Meeting The Quota For Immigration

After falling short of the cap last year, the Provincial Government is looking to meeting the Immigration numbers presented by the federal government.

Mayala Marcelino, the current NDP immigration minister is looking to meet the maximum immigration number this year, as she says it would mean a lot economically to our province.

Manitoba's previous PC government had successfully lobbied Ottawa to increase the province's allotment from 6,325 nominees in 2022 to 9,500 nominees in 2023 to address labour shortages, but the province failed to process about 2,000 applications in time.

Marcelino is also aiming to reduce the time between a skilled immigrant receiving their letter of invitation to apply and then receiving their nomination certificate, which now exceeds the recommended six months. She's planning for the province to return to the target timeline by the fall.

In 2023, Manitoba issued 7,348 of the 9,500 available nominations through the provincial nominee program. About 1,000 nominations were processed in December alone.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Mar 30, 2024 - 12:00 pm

The Issue of Overwhelmed vet clinics and stray pets might have an answer through mobile spay and neuter clinics.

The Northern and Remote Veterinary Care initiative was announced by Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn and Indigenous Economic Development Minister Ian Bushie which supports the Humane Societies One Health Program, and "Feed The Furbabies Canada".

This initiative includes $100,000 in funding to the One Health Program to enhance mobile spay and neuter clinics in northern and remote communities.

This will include the creation of the provincial veterinarian for animal welfare, who will lead Manitoba’s animal welfare program. This position will complement the work of the existing chief veterinary officer who will now focus on the health of both commercial and companion animals.

Kostyshyn adds an additional $100,000 to the Winnipeg Humane Society will be used to support the efforts of Feed the Furbabies Canada in its work to support spay and neutering clinics and supply food and supplies for animals in need across Manitoba

working together, these organizations will focus on feeding sheltered animals and providing a higher standard of care for remote northern communities.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Mar 29, 2024 - 6:15 pm

A boil Water Advisory has been issued for anyone in the Municipality of McCreary.

A drop in water pressure was measured in the public system and boiling water is recommended until further notice.

Water should be brought to a rolling boil for at least a minute if it's being used for drinking, preparing any food or drinks, and brushing your teeth.

If boiling water is not a readily available option, acquiring bottled water or other safe, drinkable water sources is recommended.

If you have questions or concerns about this advisory, you can contact the regional Drinking Water Officer at 204 621 7962, or the McCreary Municipal Office at 204-835-2649

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Mar 29, 2024 - 2:34 pm

Weather Canada has upgraded their snowfall forecast to a snowfall warning, as winter refuses to acknowledge that we're officially into spring.

A low-pressure system from Montana is sweeping through Saskatchewan and Manitoba, dumping up to 10 centimeters of snow across the area.

Rapidly accumulating snow will make travel difficult. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways, and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.

Be prepared to adjust your driving to changing road conditions.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Mar 29, 2024 - 2:25 pm

Plans to scrap some education-tax rebates in favor of a single $15,000 property tax credit for every home are expected to be in the next provincial budget.

The change proposed for next year would mean every Manitoba household subject to $1,500 of provincial property taxes or less in 2025 won't pay any provincial property taxes at all.

This move would eliminate both the 50-per-cent provincial property tax rebate and $350 education tax credit in 2025, and In their place, every property subject to provincial property taxes would receive up to $1,500 off those taxes.

Conversely, residential properties with higher valuations would pay more provincial property taxes next year.

The NDP government would not say how much additional revenue Manitoba would raise from provincial property taxes in 2025 as a result of shifting the tax burden to more valuable properties.

Notably, The change in property tax credits will not affect municipal property taxes, which are applied on the same bill.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Mar 29, 2024 - 2:06 pm

Now that construction on the first phase of Maamawi Park is set to begin later this year, the focus of the committee behind the project is starting to shift its attention towards phase two.

Project co-chair Stacy Penner discusses some of the ideas being considered for phase two.

"Multi-use trails, as it is really important to us that we have good lighting in the area because we want it to be a safe place for youth visiting it, especially in the evenings. So electrical and lighting will be a big part of phase two. We have also discussed nature play areas and possibly maybe at some point a skating oval."

Some playground pieces are also being considered for phase two.

Way into the future, Penner says they hope to focus on the Indigenous learning aspect of the park, with the addition of art, signage, and other learning elements.

Costs for phase two range from between 2-3 million dollars. And Penner says their fundraising for it will focus on support from the community.

"A couple of weeks ago, Barker School made a $1,700 donation towards the project. They had a family night that brought in some funds to the school. And the teachers there are wanting to teach their students how to give back, which is pretty incredible. And then we had CUPE call up and say they had a $2,500 donation that they wanted to go towards this awesome project."

Besides accepting donations, the committee is also preparing sponsorship packages for businesses looking to sponsor certain segments of the park.

Details: Contributed by Jeff Henson; Published: Mar 29, 2024 - 11:10 am

The future of Manitoba's health cards is looking very sturdy, as The Province announced they'll be upgrading to plastic health cards instead of paper ones.

In an announcement Thursday, Wab Kinew Stated "Work is already underway and we will deliver the first cards by this time next year."

The Manitoba government is actively working to develop and launch a new, modernized card, including plastic and digital options, to replace the existing paper health card.

After a substantial backlog of health card delivery in late 2023, the Province has more than doubled their staff to reduce that time and develop this new card faster.

More information is expected on the design and material of these new cards is expected to come in the next few months.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Mar 29, 2024 - 7:45 am

Co-op Gas Stations

Friday, March 29^th- 6:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 30^th- 6:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 31^st- 6:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.*
Monday, April 1^st - 6:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

*The Mountain Road Co-op Convenience Store will be open Sunday from 8:00 AM-9:30 PM

Walmart

Friday, March 29^th- 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 30^th 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 31^st — 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Monday, April 1^st — 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Safeway

Friday, March 29^th — 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 30^th — 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 31^st — 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Monday, April 1^st — 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

No Frills

Friday, March 29^th — 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Saturday, March 30^th — 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Sunday, March 31^st — 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Monday, April 1^st — 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Co-op Grocery Store

Friday, March 29^th — Closed
Saturday, March 30^th — 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, March 31^st —Closed
Monday, April 1^st- 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Dauphin Liquor Mart

Friday, March 29^th - 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 30^th — 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 31^st — 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Monday, April 1^st — 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Banks

Scotiabank - Closed Friday, March 29^th - Sunday, March 31^st
CIBC - Closed Friday, March 29^th - Sunday, March 31^st
RBC - Closed Friday, March 29^th - Sunday, March 31^st
All banks will be open Monday, April 1^st with regular hours.

Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy

Friday, March 29^th — 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Saturday, March 30^th — 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 31^st — 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Monday, April 1^st — 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.

City of Dauphin

Friday, March 29^th — Closed
Saturday, March 30^th — Closed
Sunday, March 31^st — Closed
Monday, April 1^st — Closed

Dauphin Vet Clinic

Friday, March 29^th — Closed
Saturday, March 30^th — Closed
Sunday, March 31^st — Closed
Monday, April 1^st — 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

When the clinic is closed, a vet is on call for emergencies at 204-638-4602.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Mar 29, 2024 - 7:00 am

with the big spring thaw right around the corner, Riding Mountain National Park will be putting in some road restrictions.

Beginning April 1st, Highway 19 a limit of 6006 lbs, or 2730 kgs. this is roughly the weight of an unloaded 3/4 ton truck or a fully loaded half ton.

Highway 10 will continue its restrictions through riding mountain that bars heavy truck activity, which looks at trucks with 3 or more axles.

However, Vehicles with three axles or more will be allowed access to the townsite, the Parks Canada Maintenance Compound, and the Clear Lake Golf Course from the south entrance of the park only for delivery purposes.

Details: Contributed by Michael Brossart; Published: Mar 28, 2024 - 3:42 pm

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says 83 per cent of Manitobans surveyed recently by Leger Marketing want Premier Wab Kinew to tell Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cancel the planned Carbon Tax hike on Monday.

The poll showed 57 per cent of Manitobans strongly support the request, while another 26 per cent somewhat support it.

CTF Prairie Director Gage Haubrich says other premiers are standing up for their constituents by demanding the carbon tax hike be dropped, adding it is time for Kinew to join that fight.

A CTF media release says Kinew is the only provincial premier where the federal carbon tax is directly applied that has not yet called on the federal government to stop its carbon tax hike.

The federal government is set to increase the carbon tax to 17 cents per litre of gasoline, 21 cents per litre of diesel and 15 cents per cubic metre of natural gas on April 1.

The release adds that the carbon tax will cost the average Manitoba family $502 a year more than what they get back in rebates