Here's when Manitobans might be getting new plastic health cards
Plastic health cards will be coming to Manitobans.
The provincial government announced Thursday that funding for new plastic health cards will be allocated in the budget that is set to be released next week.
“It’s 2024 – your health coverage shouldn’t rely on a torn, ripped-up health card,” said Premier Wab Kinew in a news release.
He added there will also be a digital option along with the plastic card.
Kinew said his government anticipates being able to roll out the new cards by next year.
The government said this step is part of a bigger plan to move the health-care system away from paper and toward electronic records.
Design plans for the new cards are expected to be shared in the months ahead, according to Kinew, and the government is also working to make it easier for people to apply for or make changes to health cards.
Manitoba has been an outlier in Canada with its paper cards.
CTV News reached out to each province and territory and asked if they use paper or plastic cards – most have been using plastic for decades.
PEI, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Nunavut and the North West Territories all have plastic cards. Quebec for example has had plastic cards since 1970, according to a provincial spokesperson.
B.C. said plastic cards were introduced in 1989 and then in 2013 the government combined health cards with resident's driver's licenses.
Alberta residents have paper health cards, however, a provincial spokesperson told CTV News the province is exploring potential options for a more durable and secure health card.
The remaining provinces and territories have yet to respond.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP wants Liberals to scrap proposed election date change that could secure pensions for many MPs
The federal New Democrats want to amend the Liberal government's electoral reform legislation to scrap the proposal to push back the vote by a week and consequently secure pensions for dozens of MPs, CTV News has learned.
Drive one of these vehicles? You may pay 37 per cent more than average insurance costs due to thefts
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
Doug Ford suggests immigrants behind Jewish school shooting
Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested immigrants are to blame for the shooting of an empty Jewish school in Toronto over the weekend, despite police saying they have little information on the suspects.
Supreme Court won't hear appeal in Montreal brainwashing experiments case
The Supreme Court of Canada will not review a Quebec ruling that bars people from suing the U.S. government in Canada over its role in notorious brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital.
Donald Trump can sue niece over NY Times article, court rules
A New York state appeals court said Donald Trump can sue his niece Mary Trump for giving the New York Times information for its Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 probe into his finances and his alleged effort to avoid taxes.
Shania Twain shares how she forgave her ex-husband's cheating: 'It's his mistake'
Shania Twain recently addressed the infidelity that rocked her marriage to Robert 'Mutt' Lange, whom she divorced in 2010 after he had an affair with her friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud.
Teen pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of homeless man in downtown Toronto
One of eight teen girls charged in the death of a homeless man in downtown Toronto has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Princess of Wales to miss major military display next month amid cancer treatment
Catherine, Princess of Wales, will not be returning to royal duties with an appearance at the Colonel’s Review, a military parade in London in early June, as she continues her treatment for cancer.
Police arrest 19-year-old suspect after Montreal triple homicide
Police have made an arrest following a deadly street fight that ended with three people killed in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough last week.