Shared Health not fulfilling employer responsibilities under the Workplace Safety and Health Act
The Winnipeg Free Press broke a story today revealing that violent incidents in Manitoba hospitals have not been tracked since 2019. Tracking these incidents is not just a “helpful tool”; it’s the law.
Despite government commitments to address safety and security concerns, violence affects health-care professionals and patients throughout the provincial system. Only talking about Winnipeg hospitals doesn’t shine a light on the full scope of the problem, as rural hospital staff and emergency responders also regularly face compromised safety and security.
As the rural EMS employer, Shared Health is responsible under the Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act regulation for issuing a summary report on workplace violence annually, but it too has been neglecting to report on violent incidents.
According to a response to a recent freedom of information request filed by the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP), the required reports “do not exist.” Shared Health was also unable to provide other requested information related to violent incidents against paramedics.
“Paramedics are being threatened with weapons, they are experiencing physical and verbal assaults and threats, and they have been dealing with a rise in troubling incidents in recent years,” said MAHCP president Jason Linklater. “Shared Health is required by law to report on these incidents and they are failing do so, just like they are failing to adequately staff rural emergency medical services.”
Violence has been linked to increased retention challenges in health care. The Manitoba Government’s recent staffing update confirmed the province is falling well short of its Budget 2024 commitment to add 90 net new paramedics, with only 14 net new added as of December 31, 2024. New hiring and termination data obtained by MAHCP reveals a net loss of four rural paramedics in January 2025, bringing the net gain down to only 10 paramedics since April 1, 2024.
MAHCP recently released information showing ambulance wait times and out-of-service hours have reached new highs, with roughly 200 rural paramedic positions vacant.
“Manitoba paramedics are already facing difficult working conditions and record staffing shortages,” said Linklater. “Until safety is addressed and a strong new allied health contract is in place, the paramedic staffing crisis is likely to get worse, not better.”
Nearly 7,000 publicly employed allied health professionals, including more than 700 rural paramedics, have been without a contract for 11 months. In January, MAHCP members voted 96% in favour of a strike mandate.
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FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS
Karen Viveiros or 431-323-7499
The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP) represents more than 7,000 allied health professionals working in more than 50 specialized disciplines in labs, clinics, hospitals, community and long-term care. Our members include paramedics, lab and imaging technologists, respiratory therapists, mental health clinicians, and many more. Allied health is the only public health-care sector without a new collective agreement; their contract expired March 31, 2024.