Manitoba's North Cypress-Langford Municipalities Greatly Affected by the Healthcare Crisis

Healthcare was top of mind at the July meeting of the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford, Manitoba. The municipality has formed a health action committee to address concerns, but like many communities, they are limited by the resources of the province and the Prairie Mountain Health Region, of which they are a part. North Cypress-Langford and Carberry have not had a permanent physician in quite some time and residents are often having to travel to find healthcare options. Two councillors have been appointed to the health action committee to represent the municipality alongside representatives from the Town of Carberry and also citizen representatives from the community.

Elsewhere in the municipality, the Planning District has completed a draft of the new North Cypress-Langford zoning bylaws including mapping changes, with input from the highways department and other provincial authorities. The next step is to hold a public hearing to solicit comments from other stakeholders. The bylaws have been in progress for several months and are an effort to integrate the separate bylaws that came from the municipalities of Langford and North Cypress before amalgamation in 2015.

The municipality is looking at options for implementing an employee assistance program, one of which is sponsored by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, to assist the fire department with mental health and trauma issues.The Trans-Canada Highway just outside the town of Carberry was the site of a horrific collision in June which took the lives of 17 people and injured 8 others. First responders from North Cypress-Langford were among the first on the scene to assist the victims. There may be other assistance options that are more suitable for the situation, and Council will continue to investigate.

Also discussed at the meeting were Health Centre updates from Neepawa, gravel tenders for road maintenance, funding requests, issues around contaminated recycling, and a new model for the aquifer that lies under the area and provides water for the region.