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New Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre named his Shadow Cabinet yesterday and Dan Mazier, the PM for Dauphin - Swan River - Neepawa, was named the Shadow Minister for Rural Economic Development and Connectivity.
"I've been very passionate about this file, on connectivity and rural development, since I first got elected in 2019, and our leader heard that loud and clear. It's up to me to carry on the torch and continue on to make sure that the good people of rural Canada and Dauphin, Swan River, Neepawa get the service they deserve, and what they're paying for."
One main issue that Mazier has focused on throughout his career is the lack of high-speed, quality internet in rural areas, and he says his new position will help him address that issue further.
"We all know our cell phone bills are extremely high, probably one of the highest in the world, and yet we're getting subpar service, and I think that needs to stop first and foremost. Then how do we move forward, how do we get beyond that, I really do think I have some ideas that I'm going to be exploring as far as looking at Manitoba infrastructure, and how do we as rural communities access that existing infrastructure and compliment it, instead of fighting against it."
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Dauphin Recreation Services wants to let people know that starting Monday, October 17th, the Vermillion Park Trails will be closed to the public.
Their Facebook post can be found below.
Just an FYI to our trail users!
Posted by Dauphin Recreation Services on Wednesday, October 12, 2022
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
The provincial government plans to hand out fines to drivers who do not obey warning signs due to bad weather conditions, flooding or construction and drive on closed roads.
Bill 46, the Highway Traffic Amendment Act, was introduced by Transportation Minister Doyle Piwniuk during question period at the Manitoba Legislature on Tuesday.
It would impose fines of up to $2,000 or one year in jail for drivers of most private vehicles.
Furthermore, operators of buses and some larger vehicles could be on the hook for up to $5,000 or one year in jail.
Doyle Piwniuk says that the government is sending a message that people who drive on closed roads put others at risk.
“When it comes to police officers to paramedics, we want to make sure that people stay off the highways when they’re actually closed because it puts everybody else at risk, especially first responders,” Piwniuk adds.
In addition, employers could also be fined if a worker drives on a closed road.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
UPDATE: Power has been restored to the Sifton area.
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Manitoba Hydro has turned off power to 430 customers in the Sifton Area as they work to replace a pole that was damaged in August. Power is expected to be restored around noon today.
Hydro was able to temporarily fix the line after the August 3rd storm, but because of wet fields, they weren't able to permanently fix it until now.
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Wilf Kachurowski is aiming for a seat on the R.M. of Dauphin Council as he runs in the municipal election.
Kachurowski has lived in the R.M. of Dauphin for almost fifty years.
He says that people should vote for him because he feels that policies and by-laws should be fair for everybody.
"I just wanted to, people have encouraged me to sit on council, and so I want to try and contribute to my constituency... If I do get elected, they can call me and I can serve them the best I can and get them information and listen to their concerns and bring them up to council," he adds.
Kachurowski went on to say that his desire to represent residents is the main reason behind his run for council.
If elected, he plans on looking at what other municipalities are doing and bringing some of those ideas to the R.M.
"People are concerned about recreation... I've been hearing that people are saying that crime is on the rise and so [I] just [want] to see what can be done to help reduce it... They used to have rural crime watch... Also, I believe in accessibility and accountability to the ratepayers' concerns... financial updates, efficient infrastructure maintenance and future investments," he adds.
Although Kachurowski would sit on the R.M. of Dauphin Council if elected, he believes that it's important to work with Dauphin City Council to help improve the area overall.
A complete list of candidates running for office in the City and R.M. of Dauphin can be found here.
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The municipal election is now just two weeks away, and it's important to plan ahead and know how and when you can vote.
For the City and RM of Dauphin, voting is taking place at the Dauphin Friendship Centre from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on October 26th, but what can you do if you're unable to make it to the voting station that day? Well, there are a few ways that people in the City and RM can vote ahead of time if they aren't able to make it on the 26th.
Senior Election Official Kirk Dawson says the goal is to get as many people to vote as possible, and they want to make it accessible for everyone.
"We're trying to encourage as many people as possible to have access to voting. So if you're going to be away for some reason, you have holiday plans, you can't make it out that day, you've only got a ride on certain days, you're gonna be away for whatever reason, medical reason, that type of thing. You're just not available on the 26th voting day, we would encourage you to come and do the advanced voting."
The first way is advanced voting, which is taking place for both the City and RM of Dauphin next week. The RM of Dauphin advanced voting will be taking place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the RM Council Chambers on Tuesday, October 18th. The advance voting for the City of Dauphin is at the City Council Chambers on Thursday, October 20th from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If you're also unable to make the advanced voting day, Dawson says that both the City and RM will have sealed envelope voting available from now until the 23rd.
"You need to go to the RM Office or the City Office, depending on which jurisdiction you vote in, and give them your reason, basically saying I'm not gonna be available on either day, have I.D. so we'll check you on the voter's list, and if you're there, we will give you sealed envelopes with the ballots, and you can fill them out right there and leave the ballots with them, or you can take them away, complete them, and mail them back. As long as they're back before October the 23rd."
There's also going to be a mobile voting station, which will be going around to care facilities on elections day, so people at those facilities have the opportunity to vote. The mobile station will be at the following locations on October 26th:
- Parkview Lodge from 8:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.
- Lorray Manor from 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
- Dauphin Personal Care Home from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
- Dauphin Regional Health Centre from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
- St. George's Place from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- St. Paul's Home from 3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
- Happy Haven Home from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
- Spruce Manor from 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
- Kinsman Villa from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.
You can find a full list of candidates running for Mayor, Reeve, Councilor, or School Trustee here.
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Whitmore Ave. West, from Main St. South to Jackson St. will be closed for the remainder of today and tomorrow.
This afternoon, crews will be milling the street, and tomorrow they will be asphalting it. The street will reopen once the asphalt has cured, late Wednesday afternoon.
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Gerry Wieler is aiming for a seat on Dauphin City Council as he runs in the municipal election.
Wieler grew up in Southern Manitoba and moved to Dauphin thirteen years ago to start a new job at what is now Fusion Credit Union.
He believes that people should vote for him because he loves giving back to the community.
"I've really been blessed by this community with both raising four kids here... and being involved in many different sports. But then also just being blessed financially with different investments in housing as well as at the credit union and I would like to give back," he adds.
Wieler went on to say that his unique background, which focuses on housing development, financing and economic development, would be an asset to the council.
Gerry Wieler is running for council because he feels called to do so and would like to help the City.
"I know it would be easier to be on the sidelines, but... I think... there [are] some tougher decisions that need to be made and I think some of the background that I have and the training that I've received with some of my previous work could really help the City... I think it's the right thing to do, so that's why I put my hat in the ring," he adds.
If elected, Wieler plans on approaching the new role with humility and would strive to be a good listener.
"From the outside, everybody has a perspective of what they think the City needs... the key is just to make sure that we're really confident on what that is and we then need to just move together... as a council... as the staff of the City... and as a community," he adds.
As for the crime situation, Gerry Wieler says that he has seen personal property go missing as a result of crime and understands it must be stopped.
"Keeping people safe and keeping property safe is important for any community in society and we really need to... [give] a lot more attention [to]... it right now and to figure out... [how] to stop it and then also to figure out why it's happening and why it's increasing... It's... probably a symptom of some other issues... in the community... we have to address it and we have to do it sooner rather than later before things get out of hand," he adds.
Wieler went on to say that crime and housing are his main priorities, adding that Dauphin has a lack of affordable housing, in addition to a low housing supply.
A complete list of candidates running for office in the City and R.M. of Dauphin can be found here.
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- Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos
Lifesaving Society Manitoba toured the Northern and Parkland regions last week to see if their partners and affiliate agencies need more support.
Dr. Christopher Love, water smart & safety management co-ordinator for Lifesaving Society Manitoba, says that the society's Northern Water Smart Program aims to lower the number of water-related injuries and deaths.
"It's designed to provide basic swim instruction, first-aid training and boat... safety training to northern or remote communities that otherwise can't access those services, so every summer we send up instructors to northern or remote communities, First Nations, places that don't have swimming pools, and they provide those services," he adds.
According to Dr. Love, the Personal Flotation Device (PFD) Loaner Program allows community organizations to apply for access to free life jackets or PFDs, so that they could become available to people in a lending-library format.
"You come, you check out your life jacket, you use it for the day, so that you can enjoy a safe boating trip, and then once you're done, you return it to... the loaning station and it's available for someone else in the community to take... and use... again for the next trip to that's going to happen," he adds.
Furthermore, Dr. Christopher Love says that Lifesaving Society Manitoba is working to address the lifeguard shortage in the province.
"We're supporting all those agencies that are employing lifeguards, helping them set up training courses, making sure that there are instructors available, making sure more instructors are trained, or helping people source instructors because we do have a network that is spread out across the province," he adds.
Dr. Love went on to say that the next step would be to then advertise jobs and get them out to as a wide network as possible.
He also said that cold water can be especially dangerous because the shock of cold water can cause someone to inhale water and start the drowning process.
More information on cold water shock can be found at coldwaterkills.ca.
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Farm Credit Canada released their Mid-Year 2022 Farmland Value Report this week. Manitoba saw a below-average increase between January and June of this year but was still above average in the average percent change since July of last year.
Appraiser for Manitoba Peter Alder says that farmland values in the Parkland didn't increase much in the first half of the year.
"For the mid-year review, we generally don't give out the area changes. In this case for the Parkland area, we know it's in that three to four percent increase in land value."
In the most recent Farmland Value Report which was released in the spring, The Parkland saw the largest increase in any area in Manitoba at 17.6%.
"We always have to be careful when we just look at one number, we always look over a period of a couple of years, and maybe we had a little bit of a higher increase last spring because we had to catch up in certain areas, and that resulted in some higher increases in value, but overall I would say that the average that we see, the provincial average is a good picture, and then it varies from region to region."
Alder says that in Manitoba, the Central Plain area saw the highest increases in the first six months of 2022.
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Parks Canada wants to encourage everyone to spend the Thanksgiving long weekend in Riding Mountain National Park.
Mireille Kroeker, the park's public relations and communications officer, says that it's going to be a great weekend for hiking and biking.
"It's really going to be beautiful. We still have some leaves on the trees... The bugs [have mostly disappeared]. We don't have those crazy mosquitoes like we did all summer, so it's a great time to take those walks," she adds.
Kroeker recommends that visitors check out the Visitor Centre, which is open daily this weekend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to get all the details on all the trails that are open or closed.
"It's got all these cool interactive exhibits and there's a really nice fireplace that they'll probably have going, so you can check out some readings that they have there," she adds.
Mireille Kroeker says that Riding Mountain is a great place to visit when the weather is cooler because people can take really long hikes and be out in the sun for a lot longer than they would when it's 30°C.
"Normally, when it's hot like that you're going to get a lot of flies and, of course... mosquitoes... This time of year, it's going to be very calm. You're not going to have those bugs in your face, no need to spray yourself down with insect repellant... The trails are a lot drier as well... Normally in the spring, especially this spring with the really wet conditions, it can be difficult to access a lot of the trails... [Now, they] are quite dry. You might need... some really good shoes to get through them, but they will be a lot better than they were this spring. That's for sure," she adds.
As for wildlife encounters, Kroeker says that animals are still very active, even though the temperatures have dropped.
"There's still food out, which is the main reason they're still active, so even bears... It may be cooling off. There may be some frost mornings, but they are still out. They are still stocking up on food to get nice and ready for winter and they're looking for denning sites... They are still wandering the trails, so you have to be alert for that," she adds.
More information on what to do in the event of a bear encounter can be found on the Parks Canada website.
According to Kroeker, the bison enclosure and Lake Audy Campground are closed for the remainder of the year.
In addition, access to the escarpment trails on the East end of the park can only be accessed from Highway 5 as Highway 19 is closed from Lake Katherine to the Historic East Gate.
Even though Riding Mountain National Park is open year-round, local businesses are subject to their own hours of operation.
Parks Canada encourages visitors to call businesses ahead of time to ensure they are open upon their arrival.
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