The fall sitting of the Manitoba legislature begins today. Politicians will vote on recommended fines for former premier Heather Stefanson and two of her cabinet ministers who violated the province’s conflict-of-interest law. Other bills to be debated include one to extend the amount of time highly intoxicated people can be detained.
———-
Former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Willard Reaves has been named the Manitoba Liberal Party’s new leader. The 66-year-old, who lives in Winnipeg’s Fort Whyte neighbourhood, was the lone candidate and declared winner without a vote on Monday. He hasn’t yet decided which riding he’ll run in during the next election.
———-
Police in Winnipeg are investigating a fire early Tuesday at the office of Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine. This happened just a week after windows at the office were vandalized.
———-
Hundreds of people came out to honour Truth and Reconciliation Day at Brandon’s Riverbank on Tuesday. About 800 people attended, which was an increase from previous years. Organizers say this indicates people are showing greater interest in the issue. The day was centered around a walk to Brandon’s former Indian Residential School. Truth and Reconciliation Week events continue today. At Brandon Riverbank, local students will participate in outdoor cultural programming which is also open to the public. Then this evening at 6:30, you can take part in Full Moon Teachings with Grandmother Debbie Huntinghawk.
———-
The Manitoba government is spending over $4 million dollars to support Indigenous-led addictions programming. The funding will help create more than 12-hundred treatment spaces that’ll provide culturally based, holistic day and evening programs.
———-
Manitoba’s minimum wage goes up today. It has increased 20 cents to $16.00-an-hour. Alberta now has the lowest wage in the country at $15.00.
———-
There likely won’t be a quick end to the postal strike, experts say it’s looking like this labour dispute may go on awhile. The last strike, which began in November 2024, lasted for just over a month, until the government forced employees back to work.
———-
Does Brandon need more hotels? According to a report today, supply is lagging behind demand. The Brandon Sun says wildfire evacuations, construction projects and a variety of local events have packed city hotels and motels, pushing room rates to twice their usual levels. The next big event coming to Brandon is this month’s Manitoba Ag Ex.
———-
It appears we had a case of premature celebration. Back in June, Stats-Canada reported Manitoba had a net gain of 106 people from other provinces – first time in more than 20 years – and the government credited a strong economy. Stats-Can, which did say those early numbers were preliminary, now reports we actually lost 389 people.
———-
New highway cameras and message boards are going up across the province and should be operational this fall. 20 digital boards will be placed on major routes to provide updates on delays, closures and weather advisories –
and 19 cameras, set-up in high traffic areas, will capture road conditions every 15 minutes for Manitoba511.
———-
On a California road last week, police watched a taxi make an illegal U-turn right in front of them, but officers did NOT hand out a ticket to the driver – because there wasn’t one. They pulled over a Waymo driverless car. Police say their citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot’. The company says it’s looking into the ‘glitch’.
———-
You might notice fewer Christmas trees and holiday items for sale at some major retailers this year. Costco says it’s ‘thinned down’ its seasonal offerings, especially in-store, in response to customers pulling back on spending for ‘non-essential’ items. Canadian Tire, which saw sales increase 9% in August, believes customer demand will stay strong through the holidays.
