The provincial government has identified the kinds of public areas where defibrillators will be required to be in place under new legislation.
Premier Greg Selinger said the types of areas, which were selected based on advice from paramedics and the Heart and Stroke Foundation, include facilities such as arenas, gyms, community centres, golf courses, airports and schools, among other locations.
The province said the Defibrillator Public Access Act is the first-of-its-kind legislation in place in Canada.
"Just like having a fire extinguisher is a requirement in public places to help save lives, so too shall defibrillators be required in more places to dramatically improve the odds of surviving cardiac arrest," said Health Minister Theresa Oswald.
The province said it is providing more than 1,000 defibrillators to public places.
A list of public places that will be required to have a defibrillator on site is available at www.Manitoba.ca/health/aed
The province said applications for free defibrillators can be submitted to the Heart and Stroke Foundation starting on Jan. 7, with more information online at: http://www.heartandstroke.mb.ca/AED
