Federal government extends health funding agreements for provinces by one year

Health policyTodayCanada

Federal government introduces bill to restrict MAID for mental health conditions

The federal government is tabling legislation to permanently exclude individuals with mental illness as their sole underlying condition from accessing medical assistance in dying. The bill also introduces provisions for advance requests, allowing patients with degenerative conditions to consent to MAID before losing capacity. The legislation must pass by March 17, 2027.

If this bill passes, provinces will decide whether to implement advance request procedures within their own health systems.

Due in 5 daysHealth policyTodayManitobaWinnipeg (WRHA)

Deer Lodge Centre to operate Charleswood senior day program with 20 expansions

Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced Oct. 26 that the Charleswood adult day program for seniors will continue, after Lions Housing Centre said last month it would end Oct. 31. Deer Lodge Centre will run the program at the same location with Winnipeg Regional Health Authority support, and the WRHA takes charge Nov. 1. Deer Lodge will expand its adult day program, adding 20 spaces for seniors living with dementia. The province signed a 10-year lease for the facility; the costs have not been revealed.

Seniors in Charleswood keep a program that keeps them connected to their community — and the province is adding 20 spaces for seniors living with dementia.

Health policyTodayCanada

Federal government updates medical assistance in dying law for advance requests

The federal government is amending the Criminal Code to permit medical assistance in dying (MAID) for individuals who provide consent via advance directives before losing decision-making capacity. This change aims to protect practitioners from criminal charges when fulfilling these requests. Advocacy groups warn that delegating implementation to provinces may result in inconsistent access across the country.

You may soon need to prepare for new provincial protocols regarding how advance requests for MAID are documented and fulfilled in your clinical practice.

Health policyYesterdayManitobaWinnipeg (WRHA)

Manitoba patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome appeals denied funding for out-of-province surgery

Tomas Ponzilius, 33, of Winnipeg lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare genetic condition that weakens connective tissue and causes cervical instability, leaving him in extreme pain and mostly bedbound. Manitoba Health denied his request for a $200,000 cervical fusion in Maryland, saying he had not proven the care is unavailable in Manitoba or elsewhere in Canada, and pointed him to an Ontario clinic that does not accept out-of-province patients. His neurosurgeon says the expertise is not available in Manitoba; he awaits an appeal ruling and says he has considered medically assisted dying.

A Winnipeg man with a rare condition says Manitoba's out-of-province referral process left him with no pathway to care, while the province says referral routes exist - a gap frontline workers will recognize when patients ask why specialized care is out of reach.