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The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is calling for an apology and the removal of a trustee from the Mountain View School Division over what they say were racist remarks made earlier this week.

During the regular school board meeting on Monday night, trustee Paul Coffey made a 30-minute presentation called "Racism/Anti Racism", and subtitled "Nice Until It Isn't".

The presentation has drawn sharp reaction, with MVSD officials distancing themselves from the comments.

School board chair Gabe Mercier says Mr. Coffey was speaking as an individual and that his opinions and comments were his own, adding that he was not speaking on behalf of the division or its board.

Mercier adds Mountain View School Division stands by their continued work with Indigenous partners, and their tireless work around reconciliation.

Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak says the city is deeply concerned by the remarks made by Coffey, which he says do not reflect the values of inclusiveness and culture that they strive to uphold within the community. 

Northwest Metis Council Vice President Frances Chartrand said Coffey's comments are a direct assault on the tremendous work and efforts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

She adds that she trusts that Mountain View School Division do not support Coffey's views and that they will take appropriate measures to rectify the situation.

The provincial government says it will conduct a review over Coffey's comments. 

CKDM News Now continues to work on this story and will provide more reaction as we receive it. 

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Manitoba Public Insurers have been trimming their staff, as reports of one-fifth of their management team has been removed.

The insurer said the changes are responding to the recommendations made after a review by Ernst and Young, which found -among other things- that 30 percent of management roles had three or fewer staff reporting to them.

A total of 32 positions were removed in an effort to bring down costs and provide better organizational stability.

The report found it wasn't always clear who was responsible for which initiatives, and that a lack of clear responsibilities among leadership led to significant overspending in at least one project.

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The Peguis First Nation has filed for $1 billion in flood damages against the municipal, provincial, and federal governments.

Peguis Chief Stan Bird said the estimated cost of repairing, replacing or relocating approximately 500 flood-affected homes is more than $275 million, but these damages have displaced hundreds of citizens for years.

Approximately 550 Peguis community members are still not able to return to the community due to the 2022 flood.

Peguis First Nation filed a statement of claim that alleges two nearby municipalities have diverted water from their areas onto the reserve's land.

The First Nation is seeking damages for all losses connected to the flood, except for those already reimbursed by the federal government, according to the claim.

However, the allegations in the lawsuit have not yet been proven in court.

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The DRCSS will host a pair of special presentations later this week for parents - focusing on Youth mental health.

The presentations, which will be headed up by the school's social work clinician Nicole Foley, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health worker Richard  Kunicki, will give parents the chance to review and discuss issues such as youth depression, anxiety, substance misuse, and suicide. 

It is hoped that a better understanding of these issues will help parents build a stronger, healthier and trusting relationship with their children.

The presentations are set for 6 to 7 pm tomorrow night and 10 to 11 am Friday morning, both in the Multi Purpose room at the high school.

They are being held at the same time as Parent-Teacher Interviews at the DRCSS. 

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If you are a book lover or know someone who is, there is an annual event this weekend that you do not want to miss. 

The Dauphin Rotary Club's spring book fair goes from Thursday until Saturday at the 8th Avenue Hall. 

It runs from 9 am to 7 pm on Thursday, and 9 until 5 on both Friday and Saturday.

Jean-Louis Guillas with the Dauphin Rotary Club says there is a great variety of books available this weekend.

"We have boxes and boxes of books about cars, that were donated by a person who was a car journalist.  These books are pristine, they are works of art.  Lots of gardening books because gardening season is almost upon us, as well as fiction and  local histories."

Christine Harapiak says proceeds from the book sale will go towards supporting Rotary youth initiatives.

"This year, we have had great success finding candidates to go to different Rotary adventures.  We have seven students going out.  And with every two dollars you spend help us have the funds to do that.  We have two students going to model United Nations next weekend, one student going to Adventures in Citizenship in May, and four going to leadership camp."

There is also a special "Wine and Words" event planned for Friday night, where you can sample about a dozen different wines as well as appetizers while shopping for books.

Tickets for that event are $40 and must be pruchased in advance at either the DauphinLiquor Mart or through any member of the Rotary club.

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A pair of cases on incidents in Swan River have come back through the courts this week. 

32-year-old Trisha Cook was arrested after a vehicle was stolen from a residence earlier this month and eventually brought to a stop by a spike belt.

She appeared in Dauphin court and was remanded back into custody until her next appearance on June 5th in Swan River.

And 37-year-old Jeremy Gingras was also in Dauphin court earlier this week, when he was remanded back into custody until June 25th. 

He was arrested and charged after a man was reported to have broken into a residence twice last September, stealing several items before vandalizing a downtown business and several parked cars. 

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Since the federal legalization of cannabis in 2018, a few provinces have held some differences in the law.

The federal government proposed that a household could grow up to 4 cannabis plants per household, but Manitoba, Nunavut and Quebec all set a provincial law that prohibited this.

After lobbying by pro-cannabis advocates, The NDP government is looking to amend this, allowing people to grow cannabis at home.

Premier Kinew has spoken on adjacent matters in the past, looking to loosen the rules on consuption in provincial parks saying “I think the (ban in) provincial parks, we’d take a look at, just because—let’s be realistic—people are smoking weed in provincial parks as it is right now,”.

His commitment to follow through was welcomed by Jesse Lavoie, an activist who lost a court battle against the ban last year.

Lavoie rejected the previous government’s concerns about safety, saying the concerns did not materialize when medical marijuana was legalized earlier.

A bill to enact this change is expected in the coming days, but it's not clear whether it will be passed into law in the near future.

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A provincial project procured some funds for a particular pest problem.

Manitoba's "Squeal On Pigs" program is in its second year, and has received $2.6 million through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

Manitoba Pork, in partnership with the Government of Canada and the Province of Manitoba, and collaboration with Manitoba’s agricultural sector, was pleased to announce this funding during the Wild Pig Summit, which is currently taking place in Brandon.

This new funding will be a sizeable boon to the organization, furthering its capabilities of tracking and trapping wild pigs.

This funding will help develop new methods of tracking, like DNA detection in water supplies, or support existing methods like thermal imagining drones.

Squeal On Pigs Director Dr. Wanye Lee is confident this problem will not last long in Manitoba.

"I know it will take some time, but i think we can eradicate them from Manitoba. We have to persevere and be diligent, but I think it's possible."

The Manitoba Invasive Swine Eradication Project, later rebranded as Squeal on Pigs Manitoba, was announced in January 2022 as a partnership between the Government of Canada, the Province of Manitoba, and Manitoba Pork, through funding from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

 If you're looking to make a report on a wild pig, visit squealonpigsmb.org or give them a call at 1-833-SPOT PIG.

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The Parkland Chamber of Commerce has received funding through the Canada Summer Job Grant to add someone to their team for the summer months.

Executive Director Stephen Chychota says they are looking for someone to help with event co-ordinating over the course of the summer.

"Specifically on the street fair and dance, so if anybody wants to have some fun and work on that project.  It is very easy, there is a checklist and they can run through it.  They are part of the team and we are all going to work closely together."

Chychota says the application deadline is coming up quickly.

"We are hoping to close things up on May 3rd because it would be nice to have someone in place for the middle of May.  And then they can also see a part of our lunch series and hopefully catch a couple of those as we wrap that season up.  The sooner the better, but obviously we will keep it open until the right candidate comes along."

Interested individuals under the age of 30 can either drop off a resume at the Chamber office or email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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The April lunch and learn through the Parkland Chamber of Commerce will focus on volunteerism.

It is set for next Tuesday, April 30th at the Watson Arts Centre. 

Carissa Caruk-Ganczar with the Chamber says this event will be slightly different from previous lunch and learns. 

"This is an opportunity where we are going to have interaction with our participants, we can have some good table discussions, talk about some information, and come up with some tools.  A lot of our chamber members are not only businesses but also non-profit organizations.  So this is one of those topics that is a concern for a lot of organizations in our community."

Caruk-Ganczar explains plenty of good discussion during the event.

"How are recruiting people, how are we retaining people, as well as all kinds of organizations looking for board members.  We will have a good discussion about what is working, what is not working among our organizations.  We are going to dig into some of the trends and research happening across Canada, as well as some tips and tactics to think about and how do we shift some of our direction, how we are doing those things, how we may pull together resources and organizations, and what can we do to have those conversations."

Caruk-Ganczar feels we have a strong volunteer base across the region.

"We have great organizations and events, but even now post-pandemic we are seeing some of that shift as far as behaviour.  Also, how do we incorporate more youth or newcomers to our community.  And we will take a look at who else we are missing out there that might be wanting to get involved and what do we need to do to welcome them in a little bit more as well."

This lunch and learn is limited to 40 participants.

Chamber members interested in taking part are encouraged to register as soon as possible through the Chamber's website.   

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Gilbert Plains Municipality will host a special public hearing regarding their 2024 budget tonight

A special council meeting will begin at 6:30, with the public hearing slated to get underway at 7 - all at the Richardson Pioneer Community Hall. 

Copies of the financial plan can be picked up during the day at the Municipal Office in Gilbert Plains, and will also be available during tonight's meeting. 

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