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Manitoba’s premier is self-monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms following a meeting with Quebec premier François Legault, who is self-isolating after being in contact with a confirmed case.
Brian Pallister was in Ottawa on Friday alongside several other conservative premiers, where he came into contact with the Quebec premier during a "working lunch".
Legault is self-isolating after having contact with federal Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, who received a positive COVID-19 test result on Friday.
A spokesperson for Pallister’s office says all public health guidelines were followed at the premiers’ meeting, and that several members of his team are also self-monitoring for symptoms.
The Manitoba premier was in the nation’s capital calling for the federal government to put forward $28 billion to help provinces manage rising healthcare costs.
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Manitoba has gained 40 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the provincial total up to 1,540.
Four of the cases are in Prairie Mountain Health; none are in Dauphin’s Health District. Twenty-nine of today’s cases are in Winnipeg.
Manitoba has 325 active cases and 1,199 people have recovered from the virus. The number of deaths remains at 16.
Health officials have moved Prairie Mountain Health back to the yellow caution level, and have scrapped the targetted restrictions that limited gatherings at 10 and required masks at indoor public places. Masks are still mandatory at all health care facilities in Prairie Mountain Health.
With the weekend ahead of us, officials advise everyone to follow the fundamental COVID-19 guidelines.
For more information, click here.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
Cannabis cafés and on side consumption of edible cannabis products.
That's what the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA) is gauging interest in, launching public consultations to see if there’s a demand for a new type of cannabis licence.
The licence would allow on-site service and consumption of edible or ingestible cannabis products. For example, cafes would be allowed to serve cannabis edibles and spas would be allowed to apply topical cannabis products as part of services.
Executive Director and CEO of the LGCA Kristianne Dechant says in a press release,
“We are seeking the input of Manitobans to better understand their level of comfort with edible and ingestible cannabis products, licensed consumption spaces, and whether there is a desire for these types of businesses or services.”
Dechant added that the province’s cannabis regulations will continue to evolve and changes need to reflect Manitobans’ expectations for the product.
The LGCA is working with Leger, a market research and analytics firm, to survey a sample of Manitobans about authorizing licensed cannabis consumption spaces and/or social occasion permit events where the consumption of edible or ingestible cannabis is allowed (smoking/vaping cannabis prohibited). If you’d like to participate in the consultation or see the questions, click here.
The consultation is open for the rest of the month.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
Portage Collegiate Institute was put on lockdown this week on Wednesday after RCMP in the city received a phone call from an unknown person making serious threats against the school.
An officer that was already in the school for an unrelated reason was told about the threats and asked the school to be placed on lockdown.
To ensure the safety of staff and students, numerous officers and a certified explosives detection dog were immediately sent to the school.
Officers and Police Dog Services completed a search of the area without any suspicious people or items being found.
The lockdown was lifted after the search.
Two people were detained and questioned during the investigation but were released because they weren’t involved.
The RCMP is focusing on identifying the caller as the investigation continues.
Anyone with information is asked to call 204-857-4445.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The Bowsman man accused crashing the gate at Rideau Hall and threatening the Prime Minister had his case put off until October 16.
Corey Hurren is the military reservist and sausage maker who police say was heavily armed when he drove a pickup truck into a side gate, gaining access to the property where Trudeau lives in a cottage
In addition to 21 weapons charges, Hurren also faces one charge of threatening the Prime Minister.
He has yet to have a bail hearing.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Manitoba’s minimum wage workers will see more money on their paycheques beginning next month.
Starting on October 1st, the province’s minimum wage will see a $0.25 increase.
This will raise the province's minimum wage to $11.90 an hour, up from the current $11.65.
This adjustment is based on Manitoba’s 2019 inflation rate of 2.2 percent, rounding up to the nearest five cents.
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- Contributed by Tess Kovach
Health officials fielded questions Thursday night to reassure Roblin and Shoal Lake residents that disruptions to some of their health services are only a temporary measure.
The virtual town hall meeting featured Health Minister Cameron Friesen, alongside Lanette Siragusa, and PMH CEO Penny Gilson.
Petr Kresta, Chief Operating Officer of diagnostic services with Shared Health said the issue is a matter of staffing — and that work to fill vacant positions is ongoing.
“I am committed, and I know my team is committed to finding as many staff as we possibly can in the quickest way possible to return our staffing levels to pre-suspension levels to we can return the services to where they were at,” said Kresta
Manitoba’s Health Minister added that some x-ray services have already been restored as for Shoal Lake and Roblin, on an outpatient basis.
Friesen said “in Shoal Lake, X-ray is now being offered 1 day a week,” and added, “in Roblin, X-ray services were reestablished for 2 days per week earlier this week, and work is ongoing to recruit staff to fully restore the X-ray and laboratory service to a level that would properly support an emergency department.”
One resident on the virtual town hall meeting asked for an exact date when services might be restored. Petr Kresta with Shared Health replied he cant say, “because we have not yet been able to been able to recruit staff into all of the positions that we have in the Russell, Roblin, Shoal Lake area.”
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
September 18th Update:
The frost advisory ended early this morning for the Parkland.
A frost advisory isn't forecasted for the next few days as overnight lows are trending up.
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A frost advisory has been issued for the Parkland and much of southern Manitoba.
Environment Canada says the overnight temperatures may produce frost capable of damaging frost-sensitive plants.
The Thursday night forecast in Dauphin calls for an overnight low of minus 2 degrees, with a wind chill of minus 4.
The frost advisory is in effect for:
- Gilbert Plains Mun. incl. Ashville
- Grandview Mun. incl. Valley River Res.
- Mossey River Mun. incl. Winnipegosis and Fork River
- Mun. of Ethelbert incl. Garland
- Mun. of Roblin incl. Makaroff Shortdale and Bield
- Mun. of Russell-Binscarth incl. Gambler Res.
- R.M. of Dauphin incl. Sifton and Valley River
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Ochre River and Makinak
- R.M. of Lakeshore incl. Rorketon and Toutes Aides
- R.M. of Riding Mountain West incl. Asessippi Prov. Park
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Health officials are ready to move Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) back into the yellow level of their Pandemic Response System.
In response to lower case numbers in the health region, the province will do away with the targeted “orange” level restrictions for the region, effective tomorrow.
Chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin acknowledged PMH residents for stepping up to flatten the curve again, noting there were 240 active cases in the region when initially elevated to the orange restricted level.
The number of active cases in PMH has now fallen to 38.
Roussin explains there was a number of indicators that led officials to move PMH out of the restricted level — including an overall decline in case numbers and lower positivity rate.
PMH now rejoins the rest of the province with a 50 person limit on indoor gatherings, and 100 for outdoor gatherings — doing away with the 10 person limit on indoor/outdoor gatherings.
Masks are still strongly encouraged by the province, but are no longer required under public health orders.
Dr. Roussin strongly recommends mask use for all Manitobans in indoor public places, especially where physical distancing of two metres can not be maintained.
11 New Cases Of The Virus Reported Thursday
Eleven new cases of COVID-19 were announced in Manitoba on Thursday, with one in Prairie Mountain Health. Eight cases were in the Winnipeg health region, and 2 were in the Southern Health region.
Dauphin’s case count is unchanged, where all 7 cases are listed as recovered.
Manitoba now has a total of 1,500 cases of COVID-19.
There are now 293 active cases in Manitoba, with 10 people in hospital and 2 in intensive care.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
A virtual town hall meeting will be held tonight to give Roblin residents a chance to voice their concerns about the recent disruption to some health services.
Officials with Shared Health and Prairie Mountain Health will be taking questions from 7:00 p.m. until 8:15 p.m.
Roblin’s emergency department services were recently suspended, which health officials say is a temporary measure while they address staffing shortages.
Anyone interested in joining tonight’s virtual town hall to voice their concerns about Roblin’s health services must register beforehand at this link.
If you would prefer to join by phone, you must visit this link before 7:00 p.m. and register.
After successful registration, a confirmation email will be sent with a phone number to call.
Participants can submit their questions in advance to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as the online Q&A feature is not available by phone.
Questions must be submitted by 2 p.m. on Thursday, September 17.
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- Contributed by Matt Hamel
This summer, 7 tornadoes touched down in Manitoba.
The tornado season started on June 23rd near a small community south of Winnipeg by the Canada-US border called Letellier, and that tornado was ranked EF-0. The tiny tornado was considered a landspout tornado and didn’t cause any damage to the area.
5 days later on June 28th, a tornado touched down near Rapid City, southwest of Minnedosa. The EF-2 ranked tornado caused more damage than the tornado 5 days earlier. Dozens of trees were uprooted and extensive damage was done to the inside and outside of a home in Rapid City. Eyewitnesses say the tornado touched down 2 or 3 times.
While it wasn’t a tornado, Dauphin saw a funnel cloud develop over the city on July 13th.
Only one tornado actually touched down in July, on the 17th near Swan River. There weren’t any damage reports in the area following the EF-0 twister.
August was the busiest month, seeing 4 twisters touch down in a period of two weeks.
The most powerful tornado of the year touched down on the 7th just outside of Virden. The EF-3 tornado produced wind speeds of 260 km/hr. It hospitalized a 54-year-old man, from Sioux Valley First Nation, with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and tragically took the lives of two 18-year-olds from Melita, Shayna Barnesky and Carter Tilbury. The tornado was on the ground for around 10-15 minutes damaging vehicles and farm equipment.
6 days later, east of Virden in the Alexander area, an EF-0 tornado touched down. Environment Canada didn’t receive any reports of damage.
Finally, two tornadoes touched down on August 21st both near Shoal Lake. The two tornadoes received ratings of EF-0, and neither caused any damage reports.
The 7 tornadoes experienced this year in Manitoba isn’t out of the extraordinary as the province usually sees 7 to 10 every year.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
