NewsNow
Dauphin Chamber executive director Stephen Chychota is working hard to help Parkland businesses get connected with the federal and provincial support programs available to them.
Chychota admits all this information can be difficult to keep track of, and he commends the province’s decision to set up a call centre to help Manitoba businesses navigate this new information.
Last week, Premier Brian Pallister announced Winnipeg-based company 24-7 Intouch will be operating as a call centre to help the 65,000 Manitoba businesses eligible for federal support.
The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) has now been expanded to include businesses that had payrolls last year between $20,000 and $1.5 million. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says $7.5 billion in loans have already been approved.
Chamber Executive Director Stephen Chychota says the new call centre is a valuable resource to help local businesses during this challenging time.
“That’s where our role is too, in sharing that information. We can help guide and put those pieces together for some businesses. If this call centre is done correctly, it could really help with the headache of trying to piece all this information together.
The Dauphin & District Chamber of Commerce is asking local businesses to stay in contact and share their questions and concerns.
“It would be great if we could get some help from the businesses too; reaching out to us, letting us know what’s going on. Whether you need some help with resources, or if there’s some gaps not being fulfilled by the provincial or federal government. If we have that information, we can share that with our Manitoba Chamber of Commerce.”
Chychota says local businesses can stay up to date with the Chamber’s virtual information seminars. You can also stay in contact with the Dauphin & District Chamber of Commerce on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Details
- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Manitoba Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre says there is a risk of ice pileup on Dauphin Lake, Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Manitoba.
This also includes the south shores of Lake Winnipeg including areas near Gimli and Victoria Beach.
The Forecast Centre reports that winds will shift from south to north later today, resulting in a moderate to high wind warning.
Strong north winds are forecast for early tomorrow afternoon until tomorrow evening around 10 p.m.
Officials are advising property owners to take precautions.
- Details
- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The daily COVID-19 press conference in Manitoba was cancelled Sunday.
Public health officials are saying no new cases of the virus have been identified, so the number of cases in Manitoba remains at 253.
There are currently 105 active cases in the province. A total of 143 people are listed as recovered.
This is now the third consecutive day where the amount of people recovered outnumbers active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba.
There have been five deaths in the province due to COVID-19.
A total of 13 cases have been confirmed in the Prairie Mountain Health region.
Any person concerned about their exposure to or risk of having COVID-19 should call Health Links–Info Santé at 204-788-8200 or (toll-free) at 1-888-315-9257 to be screened to see if a test is required.
For more information and to access the online screening tool for COVID-19, visit: www.manitoba.ca/covid19.
- Details
- Contributed by Matt Hamel
A brief manhunt happened Saturday night as police searched for an escaped prisoner from the Headingley Correctional Centre.
Around 11 p.m., Winnipeg Police asked residents to stay indoors as they reported many police units were in the area searching for the escaped prisoner.
Before midnight, police tweeted the prisoner had been located and taken back into custody.
Headingley’s RCMP detachment conducted the search with assistance from the Winnipeg Police Service.
- Details
- Contributed by Matt Hamel
Restrictions on non-essential travel at the Canada-US border have been extended for another 30 days.
During his daily address to the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the extension an important measure to keep people safe on both sides of the border.
Restrictions at the border began on March 21st, and were set to expire on Tuesday, April 21st.
Meanwhile, some encouraging news with some provinces and cities beginning to report slower growth of COVID-19 cases.
Federal officials acknowledge some areas of the country may be closer than others to reopening, but stress it must be done carefully.
- Details
- Contributed by 730 CKDM
Public Health officials have announced 3 more cases COVID-19 in the province.
The total number of cases is now 253.
Seven people are currently being hospitalized, and the number of COVID-19 related deaths in Manitoba remains at 5.
At this time, the number of active cases is 108, and the number of recoveries is 140.
The number of cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region is now at 13.
If you are concerned about your exposure to to risk of having COVID-19, you should call Health Links at 204-788-8200 or toll-free at 1-888-325-9257.
- Details
- Contributed by Tess Kovach
Turtle River School Division announced earlier this week that they they’ve postponed their graduation ceremonies until the fall.
Just like Mountain View School Division, Bev Szymesko says it was the right thing to do
"I had a meeting with the principals and it was a very difficult decision for us," said Szymesko, Superintendent of the Turtle River School Division. "We just felt it was the prudent decision, we don't know what anything will look like in June."
The postponement will affect roughly 45-55 students across TRSD that were set to graduate.
Szymesko understands that graduates may be going through a tough time; however, she assures there will be a time to celebrate.
"The school principals, the students, and their parents will plan graduation moving forward," she continued. "We didn't cancel anything, we just pushed things back until the fall."
The date for graduation will be decided by each school.
School principals will be contacting families of grade 12 students and will also be available to answer any questions or concerns.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU) says she’s heard the closure of the Dauphin Correctional Centre (DCC) is going to proceed on May 29th.
Michelle Gawronsky has been calling on Justice Minister Cliff Cullen to delay the closure until after the pandemic. She says it's not fair to make correctional officers and their families relocate at this time.
“My initial reaction was disgust. I found out through the members there was a meeting held at the Dauphin jail with the superintendent of the jail telling our members, contrary to what they’d been told, that the closure of the jail will be definitely happening on May 29th.”
Gawronsky says she’s not exactly sure if jail workers are going to be asked to break social distancing guidelines as they look to relocate, buy new homes, and register kids for school.
“We’re not exactly sure what the expectation is for these workers.”
The MGEU president explains she discussed the topic of delaying the closure while on a conference call with Minister of Justice Cliff Cullen on April 1st. Gawronsky says she is waiting to hear back from Minister Cullen.
Going forward, Gawronsky says she's hoping the public will voice their displeasure and contact the premier directly with their concerns.
“To me, it’s a fairly easy answer. Just make an announcement that the closure of the Dauphin jail has been delayed until the pandemic is over.”
- Details
- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The RM of Lakeshore is accepting applications for the position of Chief Administrative Officer.
The CAO is the head of the municipality and has responsibilities including council meetings, by-laws and policies, financial management, and human resource management.
The RM of Lakeshore is calling on people with strong communication and leadership skills.
To be eligible you must be a certified Manitoba Municipal Administrator, as well as have previous experience as a CAO with another municipality.
The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is hired.
For more information, you can contact the RM of Lakeshore at (204)-732-2333.
- Details
- Contributed by Tess Kovach
It’s been getting more and more difficult for the Bakers Narrows Lodge in Flin Flon to do business.
The northern Manitoba fishing lodge has already lost $100,000 in revenue over the past 6 weeks of cancellations, according to office manager Heather Joy Baynton.
She says the loss of their American customers was tough. Not long after that, the lodge started losing customers from Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Now complicating things even further, the Manitoba government has banned all non-essential travel to northern communities above the 53rd parallel, until May 1st.
Our chief provincial public health officer says the travel ban to northern Manitoba has a few exceptions; residents of northern and remote communities may continue to move within the north; delivery of goods and services may continue; and exceptions include those who travel to the north for employment, medical treatment or to facilitate child-custody agreements.
Heather says she’s beginning to worry about what the Flin Flon fishing retreat will do if these restrictions carry on any longer.
“I just hope it doesn’t start affecting our June market. We’re normally sold out for June every year.”
In the meantime, the staff at Bakers Narrows Lodge have been taking a number of precautions; putting plexiglass in the office, and increasing cleaning protocols to make sure all points of contact are regularly disinfected.
Heather explains the lodge has made an effort to accommodate customers who were forced to cancel their reservations. Affected customers have a chance to keep their deposit on file, and use it anytime within the next 12 months.
For the latest information on how COVID-19 is impacting the fishing lodge in Flin Flon, visit the Bakers Narrows Lodge website.
- Details
- Contributed by Matt Hamel
The Dauphin Friendship Centre knows that some people don't have access to the internet or printing services.
While they know that's the case, they certainly aren't sitting around and instead, they're helping anyone who needs those services.
They've set up two computers that can be used from outside of the building. Both computers are available to anyone and can be used 24/7, free of charge.
You can also use their printer free of charge; however, that's only during business hours.
"We found this to be very effective. We know people need to register for things and stuff like that," said Jeremy Smith. "We also know some people are having trouble staying in touch with their families, so we wanted to change that. If someone wants to use the computers to get in touch with their families, we welcome them to do so."
On the first night that this service was available, the computers were being used at midnight.
Elsewhere around the Dauphin Friendship Centre, it's business as usual with some precautions in place. They have set up plexiglass which will keep clients and staff a safe distance away from each other.
The DFC is also developing programs currently that will be offered online through social media such as Facebook and Skype.
"We're also in contact with service providers in Dauphin to see what kind of services we need to help our clients through this crisis."
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
