring recent retirees back into service. It’s not all about money. It is about respect in the workplace and quality of life.”

Continuing to discuss the home front, despite the multi-level programming and funding, the Premier says there is yet much to be done. “Health Minister Audrey Gordon has been out listening to front line workers,” she said, “and that is where we got much of the advice for the current fixes.”

The system has stagnated for years, and much ineffi ciency and redundancy has built up. For example, when the Tories were elected, they discovered there were 180 different bargaining units in health!

“We have reduced that to 42 but compare that to Saskatchewan with only four!” said Premier Stefanson. “You can imagine how bargaining units with conflicting rules impacts the scheduling and effective deployment on a ward when one half may be under one union and the other half under a different union!”

She said that it not just healthcare workers. “There were 90 different bargaining units just in janitorial services!”

There is so much modernization to be done. Take the Manitoba Health card. The Premier has been struggling with a persistent cough for the past three weeks, so the other day she finally went to a walk-in clinic. “I had to fill out forms covering two sheets of paper and that informa tion had to be manually entered into a computer,” she pointed out. “You should just be able to scan your patient data card the same way they do when you go to your dentist.” Doctors complain that they spend as much time on paperwork as they do in giving care and the Premier gets this. It is another issue on the priority list. “I want to fix that card.”

It all seems overwhelming, but the Premier takes it in stride. “Where there are challenges, there are also oppor tunities,” she concludes with a little laugh. That is a great attitude from someone who gets it done!

Minister Audrey Gordon: Fixing the tangled health

line people and the leaders,” she said.

“I am still listening.”

“Iam a planner,” said Minister Audrey Gordon with some frustration. “I always have my life planned out 10 years ahead so it is hard to understand why the Canadian health system failed to plan for the boomer retirement which they knew was coming decades ago.”

She points out that the predicted ag ing-out in the health care system was ex acerbated by the pandemic where nurs es are leaving due to exhaustion. Now we are facing an exodus from the pro fession and every province is trying to deal with it. Audrey Gordon is an MBA and holds Certificates in Change Man agement and Applied Counselling. She spent 12 years with the WRHA and has worked with the government for over two decades before being elected.

As part of her strategy to steer chang es to the health care system in Manito ba, the Minister has been going to the front lines to hear what those working there have to say. “You have to hear from all players: the patients, the front-

She is not just listening. From what she has heard so far, the Minister has begun to unravel the tangled web of issues and has been making changes to deal with immediate needs. “It is not enough to simply retain and train people,” she said, although that is im portant, and she has advanced several measures to deal with this. “We also need to recruit.”

In her view, recruitment must start much earlier, introducing junior high kids to health care so that it becomes an option as they contemplate a future career. That is how she got started in the health care system. She was a snack cart volunteer as a kid bringing goodies to older patients and she loved it. She sees bringing volunteers back into the sys tem as one part of the fix and a way to excite interest in health care at a young age.

Recruitment also means actively seek ing out immigrant health care workers from other countries, which she is do ing, and working with the nurses’ and doctors’ colleges to speed accreditation.

There about 700 potential nurses in the province at various stages of certi fication. While they will not all be job ready, the Minister believes that there are ways of dealing with this by creat ing some new categories of help so that they can be introduced to the system much faster.

Another concern is how long it takes to become a registered nurse: four years in Manitoba with the first year devoted to general university (University One) before they can even apply to the Col lege of Nursing. “In Saskatchewan, they don’t need to spend that first year of general university, they go right into nursing,” she said. Consequently, we are losing some of our potential students to our neighbouring province.

When we met, the Minister had just returned from a visit to the Grace Hospital, listening to front-line work ers there, particularly in the new emergency room. As she toured, she was thinking about patient flow. She was surprised to see that there were only three washrooms in an area serv ing many seniors. These are the kinds of things that could be avoided with a

care web

different kind of planning.

The minister doesn’t just tour hospi tals in Manitoba. She does this wher ever she goes, calling ahead and telling the administrators who she is in other provinces and even other countries. They are only too glad to give her a tour and what she often finds is dismaying.

“We are so far behind,” she says. Others with external hospital experiences have the same impression. We have a lot of catching up to do.

This is very sad to learn when Mani toba was at one time a world leader in health care delivery.

In Manitoba, the system was built in layers over time, each generation of health care professionals building on the work of the last without the injec tion of new thinking. She believes that the structure, the workflow, would have benefitted from some bird’s-eye view planning by people with other areas of expertise to bring to the conversation.

Currently, across Canada, emergency departments are overcrowded by many people having nowhere else to go. Walkin clinics are often overbooked or no

Dorothy Dobbie

Heather Stefanson

The Premier’s priorities

u How Manitoba is feeding the world

Continued from page 1

nounced Water Strategy will enhance not only the quantity but the quality of our water supply.

We have abundant renew able hydroelectricity.

Our central location means we are a transportation hub in all four directions. The CN, CP, BNSF rail lines in tersect in Winnipeg with Hudson Bay Rail connect ing to Churchill. Manitoba has a large trucking industry.

James Richardson Interna tional Airport ships cargo all over the world.

In 2017 the Manitoba government, together with industry, created the Protein Strategy. As incomes rise worldwide so does the demand for both plant and animal proteins.

The big five: canola, pork, wheat, oats and potatoes – and did we mention peas?

How does Manitoba meet this increased demand given our raw product and pro cessing capacity? The agriculture and pro cessing industries in Manitoba are worth over $7 billion annually, contributing 10 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the Manitoba economy, directly employing 35,000 people – 21,000 in agri culture and 14,000 in food processing and this will continue to increase.

Our top five exports include canola, pork, wheat, oats, potatoes and many other agricultural food products also feeding the world.

Canola seed and oil products account for $2.33B in exports. There are canola oil processing plants in Harrowby and Altona, Manitoba. Canola meal is an important by product as a protein source for the hog, dairy, poultry, and cattle industries. Merit Functional Foods is a new $300 million plant located in Winnipeg’s CentrePort. This food plant uses locally sourced canola and yellow peas to produce a high-grade

protein extract for the food industry.

The pork industry in Manitoba is the largest in Canada, worth $1.7 billion to the Manitoba economy. Eight million hogs are produced annually with 90 percent of the product exported to Ja pan, China, Korea, Mexico, and others. This industry is responsible for 14,000 di rect jobs, with many more spinoff jobs in service, con struction and transporta tion. This an environmen tally sustainable industry using Manitoba feed sources and providing a naturally sourced fertilizer to grow those feedstuffs.

The Maple Leaf Foods $300 million upgrade to the bacon plant in Winnipeg consolidates all of Maple Leaf’s North American bacon processing. Pork processing plants in Brandon, Neepawa, and Winkler are major employers in these communities. Hog production facilities across rural Manitoba have given new life to many communities after decades of rural depopulation.

Roquette is a company headquartered in France. It has just completed a $600 mil lion yellow pea processing plant in Portage La Prairie. This is the largest plant of its kind in the world – right here in Manitoba! The peas are sourced from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. If you are familiar with the Beyond Burger, it was Roquette that devel oped this food product. Again, the demand for plant protein continues to grow and Roquette will be there to supply these food ingredients.

The hog and dairy industries are also benefiting from the protein byproduct that is produced by this processing.

The Manitoba potato industry exports over $660 million annually. If you have ever had McDonald French fries or McCain breakfast potato patties, you are enjoying Manitoba grown and processed potatoes.

u Minister Audrey Gordon: Fixing the tangled health care web

longer accept true walk-ins, so people call 911 or go to emergency looking for help. When they do get seen and are ill enough to be admitted, they often can’t get a bed on the wards because there are not enough nurses to care for them.

Consequently, emergency rooms are “boarding” patients, and the backlogs creates more backlogs. Nurses are leav ing due to the intensity of the job in emergency and the long hours. They want more flexibility in where in the hospital they can spend their day work ing. They also do not receive the same benefits as nurses in ICU for example and the Minister is looking at how to fix this.

This is just one part of the tangled web of issues that need resolving. The minister has boiled them down to three key areas: retaining, training, and re cruiting. The plan, announced Novem ber 10 by Premier Stefanson and Minis ter Gordon, is to add 2,000 health care workers to the system at a cost of some $200 million.

In the area of retaining, she has an nounced a series of premiums and in centives to address concerns she heard from the front lines. She has put an end to mandated overtime on the wards. For the next two years, in an MOU with the Nurses Union, the government will reimburse healthcare professionals for their professional licensing fees. She is offering incentives to doctors to extend

their hours and to clinics to do the same. She is creating a joint task force to find ways to reduce administrative burdens on doctors.

Under training, in addition to the items mentioned above, the nurse in take will be increased by 400 positions across several training institutions, and they are working to increase class intake for doctors.

And finally, under recruitment, the way is being eased for retired nurses to come back into the workforce temporar ily. Tuition incentives will be added. The MOU with the Philippines is being up dated to allow recruitment from there. Testing costs and remedial training will be covered for those retuning to the profession and to international nurses.

For those who want more detail on the 31 initiatives currently underway for health, go to https://news.gov.mb.ca/ news/index.html?item=56864&post ed=2022-11-10.

Meanwhile, know that this is just the beginning. Fixing health care will take time and determination. But like her boss, the Premier, Minister Audrey Gordon is up to the task. She loves the challenge and is eager to get on with it. She wants to make lasting changes that respects all who work in the system, fit ting their needs together in a more co hesive and less stressful way so that folks will want to work in health care, im prove health care and stay in health care.

JR Simplot just completed a $400 million expansion in Portage La Prairie with Mc Cain’s located also in Portage La Prairie and Carberry. Kroeker Farms at Winkler is the largest organic potato grower in Cana da with over 6,000 acres in organic produc tion of potatoes, onions and other crops.

Manitoba grows about 15,000 acres of potatoes edging out P.E.I in total acreage with another 8,000 acres needed to supply our processing plants. Peak of the Market is a Manitoba farmer-owned cooperative supplying table potatoes to markets across Canada and the US.

When you think oats, think cereal (Cheerios!) or oatmeal or baking ingredi ents. Today we export $290 million in oat and oat products. It used to be that oats were grown and exported as raw product. Today Manitoba has four plants, making oat products for export in Portage la Prairie, Emerson, Altona, and a new $400 million Paterson Grain oat processing plant under construction on the outskirts of Winnipeg. Also, the Richardson Pioneer research lab in the Winnipeg Exchange District is de veloping an oat milk product for those who have dietary issues with dairy. Watch for this product on your grocery shelves soon.

Then there is beef, bison, dairy, poultry, fish, honey . . .

True North Foods is a beef and bison har vest plant at Carman with Canadian Food Inspection Agency and European Union certification. Europe presents a growing market for animal proteins.

Manitoba also has a vibrant dairy, poul try, and egg industry. If you’ve had a break fast sandwich at Tim Hortons, the eggs come from Burnbrae Farms egg processing plant right here in Winnipeg.

Hemp seed is grown in MANITOBA for snack food and hemp oil as a food ingredi ent and yes, we also have legal cannabis op erations growing for the pot stores across Manitoba. There are two flour mills in Manitoba using wheat grown here. Barley is grown for the malt beer industry, and we even have Farmery Estate Brewery, a micro

brewer growing their own hops.

Award winning Crown Royal whisky is made in Gimli from Manitoba corn and rye. Manitoba corn and wheat is also con sumed in the Minnedosa ethanol plant as a gasoline additive. Flax is grown and pro cessed in two Manitoba plants as a health food ingredient. Manitoba exports honey to Japan and the USA with a new BeeMaid Producer Co-op processing plant under construction in Winnipeg. Make sure when you are buying honey at your store that it is a Manitoba product and not imported from somewhere else in the world and sold as Canadian honey.

Manitoba grown soybeans are crushed at Jordan, Manitoba as a protein source for the poultry and livestock industries.

Manitoba also has a sizable commercial fishery which is rapidly moving to eco cer tified product to meet consumer demands. We also appreciate the Farmers Markets with local grown foods sold direct to con sumers.

I have given you an extensive but by no means complete list of what is happening in the agriculture and food processing in dustries in Manitoba today. Manitoba has a lot to offer the world in both primary and processed food. Our Protein Strategy, Wa ter Strategy, renewable hydro energy, raw product and sustainable environment all bode well for the future of Manitoba.

Food is essential to life. As incomes rise in developing countries so does the de mand for protein products. Companies are constantly inquiring about locating in Manitoba and we have the opportunity to fill these markets in a cost effective, envi ronmentally sustainable way. So, enjoy that food on your plate and always thank a farmer or fisher for making sure there is something on your plate.

Chances are no matter where you live, at least some of it was grown and processed here in Manitoba.

Blaine Pedersen is the MLA for Midland and the former Minister of Agriculture for the Province of Manitoba.

Blaine Pederson

Holidays are always so special, why not treat yourself and friends to smoked salmon terrine!

Salmon is such a beautiful fish, full of healthy natural goodness. Prepared poached, fried or smoked, it can be a very versatile food. During the seasonal time of year, I sometimes spoil myself and guests with a smoked salmon terrine, a delight ful delicacy.

Making salmon ter rine is like constructing a piece of edible art. Your guest will be gasping, not only from its outstanding visual look, but also its luscious taste.

The soft delicate salm on flesh surrounds a light creamy mousse. Tangy flavours of lemon and dill caress the palette, the mouth is baited from that initial morsel for the next. Heavenly.

Ian Leatt Foodies

Here is what you will need:

4 sheets leaf gelatine

1 packet 454 grams frozen smoked salmon

150 grams crème fraîche

1 ½ packets Philadelphia cream cheese spread

2 ½ tablespoons wholegrain mustard

Juice of 1 lime

1 ½ tablespoon fresh chopped dill

Several sprigs fresh dill

1 lemon thinly sliced

Several sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley

The all important how to:

First off, place the four sheets of gelatine in a small bowl with water until softened.

Line a small bread tin with saran wrap. Then, care fully line the fresh slices of salmon over the entire inside of the tin. Remember to leave an overhang at the top to fold over once full. When complete, gather enough salmon to fill a center layer inside the mousse.

The remaining salmon can now be chopped into

small pieces. Not too fine: you want the finish to be chopped and not paste-like.

In a large mixing bowl add the cream cheese, crème fraiche, mustard and chopped dill. Turn the mixer on until all ingredients have combined thoroughly. Re move the bowl and add the chopped salmon. Mix to gether by hand using a wooden spoon.

Drain the water from the gelatine giving it a gentle squeeze, then place into a small pot and add the juice of one lime. Place on the stove at a medium to low heat until the gelatine has dissolved. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Then stir into the salmon mixture.

Spoon half the mixture into the loaf tin. Lay the re maining salmon evenly over the top of the mousse, covering all. Spoon the remaining mousse over the top. Finally fold the overhanging salmon over all the

mousse. Cover with a little more saran wrap and place in the fridge for a minimum of eight hours.

Before serving, remove from the fridge. Remove the covering saran wrap. Using a large plate, flip the tin over and remove the rest of the saran wrap. Now you have a salmon loaf.

Slice carefully and place on a plate, dressed with a little light salad, slices of lemon, and sprigs of fresh dill.

Once you have mastered the terrine basics, next time try adding complementary vegetables like avocado or cucumber. Good luck! Season’s greetings.

Ed note: Ian’s salad was finely chopped and formed into a nice little platform for the terrine. He served the terrine with some slices of thin, dried bread.

Ian Leatt is general manager of Pegasus Publications and a trained chef.

Why is it better to renovate in the Winter?

After all the outdoor living from spring through to fall, winter can be dull and draining. The short dark days and not enough sun make many feel ill and at a loss for what to do. Why not complete renovations in the win ter? Winter provides lots of time for indoor activi ties, be this as simple as moving the furniture, to hanging new pictures or adding a lick of fresh paint. Indoors does not have to be so dull.

Do it yourself or not, what are the benefits of completing home renova tions? If you are cooped up in the winter revit alising any room gives one a sense of accomplishment, and a new lease on a dreary looking space. In my experience, once you do one space you will catch the bug and try your hand at another.

The basement

The obvious first choice is always to finish the basement. It can give you so much more room to enjoy indoor living. Not just you, but your children, family and friends will appreciate this. Another bonus is that investment in a finished basement provides a typical 70 to 80 per cent return.

Storage is always a key point in any home. You might want to reserve some space for a storage area where your sea sonal decorations can be stored along with other bits and pieces we all collect along the way.

You can also just make small incre mental changes with new furniture and perhaps a new electric fireplace for add ed ambience and an extra source of heat.

Spare rooms can be so versatile

If your basement is unfinished, reach out to an interior designer and come up with a plan. Perhaps have an extra bedroom, bathroom, and family area.

Instead of just creat ing an open room have a plan for using the space. Maybe you need a guest room. Or perhaps you can just reserve space in the room for that time when you have overnight visitors by adding a Murphy bed.

Other ideas for converting your spare room could be:

• Music room

• Home library • Home office

• Hobby room or crafting room

• Playroom for your children or

grandchildren

• Home gym

Remodelling your old closets

How about creating that long dreamed of walk-in closet? We all tend to say we don’t have enough storage space in our homes (or is it that we all have too much clutter?). But many older homes closets have more space than is ever truly used because of poor design. We all need to have some efficiency or smart storage

available to us.

Investing time and thought can pay off in the long run. Start by replacing those old fashioned 8-foot tall, mirrored doors. Look at the more modern styled doors, perhaps choosing louvred doors of standard height.

And get rid of that single, head-high, long shelf. Remove the shelf, fill in the holes sand the walls down and apply a new coat of paint adding colour – if they are dark, why not brighten them up with white? You can add battery powered wall lights that can be stuck on the wall inside the closet for illumination.

IKEA has some great closet organ iser designs, or you can be brave and create your own style. Remember not all clothes require hanger space or even full-length hanger space. Some items can be folded neatly on new box shelves or

even drawers. At the end of the day, you will appreciate what a closet remodel can achieve.

Consider also if you are renovating the closet now would be a perfect time to replace the old carpet in whatever room you are in. There are some excellent new flooring ideas around. Retail therapy is always fun.

What was it Benjamin Franklin once said? “Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Makes a lot of sense really. Take up the challenge and see where it leads. Remember, if you need help your friendly contractor is al ways around.

Brent Poole is the owner operator of Handy Hands Construction, which he has run with his father Jim since 1997. A car penter by trade, Brent enjoys all types of proj ects. “We’re not happy until you are happy!”

We’re here to help you stay socially connected!

Start planning for a fun, happy, healthy New Year with A & O’s in

novative Senior Centre Without Walls Program!

The Senior Centre With out Walls program is the first of its kind in Canada and offers a unique op portunity for Manito bans, 55+, to join edu cational and interactive programs from the com fort of their own homes.

Programming topics include educational pre sentations, language classes, book clubs,

travelogues and support groups. The free programs are ac cessed through a toll-free number and are offered during the day and eve ning.

The following is a sneak peek of some of the exciting programs lined up for the winter session: Drumheller: t-rexes, hadrosaurs and tricer atops - oh my!!!!! Pre senter: Lori Pickerl, A & O Social Worker.

In this SCWW walls presentation we’ll explore what a trip to Drumheller entails, more than just dino saurs. The Royal Tyrell Museum, Atlas Coal Mine and Hoodoos learn some cool facts and dive back in time.

CPP Disability. Presenter: Brianna Delaney, Citizen Services Specialist, Citizen Services Branch, Service Can ada, Government of Canada

We will be discussing CPP Disability, which is the single largest long-term dis

ability insurance provider in Canada. Myths, facts and questions about homelessness. Presenter: Anastasia Ziprick, Director of Development, Main Street Project Inc.

There are many pervasive myths that people believe about homelessness. This misinformation is problematic because it further adds to the stigmatization of a group of people that is already marginal ized by society. In this presentation we will deconstruct these myths and supply facts about why homelessness exists and

how we can address it.

Canadian Connections

Connect with your peers joining us from other SCWW programs across Can ada. Tune in for this great opportunity to share experiences, memories and for live ly conversations on all manner of things.

For more information, please visit our web site at aosupportservices.ca or contact us at: Phone: 204-956-6440 OR Toll-free: 1-888333-3121

Wishing you a happy, healthy, socially con nected holiday and New Year!

MERRY

CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS

MLA for Assiniboia assiniboiamla@outlook.com 204.615.6044

Heather Stefanson

MLA for Tuxedo tuxconst@mymts.net 204.487.0013

Scott Johnston

A & O: Support Services for Older Adults

Upcoming programs from A&O will look at homelessness, CPP Disability and the leg endary inhabitants of Canada’s prehistoric past - dinosaurs!

Manitoba Association of Senior Communities

dauphin

nnn Winnipeg

20 Fort Street Seniors Club 2200-20 Fort Street / 204-250-8644

A & O Support Services for Older Adults Inc. 200-207 Donald Street 204-956-6440 / Toll Free: 1-888-333-3121 info@aosupportservices.ca www.aosupportservices.ca

Archwood 55 Plus 565 Guilbault Avenue / 204-416-1067 archwood55mail@gmail.com archwood55plus.wildapricot.org

Bleak House Centre 1637 Main Street / 204-338-4723 bleakhousecentre@gmail.com www.bleakhousecentre.com

Broadway Seniors Resource Centre 204-772-3533 www.bsrc.ca / broadwayseniors@gmail.com

Brooklands Active Living Centre 1960 William Avenue W. / 204-632-8367 bpscc@mymts.net

Centro Caboto Centre (Italian Seniors) 1055 Wilkes Avenue W. / 204-487-4597 ext. 30 info@cabotocentre.com / www.cabotocentre.com

Charleswood Senior Centre 5006 Roblin Boulevard / 204-897-5263 info@charleswoodseniorcentre.org www.charleswoodseniorcentre.org

Creative Retirement MB 204-481-5030 info@creativeretirement.ca www.creativeretirementmanitoba.ca

Crescent Fort Rouge United Church 55+ 525 Wardlaw Avenue / 204-489-1925 www.crescentfortrouge.ca

Dakota Community Centre 1188 Dakota Street / 204-254-1010 ext. 217 melissal@dakotacc.com / www.dakotacc.com

Dufferin Senior Citizens Inc. 377 Dufferin Avenue / 204-986-2608

Elmwood East Kildonan Active Living Centre 180 Poplar Avenue / 204-669-0750 poplarseniors@live.com / www.eekactiv.com

Fort Garry Seniors Resource Council 200-270 Donald Street / 204-792-1913 fortgarry@aosupportservices.ca www.aosupportservices.ca/resources/seniorsresource-finders/

Good Neighbours Active Living Centre 720 Henderson Highway / 204-669-1710 admin@gnalc.ca / www.gnalc.ca

Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre 1588 Main Street / 204-339-1701 becky@gwensecter.com / www.gwensecter.com

Headingley Senior Services 5353 Portage Avenue / 204-889-3132 ext. 3 hdlyseniorservices@mymts.net www.headingleyseniorservices.ca

Indigenous Senior Resource Centre Inc. A1 – 100 Robinson Street / 204-586-4595 executivedirector@isrcwpg.ca / www.asrcwpg.org

Manitoba Korean 55+ Centre 900-150 River Avenue / 204-996-7003 www.ksam.ca

North Centennial Seniors Association of

Winnipeg Inc. 86 Sinclair Street / 204-582-0066 ncsc@shaw.ca / www.ncseniors.ca

North Point Douglas Senior Centre 244 Jarvis Avenue

Pembina Active Living (55+) 170 Fleetwood Road / 204-946-0839 office@pal55plus.com / www.pal55plus.ca

Rady Jewish Community Centre 123 Doncaster Street / 204-477-7539 lmarjovsky@radyjcc.com / www.radyjcc.com

Rainbow Resource Centre 170 Scott St. / 204-474-0212 ext. 211 OTR@rainbowresourcecentre.org www.rainbowresourcecentre.org

The Salvation Army Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre 51 Morrow Avenue / 204-946-9153 sheila.keys@salvationarmy.ca

South Winnipeg Seniors Resource Council 117-1 Morley Avenue / 204-478-6169 resources@swsrc.ca / www.swsrc.ca

Southdale Seniors 254 Lakewood Boulevard / 204-253-4599 www.southdale.ca

Sri Lankan Seniors Manitoba 113 Stan Bailie Drive / 204-888-8253 www.srilankanseniorsmb.ca

St. James-Assiniboia 55+ Centre 3-203 Duffield Street / 204-257-8850 info@stjamescentre.com / www.stjamescentre.com

St. Mary’s Rd. Seniors 613 St. Mary’s Road / 204-257-0678 www.stmarysroad.ca

Transcona Council for Seniors 845 Regent Avenue / 204-222-9879 tcs@mymts.net / www.transconaseniors.ca

Transcona Retired Citizens Org. 328 Whittier Avenue W. / 204-222-8473 trco328@shaw.ca

Vital Seniors 3 St. Vital Road / 204-253-0555 stmary@mymts.net / www.stmarymagdelenewpg.org

Winnipeg Chinese Senior Association 204-291-7798 / wcsa.wpg@hotmail.com www.winnipegchineseseniors.ca

Beyond Winnipeg

Beausejour

Beau-head Senior Centre 645 Park Avenue / 204-268-2444 beauhead@mymts.net

Brandon

Brandon Seniors for Seniors Co-op 311 Park Avenue E. / 204-571-2052 executivedir.sfors@wcgwave.ca / www.brandons4s.ca

Carman

Carman Active Living Centre 47 Ed Belfour Drive / 204-745-2356 www.activelivingcentrecarman.ca

CranBerry portage

Jubilee Recreation of Cranberry Portage Legion Hall 217 2nd Avenue / 204-472-3031

Crystal City

Crystal City & District Friendship Club Inc. 117 Broadway Street / 431-867-0122

Dauphin Active Living Centre Inc. 55 1st Avenue SE / 204-638-6485 www.dauphinseniors.com

eriCkson

Comfort Drop In Centre 31 Main Street / 204-636-7895 areas@mymts.net

Flin Flon

Flin Flon Seniors 2 North Avenue / 204-687-7301

gilBert plains

Gilbert Plains and District Community Resource Council Inc. PO Box 567 / 204-548-4131 / gpdcrc@mymts.net www.gpdcrc-newhorizons.wix.com/gpdcrc

gimli

Gimli New Horizons 55 Plus 17 North Colonization Road / 204-642-7909 gimli55@mts.net / www.gimlinewhorizons.com

grand marais

Grand Marais & District Seniors 36058 PTH 12 gmdseniors@gmail.com / www.gmdseniors.ca

grandview

Grandview Seniors Drop In 432 Main Street / 204-546-2272

hamiota

Hamiota 55+ Centre & Restore Community Co-op Inc. 44 Maple Avenue / 204-764-2658

killarney

Killarney Service for Seniors 203 South Railway / 204-523-7115 seniorservice@killarney.ca

la Broquerie

Seine River Services for Seniors Inc. 95 Principal Street, La Broquerie / 204-424-5285 labseinerss@gmail.com

manitou

Pembina Community Resource Council 315 Main Street / 204-242-2241 pembinacrc@gmail.com

minnedosa

Minnedosa Senior Citizens Assoc. 31 Main Street S. / 204-867-1956 mdsasca@gmail.com

morden

Morden Activity Centre 306 N. Railway Street / 204-822-3555 mordenactivitycentre@gmail.com www.mordenseniors.ca

neepawa

Neepawa Drop In Centre 310 Davidson Street / 204-476-5103 www.neepawa.ca/district-drop-in-center

pilot mound

Pilot Mound Fellowship Club 203 Broadway Avenue / 204-825-2436

plumas

Plumas Senior Citizens Club Inc. 102 White Street / 204-386-2029

portage la prairie

Herman Prior Senior Services Centre 40 Royal Road N. / 204-857-6951 hermanpriorcentre@gmail.com www.hermanprior.com

Portage Service for Seniors

40A Royal Road N. / 204-239-6312 https://portageservicefors.wixsite.com/psfs

riverton

Riverton Seniors Activity Centre 12 Main Street / 204-378-2800 rdfc@mymts.net / www.rivertonfc.com

sandy lake

Municipality of Harrison Park - Age Friendly Initiative Committee 204-585-5310

Sandy Lake Drop In Centre 100 Main Street / 204-585-2411

selkirk

Gordon Howard Centre 384 Eveline Street / 204-785-2092

executivedirector@gordonhoward.ca www.gordonhoward.ca

snow lake

Snow Lake Seniors Centre 71 Balsam Street / 204-358-2151 snowsrs@mymts.net

steinBaCh

Pat Porter Active Living Centre 10 Chrysler Gate / 204-320-4600 ed@patporteralc.com / www.patporteralc.com

stonewall

South Interlake 55 Plus 374 1st Street W. - Oddfellows Hall 204-467-2582 / si55plus@mymts.net www.si55plus.org

swan river

Swan River & District Community Resource Council 126 6th Avenue N. / 204-734-5707 resourcecouncil@srseniorservices.com

the pas

The Pas Golden Agers 324 Ross Avenue / 204-623-3663

djdlake@mymts.net

thompson

Thompson Seniors Community Resource Council Inc. 4 Nelson Road / 204-677-0987 thompsonseniors55@gmail.com

treherne

Treherne Friendship Centre 190 Broadway Street / 204-723-2559 jstate1066@gmail.com

viCtoria BeaCh

East Beaches Social Scene 3 Ateah Road / 204-756-6468

ebssinc1@gmail.com / www.ebseniorscene.ca

East Beaches Resource Centre Traverse Bay / 204-756-6471

ebresourcec@mymts.net www.ebresourcec.weebly.com

winkler

Winkler & District Multipurpose Senior Centre 102-650 South Railway Avenue / 204-325-8964 office@winklerseniorcentre.com www.winklerseniorcentre.com nnn

www.manitobaseniorcommunities.ca info@manitobaseniorcommunities.ca

Respect and Kindness are possible Christmas gifts

Christmas, the annual family event that brings us togeth er all our lives! As children magic surrounds us as we anticipate the gifts that may come our way, traditional food, decora tions, music and being with people we may not see often through the year. It is a country-wide holiday. Yet each culture has its own flavour. In our country those fla vours have blended as cultures have inter mar ried so that each family adopts the food choices, the music and the tra ditions that may have started many ages ago and become adapted over the years into what becomes the norm for each new generation.

Peggy Prendergast Exploring Lifestyles 55 Possibilities

I have lived many decades. As a child I still remember the emotions that went with the anticipation. As I grew older and realized the amount

of work and sacrifice that was in volved by my parents to provide the magic for their children, I eventually went through the same process and ritual with my own children and then my grandchildren. But times were differ ent. I was born near the beginning of the great depression. Money was very scarce and yet as a child I never thought we were poor. My par ents brought with them when they immigrated, the ability to be grateful for where they were and what they had because there was far more hope in their lives in Canada than there would have been where they came from. They were grateful for their life here as many new Cana dians are now.

As the decades evolved I have come to realize that this Christmas magic can happen more often than

Busy month for Sri Lankan Seniors and friends

Senaka Samarasinghe

Ray Dirks Retrospective Exhibition

An exhibition was organized at the Men nonite Heritage Centre (MHC) Gallery with emphasis on people from many coun tries, cultures and faiths who have allowed Ray Dirks (Director, retired, MHC Gallery) into their lives since 1978. I attended the grand opening ceremony with my daugh ter Rowanthi and son in law Suranga to share our heartfelt felicitations to our sin cere friend Ray. It opened Nov. 18, 2022, at 7.30 pm.

Ray invited those who participated for the book project completed along with Manju Lodha. The name of the book is: A World of Faith & Spirituality: Yours, Mine, Theirs - Diversity Manitoba.

Ray has had a 45-year career as a writer, curator, photographer, gallery director and artist. He had work experience in 30 coun tries and conducted exhibitions of his art. Countries included the US (including Yale University where Ray was a research fellow in 2002), Cuba, India, Trinidad, Mexico, and Ethiopia. His career as a painter has concentrated on respectfully documenting the lives, cultures, and faiths of ordinary people.

For this book, I had the opportunity to introduce two Therawada Buddhist Tem ples in Winnipeg, namely Mahamevanawa Buddhist Monastery and Manitoba Bud dhist Vihara and Cultural Association, resi dent Monks and few laymen volunteers.

Sri Lankan Seniors Manitobayoga practice

Wynn Ferguson was the yoga instructor at Whyte Ridge Community Centre from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm on Nov. 18, 2022. This was the Sri Lankan Seniors Manitoba (SLSM) monthly get together for healthy living practices. Wynn is conducting yoga sessions for South Side Community Fitness and Fellowship (SSCF&F). SSCF&F is a senior organization affiliated with Trinity United Church (TUC) in Winnipeg. This was functioning at TUC for more than three decades.

After completing yoga all participants at tended Charismas Carol song practices. As Wynn is a music teacher, she helped us to conduct song practices.

In the previous issue of Lifestyles 55 we incorectly labeled the photo accompany ing Senaka Samarasinghe’s story “End of a wonderful journey” as Somasiri Wi

AITAA-Canada Chapter, Manitoba Alumni’s get together

Vice President of AITAA (Asian Institute of Technology Alumni Association) Canada Chapter Athula Rajapakse arranged a meet ing with the Manitoba Alumni on Oct 29, 2022 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at Smit ty’s, 2835 Pembina Hwy, Winnipeg. At tendees were: Chyngyz Erkinbaev (Kyrgyz stan), Marolo C. Alfaro and Lalaine Alfaro (Philippines), Purushottam Raj Singh and Damodar Pokhrel (Nepal) and Rangana Gurusinghe, Prabodini Semasinghe, Ath ula Rajapakse, Thiromi Rajapakse, Thilina Madushan and Senaka Samarasinghe (Sri Lanka). The main objectives were to de velop interaction among members and to improve membership drive.

Background information

During mid-2015, the AITAA Canada Chapter was dormant. Malwila (Mal), Ath ula and I discussed and tried to re-establish. Those days there was no Zoom facility, but we made use of teleconference mode to conduct meetings. First AGM was Sept. 13, (SUN) 2015 at 10:00 am MST with 37 participants, out of which 16 were from the province of Manitoba and 21 from other provinces.

Elected office bearers were Mal Presi dent, Rajib Secretary and Chetna Trea sure. AITAA-Canada Chapter approved by AITAA President on Sept 23, 2015. On Oct 10, 2015, our constitution was ap proved by the general members of AITAA Canada Chapter.

On May 8, 2016, the first ExCo meeting was conducted with provincial coordina tors. Mal was president, Chetna was trea surer, and I was the secretary. It was decided to call ExCo meeting every two months at provincial level. The second AGM was Oct. 14, 2016. The president was Xavier Fernando. The president attended GMB in Oct. 2016. Until the end of Xavier’s ten ure, I served as the secretary. Nov. 19, 2019, Mal (from Alberta) attended a get together with Manitoba Alumni at Hotel Sheraton on Pembina Hwy.

On May 23, 2020, the third AGM was conducted via Zoom (first time Zoom used). Puru Raj Singh was elected as presi dent. (Fourth AGM), June 18, 2022, Mi chael Du was elected as president.

Currently there are 225 members.

once a year. It can be an everyday event. I read two articles in the Win nipeg Free Press this past weekend that described some of what I am talking about. The first was an article written by Dan Lett that described an “unprecedented member’s state ment just prior to the beginning of question period from an MLA who, it appears, is ill as a result of his reac tion to the behavior in the Manitoba legislature.” To quote the MLA from Dan Lett’s article, “I have learned in the past few weeks, as a man, it’s OK not to be OK and to recognize this doesn’t make you weak.” This is his description of why he was not pres ent.

The second article was written by Melissa Martin about how she felt when a reader “made no bones about how nonsensical and self-absorbed the reader thought the piece was.” In her words “she fired off a response that vented how sensitive she was feeling. “I am a person”, she said, She acknowledged that sometimes columns aren’t for everyone but the

email he sent “hurt”. The reader then sent a handwritten note apologiz ing for the way his first message had come across. The importance of this paragraph to me is honest feelings need to be expressed instead of words and gestures that continue the hurt. Nothing is solved, no one wins, and relationships that could develop and provide answers when respect and kindness is shown are not developed.

At Christmas the whole atmo sphere of respect, kindness and grati tude is more evident than any other time of the year when we meet with friends and family. We still have our differing opinions but we need to honour each other as persons. Gen der issues and ageism still stay stub bornly in place to the detriment of the persons involved. It is impossible to replace a person from a past rela tionship and to develop new close re lationships often because of societal norms. Thank goodness for great grandchildren and the magic they still add to life all year round! Happy Holidays!

jewardena, but which should have been labelled as Chanaka Wijewardena. We apologize for any concern this may have caused.

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker takes centre stage

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s homegrown, ever-popular Nutcracker returns to the Cen tennial Concert Hall stage from December 21-28 to add splendid sparkle to everyone’s holi day season. Artists, musicians, stagehands, children, along with our walk-on role cast, come together once again to make each performance magical and memorable.

What a spellbinding treat to join young Clara in her fairytale fantasy where an enchanted nutcracker becomes a valiant soldier, the mischievous Mouse King wreaks plenty of havoc and the dazzling Sugar Plum Fairy holds court in an exotic land. To top it off, the dessert-stealing Filbert the Bear and the scene-stealing Hazel the Polar Bear, coupled with her furry polar cubs, will surely warm your heart and every child’s heart.

Nutcracker opens an audience’s eyes to a charm ing tale while it opens the doors to students from the RWB School to live the dream of performing on stage alongside the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Company artists. Seventy-eight angels, polar bears, reindeer and party kids will be played by students from the Recreational Division, while young Clara, Julien and Dieter are portrayed by students from our Professional Division. “We're a company and a school at the same time, so adding in characters, such as reindeer and polar bear cubs, gives students the opportunity to dance in Nutcracker and experi ence what it's like to be in a professional produc tion,” stated Jaime Vargas, Ballet Master.

Patrons, guests and families will be wowed by the brilliant and beloved score of Pyotr Ilyich Tchai kovsky, led by Julian Pellicano, Principal Conduc tor and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the wonder and whimsical choreography of Galina Yor danova and Nina Menon, as well as the spectacular costumes and stunning sets. The elaborate stage elements and breathtaking visual effects, including intricate lighting and glittering Canadian winter

Fighting

As we enter the holiday season and get ready to spend qual ity time with friends and fam ily, I am feeling espe cially grateful for all the people that continue to support the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Back in the fall when I was asked to reflect back on my first season with the WSO, four words came to mind: relief, gratitude and cautious optimism.

The 2021-22 sea son marked the first post-COVID re-entry season and like organi zations and businesses around the world, the WSO spent much of the year on ten terhooks. Would music lovers return to live performances? What will be the impact of the next wave? Could we keep musicians, staff and patrons safe? We budgeted for 50 percent of pre-COVID-era ticket sales, but our results were closer to 37 percent. As this was the norm across the country, I am incredibly relieved that govern ment wage and rent subsidies kept us

landscapes, will beautifully infuse energetic crescen dos in the telling of the Clara and her Nutcracker Prince story. Nutcracker will illuminate your world with glorious imagination and spirit.

“The Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Nutcracker has be come a holiday tradition for many families,” said André Lewis, the RWB’s Artistic Director & CEO. “Nutcracker represents the culmination of nearly a year of hard work by everyone at the RWB. Winni peg will be the last stop on our Nutcracker tour that includes performances in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as

way back

afloat for another year amidst these challenges.

This 2022/23 season – our 75th an niversary season – we continue to have that cautious optimism. Pa trons are gradually re turning to in person attendance. Our season subscriptions have not recovered, but individu al tickets are most defi nitely on the rise. This says to me that audi ences are also being very cautious. They want to come out and sup port the arts, but they are hesitant to make any long-term commit ments given the con tinued uncertainty of the times. We’ll take it! And we are so thankful for our patrons.

We are also thankful for the oppor tunity to give back to the commu nity. For the first time in more than two years WO musicians have gone ‘Bach to School’! In November, eight ensembles performed at 23 schools and played for 48 different groups of students, ranging from nursery school

well as Victoria, Vancouver, and Nanaimo, British Columbia.”

The RWB expresses its gratitude to Production Supporter, Richardson Foundation; Live Music Benefactor, The Asper Foundation; and Arts Part ner, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Nutcracker takes centre stage from December 21-28, 2022, at the Centennial Concert Hall. Get your pre ferred seats online now at rwb.org before we are sold out or call 204.956.0183 to buy tickets. Kids 12 and under pay only $25. Don’t miss out!

through grade 8, totalling 6,000 stu dents! In addition, the Musicians in Health String Quartet performed at three senior living facilities for six different groups. Sistema Winnipeg is also in full swing with multiple inperson concerts where students, their teachers and, most importantly, their families have been able to celebrate in their children’s musical evolution.

There is indeed much to be grate ful for, and so much to celebrate as we head into the second half of this

milestone season. With an exceptional lineup of artists and wonderful pro grams for people of all ages, it has been, and promises to continue to be, an unparalleled season signaling the beginning of an exciting future for the WSO.

So, from the WSO family to yours . . .we wish you a happy, healthy and musical holiday season. We can’t wait to see you in the new year!

Watch children live the dream of performing on stage alongside the RWB’s Company artists!

Michel Lavoie, Company Artist, Nutcracker. Photo by David Cooper.

Angela Birdsell is the Executive Direc tor, of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Angela Birdsell Classics Live

Winnipegger Larry Fisher’s Celtic harps in demand worldwide

Ifirst met Larry Fisher in the early 1980s, soon after I began my writing career. I probably met him in a school.

I was working as a substitute teacher at the time to pay the bills while building my career as a writer. Larry would have been performing his one-man minstrel show in the schools through the Artists in the School program at that time. Not only was he a performer but he also built many of his own instruments.

I would have written about Larry in the Free Press and probably Edu cation Manitoba – two of the local newspapers and magazines I was con tributing to at that time.

I also had Larry come in and do his show for my own Grade 12 sum mer school class which I taught for 10 years for Winnipeg School Divi sion No. 1.

Seeing Larry again was a delight, and I am hap py to report that he – at age 75 – is still engaged in music as a builder. Over the past 15 years or so, he has become North America’s leading maker of Celtic harps.

Not surprisingly, Larry’s career has tak en a few twists and turns over the years. When I first met him, he was both a per former, a fixture at the annual Lord Gort’s Feast at the Viscount Gort and at local Medieval Fairs as well as his work with children – and as a luthier – a builder of string instruments.

“Initially, I was working full time in screen printing while doing folk music as a hobby,” he recalls.

In the spring of 1984, he was able to quit his day job and devote himself full time to his passion for music. Simultane ously, the Artist in the School program

opened and he joined two other wood workers in partnership in a woodworking shop in Elmwood.

One of his partners in the venture was Dennis Waring, the man who literally wrote the book – actually several books –on building a variety of folk music instru ments.

“Dennis became my teacher, my men tor and my inspiration,” Larry says. “Even though he lives in the Unit ed States now, he is still one of my best friends.”

So, throughout the 1990s, Larry continued to pursue multiple activities related to music and education. He did school programs in Flor ida (where his parents were living) as well as Manitoba. He toured as a member of The Blarney Band with its repertoire of Irish music. He developed one-man shows –focusing on historic Manito ba figures – for venues such as Lower Fort Garry and the Manitoba Museum (formerly the Manito ba Museum of Man and Nature). And he continued building instruments.

By 1999 however, Federal Government budget cuts severely impacted arts organi zations which, in turn, largely put Larry out of work – forcing him to re-invent himself.

“I decided to focus on building Irish harps and building a name for myself and my harps internationally,” he says.

Thus, was born Fisher Harps. Larry de signed a new website and began going to harp festivals throughout North America where he was able to gauge the market and what potential customers were look ing for in an Irish harp. He also worked to refine his harps with the help of other harp builders – in particular, Rick Kemper

in Maryland.

“With my background in design, engi neering and drafting, by 2005, I had a harp that was ready to take on the world,” he says. “I am the only guy in North America selling harps that are made to the specifica tion of Irish musicians – and I have found that there is a tremendous demand for the product.” Larry reports that, prior to CO VID-19 restrictions, he was going to four North American harp festivals a year. In 2008, he went to Ireland for the first time and continued to return to the Emerald Isle every couple of years after that.

“I have a huge customer base in Ire land,” he notes. “I currently have sold 300 harps there. My customers include the country’s most popular musicians. Three quarters of my orders come form Ireland.”

In more recent years, though, he points

An Introduction From Myron Love

Over 40-plus years as a journal ist, I have interviewed literally thou sands of people across Canada. I want to thank Dorothy Dobbie for giving me the opportunity over the coming months (and potentially years) to share the stories of those interviewees who have particularly stood out in my memory perhaps for life lessons I may have learned from them, their enthusiasm, their outlook or for their unrivalled ac complishments.

Some of these profiles will be of individuals – updates where they are still alive and active - or revisiting the memories of those who have passed on. In other columns, I will be tack ling a particular category – painters, for example, or ballerinas or authors – singling out those who were most significant to me

So sit back, relax and join me on my journey back to the past and for ward again to the present.

out, he has been receiving a growing num ber of orders from an unlikely source. “The Japanese have discovered Celtic music and they love it,” he says. “It helps that I lived in Japan for a couple of years when I was a teenager. (His father was in the American military and was stationed in the country) “I went to school there and still know some Japanese and understand their culture.”

Working out of his long-time home in the inner city, Larry notes that it takes him about a month to build each harp.

He may be in his mid-70s, but Larry has no plans to cut back. “If you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like you’re working,” he observes.

Mel Howard, Howard Hicks and Pirate Radio off the UK shores

Iwas sad to learn of Howard Hick’s passing last month. While several generations of elementary school students from River Elm School in Elm wood fondly remember Mr. Hicks, chances are likely that none of them, nor their parents, knew that the popular teacher had, in his younger years, been a Pirate Radio deejay in the UK. As Mel Howard, Hicks spent a couple of years playing rock ‘n’ roll records to millions of listen ers from aboard ships anchored off the UK coast.

I met Howard about ten years ago and he shared with me his wonderful experiences with Radio Caroline and Radio Scotland.

In the early sixties, rock ‘n’ roll-crazed teens in the UK had few options to hear their favourite records on British airwaves. State-operated BBC limited the amount of rock played as well as exercising censorship over which songs received the all-important airplay. Enterprising Irish entrepreneur Ronan O’Rahilly saw an opportunity to tap that huge youth market by circumventing the BBC’s exclusive hold on broadcast licensing. In 1964, O’Rahilly launched the first unlicensed Pirate Radio station operating just outside British waters from a re fitted ship named Mi Amigo. Christened Radio Caro line, deejays onboard broadcast rock music 18 hours a day (or as long as the signal remained steady from the floating radio station) and offered American-style disc jockey patter in contrast to BBC’s staid hosts. Adver tisers were also keen to get onboard the pirate radio bandwagon skirting the BBC commercial ban.

fact, Winnipegger Howard Hicks. “My middle name was Melvyn, he explained, “so I just switched it around to Mel Howard.”

Born and raised in Fort Rouge, Hicks attended Earl Grey and Kelvin schools. Following graduation, he headed to the UK in 1961 and after a series of jobs, talked his way into a gig on Radio Caroline. “It was a brand-new experience for me,” recalled Hicks. “But the sixties were boundless in opportunities, so I went for it.” With an audience of some 2.5 million listen ers, Radio Caroline, registered under the Panamanian flag, was a powerhouse. Hicks and his fellow deejays would do two-week rotations on the ship with a few days off back in London in between.

John Einarson Local Music Spotlight

“It was such a great time in music,” Hicks enthused. “I loved all the rock that was happening when the whole British Invasion thing was going on.” Occasionally the ship would be visited by music celebrities plugging their latest recording.

“There was no news department so the newsman would listen to the BBC news then merely repeat it all on air. We would be glued to the weather report because we were a sitting duck out on the English Channel,” recalled Hicks. “The Pirate vessels had no engines. The engines were removed and replaced with the transmission electronics. We were absolutely life less at sea, rudderless and powerless. Caroline lost its anchor once and drifted to shore and had to be towed back out to sea.”

submarine and here was one literally 50 meters away. It was enormous. I thought we were going to be ar rested.” Turned out the submarine captain just wanted to see what all the fuss over the pirates was about.

The pirates were selling commercials and getting al most the entire young listening audience so the BBC felt threatened.” As a result, on August 14, 1967, the Queen signed into law the Marine Broadcasting Of fences Act thereby shutting the pirates down. Hicks eventually returned to Winnipeg and worked at CJOB before becoming an elementary school teacher.

Among Radio Caroline’s colourful crew of deejays, including Tony Blackburn, Emperor Rosko, Simon Dee, and Keith Hampshire (who later found fame in Canada as a singer), was Mel Howard. Howard was, in

In 1965 he moved to another pirate station, Radio Scotland, moored off the Scottish east coast near Dun bar on the North Sea. The station boasted 10 million listeners across Scotland. He remembers the time a Royal Navy submarine surfaced alongside their ship, the L.V. Comet. “I was petrified. I had never seen a

“The whole pirate radio story has taken on a life of its own over the years,” reflected Hicks, who saw the 2009 movie The Boat That Rocked (titled Pirate Ra dio in the UK) starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy. He insists it was nothing like the real story. “It’s been so mythologized. I look at the books about pirate radio and there I am. It’s hard to believe some times. But it was so much fun. It was pretty exciting to be a part of something special.”

Mel Howard on the pirate radio boat Mi Amigo.

Larry Fisher with a Celtic harp.

Myron Love

Control over home care now possible

When home care is delivered effectively, it can have great impacts on your physical, social and mental wellbeing. Unfortunately, many home care clients report negative experiences, such as strangers showing up at their door, and no control over when or what services they are able to receive.

Many people would prefer to manage their own home care, but don’t want to deal with the headaches of re cruiting and training staff, managing schedules and fill ing out payroll forms. In fact, most Manitobans don’t even realize they have an alternative. Those who do, only think of private home care which is often beyond the financial reach of Manitobans.

Seniors now have more control over their home care services with Care Possible, a tool that makes self- and family-managed home care easier than ever. Developed by Manitoba Possible (formerly known as Society for Manitobans with Disabilities), this online community enables people to find the right match in a home care worker at a time when there are unprecedented demands on the health care system.

“We know that the relationship between clients and care providers is based on trust and respect,” says Lind sey Cooke, Director of Provincial Services at Manitoba Possible. “Clients want to feel more control over their care and be the decision maker of who they have in their home. Compassion, connection and personalized care is vital. We’re very proud to offer Care Possible as an al ternative for Manitobans who want more control over

their care plan.”

Many Manitobans don’t know that self- or familymanaged home care is an option. Those who are aware assume it is cost prohibitive, not realizing that they can receive funding through their Regional Health Author ity (RHA) to purchase home care services. After an as sessment by their RHA, Manitobans receive a care plan detailing service eligibility and reimbursement budgets based on their health needs.

Care Possible offers the ease and affordability of RHA-delivered home care, while providing the choice,

Overcoming insulin resistance

The real ‘cure’ for all disease

In last month’s article, I discussed the chronological pathway and consequences that result from insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, and diabetes. In particular, insulin resistance does not get enough attention from both doctors and patients due to the lack of diagnostic tools, improper blood test-result interpretation, and misinformation from social media.

The majority of people die from chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke), cancer, dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease), and type 2 diabetes, all of which share a contributing root cause — insulin resistance.

Fifty years ago, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the US was about 2.5% of the population among the age group of 65 years and above. Now, it’s 10% of the pop ulation aged 20 and up. Pediatricians have reported patients with fatty liver and type 2 diabetes (not type 1) among children as young as five years old. According to the CDC, over a third of Ameri cans have prediabetes, and close to two-thirds of those may develop type 2 diabetes. This is shocking to me!

what you consider a healthy diet, and still suffer from metabolic dysfunction. And as I’ve said in numerous previous articles, you should do what you can to improve your health while you’re healthy, and not wait until you have a health crisis. Estimates are that 88% of all Americans (and probably Canadians) have some level of metabolic dysfunction, so having tools that can inform you and help bring health benefits quickly is exciting.

control, and flexibility of self-managed home care. Care Possible features interactive maps, filtering criteria (lan guage, skills, availability), communication tools, sched uling, and a secure online payment system, making the administration of self-managed or family-managed home care simple. Paperwork is uncomplicated with ser vice and payment records available for download.

Safety and trust are top of mind for Care Possible, which is why the platform verifies identity and completes background checks for workers. Clients can choose to browse profiles of care providers in their area and reach out to those that appear to be a good fit, or they can cre ate a job listing and receive applications from interested home care workers. Clients can rate and browse reviews of care providers, fostering community and trust.

Care Possible also makes it easy to organize home care for a loved one. Organizers (family members) can find, communicate with, and hire verified home care workers. They are notified when the home care worker completes their work, what work was complete and any important updates regarding their loved one.

As part of the launch, Care Possible is offering $150 in care credits to the first 45 clients seeking care who sign up, complete their profile, and post a listing on the platform. The care credits go directly towards paying a support worker, providing a financial boost for care seekers and managers. People seeking care and support workers can sign up today at CarePossible.ca or call 204975-3080.

energy levels and ultimately how productive you will be each day. By monitoring your blood glucose level by us ing the glucometer or CGM, you can make choices to help correct insulin resistance and achieve tremendous health benefits.

Nathan Zassman Natural Health

If you took the self-test in my previous article and answered yes to two or more of the questions, I recommend purchasing either a blood glucose meter (glucometer) or a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to measure the level of your blood glucose. It’s important to know your fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels. While the cost is higher for a CGM, I feel these devices are well worth it, even if you only use one for one or two months. What you will learn can truly change and improve your health for life. What in vestment could be more important?

Fasting Blood Glucose: You should do this first thing in the morning, after not having eaten for at least 12 hours. Your reading should be between 70 mg/dl and 99 mg/dl, or (if you are in Canada) 3.9 mmol/L and 5.6 mmol/L. If it’s higher than 99 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L), the information that follows is very important. If you keep your blood glucose level consistently low for a long enough period, you can correct insulin resistance, bring ing back insulin sensitivity to normal.

Postprandial Blood Glucose: This is also a critical measurement, which should be done 2 hours after a meal. After two hours, your blood glucose level should be below 140 mg/dl (in Canada, below 7.8 mmol/L). By doing this, you will quickly determine the effects of the foods you eat on blood glucose levels, and you will learn how to best personalize your diet. Because of our unique microbiomes, it’s important to learn how foods affect us individually.

Sadly, in medical practice, there is no medicalized pre vention for chronic metabolic disease (high blood pres sure, high cholesterol, and high blood glucose), just longterm treatment. That’s why patients are told by doctors that they need to take medications for the rest of their life after being diagnosed with chronic metabolic disease. It’s no surprise that we are now facing a worldwide medical care system crisis. We are only treating 10% of the popu lation with diabetes, while about 40% with prediabetes are waiting to be treated in the near future. The cost to treat type 2 diabetes alone increases by billions of dollars every year, not to mention the cost of treating the other diseases that are caused by insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance can not only lead to type 2 diabe tes, but as a major cause of inflammation and oxidative stress, it can also result in chronic infections, blindness, hearing loss, nerve damage, infertility, amputations, and premature aging. It is a contributing cause for all of these conditions:

• Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lu pus, multiple sclerosis, chronic nephrotic syndrome, pso riasis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia.

• Neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (dementia), Parkinson’s disease, and migraine headaches.

• Cardiovascular diseases like hypertension, stroke, heart attack, and erectile dysfunction.

• Gastrointestinal problems like heartburn and GERD, gall bladder stones, and inflammation.

• Hepatic (liver) diseases including fatty liver, meta bolic syndrome, and pancreatitis.

• Osteoporosis, chronic skin conditions, osteoarthri tis, gout, PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), chronic asthma, tinnitus.

• All types of cancer.

Monitoring glucose levels and metabolic fitness You can be young, old, physically fit, healthy, and eat

Blood Glucose Meter: These are inexpensive devices that determine the approximate glucose concentration in your blood, and are widely available at pharmacies and online. First, you insert a test strip in the meter. Then you use a special fine needle called a “lancet” (it’s painless) and poke a clean fingertip to get a droplet of blood. You touch the end of the strip to the drop of blood on your finger and can quickly see your blood glucose reading.

Continuous Glucose Monitor: One of the most im portant health products ever invented, a CGM includes a small round patch that is applied usually at the back of the arm. The patch contains a tiny wire that punctures the skin, and a transmitter that sends readings to your smartphone. A CGM continuously reads blood glucose levels through the interstitial fluid. The most popular are the FreeStyle Libre 3 and the Dexcom G7. With a CGM you can see continuous readings as often as every minute, so you can quickly see the results of diet and lifestyle on your blood glucose levels.

With a CGM you can improve your metabolic fitness by analyzing the variations of how much your blood glu cose spikes during the day in response to the foods you eat. The smaller the blood glucose spikes you have, the more energetic you will be throughout the day. CGMs also track sleep and exercise, so you can view your blood glucose levels (which should be steady) as you sleep. You can also see the effect of exercise and movement on your blood glucose levels, as your muscles use the glucose in your blood for energy. Exercising after meals can have a significant positive effect on balancing blood glucose levels.

CGMs show you how your day-to-day lifestyle choic es affect your blood glucose levels. You’ll learn how by combining the foods you eat (fats can lower the insulin response when combined with carbohydrates), the order of the foods you eat (for example, never eat bread at the beginning of a meal), and how specific foods affect your

Exercise: By using a CGM or glucometer you will also learn which types of exercise are best for you. Get ting into the habit of performing some type of exercise after meals can significantly lower blood glucose levels because exercise moves blood glucose into muscle cells (glucose is required for energy). Some will find a 15-20 minute walk will lower blood glucose substantially, while others may find resistance or aerobic exercise works best for them.

“Metabolism” describes all the cellular processes in the body that produce energy and power our bodily func tions, by breaking down the nutrients in food. Con trolled by our autonomic nervous system, these processes include heart rate, breathing, circulation, hormone regu lation, producing proteins, and digestion. In addition to diet and exercise, our metabolism is tightly controlled by our response to insulin. Insulin sensitivity is also af fected by stress, lack of sleep, and being overweight. If the body becomes less sensitive to the effects of insulin, the resulting hormonal imbalance can not only cause the problems listed above, it can also result in a cytokine storm — an over-reactive immune response potentially leading to organ failure and death.

Next month I will go into more detail about how di etary changes and food combinations can lower blood glucose levels, improve insulin sensitivity, increase en ergy by improving mitochondrial function, and help correct insulin resistance. In addition, I will describe a method using a standard blood test that will more ac curately determine if you are insulin resistant. I will also outline supplements that can improve insulin sensitiv ity and help correct insulin resistance. The good news is that by making changes in your diet and lifestyle, you should be able to bring your readings into the normal range.

Nathan Zassman is the owner and president of Aviva Nat ural Health Solutions.

Lindsey Cooke is the Director of Provincial Services at Manitoba Possible

Getting through the holidays when you are grieving

The holiday season can be particularly hard to handle when you’ve lost someone close to you.

When Michael H.’s mother, Judy, passed away, he found himself dreading the time of year he used to enjoy most—the holiday season. “When December came around, I felt as if my family and friends expected me to be healed, as though the season itself were supposed to be enough to make me stop missing my mom,” Mi chael said.

For the thousands of Canadians who have suffered the recent loss of a loved one, the holidays can be more sorrow ful than joyful. Emotions such as loneli ness, anger and grief can easily overtake the spirit of thanksgiving and cheer that are the usual hallmarks of the holiday season. What’s important to remember, according to grief management experts, is that these emotions are normal and not at all uncom mon.

Whether this is your 1st, 2nd, 6th or even 10th holi day without your loved one, there are several ways you can manage your grief while still celebrating the season.

Five tips for managing grief during the holidays:

1. Stay or go—it’s up to you. There’s no rule that dictates how you need to spend the holidays, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about taking care of your needs.

Understand that it’s okay to choose to stay home alone with your memories if attending the annual party is too

painful for you. Conversely, if the company of others is just what you need to alleviate feelings of loneliness or “difference” during the holidays, allow yourself to attend and actually enjoy yourself. You deserve it.

2. Play it by ear. When it comes to those parties, don’t create additional stress for yourself by committing to ac cept or decline an invitation too far in advance. Instead, be honest with oth ers about your feelings. Explain that the holidays can be difficult for you and that you hope the host or hostess will under stand if you make your decision the day of the party.

chael remembers. “Now we have a new family tradi tion. Before the presents are handed out, we each go around in a circle and share a memory of Judy. That’s our present to her, to keep her included in our family celebration,” he explains.

Gibbens

3. Change the tradition. If the tra ditional family get-together will just be “too hard” or “too different” without your loved one this year, change the location, time or type of celebration. A change may lessen the pain of old memories, and encourage the start of new ones. For example, if your home has traditionally been the hub of holiday activity, consider changing the venue. With the loss of a loved one, you may prefer to enjoy the party as a guest rather than a host.

4. Include your lost loved one in celebrations. When the absence of a loved one feels so obvious, don’t ignore it. Instead, embrace it and find a new way to keep your loved one involved in your family’s holiday celebration. “That first Christmas was the hardest,” Mi

5. Donate a gift in their honor. If it’s too hard to ex clude your loved one from your shopping list this holi day, don’t. This helped Michael cope with the absence of his mother in more recent years. “I was shopping and kept seeing things I knew she would have loved. At first, seeing those items was a sad reminder that she was gone. But then I had the idea to buy her a present and give it to someone in need. I wrapped it and put it under the tree and then donated it to a non-profit gift drive in her honor. It was actually cathartic,” he explains. “I did it again this year. It feels good to honor her memory while helping someone else too,” he says. Missing loved ones during the holidays is natural, and how you choose to cope may vary year to year and change as time goes by. However, you decide to cope, grief experts agree that it’s important to communicate your emotions to family and friends. Too often, grieving widows or widowers avoid talking about the deceased to appear “strong” for their children and grandchildren. At the same time, those kids and grandkids are afraid to bring up grandpa for fear of upsetting grandma. The reality is everybody wants to talk about him.

So, talk. Speaking about your loved ones and sharing memories can often ease the pain of holiday gatherings for those who grieve while keeping loved ones close to your heart this holiday season.

What’s in a name? How damaging are those labels?

Iwas born on the first of Decem ber. My dad once told me that he had wanted to name me Bill, be cause I was delivered at the beginning of the month, and he knew I was going to be an ongoing expense. De spite the logic behind his thinking, my mom pre vailed, and I was named Richard, which some where along the way I chose to shorten to Rick. My parents were among the few who would still call me Richard. When I asked my dad to call me Rick, he said that had he wanted to call me Rick, he would have named me Rick. Only one other person regularly called me Richard and depending on how I was behaving it was either a term of endearment or a warning.

summed up my behavior, but an al coholic? I drank too much, too often, and offered too little, if any, resistance. Every time I surfaced from another blackout I was surprised, disappointedly surprised. But an alcoholic?

joke, some of which were actually fun ny. I don’t want to be remembered as Rick, the person who used to drink. Not Rick the recovering or recovered alcoholic. Just Rick. What’s in a name? My birth cer

tificate says my name is Richard. My government issued IDs all say my name is Richard, and my CPP cheque is made out to Richard. But if I met you, I’d say “Hi, my name is Rick and I’d love to buy you a cup of coffee.”

Rick Duerksen Reach

What’s in a name? At the end of my column in the September issue of Lifestyles55 the editor’s note read ‘This is the first in a series in a new column by recovering alcoholic Rick Duerksen’. That was the first time I saw my name and the word alcoholic in the same sentence, and it made me pause. Alcoholic. That is a word I have never liked, and certainly not when it was attached to my name.

What is a name? “Name: a word or a combination of words by which a per son is defined, designated, called, or known.” Why do I resist, so much, the label alcoholic? What comes to your mind when you think of an alcoholic? It is probably not a flattering image. Alcoholic. The word carries with it a social stigma, often associated with the lowest in our society. What is an alcoholic? What are some of the traits that define an alcoholic? I did some reading and came across the follow ing. “Exhibiting signs of irritability and extreme mood swings. Making excuses for drinking such as to relax, deal with stress or feel normal. Choos ing drinking over other responsibili ties and obligations. Becoming isolat ed and distant from friends and family members.” Well, yes, that basically

What’s in a name? I like to listen to a pro gram on CBC Radio called Under the Influ ence. I know, the irony isn’t lost on me. Hosted by Terry O’Reilly, it is all about the world and business of marketing. Hands up if you have ever seen an alligator pear or a Chinese goose berry in the produce de partment. Have you seen Patagonian toothfish on a menu? Probably not, but you can find Chilean sea bass offered up in fine restaurants, and most stores sell avocados and kiwi fruit. Exactly the same products but re-named to make them more appealing to consumers. The increase in sales was dramatic, because as Mr. O’Reilly said, “what a difference a name makes.” Market ing experts know that certain words or phrases work better, are more ap pealing than others, or don’t have a negative connotation. Few automo bile dealers sell used cars anymore, but they have plenty of pre-owned vehicles to choose from.

What’s in a name? Someone who has quit smoking does not call them self a nicotine addict. I doubt that a person who gives up a meat-based diet to become a vegetarian would refer to themself as a recovering car nivore. Years ago, I did not know how to read or write, so am I still to be considered illiterate? Rather doubtful. So why does society expect a person who gives up drinking to still identify as an alcoholic? When I am dead and gone, I do not what to be remem bered as such. I want to be remem bered as Rick. Someone who loved his family. Someone who loved life, who was content, who found some thing good in everyone and in every day. Someone who always had a ready

IF YOU ARE A SENIOR. . . . . .

You should consider having the following in place

Will

The preparation of a will may seem like a daunting task, however, it is essential to ensure that your property is disposed of according to your wishes upon your death. If you pass away without a valid will, the law states what is to happen to your estate.

Power of Attorney

A power of attorney is a document which appoints an individual to handle your affairs in the event you become mentally incapable of making your own decisions. Nothing prevents you from continuing to make your own decisions while you are still competent. A power of attorney is an extremely valuable document to have in place in case anything happens to you which affects your mental ability, such as a stroke, coma or dementia.

Health Care Directive (Living Will)

A health care directive, commonly called a living will, is a document which appoints an individual to make decisions with regard to your health care only, while you are alive but unable to express your decisions yourself. This document is distinct from a power of attorney and deals only with health care decisions such as whether life sustaining treat ments, such as CPR or blood transfusion, should be continued or withdrawn.

Standard Fees* Seniors

Last Will and Testament

$225.00 $200.00

Home and hospital visits are also available $250.00* (includes both meetings) *plus GST and PST

TACIUM VINCENT & ASSOCIATES

206 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg, MB R2H 1J3 DAVID G. VINCENT (204) 989-4236 www.taciumvincent.com

Michael

The season of joy

As I was looking for a roll of string in one of my kitchen cupboards the other day, I came upon a package of paper napkins with a lovely winter design and the word “Joy” written in a beautiful red font across the middle. I pulled the napkins out and put them on the counter beside my coffee maker to serve as a reminder in this dark time of the year to cultivate joy in my life. In a season that can be filled with just too many activities and expectations, there are also ways to increase the chance that you will experience the joy of the holiday season, and not just the stress.

1. Spend some time and money in the smaller local stores. So many businesses are still struggling to regain stability after the pandemic. We can help, and the lo cal items we can find and purchase for our holiday use or for gifts can bring a special flair to holiday celebrations.

place of worship that is not your own family tradition. Explore the traditions that other cultures or religious groups celebrate at this time of year. You may have the pleasure of experiencing the sa cred in a new way.

5. Take some steps to mend a relation ship that may have been damaged by misunderstanding or neglect.

Trudy Schroeder Random Notes

I am sure that we all have things that we do to make this season special, but perhaps some of my favorite ways of in creasing the joy factor in my life might be interesting additions to your holiday season as well. Or perhaps, they will make you very glad for the traditions you enjoy. At any rate, here are my top 10 joy enhancers for the month of De cember.

2. Find and attend at least one holiday con cert. There are many, and something for every mu sical taste. You will leave the event with a better feeling of goodwill to your neighbours than you might have expected. There are reasons that performances of Handel’s Messiah and the RWB’s performances of The Nutcracker are so very well attended each year. If you have not given it a try, this may be the year.

3. Make time for gathering with small er groups of old friends. There is some thing about sharing some time with friends who have travelled many years with you that provides a welcome recentering in our lives.

4. Consider attending an event in a

6. Send at least a few greeting cards to people you love. (This is one of my favourite things to do in this season, but I have to admit to a serious love affair with good paper and well printed holi day cards.)

7. Be open to changing the way your family members spend time with each other during the holiday season. Things change through the years, and what may have worked well for many years may no longer be the right way to celebrate now. Enjoying the time together with people who make up our family or family of choice can take many forms.

8. Colour a holiday picture, paint a holiday scene, do a puzzle, or learn a new game.

9. Sing at least one holiday tune, even if you are the world’s worst singer.

10. Make some charitable gifts to or ganizations and causes that are impor tant to you. Your gift does make a dif

ference to these organizations, and the acts of generosity will remind you to be grateful for the many blessings you have in your life.

Wishing you joy and peace in this holi day season and in the year to come.

Trudy Schroeder provides project planning and management services to the community through Arts and Heritage Solutions.

There are still a lot of Canadian “bookies”!

Christmas is just around the corner. Like most people, I’m, beginning to think about what I’m going to give and to whom. This is a dif ficult and even stressful task for a lot of us. Not so much if you live in Ice land. Jolabokaflod roughly translates to Christmas Book Flood and is celebrat ed on Christmas Eve. Icelanders give books to family members and friends.

The tradition of giving books as presents began in the 1930s to pro mote literacy and encourage people to read which naturally included chil dren. No surprise then that Iceland is the first country in the world to be recognized for having achieved “full literacy”.

The country has more writers, more books published and more books read per person, than anywhere else in the world. Paper still reigns supreme when it comes to books. They don’t give e-books. I remember hearing that Iceland, with a population of around 372,000, has the largest number of universi ties per capita than any other country in the world.

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” - Groucho Marx

So how does Canada stack up on the reading stats? First of all, I had no idea that Canada is ranked the most educated country in the world. 56 percent

of us have received some kind of education after leaving high school. It’s long been known successful people tend to read more. Eighty percent of Cana dians read at least one book in 2020.

Allegedly, Bill Gates reads about 50 books per year. That’s about 40 more than me.

Reading is one of the most popular pastimes in Canada. Nearly 53 mil lion books were sold in Canada last year. According to stats and facts on reading, the average Canadian adult spends approximately six hours per week reading a book. A 2019 survey found nearly 34 percent of the re spondents read two or more books at the same time. Another recent poll indicated about 35 percent of Cana dians were book club members.

“My wife joined a book club. They pri marily read wine labels.” - Unknown

toward digital formats as the demand for e-books and audiobooks is steadily growing. Thirty-eight percent use tablets to read e-books. Even though they may take on different forms, books will con tinue to be a valuable and important part of our culture. I’m not sure if it has something to do with the older demographic still preferring the tactile feel of paper.

A 2019 survey found nearly 34 percent of the respondents read two or more books at the same time. Almost 40 percent mentioned that they vis ited bookstores and libraries regularly. Forty-six percent of Canadian readers checked out at least one book from the library.

“The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.” - Albert Einstein

Here are a few more of my favourite quotes I’ve come across over time.

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”

- Groucho Marx

Author

Print is still the most popular format in the coun try. Publisher sales managed to generate $828.8 million from print books and an additional $135.1 million from online sales of print books. I’m not sure if it has something to do with the older de mographic still preferring the tactile feel of paper. E-books are still significantly less popular. They only managed to generate $95.1 million in the same year. Consumer trends, however, are shifting

Think I’ll move to Greenway . . .

Before the poppies crowded row on row Against the crosses marking names unknown When worlds seemed larger And wars seemed far away.

“‘Once upon a time’ is one of the most magical phrases you’ll ever read.”— Unknown

“‘The end’ is one of the saddest sentences you’ll ever come across.” — Unknown

And finally, Garrison Keillor one said, “A book is a gift you open again and again.”

Jim was a writer-broadcaster, producer and presenter on television and radio for 40 years. He is also a host on Lifestyles 55 Digital Radio. Find Radio Redux and Mid-Century Memories it at www.whatsupwinnipeg.ca

Think I’ll move to Greenway, Just off Highway #23 West of #34 And the Swan Lake First Nation.

It’s not on the Manitoba map anymore Ever since the CPR tore up the track And UGG blew up the last Of the town’s grain elevators.

Think I’ll move to Greenway Just to protect the last Of the giant cottonwoods moved there From the banks of the Pembina River.

Trees that were mere saplings when Dug out of the American mud Just short of the 49th parallel Longing to reach up to the Union Jack.

Think I’ll move to Greenway, Just because, well, just because It’s not really there, nestled In the rolling hills worn down By winds and time long after Miles of ice had left them there To promise hope to new life Designed by old worlds.

Lest we forget

Think I’ll move to Greenway, Just to revisit, maybe Just to relive the dreams of a soul Once known as Premier Where he saw himself.

Written by Garry Enns on

11.11.2022

Garry Enns

Greenway was the Premier of Manitoba at one time: Thomas Greenway was a Canadian politician, merchant and farmer. He served as the seventh premier of Manitoba from 1888 to 1900. A Liberal, his ministry formally ended Manitoba's non-partisan government, although a de facto two-party system had existed for some years. – Wikipedia

Nina Schroeder doodled these for her mom several years ago.

Jim Ingebrigtsen Is It Just Me...

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