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After a lengthy investigation by Manitoba Conservation Officers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agency, and Environment and Climate Change Canada, two Manitoba hunting outfitters - Royal Elk Outfitters and South Park Outfitters, have lost their Resource Tourism Operators licences and face several fines. This centers around American hunters using those outfitters and illegally hunting and harvesting black bears. More details from the province are below:
Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development is advising that outfitting licences of two resource tourism operators have been cancelled following a lengthy investigation led by the Manitoba Conservation Officer Service along with Canadian and American wildlife investigators.
On Sept. 27, 2019, a black bear hunter from Iowa was returning home from his hunt with an outfitter from Grandview. At the Pembina port of entry, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspector found the hunter to be in possession of two raw black bear hides. One hide had a game tag and the other did not. Both hides were seized and the Manitoba Conservation Officer Service was notified.
The discovery led to a joint investigation between the Manitoba Conservation Officer Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Environment and Climate Change Canada Enforcement Branch. The investigation uncovered numerous violations under the Wildlife Act (Manitoba), the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (Canada), and the Lacey Act (U.S.) between 2012 and 2021 by two Manitoba outfitters, their clients and a Manitoba taxidermist.
This joint investigation, called Operation Crossing Line, focused on two outfitting companies. Officers discovered that a number of American hunters using these outfitters harvested black bears in the wrong Game Hunting Area (GHA). In addition, officers determined that on five occasions, clients of the two outfitters illegally hunted a second bear.
On Aug. 19, 2020, an American client of the outfitter was convicted of a violation under the Lacey Act for importing an illegally killed black bear. The two black bears were forfeited. He received a $7,500 fine and one year of unsupervised probation.
On Jan. 21, 2022, an American client of the outfitter who obtained a second licence under a false name in 2019 and exported the bear to the U.S. was convicted under the Lacey Act. He abandoned the second bear and received a $5,000 fine and one year of unsupervised probation.
On April 1, 2022, a taxidermist was convicted under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act of providing a false and misleading statement regarding the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permits. The taxidermist received a $730 fine.
On Aug. 25, 2022, the owner of Royal Elk Outfitting was convicted under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act for furnishing false or misleading information related to the CITES permit. He received a $5,000 fine and forfeited a harvested black bear.
On Dec. 14, 2022, the owner of Royal Elk Outfitting pleaded guilty to 15 counts of violating the Wildlife Act and received a $10,000 fine. On the same day, the owner of South Park Outfitters pleaded guilty to 11 counts of violating the Wildlife Act and received a $2,000 fine.
Following the conclusion of the court cases, the Department of Natural Resources and Northern Development cancelled the Resource Tourism Operators licence for Royal Elk Outfitting and South Park Outfitters, located in the Grandview area.
The Manitoba government is committed to protecting the province’s wildlife and abundant natural resources. Anyone with information on illegal activity is asked to call a local Natural Resources and Northern Development office or the Turn in Poachers (TIP) line at 1-800-782-0076.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
Parks Canada has announced a set of Spring road restrictions for highways 19 and 10 within Riding Mountain National Park.
Effective immediately, weight restrictions of 6,006 lbs or 2,730 kg gross vehicle weight are in place on Highway 19 within the park. This would roughly equal an empty three-quarter ton truck or a loaded half-ton truck.
The restriction will stay in effect until weather and road conditions improve.
As well, the usual restriction on Highway 10 remains in effect. This restriction prohibits heavy truck traffic, that is trucks with three axles or more, within the boundaries of RMNP, except for deliveries to certain places.
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- Contributed by Alec Woolston
The Dauphin and District Food Bank has an intake this evening from 5 pm to 7 pm at Parkland Crossing, 220 Whitmore Avenue West.
If you want to access the food bank, you need to go down in person with your Manitoba health card, and Food Bank Chair Robin Gambler says they're also encouraging people to bring bags.
"If they can bring bags, that would be perfect, because we have a lot of produce, dairy, and meat to give away, and, well, none of the stores are giving bags anymore so we're really down to the nitty gritty."
You can only access the food bank once every four weeks, so if you were there for the March 16th intake, you'll have to wait until the next one on April 13th.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Update Posted on March 29 at 1:13 pm:
Isaac Oleksiuk has been safely located. The RCMP thanks the public for their assistance.
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Original Article Posted on February 8 at 2:50 pm:
The Pas RCMP is looking for a missing teen who was last seen early Sunday Morning.
16-year-old Isaac Oleksiuk was last seen leaving a residence on Dufferin Street in the Pas on February 5th. He's described as 6'2'', 140 pounds, with long black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a green jacket with ‘trades’ written on it and blue plaid pajama pants at the time.
If you have information on his whereabouts please call The Pas RCMP at 204-627-6204, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or secure tip online here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Update #3 posted on March 23 at 11:56 am:
Police have arrested Samuel Flatfoot, the third and final suspect in the March 13th assault. The RCMP thanks the public for their assistance.
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Update #2 posted on March 23 at 2:41 pm:
Kathleen Flatfoot has been arrested, but police continue to search for Samuel Flatfoot.
Anyone with information is asked to call Dauphin RCMP at 204-622-5050, call Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.
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Update #1 posted on March 17th at 2:03 pm:
Police have arrested Fred Parenteau of Dauphin in relation to Monday morning's assault.
Kathleen Flatfoot and Samuel Flatfoot remain at large and anyone with information is asked to call Dauphin RCMP at 204-622-5050, call Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.
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Original article posted on March 16th at 2:22 pm:
Three people are wanted in relation to an assault that took place in Dauphin early Monday morning.
Police got a call that an injured female was at Tim Hortons, and when they arrived, they found a 45-year-old female victim from Pine Creek with life-threatening injuries. She was taken to the hospital before being transferred to Winnipeg in critical condition.
Another victim, a 66-year-old male from Dauphin was also found nearby with serious injuries. He was taken to the hospital where he remains in stable condition.
The Dauphin RCMP has issued warrants for the arrest of the following suspects in connection to the incident:
24-year-old Samuel Flatfoot from Pine Creek First Nation is wanted for Aggravated Assault x2 and Robbery.
Samuel Flatfoot
37-year-old Fred Parenteau from Dauphin is wanted for Aggravated Assault x2 and Robbery.
Fred Parenteau
49-year-old Kathleen Flatfoot from Pine Creek First Nation is wanted for Aggravated Assault and Robbery x2.
Kathleen Flatfoot
RCMP are asking anyone who may know the whereabouts of these suspects or have any information in relation to this assault to contact the Dauphin RCMP at 204-622-5050, call Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
On Thursday, March 30th beginning at 7 am, a stretch of mountain road will be closed for construction.
Due to a water main leak, the area from 4th avenue northeast, Edgar Avenue and Kerr Avenue will be closed to all traffic, including the bike lane.
Be prepared for detours, and avoid the area if possible.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
The search continues for Thunder Gott, who has been missing from Sapotaweyak Cree Nation since the end of December.
Swan River RCMP say Gott was last seen mid-morning on January 3rd, walking along Highway 10 about half a kilometer north of Birch River. He was wearing a light-coloured spring jacket, grey toque, and running shoes at the time.
Gott was first reported missing on December 29th, and the search has continued since, with a helicopter being used as a part of the search in mid-January.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call the Swan River RCMP at 204-734-4686, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a secure tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
For the first time in nearly two decades, Japan has lifted all restrictions on Canadian beef and beef products.
Japan originally shut its borders to all Canadian beef in May 2003 after an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE), commonly called mad cow disease, in Alberta. Over the last 20 years, Japan has started easing the restrictions, with the last coming off of processed beef and beef patties earlier this week.
Manitoba Beef Producers General Manager Carson Callum, says the move is a huge benefit to producers across the country, as Japan is Canada's second-largest market for beef exports.
"It's an important market in terms of diversification for all beef products that are being exported from the country. With beef being so heavily involved in the export market, ensuring that there are proper markets and diversification is really, at the end of the day, going to increase the value of that product, that producers here in the province are raising and producing."
Callum says the recent announcement will really expand the market access in Japan. He says they're hoping this will encourage other countries who still have restrictions on Canadian beef to consider lifting them.
"We're hoping the full market access to Japan really signals other countries, in particular in that Southeast Asia region, to follow suit, because there's always market opportunities globally, but some of these restrictions from a BSE era perspective have made it challenging to get into those markets to diversify."
Even with some restrictions still in place, $518 million worth of Canadian beef was exported to Japan in 2022.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
Canada's Federal Budget was announced today with a heavy focus on health care, cost of living, and a transition to a clean economy.
One of the most notable pieces of the $491 billion budget is the presentation of $13 billion for a federally funded dental plan that will assist families earning less than $90 thousand annually. The dental plan could cover nearly 9 million Canadians by the end of this year.
Other notable announcements that came from today's budget include:
- $198.3 billion in spending in the healthcare system to expand services and reduce backlogs, which has been in the works for a while.
- $59.5 billion in additional spending as compared to last year.
- Doubling the GST rebate for low-income families
- $20 billion over 6 years in tax credits for investments in green technologies
- $4 billion over 5 years for an Indigenous housing strategy
- $359 million over 5 years addressing the opioid crisis
- $158 million 3 years for a new suicide prevention hotline that launches November 30th
- and $15 billion in reduced government spending for public servants and travel.
Assisting Canadians with health care came with its costs, and projections of higher-than-expected deficits are being predicted for the next 5 years.
Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio is still one of the lowest among G-7 countries at 30.5 percent as of 2022.
For a full review of the 2023 federal budget, the Government of Canada Website has the entirety of the release.
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- Contributed by Michael Brossart
There are some shockingly high numbers in the RCMP monthly crime stats for February, including a 45% increase in Crimes Against Property in the West District, which includes the Parkland.
Overall, calls for service across the province were up 17%, with the West District seeing the smallest increase at just 3%. The East District saw an average increase of 17%, while the North District was up 21%.
The crime statistics compare February this year, with February 2022, and three of the four major categories saw an increase in the West District.
- Common Police Activities +23% (387 to 477)
- Crime against Property +45% (401 to 580)
- Crime against Person +25% (247 to 308)
- Drug Enforcement -7% (28 to 26)
Further breakdown of the West District crime stats can be found here.
Some other numbers around the province that really stick out in this month's report were a 160% increase in Drug Enforcement in the East District, a 54% increase in Drug Enforcement in the North District, and a 62% increase in Traffic Enforcement Tickets provincially.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
The Manitoba government is investing $420 million in critical infrastructure to strengthen the economy in Northern Manitoba.
The money will be going toward projects like road and runway repairs, upgrading airport facilities, and developing a sustainable northern corridor through the Port of Churchill.
Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk made the announcement in Thompson this morning.
“We are making strategic investments that strengthen northern Manitoba to create opportunities not only to compete today but to build on for generations to come,’’ said Piwniuk in a news release. “We believe a stronger, more vibrant northern economy can help propel the provincial economy forward.”
Included in the investment is over $250 million dollars in improvements to five roadways. This money will be going towards improved safety and year-round access.
- Over $100 million is going to Provincial Trunk Highway (PTH) 6, including $40 million in projects such as twinning and passing lanes for the section of PTH 6 from PTH 101 north to Grosse Isle.
- $98.3 million will go to Provincial Road (PR) 283 for a new bridge at the Pasquia River and bituminous reconstruction from the Saskatchewan boundary to PTH 10 at The Pas. Once complete, this section will support Manitoba’s heaviest allowable loads and will complete 39.7 km of the trade and commerce grid.
- $36 million is earmarked for bridge repair work at Burntwood River on PR 391.
- $8.5 million for upgrades to PR 620, a 10-km gravel access road that connects PR 391 to Nelson House-Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and the community of Nelson House.
- $4.5 million to build a new airport access road off PR 391 to better serve the Thompson airport.
Piwniuk says the government understands the importance of improving transportation linkages for the transportation of goods and services, promotion of tourism, mining exploration, and economic development.
You can see the provincial government's full News Release about the investment here.
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- Contributed by Sam Brownell
