-The Town Centre mall in downtown Brandon is in clean up mode today, following a water pipe burst over the weekend. No one was hurt, but most businesses were closed, leaving the town center with no running water. This leak caused a ceiling to collapse, flooding parts of the mall. Several tenants say the closure disrupted operations, while some offices and nearby businesses remained open.
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-Assiniboine College is celebrating its 65th anniversary, by awarding 65 tuition credits worth $1,000 dollars each. These credits will be available through college events and community gatherings throughout this year. The 65 credits are available during ACC’s open house on Feb. 25.
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-Career Connections Inc. has been appointed the new MentorAbility hub for Manitoba. The Brandon Sun says C-C-I is now the provincial lead for MentorAbility. It’s a Canada-wide program coordinated by the Canadian Association of Supported Employment. The goal is to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities. C-C-I will be matching clients with employers across the province. This program has now been extended to March 31, 2027.
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-The Association of Manitoba Municipalities wants to keep violent, repeat offenders off the streets, right now. How? By pushing federal MP’s to pass Bill C-14, calling for stricter bail and sentencing laws addressing violent, repeat offenders, proposing more than 80 clauses of targeted change. The A-M-M says Bill C-14 is needed to restore public confidence in the justice system.
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-Manitoba Hydro says new wind farms planned for the province will not be fully built until 2035, according to its newly released resource plan. The plan includes 3 natural gas turbines in Brandon, capable of generating 750 megawatts by 2030, reducing the risk of winter power shortages. Hydro says a mix of new infrastructure and energy-saving measures will add 1,760 megawatts of capacity, over the next decade.
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-Ottawa plans to boost the GST credit and issue a one-time payment to Canadians. The Brandon Sun says it will cost approximately $12.4 billion dollars over 6 years. The PM promised new measures to help lower-income Canadians deal with the high cost of groceries, just last week. Over 12 million Canadians are expected to benefit, and legislation to implement the plan is being fast-tracked through Parliament.
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Why are we not cashing our federal government cheques? That’s the question MP’s are asking in the house of commons. $2 billion dollars has been left unclaimed, after consumers failed to cash almost 4 million federal cheques that were issued over the last 4 years. Uncashed payments include tax refunds, pension cheques, Canada Child Benefit payments, and carbon rebate programs.
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Ottawa is considering bringing back consumer incentives for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The incentive program is offering $5 thousand dollars towards an EV purchase. This program was suspended, after it ran out of money. No final decision has been made on this program.
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-Tragic junior hockey news… 3-members of the Southern Alberta Mustangs Junior hockey team were killed Monday morning, after colliding with a semi-truck south of Calgary, on their way to hockey practice. 17 year old Caden Fine and 18 year old’s Cameron Casorso and JJ Wright passed away in the accident. Saskatchewan’s Mayor of Humboldt issued a statement, offering his community’s condolences to the town of Stavely.
