Natural Gas Cost Increasing In Manitoba

Some Manitobans will be paying significantly more for natural gas starting next month.

The Public Utilities Board has approved a rate hike for Crown-owned Centra Gas that will see prices go up 17 percent.

The impact on an annual bill will be 124-dollars for the average residential customer. The increase does not affect people who have fixed-price contracts with Centra Gas or third parties.

The regulator says the biggest increase in many years reflects rising market prices for natural gas, driven in part by the impact of Hurricane Ida.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 27, 2021 - 7:58 am

Hearings have begun in a lawsuit alleging the Manitoba government misappropriated more than $250 million meant for Indigenous children in care.

Indigenous child welfare agencies claim the province started clawing back money from the federally run Children's Special Allowance Act in 2006 and did not stop the practice until 2019.

A civil trial between 19 Manitoba child welfare agencies and Indigenous groups and the province of Manitoba started in Court of Queen's Bench on Tuesday morning. The proceedings are being heard virtually.

Lawyers for the child welfare agencies say the case is a dispute between Indigenous peoples and the province.

The hearings are expected to go on for four days. The judge may order the government to repay the funds at the end of this week.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 27, 2021 - 7:08 am

After not being able to have their Annual General Meeting in person last year, the Dauphin Ag Society is hosting it in person this year.

President of the Ag Society, Jamie Damsgaard says they want to welcome everyone back at this year’s meeting.

“We need to elect a new board as well as the directors that are in chard of all of the different events that happen at the fair. On the agenda, we are also going to be presenting the volunteer award that we have issued this year. It’s brand new for us.”

Jamie feels like people have been missing the fellowship they got from being able to meet in person.

“Honestly our main focus is to just visit. We are so excited to have an in-person meeting. Everybody knows what those online meetings are like - they're tough, they're hard to run and be a part of, so I'm just looking forward to communicating with everyone face to face."

The Dauphin Ag Society Annual General Meeting is on Thursday, November 4th at 7:00 p.m. in the Aspen Lounge. Those interested can call 204-638-4428 for more information.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 27, 2021 - 5:01 am

Assiniboine Community College hosted a walk-through graduation event this morning at the Parkland Recreational Centre.

The event was an overdue opportunity to give graduates a chance to celebrate their accomplishments.

Director of the ACC Parkland campus, Valerie McInnes, touched on the ceremony,

"This is a really important day when we can acknowledge all of the work that students have put in. it's a little different from the usual, but it's given a really nice chance to see family and be kind of intimate with students and talk to them. We have about 84 students that are graduating; unfortunately, only about 15 were able to make the ceremony today. But it's really nice to see those accomplishments and to see the smiles on families' faces, even behind the masks."

Valarie thanked all the families who could attend and congratulated all students who could come and weren't able to come.

Moving forward, McInnes says the college is looking towards bigger and better graduations.

acc 2022

Details: Contributed by Noah Fuchs; Published: Oct 26, 2021 - 12:24 pm

Dan Mazier was officially sworn-in as Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa's Member of Parliament this morning.

Mazier will formally take his seat in the House of Commons on November 22nd, when the 44th Parliament commences.

Mazier stated in a press release, obtained by 730 CKDM, that his priorities will be focused on fighting for rural Canadians and communities:

"My immediate priorities will be focused on making life more affordable for seniors, supporting our agricultural sector, advocating for local businesses, and ensuring that there is a voice of rural Canada in Parliament."

Mazier plans to send out a survey to gather further input on the priorities and concerns constituents would like him to focus on.

Details: Contributed by Noah Fuchs; Published: Oct 26, 2021 - 11:29 am

Only seven Ministers are retaining the same titles and previous positions after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet this morning.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland has agreed to remain in both roles, and Marie Claude Bibeau remains as Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Dan Vandal stays on as minister of Northern Affairs but also takes on responsibility for Prairies Economic Development Canada and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

Oakville MP Anita Anand becomes the second woman in Canadian history to take on the role of Defence Minister. Marc Miller is the new Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. Mélanie Joly is taking over from Marc Garneau, who is no longer in Cabinet, as Foreign Affairs Minister.

Overall there are 39 members of the new cabinet including Trudeau. Governor-General Mary May Simon oversaw the swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall this morning.

The new Parliament kicks off on November 22nd with a throne speech.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 26, 2021 - 10:48 am

It has been discovered that the fire that destroyed the Sandy Bay Child and Family Services Agency office two years ago was deliberately set.

An investigation was conducted after the building, located on Sandy Bay First Nation, was burned on December 15^th 2019. The fire commissioner hadn’t immediately determined the cause because the building was completely destroyed.

The Office of the Fire Commission determined that the fire was set with a device, and a police investigation started.

The fire commissioner's investigation report was finalized and sent to police in April 2020, and the case was closed a year later because of insufficient evidence to proceed.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 26, 2021 - 5:26 am

Yesterday the provincial government announced that the current public health orders are being extended.

The orders continue to restrict unvaccinated Manitobans in their activities. This includes:

Limiting private indoor gatherings for households to guests from one other household when any unvaccinated person who is eligible to be vaccinated is present.
Limiting private outdoor gatherings for households to 10 guests when any unvaccinated person who is eligible to be vaccinated is present.
Reducing indoor public gathering group sizes to 25 people or 25 per cent capacity, whichever is lower, for gatherings that include unvaccinated people who are eligible to be vaccinated.
Setting indoor group sizes for faith-based gatherings to 25 people or 33 per cent capacity, whichever is greater, for gatherings that include unvaccinated people who are eligible to be vaccinated.
Limiting all outdoor public gathering sizes to 50 people, regardless of vaccination status.
Retail capacity remains at 50 per cent in the Southern Health region with the exception of capital region communities.

The health orders will be in place until November 16^th.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 26, 2021 - 5:13 am

Starting today Manitobans will be able to request their Pan-Canadian proof of vaccination credential.

The pan-Canadian proof of vaccination credential uses a QR code that will be recognized across the country. There will only be digital copies, no physical cards.

Those who already have a proof of vaccination card will need to apply with their existing barcode. They can do this here.

Starting on October 30^th, Manitobans will be able to use their Pan Canadian proof of vaccination within Canada.

The province says that in early November Manitobans will be able to use their Manitoba vaccine app to request and display their Pan Canadian proof of vaccination.

It was also announced that by mid-November the province will be releasing a new version of the verification app, which will be able to verify both Canadian and Manitoban proof of vaccination.

By November 30^th the government of Canada will require all travellers to be fully vaccinated and to show proof of vaccination for international travel.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 25, 2021 - 2:06 pm

There are no injuries after a single-vehicle collision on Road 142 North, southwest of Dauphin.

Dauphin RCMP were called to the scene of the collision at around 7:30 a.m. on Monday.

A semi-truck pulling a trailer of grain had gone off the road into the ditch and rolled onto its side, spilling the grain. A tractor came by shortly after and assisted with removing the grain.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 25, 2021 - 12:07 pm

The City of Brandon is implementing a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and testing policy for many front-line workers starting on November 1^st.

All City of Brandon employees who have direct and ongoing contact with vulnerable people will need to be fully vaccinated or undergo regular testing. This includes Brandon Fire & Emergency Services, Brandon Municipal Cemetery, Brandon Police Service, Brandon Transit, and Recreation Services.

Brandon Municipal Airport employees fall under federal jurisdiction and will be required to follow the Federal vaccine mandate, which comes into effect October 30^th.