New child-care spaces will soon be opening in Manitoba. The Province and Ottawa have announced 324 spaces for health-care facilities including at Brandon Regional Health Centre. Hundreds of spaces will also be created at schools – and $5.8 million will go towards tuition reimbursements for students in early childhood education programs.
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The Manitoba government is being called on to invest in more affordable housing in Brandon and fix-up aging facilities. Spruce Woods Housing Co-op manager Eva Cameron told the Brandon Sun the vacancy rate for affordable housing in the city is zero. Brandon reportedly needs at least 650 new social housing units to meet the needs of about 230 people who were homeless last year.
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The Competition Bureau is investigating the possible use of AI-driven pricing in Canadian real estate rental markets. It involves real estate companies using programs that track what competitors are charging for rent and leases. A lawsuit in the U-S alleges companies are using the software to collude and artificially inflate rents.
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The province is spending over a million dollars on job creation projects. The ‘First Jobs Fund’ supports non-profits and NGO’s in creating programs for people aged 15 to 29. Six organizations will receive up to $225,000 including Tech Manitoba, the Urban Transition Centre, two projects through the Manitoba Aviation Council, Dexterra Community Initiatives and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization.
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Inflation rose slightly in January compared to December, but food prices in Canada declined for the first time since May 2017. We also paid less for restaurant meals and alcohol thanks mostly to the GST holiday which ended last week. Inflation increased to 1.9% last month, led largely by a spike in energy prices.
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A report today says Walmart was recently selling one-litre cartons of milk in Manitoba stores for higher prices than provincial law allows. The CBC reports Beatrice milk was priced at $2.88 – the provincial maximum is $2.03 for 2% and $1.97 for 1% milk. The prices have since returned to a normal, and Walmart says it’s investigating. It’s not known how long they were overcharging.
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Manitobans are changing their buying habits and travel plans in response to the threat of U.S. tariffs. A new survey found almost 90% of people over the age of 55 were likely to boycott American products – and overall, more than six in 10 Manitobans said they had cancelled vacation plans in the U.S.
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Delays at Toronto’s Pearson airport may continue today as investigators work to determine what caused Monday’s fiery crash landing of a Delta Air Lines plane. They’ve recovered the plane’s black box and sent it off for analysis. All 80 people on board survived the crash.
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You know that city-killing asteroid that could hit earth in 2032? Well, the chances of it doing that just doubled. According to NASA, the probability of impact has risen to 3.1% – or a one-in-32 odds of impact – the highest probability of a collision yet. However, the agency says no-one should panic. A similar-sized asteroid in February 2013 in Russia injured about a thousand people when it exploded in the atmosphere.
