RM and City of Dauphin Relations Aren't Particularly Friendly at the Moment
It looks like there's been a communication breakdown between the city and the RM of Dauphin.
City of Dauphin deputy mayor Al Dowhan went to an RM council meeting yesterday as a private citizen -- not on behalf of city council -- saying he was troubled by the RM's decision to decrease its funding to DRS and imploring the two municipalities to work together.
RM Reeve Dennis Forbes asked Dowhan, "What does togetherness mean to you?" Forbes then made it clear where he thought to problem was. Forbes said "it all went to Hell" at a meeting in spring 2015 in which he says Mayor Eric Irwin called them a "foreign municipality."
CKDM has not yet spoken to Mayor Eric Irwin.
---
RM Lowering Annual Financial Contribution to DRS
As far as the decrease to Dauphin Rec Services funding:
The RM will pay Dauphin Rec Services $250,000 in 2017. Forbes says that's $100,000 less than what it has been paying. The RM will be deciding how much it will contribute on a yearly basis.
Reeve Dennis Forbes says the city has seen growth but the RM has not, and the RM has not been able to keep up with inflation.
"By reducing by $100,000, that's not even a full mill for us at this point, but it will go a long way to keeping our mill rate at a lower increase."
The RM says in a letter that since they are withdrawing some of their funding, they are also removing themselves from the DRS board.
---
Premier Isn't Talking Tolko Deal Until It's Firmed Up
Premier Brian Pallister won't discuss details of a potential deal to save the Tolko Industries pulp-and-paper mill in The Pas.
Tolko announced last month that it plans to close the mill on December 2nd because it is no longer financially viable. The move would put more than 300 people out of work.
An international company -- who no one will name -- has sent a letter of intent about possibly buying the mill, subject to several conditions.
Union representative Paul McKie says the deal still has hurdles to overcome but workers have a renewed sense of optimism.
---
Former Israeli Leader Dies at 93
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is among a long list of world leaders and dignitaries who will attend Friday's state funeral in Jerusalem for former Israeli leader Shimon Peres.
Peres suffered a stroke two weeks ago and died early today at age 93.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner was one of Israel's most admired leaders and the last surviving link to its founding fathers.
US President Barack Obama will also attend the funeral of a man he calls "the essence of Israel itself.''
Obama says Peres fought for Israel's independence, worked its land, and served Israel in virtually every government position over a political career that spanned seven decades.
---
BlackBerry to Outsource Hardware Development
BlackBerry says it plans to end all internal hardware development -- signalling a strategic shift for a company that built its reputation on innovative smartphone technology created at its base in Waterloo, Ontario.
The hardware development work will be outsourced to BlackBerry's partners.
The move was announced by BlackBerry chairman and CEO John Chen as the company issued its latest financial report this morning.
He says that ending internal hardware development will reduce BlackBerry's capital requirements and enhance return on invested capital.
