Read on Twitter
We don't get a lot of wins when it comes to FOI, so here is a tweet thread about my victory this week when it comes to nursing home inspections in Manitoba, which started getting posted online yesterday: http://www.manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/departments/pch/index.html #mbpoli
It started in Fall of 2019, when I wanted to learn more about what was happening at nursing homes in Manitoba and I learned about Standards Reviews which are done every two years to license a nursing home. So I filed a FOI, asking for five years worth of them.
I have seen examples of them and knew there was no personal health information in the reports, so I figured a big ask would be fine, since they just have to compile them and send them off. After months of delays -- I eventually got a letter in Dec. saying it would cost over $1K.
It made no sense, so I filed a complaint with the MB Ombudsman over the fee. Conversations were had w/ WRHA and the investigator... and in the Spring they said to file it again. And I got it! I got all of the unannounced reviews and wrote this story: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pch-covid-winnipeg-1.5596568
But there were two problems:
1) Private nursing homes were allowed to refuse access to the inspections.
2)The other RHAs weren't being as helpful and one was trying to charge me hundreds in printing costs because they "couldn't" send them electronically.
1) Private nursing homes were allowed to refuse access to the inspections.
2)The other RHAs weren't being as helpful and one was trying to charge me hundreds in printing costs because they "couldn't" send them electronically.
I filed another ombudsman complaint, about the third-party refusal.
And started asking the MB gov't why they didn't follow suit with Ontario and BC and just proactively post these online.
And started asking the MB gov't why they didn't follow suit with Ontario and BC and just proactively post these online.
And wrote this story https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pch-inspections-transperency-1.5603413
Then COVID-19 started exploding at nursing homes and they were under the microscope. We kept asking
@CameronFriesen when he would just start releasing these inspections. When he was in opposition, he is on the record calling for their release, watch this: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2382946475/
@CameronFriesen when he would just start releasing these inspections. When he was in opposition, he is on the record calling for their release, watch this: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2382946475/
And then yesterday happened, I got a call from the FIPPA co-ordinator to give me the update on my complaints regarding access to inspections, telling me that the process was over because they are now going to put them online. And wrote today's story: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/inspections-manitoba-nursing-1.5827833
There are still more to be released and more scrutiny to come about whether these inspections go far enough, but all in all I am pretty damn happy that soon every Manitoban can go online and see the latest inspection of a nursing home where their loved one lives.
