There were reports of funnel clouds and golf-ball sized hail as another storm system swept through Manitoba on Wednesday. The funnel clouds were spotted near Dugald, and the big hail around Stonewall. Environment Canada, meantime, is looking into reports of a tornado near Belleview, southwest of Brandon, on Tuesday.
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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has accused a group of American lawmakers of throwing a ‘timber tantrum’ after they called out Canada again over wildfire smoke in their states. He says they’re trying to score political points. The Republicans have filed a formal complaint with the International Joint Commission saying Canada is not doing enough to get fires under control. Natural Resources Canada has said wildfires are a global problem caused by climate change, something Republican U.S. President Donald Trump has called a hoax.
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Canadians renewing or applying for Nexus travel cards can no longer choose an X gender marker, following an executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump. He says the American government will only recognize male or female. Nexus memberships are meant to speed up border crossings between Canada and the United States.
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A public hearing will be held at Brandon City Hall later this month as councillors look to increase borrowing for the Southwest Brandon Wastewater Project. The City says to cover rising construction costs, they’ll need to increase the borrowing limit from $30 million to $40 million. The hearing will be held on August 18th.
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Brandon School Division is holding a byelection in the fall to fill a vacant trustee position in Ward one. Former trustee Blaine Foley resigned earlier this year to pursue a teaching career. The nomination period begins September 4th, and the byelection will be held on October 16th.
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Today is the last day for voters in the Spruce Woods riding to register or update their information to ensure they get a voter card in the mail. Advance voting in the provincial byelection will be held August 16th to the 25th –
election day is Tuesday the 26th. The riding includes a portion of Brandon north of the Assiniboine River.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet today with three provincial Métis groups to talk about his major projects legislation. It would quickly grant approvals for big industrial projects deemed in the national interest. The Manitoba Metis Federation won’t take part in the meeting saying an Ontario Metis group is not legit, and should not be at the table.
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A rare first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ sold for $57,000 at auction on Wednesday. It was found during a house clearance in southwest England. The book is one of 15-hundred copies of the novel published in 1937 – and of those, only a few hundred remain.
