Mazier Takes Oath Of Office

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.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 25, 2021 - 11:42 am

You may have noticed more bear cubs that were in places that they usually aren't over the summer months and if you did, you weren't alone. Because of a late frost that killed flowers on the berry bushes, the drought we experienced, and forest fires, bears were on the move to places that they aren't normally seen.

As a result, they were coming into contact with people whether that be in their backyards or just in parks. In many cases, mothers were getting hit by vehicles and that meant many cubs struggled to survive, but that's where Black Bear Rescue Manitoba came in. They brought 32 bears into their facility near Stonewall. Black Bear Rescue gives young cubs a chance to grow while they are still too young to be out in the wild by themselves.

Two of the cubs, unfortunately, passed away; however, 30 of them are now set to be released into the wild. 13 of the cubs were also rescued from the Parkland with three being rescued from Grandview, one in Swan River, five from Roblin, one in Onanole, and three from the Duck Mountains. Two were also rescued from Sandy Lake.

Judy Kearns and her husband run Black Bear Rescue on their property and now that they're getting set to release the cubs back into the wild so they can hibernate for the winter, Kearns says it's a bittersweet feeling.

"I've been providing them with 24/7 care for several months now so I always worry when we release them, what will happen," said Kearns. "All we can do is hope for the best when we release them into the wild. It's sad but at the same time, I'm looking forward to getting a bit of a break for the winter."

A registered charity, Black Bear Rescue doesn't receive any money from the government so they are always accepting donations by heading to their Facebook page. And as the years have gone on, Judy has become that much busier. In their first year, they welcomed three cubs to their facility, they had seven in their second year, 19 in their third year and now 32 in their fourth year.

"We really have no idea what next year will hold for us," offered Kearns. "More and more people are finding out about us so we could see another increase, I guess we'll see how it goes."

If you're ever out and about when spring arrives and you notice a cub is walking around without its mother, that is often a red flag because mothers would normally put their cubs high up in trees away from predators. Your next step would be calling conservation.