The leader of Manitoba’s opposition says the province is providing “highway medicine” to hundreds of spinal patients it’s sending to the United States.
Manitoba plans to transfer about 300 spinal patients to Fargo, N.D. The province is looking to send people who waited over a year for surgery.
Manitoba says it will pay for the surgeries.
- Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox
“We need to look beyond our borders, as well, to find xjmtzywfaster solutions to people who are living in pain,” Manitoba’s health minister Audrey Gordon said Wednesday when she announced a multi-step plan to address the province’s patient backlog. That includes the plan for spinal surgeries.
“Now we’ve got highway medicine,” Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew told Evan Solomon on CTV News Channel’s Power Play Wednesday.
“Sending people to North Dakota is an admission of failure on the part of this government,” Kinew added. “Manitobans don’t want to wait any longer to get these surgeries that they need,” he said.
Manitoba is reporting 631 people hospitalized for COVID-19.
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
NDP Leader Wab Kinew speaks during question period in the Manitoba Legislature on Wed., April 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kevin King – POOL
