NDP to extend contract with at least 1 private health-care clinic, Manitoba health minister says

Manitoba will extend agreements with at least one privately owned clinic to provide crucial surgeries to people in the province, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says.

The health minister's revelation came after pressure from Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook during Wednesday's question period.

Cook said a doctor reached out to her with concerns that the province's agreement with the privately owned Maples Surgical Centre in Winnipeg was to expire on Sunday and that "there was no word from the NDP on an extension." 

She criticized the NDP for not disclosing the status of several similar agreements that the previous PC government had made with a mix of public and private-care facilities in order to provide care to Manitobans and boost surgical capacity.

"First they stopped patients from going out of province for care, now they're stopping patients from getting care right here in Manitoba," she said.

"Why is the NDP so bent on prioritizing its politics over patients?"

'We're letting folks know': Asagwara

In an interview with CBC after question period, Asagwara said the province's agreement with the Maples Surgical Centre will be extended, as will those with other such facilities, although they did not specify which facilities or how many.

"We are actively communicating with folks that have agreements, with folks who have expressed an interest in being a part of improving capacity in Manitoba, and we're letting folks know," Asagwara told CBC on Wednesday.

"Given our budget was released yesterday, we know that lots of folks are eagerly awaiting these … updates from our government, and [we've been] having those conversations, you know, actively since yesterday."

The agreement with Maples Surgical Centre was signed under the now-shuttered provincial diagnostic and surgical recovery task force, increasing capacity for procedures such as cataracts surgery.

The NDP government shut down that task force — a team of health-care professionals and other experts created in 2021 under the PCs — in November, saying it would redirect the focus and funding back into public health-care delivery.

Asagwara also noted that $50 million was set aside in the 2024-25 budget to find ways to address surgical backlogs in Manitoba.

"So Maples and other folks, we look forward to continuing to work with them."