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Manitoba hit a milestone today, as more than one million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have now been administered in the province.
Acting Health and Seniors Care Minister Kelvin Goertzen says that Manitoba has consistently been in the top three provinces in terms of per capita doses administered, in recent weeks.
“Manitobans have been making the choice to get vaccinated in incredible numbers, as demonstrated by hitting the one-million-doses mark. Even though this is an important milestone, there is much more work to do as we strive to reach immunization targets and reopen Manitoba.”
Manitoba continues to expand eligibility for second doses, and today it was changed to include Manitobans who received their first shot on or before May 6th.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Gypsumville RCMP are searching for a 38-year-old man who is wanted on several outstanding warrants.
Norman Sinclair is facing several charges including aggravated assault, and failing to comply. He’s considered dangerous and might be in possession of weapons.
RCMP ask that if you see him, to not approach him and call the police immediately.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Gypsumville RCMP at 204-659-2682.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
Today Mountain View School Division was advised of several Cases of COVID-19 associated with schools in the city.
The individuals were not present in the school during their period of communicability.
Two of the associated cases were at Henderson Elementary School, one at MacKenzie Middle School, and one at Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School.
There are no close contacts, so no public health investigation is required.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
It was announced Friday morning that the RBC community team had donated $1,000 to Henderson Elementary School on behalf of former Dauphin Kings forward, Grady Hobbs.
The principal of the school, Ronda Casavant, says that Henderson Elementary is very fortunate to have been the choice of donation by Hobbs and RBC.
Ms. Casavant highlighted areas of which the donation funds will go towards, such as new outdoor equipment for students, as well as funding towards upgrading their playground and play structure.
Kindergarten teacher at Henderson and Chair of fundraising for parent council, Stacey Penner, says that students are very excited to have upgrades coming.
"There is a general buzz in the air at Henderson with the kids about anticipating new equipment that's coming."
Grady does have ties to the elementary school as he was billeted by the school's PE teacher Jerron Kyle his whole tenure as a member of the Dauphin Kings.
Grady Hobbs is now going on to play for and attend the Rochester Institute of Technology, a Division 1 College hockey program.
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- Contributed by Noah Fuchs
The Swan Valley School Division Board of Trustees held a virtual town hall over Zoom last night to talk about Bill 64 – the Education Modernization Act.
Bill 64 proposes the replacement of elected school boards with a provincial education authority, and reduces the 37 school divisions to 15 regional entities.
The legislation also removes principals and vice-principals from the profession of teaching, focusing their role on management.
Swan Valley School Division Trustee Bill Schaffer says this bill will replace the Public Schools Act, the Education Administration Act and the Community Schools Act.
“This is an actual replacement of everything that now exists in terms of the School Act and all of its regulations, which have really governed and formed the basis for how we operate for all these years.”
Trustee Laurie Evans further outlined how these changes would look.
“Currently we have school divisions with elected trustees and local divisional personnel, so this will all be replaced. It will be a provincial education authority which is all appointed by the government.”
Should the proposed changes come into effect, Swan Valley School Division, Mountain View School Division, and Turtle River School Division will be combined.
July 1st, 2022 is the date set for the provincial education authority to take over, should Bill 64 become law.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
The University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences has honoured four alumni for their outstanding professional contributions and public service.
Among those honoured was Robert Maytwayashing from Lake Manitoba First Nation.
In 1990 Maytwayashing graduated with a Diploma in Agriculture in the business and financial management stream from the University of Manitoba.
Maytwayashing says his professional career has led him in all kinds of areas.
“My formal training is in agriculture through the diploma program, but somehow I ended up in healthcare. I was also a former leader in my community both as a council member and a chief. I’ve been around the blocked so to speak.”
Maytwayashing is currently employed with the Interlake-Eastern Regional health authority as their Indigenous human resource development officer. Part of that role is providing cultural awareness training to around 3,200 staff.
He says that he is always trying to educate Canadians about the real history of the country.
“Canadians, in general, haven’t got a clue about what’s really gone down in this country. Case in point is the recent discovery of the 215 graves in B.C. We’ve known about these stories for a long time, but it seems not until there’s physical evidence of something are we listened to as Indigenous people.”
Maytwayashing wasn’t expecting to receive this honour, and says that he was humbled and honoured.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
On June 10th, the Mountain View School Division was informed of a new COVID-19 case associated with the DRCSS.
The individual was not present in the school during the period where they would be infectious, and there are no school-related close contacts to report.
Since there were no close contacts at the school, there will not be a public health investigation into this case.
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- Contributed by Noah Fuchs
Nearly one million people in Manitoba have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
69.8 percent of Manitobans aged 18 and older have received a dose while 67.2% of Manitobans aged 12 and older have received at least one dose.
"That's tremendous, Manitobans are doing what they can," said Brian Pallister during a news conference on Thursday.
Pallister alongside Dr. Brent Roussin also announced Manitoba's reopening plan today, called '4-3-2-1 Great Summer Re-Opening Path'. Dr. Roussin reiterated that Manitobans can continue to do their part by getting vaccines.
The plan announced today is focused on Manitobans getting vaccinated and following all public health orders and there are four reopening categories, gathering and socializing, travel and tourism, shopping and services, and dining out and entertainment. They will be geared around Canada Day, August Long Weekend, and Labour Day.
- The immunization targets are:
• over 70 per cent of all Manitobans aged 12 and over have received their first dose and over 25 per cent have received their second dose by Canada Day;
• 75 per cent or greater of all Manitobans aged 12 and over have received their first dose and over 50 per cent have received their second dose by the August long weekend; and
• 80 per cent or greater of all Manitobans aged 12 and over have received their first dose and over 75 per cent have received their second dose by Labour Day.
“This reopening path aligns with public health advice on phasing out restrictions as more Manitobans get vaccinated,” said Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer. “This path to reopening businesses, services and facilities and our ability to gather with each other rely on Manitobans getting that second dose while continuing to follow the public health orders, and I encourage everyone to book their first and second doses as soon as possible.”
- Reopening activity levels will be tied to the first and second dose immunization targets including:
• meeting vaccine targets by Canada Day means businesses, services and facilities can open at
25 per cent capacity or greater levels;
• meeting vaccine targets by the August long weekend means businesses, services and facilities can open at 50 per cent capacity or greater levels; and
• meeting vaccine targets by Labour Day means businesses, services and facilities can open with limited restrictions.
“The more of us who get vaccinated, the faster we can regain our freedoms and enjoy what we’ve lost this past year and a half,” said Pallister. “There are two ways to reopen safely – getting vaccinated as soon as you are able and continuing to follow the public health orders.”
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
This event has been happening in the province annually since 1992, every June 12th and 13th. Climate Minister Sarah Guillemard encouraged people to get out and explore this weekend:
“There is no better way to enjoy a Manitoba weekend than in a provincial park.”
“We all need to find ways to embrace nature while at the same time remembering to follow all the latest public health guidelines.” said Guillemard.
Those who do take advantage of fishing without a licence this weekend will be able to keep the conservation licence limit, which varies based on species.
All other rules and regulations still apply. For more information and to see the full list of the regulations, visit here.
Access to provincial parks will also be free starting Friday, June 11th running through Sunday, June 13th. Regular camping fees will still apply if visitors plan on staying the night.
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- Contributed by Noah Fuchs
A 28-year-old is to appear in Russell Provincial Court later this year after he got behind the wheel under the influence.
On June 4 at about 11:40 p.m., the man was stopped by the RCMP after he was driving 172 km/hr in a clearly marked 100 km/hr zone in the RM of Russell Binscarth. Once pulled over, the RCMP noticed there were five occupants in the vehicle, all from the same Winnipeg address, and they were heading to a nearby provincial park to camp.
The driver was asked to exit the vehicle for a roadside breath test and the officer noticed he was stumbling and uneasy on his feet and as a result, he blew a fail.
He was arrested and charged with Impaired Operation of a Conveyance, Impaired Operation of a Conveyance over .08 mg % and Dangerous Driving. He was also issued a Serious Offence Notice for a licence review with MPI, licence immediately suspended for 3 months, vehicle towed and impounded for 30 days.
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- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The Manitoba government is expanding its current public health orders to allow outdoor public gatherings of up to five people on both public and private property starting Saturday.
Dr. Brent Roussin says no more than two households will be able to gather together on private property.
“Although the public health orders will allow for some small public gatherings, people are reminded to minimize the number of contacts they have outside of their households."
Schools in Dauphin are set to continue online learning until June 21st, and Winnipeg and Brandon schools will continue until the end of the school year.
Roussin says that the heat-related amendments from last week will stay in place, but are only to be used as needed.
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- Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson
