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This weekend in Ottawa is the 16th annual Canadian fallen firefighter’s foundation memorial service.
Dauphin Fire Chief, Cam Abrey is there with the host Manitoba Association of Fire Chiefs.
“I’ve had the privilege once before to attend, but this is my first time to attend as one of the assistants or aids to the event. The family members of all those that have passed in the past year, are being honoured on the Memorial Wall in Ottawa, our association, the Manitoba Association of Fire Chiefs has been doing some fundraising over the past two to three years in order to make this a possibility, so we can honour those that have gone before us.”
Abrey explains how it feels to be a part of the service.
“It’s a very humbling experience to be here and just to provide some sort of support to the families that have lost their loved ones over the past year.”
Yesterday, the firefighters’ roles were to help shuttle families from the airport to the host hotel and provide supper to the families. Today they’ll be meeting with the families, provide some support, and show them the sights of Ottawa. Tomorrow is the service and following that, the firefighters will shuttle the families back to the airport.
During the service, Abrey and 15 others will be in the honour guard, so in full dress uniform, marching up to Lebreton Flats, where the memorial is. The president of the Manitoba Association of Fire Chiefs will have a speaking role during the service.
Since tomorrow is National Fallen Firefighter Memorial Day, the flags at the fire station will be at half-mast.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The RCMP is warning the public of fraudulent telephone calls that appear to be coming from them.
Those that answer the phone are told there’s a warrant for their arrest and they can take care of it by making a bitcoin payment or money transfer.
The fraudsters are using Caller ID spoofing, which the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes as disguising telephone numbers appearing on a caller ID display.
The tool allows the scammers to appear as if they were coming from local or familiar numbers to trick people into answering and trusting the caller.
Julie Courchaine of the Manitoba RCMP says in a press release,
"We want to remind the public that the RCMP would never contact individuals through email or telephone to request payment or monetary transfers."
If you have received similar telephones calls or know of someone who has, contact your local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or through their online reporting tool.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
The third day of CKDM’s MLA Q&A saw the three Dauphin MLA candidates continue to talk about the issues facing Parkland residents.
The question asked this time was “what is your message to Parkland producers?’
Liberal candidate Cathy Scofield-Singh had this to say.
“The reality is, you look at our summer this year it has been brutal. It’s either been, for the majority of us, it’s been too dry, and then we did get rain, it wasn’t enough. We need to be there for our farmers to help support them because, without farming, we don’t have our basic food needs being met. We need to have supports in place for them. I grew up on a farm, just outside of Carleton Place in Ontario, and I can remember how difficult it was those years when it was dry and stuff. Our farm was just a hobby farm, but we had cows, and we had horses, and we needed to be able to feed them, and it’s not cheap to ship in the feed and stuff. We may need to look at how are we gonna keep our farmers going? I don’t have the answers for that yet, but it’s definitely something I will look into, once I am elected as the MLA.”
PC Party candidate Brad Michaleski’s answer was this:
“Well, of course, I am fairly familiar with the farm scene, and what’s been going on in the Parkland in terms of a dry year. I know some areas have been, they are in year two of this, so there’s definitely some challenges and anxiety on the livestock and the feed side. We know the government has tried to work and implement an insurance program, self-directed insurance program, to alleviate that. And in terms of the grain and oilseed side, of course, there is, you know it’s in the news all the time, the trade wars between the countries. Agriculture feels and hears that right away, and it does bring a high level of anxiety. Our producers are dealing with forces outside our province, outside our country. These are trade disruptions, but within those things, again, opportunities do have a way of showing up and again farmers can see those opportunities, and they’re dealing with those changing market forces all the time. I think there’s a number of changes that are going on in the market, the demand profile is changing. I think agriculture; again, they have a pretty good sense of what the market is looking for, and they’re fairly easy to adapt if they can see if it’s the right market to be in, they’ll respond accordingly.”
And NDP candidate Darcy Scheller shares her thoughts:
“Agriculture is definitely one of the largest economic drivers here in this economy. It’s very important, I want to work with them, again, it is not my background, but my background is in business, and agriculture is a business. Together, I think that we can keep things moving positively forward. With new innovations, and possibly drawing in some new population into this community.”
Be sure to listen to "CKDM's MLA Q&A" during the 7, 8, Noon, 4, and 5 o’clock newscasts.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Manitoba Public Insurance is introducing a revamped driver education program called “Driver Z”.
The new curriculum introduces an online component comprised of 29 activities that students have up to 30 days to complete before their first in-class session.
“We’re tailoring it to the way people are learning, - technology - enhancing it because that is now the way kids are learning,” said the manager of driver education and training for MPI, Maria Minenna. “For us to keep current in the way people learn, and want to learn, by putting certain elements of the program online where the kids can go back and review online materials as many times as they want while they’re within the program, is beneficial because then it's directed to self-directed learning”
In-class sessions have been reduced from 34 to 20 hours and the practical training portion has been increased to 45 hours of practice time.
While students are training, they can invite up to eight “co-pilots”, who act as accountability partners for the duration of the training program. The co-pilots are expected to complete six online lessons.
Another change in the program is that teachers are now considered facilitators. Their job is to facilitate conversations around the rules of the road and encourage the kids to be more interactive.
There will also be 7 in-car driving lessons instead of 8. A readiness assessment will now be conducted around 7 months after the student’s first in-class session, prior to them taking their road test.
The one-of-a-kind program will be implemented province-wide starting September 30th.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Approximately 112,983 Manitobans cast their ballots during the advance voting period for the 2019 provincial election.
During the 2016 advance voting period, 110,000 votes were cast.
In addition, 409 absentee votes and 213 homebound votes have been cast to date, for a total of 113,605 votes.
Election day is Tuesday, September 10th. Voting places will be open from 8 am to 8 pm on election day.
Eligible voters can check their voter information card or the Elections Manitoba website for information on where to vote.
Everyone voting must show ID to vote, either one piece of government-issued photo ID or two other pieces. Voters can use their Voter Information Card as ID.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
A 36-year-old Brandon man wanted in connection to a shooting in western Manitoba is now in police custody.
Police had been on the hunt for the suspect since last week after a 45-year-old man was checked in to Brandon Hospital with gunshot injuries.
The victim had been shot outside of Cornwallis, and then the 36-year-old man drove the victim to the hospital and dropped him off.
The victim remains in hospital in stable condition.
Michael Peters turned himself in to police on Wednesday and has since been charged with Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm, Careless Use of a Firearm, and Discharge Firearm with Intent.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
Almost a month after two young B.C. men were found dead from an apparent suicide in Gilliam, the father of one of them has seen a part of a video that his son recorded before apparently taking his own life.
Lawyer Sarah Leamon confirmed that her and Alan Schmegelsky were able to view a 30-second clip yesterday, which is described as Bryer's last "will and testament".
The two were able to watch the video after signing a non-disclosure agreement with police. That means they are unable to discuss contents of the video and if it was part of a longer recording.
The bodies of Bryer and Kam McLeod were found on August 7, three days after Schmegelsky turned 19. There has been no indication on an exact date when they died by apparent suicide by gunfire.
Bryer and Kam were the subjects of a national manhunt after they were suspected of killing American Chynna Deese, Australian Lucas Fowler and UBC lecturer Leonard Dyck. They were charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Dyck.
Alan's Lawyer, Sarah says police may release portions of the video to the public at a future date.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The Dauphin and District Community Foundation is having a second intake of applications for the community grant program.
They have just under 40 thousand dollars available this time.
Kit Daley says there isn’t a set number of applicants accepted, they will look through all the applicants and choose the applications that are most needed and will benefit the community the most.
Applicants must be organizations that are registered charities or qualified donees, which are affiliated or partnered with, for example, the city or RM of Dauphin. If you have any questions about if you qualify, give Kit Daley a call at 638-4598.
To register, go to the Dauphin and District Community Foundation’s website and fill out the website form, or print it off and bring it to their office.
The deadline to enter is September 30th.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
At the start of the 2025 model year, nearly all new vehicles sold will come with an electronic alert that will remind people not to leave their kids behind in the car.
Twenty automakers, amounting to 98% of new vehicles sold, have agreed to install the alerts in an effort to stop heatstroke deaths.
This year alone, 39 children have died in the U.S after being left alone in cars during hot weather. A record number of 54 children were killed last year due to heatstroke after being left in a car.
The vehicles would give drivers both visual and audible alerts to check their back seats every time they turn off their ignition.
The automakers that have signed on have said that by coming to a voluntary agreement, the process of getting the alerts installed will be quicker than a government resolution. A government resolution would take four to eight years.
The only car manufacturer that did not agree to put in the alerts was Tesla.
Several manufacturers are already implementing similar features. GM has a reminder in all of its four-door sedans, trucks, and SUV’s starting with the 2019 model year. The alert only sounds if the rear doors were opened before the trip. Hyundai has pledged to make a similar system standard on its catalogue of vehicles by 2022.
An advocacy group called Kids and Cars says that an alert every time a vehicle is turned off wouldn’t address one-third of hot car deaths, in which children get into a car on their own and become trapped. They add that for the system to be effective it will need to be able to detect the presence of a passenger in the back seat, not just suggest there might be one.
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
The second day of CKDM’s MLA Q&A saw the three Dauphin MLA candidates continue to talk about the issues facing Parkland residents.
The question asked this time is, what needs to be done to address crime and justice?
This is NDP Candidate, Darcy Scheller's answer.
“I’m not an expert at it. We have authorities, law enforcement here in place, that I want to work carefully with to make sure that as a community we’re helping them. There is crime watch and block watch and those types of things, but I really think that just working together as a community, taking care of each other, and making sure our law enforcement are being respected and being able to do their job.”
Liberal Candidate Cathy Scofield-Singh has her input.
“That is a multi-tiered process because you have to find out, what are the primary causes of that crime? Is it because of the drug addictions going on out there? Is it because of poverty? Is it because kids are bored and there’s nothing for them to do? We need to find out what are the root causes of crime and then we can address it. We know that addiction is a huge issue and that it’s intertwined with mental health. The people out there who are dealing with drug addictions often times are masking their mental health issues. So, when we look at what is triggering people to become involved with addictions, we need to look at what the rationale is behind that. Is it because they have ADHD and they’re trying to calm themselves down? Is it because they have anxiety and they need to calm themselves down so they take some drugs out there to calm themselves down? Is it because my friend next door is doing the same thing and we have nothing else to do? We need to address that as well. So, dealing with crime is a multi-pronged approach, because we need to figure out what are the root causes, and then help address those causes.”
And finally PC candidate Brad Michaleski shares his thoughts.
“One of the biggest things again is, probably a higher level of law enforcement is a part of that solution. But again, another part of the solution is creating a job environment and educational environment for the kids and for people so they see a future. It’s not something you can directly say turn a switch and all of a sudden everything’s going to get better. I think when we look at the justice system and how that’s been handled in the past, the approach that our government has been taking is more of a restorative justice. Where you have community involvement, a lot more community involvement, and you’re really addressing the issue of crimes and justice by focusing your efforts to prevent it in the first place.”
Be sure to listen to "CKDM's MLA Q&A" during the 7, 8, Noon, 4, and 5 o’clock newscasts.
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- Contributed by Isaac Wihak
An investigator found that Swan River MLA Rick Wowchuk breached the Manitoba Legislative Assembly’s respectful workplace policy a total of 5 times.
The internal investigation against Wowchuk, who is currently running for re-election, found he breached the policy after showing his former assistant a picture of naked women on his cellphone.
The investigation determined there were 4 other breaches including an incident where during a phone call with his assistant, Wowchuk mentioned he was in the bathtub and almost “Facetimed” the call. Another incident occurred when he commented about his assistant wearing a bikini.
In a June 11 letter from the legislative assembly, executive director Judy Wegner mentioned that even though the investigators proved the bikini comment was made, they weren’t certain of its intended “tone or meaning.”
Another incident was a text where Wowchuk used the term “sex code” to answer a question from his assistant about messages from a malfunctioning phone.
The former assistant has not been named. She worked for Wowchuk for two years.
She told the story of the picture incident, where, in 2016, her and Wowchuk were in his office when he asked her if he wanted to see a picture. By his description of the picture, she thought it would be a wildlife picture, only to realize that it was a picture of naked women.
She immediately told Wowchuk to never show her anything like that ever again.
In a statement made by Wowchuk, he acknowledges that the comments and the photo he showed his assistant “caused offence” and apologized.
“I am sincerely sorry this occurred and any offence it caused,” said Wowchuk. “I deeply regret doing so and I have taken full responsibility for my actions”
He also said he is confident in the government’s actions to strengthen the respectful workplace policies and that he will continue to work hard to represent his constituents in Swan River.
Following the actions of former NDP cabinet minister Stan Struthers, PC Leader Brian Pallister announced a “no wrong door” policy. The policy was intended to make reporting harassment easier, and would include political staff and employees of Crown corporations
In 2018-19, the civil service commission initiated 22 investigations involving sexual harassment, 116 involving harassment/bullying and 302 investigations that involved other forms of misconduct — including attempted fraud, conflict of interest or other inappropriate conduct.
Since Wowchuk’s assistant was a constituency assistant, and not a Manitoba government employee her complaint was not included in those numbers.
This is the second instance of sexual harassment made public in the PC’s first term. The first one included Emerson MLA Cliff Graydon, who had allegations against him, after he had asked staff members to sit on his lap.
Graydon was kicked out of the PC Caucus a few months later.
The investigation into Wowchuk’s actions took over 9 months to be completed.
Wowchuk’s former assistant, who resigned earlier this year, is asking for an apology from the PC Caucus and for Wowchuk to be expelled
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- Contributed by Josh Sigurdson
