The leader of Manitoba’s opposition is calling for a full public inquiry into the province’s health-care system following the deaths of two women in Winnipeg after waiting hours in the emergency room for help.
Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan made the call on Wednesday, citing the deaths of Stacey Ross and Judy Burns at St. Boniface Hospital last month.
“I think Manitobans need answers on what’s happening, they need to have that accountability and transparency,” Khan told Global News in an interview.
Ross’ family told Global News on Monday she was brought to hospital the morning of Jan. 15 but didn’t get a room until about 9:30 p.m.
Sheri Ross, Stacey’s sister, said they received a call at 11 p.m. to get to the hospital.
“We walked in the room and her daughter started to cry and she (Stacey) said, ‘It’s OK, I’m going to be OK,’ and then we never saw her again,” Sheri told Global News in an interview on Monday.
It was the second time in two weeks Ross had gone to hospital with complaints of chest pain and difficulty breathing. The first time she was not seen for 12 hours and sent home without medication.
Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara confirmed Tuesday that a critical incident investigation had been launched.
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Asagwara told 680 CJOB Radio a visit with the family took place on Wednesday. 680 CJOB Radio is a station under Corus Entertainment, Global News’ parent company.
“I was there to listen and also provide reassurance that this will be thoroughly investigated,” Asagwara said. “They will have all of their questions answered and we will ensure that we take steps moving forward to prevent a tragedy like this from happening to another family.”
Khan told Global News he wants the public inquiry, because a critical incident investigation won’t be made public, making it harder to hold the government accountable.
The state of Manitoba’s health-care system has been a point of contention for years.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the median emergency department and urgent care wait times were about two hours in Winnipeg, according to data from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
By 2022, that number increased by more than an hour under the then-PC government, but the data shows the numbers continued to increase. The NDP took power in 2023.
In December 2025, the length of wait in Winnipeg emergency departments and urgent care had hit about four hours.
On Wednesday, the estimated emergency wait time at St. Boniface Hospital was about 9.5 hours, with Health Sciences Centre’s adult wing at 10.75 hours.
The NDP under Premier Wab Kinew had promised to fix the health-care system since its campaign, but some say more changes are needed.
“The system in its current state is remarkably expensive and the problem is it isn’t delivering the things we’re paying for,” said Nadeem Esmail, director of health policy at the Fraser Institute.
The province’s health minister said investments need to be made to make the system strong, and said they’ve made steps to “fix the damage” done. Asagwara pointed to welcoming U.S.-trained doctors and nurses to the system as an example, but added there’s still more to do.
Asked about Khan’s call for a public inquiry, Asagwara acknowledged questions are asked when tragedy occur.
“We know that public inquiries are sort of like blunt tools,” Asagwara said. “But we also know that there’s a process underway right now that is going to allow for the families to get clarity and get answers, in addition to other work that our government has been doing to better understand how we make improvements in the system.”
Despite the action taken, the head of the Manitoba Nurses Union says its members feel little progress has been made by the province to “fix” health care.
“Any progress that’s been made has been entirely reactionary,” said president Darlene Jackson. “I feel as if the public and our members and nurses and front-line workers have been let down by this government.”
The union is set to vote on potentially grey-listing St. Boniface Hospital. If voted for, it would be the third hospital to be grey-listed by the union since last year.
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