Message from Jason Linklater, MAHCP President
Across the province, MAHCP members on ambulances, in hospitals, labs, clinics, long-term care, and community are informing critical diagnoses. You’re guiding patients through vital procedures and assessments, and delivering life-saving treatments to support their recovery.
Whether you’re a medical laboratory technologist, respiratory therapist, medical radiation technologist, social worker, mental health clinician, dietitian, occupational therapist, spiritual health practitioner, or one of any of the 50+ vital allied health professions, you are not a supplement to the system. You are foundational.
You’re there for patients, clients, and residents every step of the way. Without the specialized diagnostic, therapeutic, and emergency services you provide, the system could not function. And MAHCP promises to keep fighting for the investments in allied health we need to thrive.
Vacancy rates remain in double digits across many critical professions. Workplace safety concerns, violent incidents, and long wait times plague many Manitoba facilities. Mandating, overtime, and burnout have intensified. And employers are taking too long to implement key negotiated contract terms. None of this is acceptable, and your union is the check and balance.
Recognition is not a substitute for investment. Manitoba needs a fully funded, evidence-based Allied Health Workforce Plan that retains the professionals already in the system, trains and recruits more than a 1,000 more, and ends mandating across all of allied health. To every MAHCP member working through this week: we see you, we thank you, and we are continuing to advocate for safer workplaces, stronger leadership, and adequate levels of investment in allied health.
If you’re not already involved with your union, we hope you will consider standing strong with us. Use your voice to help MAHCP demand the healthcare system we all deserve.
In solidarity,
Jason Linklater, President