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While the moisture of this week is welcomed by many people looking forward to spring, it's certainly put a damper on the RM of Gilbert Plains.

Reeve Jim Manchur mentioned some of the challenges they're facing this year on the roads.

 "We had about 82 roads that experienced some kind of flood event on different levels and a little less on others we had about 82 roads that experienced some sort of washout in the past week."

Updated Road Closure Map as of April 11, 2024 at 5:00 PM

Posted by Gilbert Plains on Thursday, April 11, 2024

Flooded roads aren't the only problems the RM, as the golf course and campground areas struggle with the excess water.

"We want to get it up and running because the season will be starting soon, but there's a lot of clean up, a lot of damage to the fairways, the greens, the campground buildings, and such."

Most of the roads have re-opened, but Manchur also noted drainage issues still need to be more thoroughly addressed.

With more precipitation on the way, it could be a while before The RM is looking a little less water-logged

Several children were likely late to school on Monday morning after they witnessed the arrest of their bus driver.

At roughly 9:30 am, Manitoba First Nations Police Services responded to Procure Road in Waywayseecappo on a report of a school bus driver found under the influence while transporting students.

When officers arrived on the scene, they acquired a breather sample that was twice the legal limit of alcohol.

Officers did note that while there were students on the bus at the time, no one was injured in this case.

The driver was arrested, but released with a pending court date.

A Mental Health First Aider clinic is set for next Monday and Tuesday in Swan River. 

The event, which will take place from 8:30 to 5 both days at the Veterans Community Hall, was rescheduled after being postponed last month due to bad weather.

Participants will not only gain confridence and skills needed to help someone with an emerging mental health problem, but will also gain greater recognition of mental health problems. 

The cost to participate is $125, and you can register by contacting Lana Parker at 204-638-2118 extension 1713, or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The annual Kin Club of Dauphin Business Expo is set for this weekend at Credit Union Place and the Parkland Recreation Complex.

Candice Taylor with the Dauphin Kin Club says they are adding a few new wrinkles to this year's expo.

"Western Bakery is going to be guaranteeing $1,250 each day of minimum payout for our 50/50 table.  We are also hosting a Kin Bar this year, so we are going to try something a bit different and a bit new, and Grandview Liquor Company has come forward to sponsor our Kin Bar this year.  So we are excited to bring them aboard and have them join us in this new adventure.  We will also have a Kids zone in the curling rink."

Entertainment over the weekend includes Doodles the Clown, who appeared in the movie Billy Madison, as well as local dance groups and drummers.

It is set for Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm as well as Sunday from noon to 5.

Taylor says this year's Business Expo is completely sold out.

"With 103 businesses coming, we have a lot of returning businesses, but it is also quite surprising that we have so many businesses that have never been to Expo before.  So I am excited to have them join us this year and display their products and make some connections." 

Admission to the business expo is free.

A Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation woman has been sentenced after pleading guilty in relation to the death of a woman on the reserve last summer.

26-year-old Fantasia Prince was originally charged with second-degree murder but pled guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in Portage court this week.

On top of the time already served, Prince was sentenced to a further 1,528 days in jail, along with a 10-year weapons ban. 

Meanwhile, a 20-year-old resident of Sapotaweyak Cree Nation has pleaded guilty in relation to a February 2022 stabbing of three men.

Terrance Kematch entered the plea in Dauphin court on Monday and was sentenced to time already served, along with 18 months of supervised probation. 

Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak was feeling a large sense of pride while attending last week's Association of Manitoba Municipalities Spring Convention in Brandon.

With lots of discussion during the conference regarding conflict resolution and communication between councils and senior administration, Bosiak was proud to say these are not issues they are having to face here in Dauphin.

"Hats off to our administration that does a great job of doing their job.  And then, our council is very competent and engaged,  And that is notable for me as I looked around and just got a sense of how involved our council is in the day-to-day business of our community."

Bosiak also took note during the city's caucus about the amount of money some cities are spending to replace recreation facilities.  

Flin Flon and Thompson are spending millions of dollars to build new swimming pools, while Steinbach is spending close to 70 million to build a new arena.  

Bosiak says that made him think about some of the outstanding infrastructure that our city has, that might be beginning to show its age,

"I think it becomes really incumbent upon us as a municipality, and also on the Rural Municipality (of Dauphin) to contribute a fair proportion of capital towards infrastructure, so we do not have to replace these facilities, so that we can keep them operating effectively, because the cost to replace either our pool, or our curling rink, or our arena down the road will be far more than what we ever paid to build it that many years ago."   

Mossey River Municipality is cautioning residents in Winnipegosis that the water plant is experiencing higher than normal water consumption.

Residents in that community are being asked to check their water lines, toilets, basements, and crawl spaces for any water leaks.

If you are experiencing water loss, you are asked to call the municipal office at 204-656-4791. 

The Parkland Chamber Of Commerce State of the District wrapped up this afternoon with a full house in attendance.

Chamber Executive Director Stephen Chychota was proud to gather the Parkland community together to share what's going on.

"This is always a fun one because it's so dynamic and we get different presentations from different people from all over the region"

Several municipal leaders spoke at the event on various items throughout their RMs.

Reeve James Manchur of Gilbert Plains had a lot to talk about for new developments. Some of these included new housing in the area, a doubling of their waste disposal capacity, a new cannabis shop, and a new fire rescue vehicle expected for 2025.

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Manchur noted that it wasn't all good news, as the RM also saw 82 washed-out roads, pointing to provincial drainage that may not have been maintained.

Lyle Morran of Grandview was next to speak on the state of his district, which included programs for hiring new physicians, and a sizeable water/wastewater management project that could cost nearly $1.8 million.

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Mayor Robert Brunel then took the stage to talk about the unique projects in Ste. Rose, which includes further development of the Turtle River Trails, the campgrounds, and the Ste. Rose Court Project, which already has kids playing pickup games after the snow melted.

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Rm of Dauphin's Reeve Ernie Sirski also spoke, highlighting the growth of the region, the expanse of the city's water to rural areas, and a local successful program. He was proud to announce that the first family through the Immigrate Parkland project has already settled into the area, with more on the way.

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Other Speakers included local businesses and development:

Greg Crisanti, a local Tim Hortons Franchisee presented the plan for this year's Smile Cookie Campaign.

Mike Csversko announced plans for the Fourth edition of the Fusion Credit Union "Community Infusion" project.

And, Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corporation showed off their tool kits allowing easy data quantification in rural sectors.

Overall, it was a packed event with lots of development across the Parkland area.

To stay tuned with everything the Chamber of Commerce is up to, Be sure to visit their website at parklandchamber.ca.

The federal budget is being released right now, and it's looking to level the playing field for young home buyers and entrepreneurs.

One of the biggest factors contributing to this is an increase in taxes on capital gains for Canada's top earners, which is projected to pull 19.3 billion dollars in revenue over the next five years.

 

This new tax would target the wealthiest .13% of Canadian taxpayers as well as corporations and trusts that make over a certain amount.

This change would go into place as of June 25th of this year. Notably, it would not impact 99.87% of Canadians.

Roughly $25 billion has been slated for housing, $2 billion for a national school food program, and a deficit projection of $39.8 billion moving into next year.

Overall, the 2024 federal budget includes $52.9 billion in new spending plans – some of which is loan-based and reliant on provincial buy-in – as well as an estimated $18.1 billion in new tax revenue.

Today marks the start of reconstruction work along the East Service Road near Main Street South in Dauphin. 

The city says access to all businesses along that service road will be maintained, but motorists are cautioned that portions of that service road will be closed at times in order to complete the necessary work.

Detours and flag people will be set up on that road when needed over the coming weeks, and drivers are asked to follow all signage and to be aware of construction crews during that time.

Work on the East service road is expected to take a few weeks to complete, weather permitting.

Further updates on the Main Street South Reconstruction project can be found on the city's website. 

Manitoba Progressive Conservatives are to select a new leader on April 26 of next year.

The party is to choose a replacement for former premier Heather Stefanson, who stepped down earlier this year.

Wayne Ewasko has been serving as interim leader of the Tories, who have been in Opposition since losing the 2023 provincial election.

The Tories recently changed their rules for selecting leaders.

Instead of a strict one-member, one-vote system, the party has adopted a points system that caps the influence of constituencies with large membership numbers.

Party rules also now allow for online voting as well as mail-in ballots, although the final decision rests with a committee that will lay down detailed rules for the contest.