New Cabinet To Be Unveiled
Manitoba's incoming premier, Brian Pallister, will announce his list of cabinet ministers today.
Pallister has promised a small cabinet of between 12 and 14 people, and has 39 fellow Progressive Conservative caucus members to choose from.
Political analysts such as Karine Levasseur at the University of Manitoba expect many cabinet posts will go to veteran Tory politicians such as Kelvin Goertzen, who served as Tory justice critic and house leader.
Also in that category are longtime agriculture critic Blaine Pedersen and deputy leader Heather Stefanson.
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Dry Conditions Cause Province to Ban Open Fires in Much of Manitoba
High temperatures and high winds have caused the province to cancel burning permits in western, central, and eastern Manitoba.
An advisory came out yesterday afternoon saying any permits that have been issued in those areas are now cancelled, and new burning permits will not be issued.
The area affected run from Gypsumville and Berens River down through the Interlake to the US border and east to Ontario. In the west, it includes the Turtle Mountain and Spruce Woods parks, the west shore of Lake Winnipegosis to Saskatchewan, up to the Overflowing River, including the Duck Mountains and Porcupine Hills.
The RM of Lakeshore and the RM of Mossey River issued their own fire bans yesterday as well.
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Census: Make Sure You Count
It's census time and Dauphin's city council is once again stressing the importance of having everyone counted.
Mayor Eric Irwin says it's very important for both the government of Canada and for the City of Dauphin.
"The City of Dauphin gets $228.60 per person, so it's fundamentally important that people sign up because for everybody that doesn't sign up that $228.60 is going to spread among everyone else."
Irwin says staff considered the federal gax tax and a couple provincial pots in calculating the number.
Filling out the census is also a legal obligation.
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Canada to Ratify Anti-Torture Protocol
Amnesty International and Mohamed Fahmy are among those applauding the federal government's promise to join a key UN anti-torture agreement.
A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion says the government plans to ratify the optional protocol to the convention against torture.
Fahmy, who spent more than a year in prison in Egypt, calls the move history in the making.
Amnesty International plans to hold a news conference on the subject later today.
