The Northern Health Region held its annual general meeting for the fiscal year that ended March of this year.

As the fiscal year encompassed the first year of COVID-19, it was a major focus of CEO Helga Bryant’s overview.

Bryant says this past year was different as the news of vaccines being approved and distributed in winter 2020 gave a sense of hope that it would be the light at the end of the COVID tunnel.

She adds the pandemic allowed the authority to implement system changes such as in public health and primary care in communities, expanding virtual care options, and the value of provincial planning taking the obstacles northern health care has into account.

On the other hand, staff recruitment and retention continues to be something the NRHA has to address, particularly with health care aide positions.

To remedy this, the provincial government is working with Long Term Care to develop a program that would allow the authority to hire uncertified HCAs for an extended orientation.

However, Bryant stated they were able to fill some vacancies, such as key nursing positions.

For the full annual report, visit northernhealthregion.com.

It took firefighters eleven hours to extinguish a fire at an industrial building a few days ago.

A general alarm for a structure fire was placed on Gay Street Friday evening.

Multiple fire apparatus were dispatched to the blaze, including the city’s aerial ladder truck.

Thompson Fire and EMS also got support from Vale, the United Steel Workers, Thompson RCMP, and Manitoba Hydro in fighting the fire.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire was not revealed.

The Independent Investigation Unit is looking into an incident that involved a Thompson RCMP officer.

On Oct. 25 at approximately 2:45 pm, an officer from the Thompson Detachment was on Princeton Drive to serve legal documents when they encountered a 30-year-old male who was armed with a knife.

The encounter resulted in the officer discharging their firearm.

The 30-year-old male was taken to hospital with a serious injury.

The IIU has been notified and are taking over the investigation.

On October 23, 2021, at 6:40 pm, Nelson House RCMP received a report of a missing 22-year-old male.

Rico Cody Linklater was last seen in the community in the early morning hours of Thursday, October 21. He is still believed to be in Nelson House although there is the possibility that he may have travelled to Thompson.

Linklater is described as 6’0”, 160 lbs with a slim build, has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing grey pants, black sweater, brown Nike shoes and a grey baseball cap.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the Nelson House RCMP at 204-484-2837, or call Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Secure online tips can also be made at manitobacrimestoppers.com.

Wait times for diagnostic testing has always been issue in Manitoba, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the problem a year and a half in.

That’s according to the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, the body that represents technicians that perform MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds, and x-rays, among other diagnostics testing.

President Bob Moroz says this is especially felt in the north, citing the wait times for ultrasounds as an example.

"If we look at the provincial wait times for even ultrasounds in the north, in February 2020 it took people maybe three to eleven weeks to receive an ulrasound. We're looking at a wait time of 52 weeks at this point in just over a year and a half."

Moroz states staff recruitment and retention is imperative to ensuring patients can get the treatment they need in a timely manner. He says the government should allocate human resources accordingly to ensure technicians aren’t getting burnt out and vacating those positions. That includes recruiting potential technicians from the north to work within the region's larger urban centres like Thompson, Flin Flon, and The Pas, as they're less likely to leave to work in southern Manitoba or in another province or territory compared to technicians not from the north.

He adds members have been without a collective bargaining agreement for around four years, which Moroz explains is adding to the frustration.

Listen to Thompson Today at 12:40 and 5:10 this afternoon for the full interview with Moroz.

Yesterday marked the first day of National Teen Driver Safety Week, a campaign that encourages young people to practice safe driving behaviours when behind the wheel.

Manitoba Public Insurance states teen drivers have been involved in ten per cent of fatal collisions and seven per cent of injury collisions in the last decade.

Media Relations Coordinator Brian Smiley states it’s important to ingrain safe driving practices into teens so that they carrying those behaviours forward into adulthood. That includes parents and guardians having conversations with their children.

To learn more about National Teen Driver Safety Week, tune in to Thompson Today at 12:40 and 5:10 this afternoon.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak is encouraging its First Nations citizens to remain vigilant when accessing taxis in Winnipeg following two incidents earlier this month.

MKO says there have been two Winnipeg taxi drivers charged in relation to their treatment of Indigenous women with offences including forcible confinement, assault, extortion, and careless driving.

MKO director for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Liaison Unit Hilda Anderson-Pyrz [Pierce] states any form of violence against Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender diverse people is unacceptable, especially at the hands of taxi drivers.

She goes on to call on all taxi companies and the City of Winnipeg to step up to ensure First Nations people can access safe taxi services.

Norway House Cree Nation has been experiencing high COVID-19 case counts since the fourth wave of the pandemic began to take effect.

In a press release, Chief Larson Anderson says the spread originated from outside the community in early September.

Anderson states most of the cases are among the fully vaccinated, with high numbers in children and adults between the ages of 20 to 29 and 40 to 49.

He adds 50 per cent of the cases are household contacts, and that overcrowded homes, lack of proper heat and ventilation, inadequate washrooms and healthy space for families are contributing factors to the situation.

MP Niki Ashton has called on the federal government to assist Norway House as it contends with the spike in cases.

As of last week, there were 84 active cases in the community, 87 have recovered, and there has been one death linked to the coronavirus.

Thompson Rural RCMP is investigating after a capsized boat resulted in the death of three people.

Officers were advised that a boat had left Kinoosao, Saskatchewan late Monday afternoon for Brochet, Manitoba but never arrived.

The boat was discovered in the water off of Porcupine Island, which is located on Reindeer Lake, straddling the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border.

It was reported a 28-year-old woman was found alive in the water and taken to hospital, but the other three passengers were missing and presumed drowned.

A search party consisting of locals from Brochet headed out onto the water and located the three deceased individuals.

Life jackets were not in use at the time.

Computers for School is opening its northern facility here in Thompson later this week.

The grand opening of the building will be a virtual event on Facebook on Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The programs that will be available to northerners as of Friday are the computer distribution program, the youth training program, and the electronic recycling service.

This venture is a pilot project that is slated to end in March 2023, however executive director Justin Menard hopes the facility will be a success so that it remains a permanent fixture in the region.

The new facility is located at 160 Hayes Road.

Norway House RCMP has made an arrest in relation to an assault that occurred in the community that resulted in the death of a woman.

On Oct. 3 at approximately 12:35 a.m, RCMP received a report from a male assault victim that advised them to check on the wellbeing of a 25-year-old woman at a residence on Provincial Road 373, as it was believed she was being assaulted.

Officers arrived at the scene to find the woman with serious injuries. She was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

On Oct. 5, RCMP charged 30-year-old Don Travis Forbister of Norway House with 2^nd Degree Murder. He was scheduled to appear in court in Thompson

Norway House RCMP, along with Major Crime Services and RCMP Forensic Identification Services, continue to investigate.

On October 5, 2021, at approximately 1:10 am, Island Lake RCMP received a report of an assault that had occurred an hour earlier at a residence in Mithkwamepin Thaakkahikan (Red Sucker Lake). The victim was currently being treated at the nursing station.

The investigation has determined that three adult females, armed with weapons, forced their way into a residence and assaulted a 29-year-old female resident for a period of time. There was a young child in the residence when the assault occurred, but she did not suffer any physical injuries.

The 29-year-old female was taken to the nursing station with serious injuries and was subsequently transported to Winnipeg for further treatment.

Kyra Knott, 27, Nicole Knott, 37, and Rosanda Knott, 19, of Red Sucker Lake, were all arrested and have been charged with;

• Aggravated Assault
• Assault while Choking
• Assault with a Weapon
• Breaking and Entering
• Forcible Confinement

They were remanded into custody and RCMP continue to investigate.

The provincial government provided an update on how the revived StreetReach North program has been going in Thompson.

Families Minster Rochelle Squires stated between June 2020 August 2021, StreetReach helped return 473 children and youth to their placements or places of safety. She adds the program helped with relationship building efforts between the youth and various partners, including the Thompson RCMP detachment and Awasis Agency.

Acting commander of the Manitoba RCMP North District Chris Hastie says missing persons reports between 2019 and 2020 dropped from approximately 2, 300 to 1, 500, a decrease of 35 per cent. Hastie explains the city is on track to staying at around 1, 500 missing persons reports for 2021 as well.

Mayor Colleen Smook says StreetReach has not only been a boon for at-risk youth in the community, but it has also served as an obstacle for those looking to exploit them. She adds it’s also beneficial to youth from surrounding communities who live in Thompson, as many end up moving to the city to attend high school if their community doesn't have one or if they require services or programs that aren't available in their communities.

Manitoba announced StreetReach North was coming back to Thompson in 2019, and invested $2.1 million over the course of three years as a way to protect at risk children and youth from being victimized through the sex trade.

Two men from Garden Hill First Nation were flown to Winnipeg for medical treatment after they were both assaulted by a group of people.

On Oct. 2, Island Lake RCMP received a report of a man having been forcibly removed from his vehicle and assaulted while driving in the community before the perpetrators drove off with his vehicle.

After the initial assault the suspects, five men and one woman, returned to the scene and continued the assault.

A man living nearby tried to help the victim, but he was also assaulted and sustained serious injuries.

RCMP say the suspects have been identified, but have yet to be located and arrested at this time.

University College of the North says it will make a full return to campuses and learning facilities for the winter term which starts in January.

A press release states all UCN students, faculty, and staff will return to facilities beginning Jan. 4.

Mask use will remain in place for all those attending a UCN facility and a vaccination requirement will be enforced beginning next month.

The institution states it has a contingency plan in place to return to remote learning if required.

Up-to-date information on UCN’s COVID-19 response can be found on ucncovid.ca.