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The Manitoba government has announced more investments to try and retain and recruit nurses to the province.

Today's announcement is an extension of the Human Health Resource Action Plan which was announced in November. In November, the province announced a commitment to end mandatory overtime and add 2,000 healthcare professionals.

Now, the province has announced a $123 Million investment to continue that work, with nine initiatives, introduced today:

  • a new hourly premium for nurses who work weekend hours;
  • a new annual payment for nurses who hold the equivalent of a full-time position, as this helps to build more stability in the workforce;
  • reimbursing the costs of nurses’ professional licensing fees;
  • an annual incentive for nurses who are eligible to retire but choose to remain in the workforce for up to an additional two years, to retain valued expertise and build capacity as new nurses are recruited into the workforce;
  • an incentive for nurses who have previously left the profession but choose to return to the workforce;
  • a new refer-a-nurse program for current nurses who refer a prospective nurse to a Manitoba employer;
  • a provincial float pool to support nurse staffing needs across the province;
  • a travel nurse incentive that will provide an additional hourly premium for nurses who travel to work in remote locations; and
  • a wellness incentive, which adds additional funds to the health spending accounts of full and part-time nurses to help to cover the costs of eligible expenses.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon made the announcement, saying in a news release that nurses are an extremely important part of the healthcare system.

“These incentives improve nurse staffing where there are high demands and needs in the healthcare system such as weekend coverage. We are already beginning to see positive results from these strategic investments and I want to assure all of Manitoba’s healthcare providers that more supports are on the way as the Health Human Resource Action Plan is rolled out.”

Since the original announcement in November, the province says that 330 new health-care providers have been hired including nurses, health-care aides, physicians and other staff who provide bedside care.

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A large chunk of the lineup for Rockin' The Fields of Minnedosa was announced today.

On August long weekend this year, August 4th to the 6th, you will be able to catch bands like The Glorious Sons, Aldo Nova, and artists like Sebastian Bach of Skid Row and Lou Gramm of Foreigner.

Here is the lineup announced so far:

Friday, August 4th

Kick Axe

Jack Russel's Great White

Sebastian Bach of Skid Row

Saturday, August 5th

Default

The Sheepdogs

The Glorious Sons

Sunday, August 6th

Toronto

Aldo Nova

Lou Gramm of Foreigner

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, February 22nd, at rockinthefields.ca or by calling 1-888-330-8333.

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Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure's Hydrologic Forecast Centre says water outflow from the Shellmouth Reservoir, or Lake Of The Prairies, will increase from 480 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 600 cfs starting tomorrow.

Another increase to bring water flow up to 700 cfs will happen on Tuesday, February 21st. This final increase will bring water levels on the Assiniboine River up by one or two feet between the Shellmouth Dam and Brandon. The rise in levels will decrease in the eastern reaches of the river and will be near half a foot as the increase arrives in Winnipeg in two weeks.

The province says they will continue to monitor conditions in the upper Assiniboine River as well as downstream levels. Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure advises the public to take precautions as the rise in water levels could create unsafe conditions on the river and along the shore.

The release from the province can be found here.

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Manitoba's Progressive Conservative government says the delayed affordability package scheduled for the end of January is to be sent out soon.

A spokesperson for Finance Minister Cliff Cullen said the first of the cheques will be placed in the mail starting the week of Feb. 20.

The reason for the delay was to ensure that as many recipients as possible had time to update their addresses if they moved after filing their 2021 income taxes. The cheques are part of a package to assist individuals and families across the province with the rising cost of living.

The cheques will be sent to all Manitoba homes with a net family income of less than $175,000 in 2021, with $225 going to single people, and $375 to couples. Approximately $200 million was set aside to fund the nearly 700 000 cheques.

The province made the initial announcement about the affordability payments on January 26th.

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Health Canada has recalled a Presidents Choice brand Canadian Cheddar Cheese for possible Listeria contamination.

The affected cheese may not look or smell spoiled, but can still make you sick if consumed. The affected products will have a best-before date of August 24th, 2023, and the UPC is 060383837464.

Symptoms of sickness can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache, and neck stiffness. Pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk.

Health Canada says recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the purchase location. If you become sick from consuming a recalled product you should contact a doctor immediately.

More information about the recall is available on Health Canada's Website.

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Manitoba families in rural and First Nations communities will be seeing a $94-million investment in affordable childcare from the governments of Canada and Manitoba.

Dauphin will see 148 new spaces for affordable childcare. Federal Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development Karina Gould announced the second phase of the plan today. 

“The Government of Canada is proud to announce these additional child-care spaces for rural and First Nations communities. The ready-to-move pilot project is another example how the Canada-wide system leverages innovation and collaboration between federal, provincial, municipal, and First Nations communities to ensure that every family, no matter where they live, has access to high-quality and affordable child care.” 

The program looks to add a total of 1,670 new spaces, and a total of 23 new centers. The new facilities are expected to be up and running before the end of this year and will allow more people in rural areas to have access to daycare programs closer to home.

Construction is currently underway for the sites announced in November, with sites announced today beginning construction in the spring.   

The child-care spaces being developed with this investment are part of the Manitoba government’s commitment to developing 23,000 new, regulated not-for-profit child-care spaces for children under age seven across the province by 2026.

Lake St. Martin First Nation is another site that was announced today, and they'll be adding 40 new spaces in the community. For a complete list of all the new childcare spaces across the province, visit the Province of Manitoba's Website.

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Feed destruction is an issue across the province for livestock producers, and Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) is hoping to get producers some help.

MBP is lobbying the provincial government for financial assistance when it comes to producers setting up proper fences around their feed. General Manager Carson Callum says it becoming a bigger problem.

"A lot of hard snow pack is made feed availability for wildlife challenging. We've seen a lot of infringement for deer and other wildlife coming into feed areas for producers and damaging some of their feedstock. So, really we're looking at ways that can mitigate this risk, and hopefully help the number of premiums that could be paid out to producers that could experience this damage from wildlife."

Callum says that even though there are programs to get compensated for the damage, it's not always about that.

"There is compensation in some regard for it, through MASC, however, when we run into years where feed is really tight, we need to not see this damage happening, and ensure that feed is safe for the livestock that it's intended for."

Producers are already doing what they can, and there have been some programs in the past to address the issue, but Callum says they want to make sure it's not too much for producers financially.

"I know producers on their own are doing their best to keep some of this wildlife out, using innovative ways, whether that's stacking bails all around their certain feedstock areas, or even putting up fencelines. I just encourage producers to continue this work, and hopefully, we can see even some cost-shared support which would be beneficial."

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The Swan River RCMP has two people in custody after a robbery along Main Street yesterday.

Police responded to a report of a robbery at around 3:20 in the afternoon, and were told that a 15-year-old female and 14-year-old male had been approached by two adults. One of the suspects had a hammer, and they demanded money and items from the teens before fleeing.

Officers immediately started patrolling the area and found Jefferson Cook, 20, and Loni Genaille, 39, both of Swan River, nearby. The pair were arrested without incident, and charged with Robbery.

Cook and Genaille both remained in custody at the time of the report, and are scheduled to appear in court today.

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The Spruce Plains RCMP responded to a fatal collision on Highway 16, about eight kilometers east of Neepawa yesterday.

Around 2:30 pm, an officer came across the accident near the intersection of Road 82 W, and found two vehicles were involved. An investigation found that a westbound vehicle crossed over the center line and collided head-on with a vehicle going the other way.

The two occupants of the westbound vehicle, a 45-year-old female and a 16-year-old male from Neepawa were pronounced deceased at the scene. The occupants of the other vehicle involved, an 81-year-old male driver and a 75-year-old female passenger from Plumas were taken to the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries.

Police say that all four people involved were wearing seatbelts. Spruce Plains RCMP, along with a Forensic Collision Reconstructionist, continue to investigate.

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Nearly 10,000 pigs died in a barn fire in Sturgis, Saskatchewan over the weekend.

The farm was owned by Olymel and the finishing barn was a complete loss, with all animals inside dying in the blaze. All staff that worked at the facility were unharmed by the fire.

Staff on the property saw the fire and called the local department, but the fire spread quickly, and by the time the firefighters arrived, the barn was fully engulfed. The local fire authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.

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The RCMP executed a search warrant on Peguis First Nation as part of an ongoing investigation last Wednesday, February 8th.

Members of the Fisher Branch Detachment, with help from the Emergency Response Team, Police Dog Services, and National Weapons Enforcement Support Team, conducted the search. Officers seized four firearms, ammunition, and prohibited magazines.

A male and female were arrested at the scene and are facing eight charges each, including four counts of Unauthorized Possession of a Weapon, three counts of Careless Storage of a Firearm, and Unauthorized Possession of a Prohibited Device.

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