Manitoba Government Wins Legal Battle On Wage Freezes

The government of Manitoba has won an appeal today regarding the freezing of wages for public sector workers.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled that the bill enacting a wage freeze from 2017 did not violate the workers' rights to bargain collectively.

On Wednesday, the appeals judge on the case ruled that it is not unconstitutional for a government to remove wages from the bargaining table.

The 2017 proposal called for a two-year wage freeze for government employees after their contracts expired.

The freeze followed a 0.75 percent pay raise in the third year and one percent raise in the fourth.

The labour groups that challenged this legislation say they are considering taking the case to Canada's Supreme Court.

Details: Contributed by Noah Fuchs; Published: Oct 13, 2021 - 4:22 pm

According to U.S. officials, the United States is set to open its land borders with Canada and Mexico early next month to vaccinated travellers.

There have been restrictions on non-essential travel since March 2020.

Under the new rules non-essential travellers will be asked about their vaccination status at land border crossings, and only those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be let in.

Travellers who received any vaccines approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization will be allowed to enter. That means Canadians who received AstraZeneca will be included.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 13, 2021 - 6:56 am

As time winds down to the PC leadership vote, we are just weeks away from Manitoba having a new premier.

MLA Brad Michaleski took a neutral stance on who he would prefer, Heather Stefanson or Shelly Glover,

"I think both of them have very, very strong qualities, very strong candidates. When Heather announced she was running, I did support her bid to run for premier. But again, both of them are very strong candidates, and I'll work with either one of them."

Michaleski expressed excitement for Manitoba to have its first female premier,

"I think it's great, again I'll just say, both of them are extremely strong candidates, they have a lot of experience that they bring to the table as leaders, and again I think Manitoba is going to be well served by either one of these strong leaders."

When asked about the alleged PC voting scandal, Michaleski wasn't impressed with the claim from the NDP,

"The NDP likes to start stories that may have no substance whatsoever. I've seen that a lot of times, so I'll leave that in the hands of the NDP."

The PC's will choose their new leader, who will automatically become the province's new premier on October 30th.

Details: Contributed by Noah Fuchs; Published: Oct 13, 2021 - 5:00 am

Mountain View School Division held a regularly scheduled board meeting last night.

The board went over a variety of talking points that concern the division, including:

A follow-up was provided from the last meeting on the municipal property tax report forGrandview. The municipality last reported that it owed more than $43,000 in taxes, but an error was detected since then, and the bill has been revised to $7,300.

A skill trades and technology showcase for grade eight students in the MVSD will take place on November 5th.

Homeschooling numbers are up due to the pandemic but still relatively small compared to the rest of the province.

Manitoba public health is now permitting indoor student mask breaks for eating and drinking when students are 6 feet apart.

Effective October 18th, regular COVID tests will be taken for employees and volunteers who are not fully vaccinated.

Improved ventilation systems in schools as a part of the Safe Schools Fund.

The next MVSD board meeting is set to take place on October 25th.

Details: Contributed by Noah Fuchs; Published: Oct 13, 2021 - 5:00 am

After being cancelled twice due to the pandemic, Dauphin’s Countryfest is set to return next year.

Canada’s longest-running Country music festival will run from July 1^st to the 3^rd of 2022.

General Manager of Countryfest, Rob Waloschuk says it’s been far too long since they’ve been able to have the festival.

“I mean we’ve gone two years now without the festival and it’s really been a struggle for a lot of us, and not to mention a really big struggle for the local community not being able to benefit from the effects of Countryfest whether that’s service groups in the area or non-profit groups who benefit from it.”

Waloschuk says they’ve confirmed next year’s all-Canadian lineup.

“So excited to announce that Paul Brandt, Johnny Reid, Dallas Smith, Dean Brody, Terri Clark, Gord Bamford, the Reklaws, Don Amero, the Hunter Brothers, the Washboard Union, Chad Brownlee, Jess Moskaluke, the Road Hammers, Michelle Wright, JoJo Mason, Doc Walker, Jade Eagleson, it goes on and on. There’s even more to come a bit later, but we sure are excited to be able to give back to those Canadian artists, and give back to all of our fans who’re looking forward to getting back here.”

Corb Lund and Charlie Major were announced for people with carry-over tickets from 2021.

While planning for next year, the current public health restrictions were taken into consideration.

“We’re going to follow the rules for next year with the vaccination requests, and we’ve decided on our own we’re going to reduce our capacity to 50 percent. It’s going to be much more comfortable and safe for everyone, and I think our fans are going to appreciate it, you know first year coming back let’s just take it easy, have a good time and really get back to some good Country music.”

Presale tickets can be purchased by members from October 25^th to November 5^th. Ticket sales begin for the general public on November 15^th.

Tickets can be bought online, or by calling 1-800-361-7300.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 12, 2021 - 10:18 am

Manitoba RCMP are reporting an 11 percent decrease in police-reported crime in rural areas between August 2020 and August 2021.

The decrease was reported to be 13 percent in the West District, which is where Dauphin is located.

Crime in our district fell overall in almost every category but there are a few exceptions.

Arson nearly doubled to 11 in 2021 from six in 2020, fraud was up by 15 percent, and there were 274 instances of suspicious people, vehicles, or property marking a 13 percent increase.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 12, 2021 - 8:57 am

Brandon Police say a Winnipeg man is facing charges after calling 911 multiple times on Monday to report around 50 people fist fighting along the side of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Police say when they found the 31-year-old man he was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of the highway. He was believed to be impaired by drugs.

Police allege that the man fought with them while being placed under arrest, and tried to flee the scene.

The man is facing a charge of resisting arrest and is set to appear in court in December. A blood sample was taken from the accused and impaired driving-related charges are pending based on the results.

The investigation continues.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 12, 2021 - 8:07 am

There are some walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics in the Parkland this week.

People can get vaccinated at Dauphin’s Supersite, located at 304 Whitmore Avenue east on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Walk-ins are taking place in Swan River on Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre, located at 1413 Main Street.

In Brandon, people can get the vaccine at the Keystone Centre’s Manitoba Room on Thursday from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

People can attend walk-ins at the Dauphin and Brandon sites, but they can also book an appointment by calling 1-844-626-8222. Consent forms are needed for both 1st and 2nd dose appointments.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 11, 2021 - 10:05 am

Canada’s average gas prices have hit a new all-time high, passing the high of 142 cents per litre set in 2008.

According to GasBuddy’s survey of 469 gas outlets in Manitoba, average prices in the province have risen 9.3 cents per litre in the past week, averaging 142.24.

Nationally, prices have risen 5.7 cents per litre in the last week to 143.61.

This increase comes as oil prices hit 7-year highs.

Details: Contributed by Trillian Reynoldson; Published: Oct 11, 2021 - 6:03 am

CancerCare Manitoba is hosting mobile screening mammography clinics in this Parkland.

Mammography is the process of using low-energy X-rays to detect breast cancer.

The clinics are taking place in Grandview from October 12th to the 15th, In Ste. Rose from October 18th to November 1st, and in McCreary from November 2nd to the 10th.

Anyone wanting to book an appointment can call 1-855-95-CHECK.