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The Dauphin Regional Health Centre was hit hard by heavy rains and flooding on July 1st, forcing the evacuation of patients and the closure of the hospital. The emergency room recently opened back up, but what does the timeline look like for the restoration of other services?
Turns out, the Provincial Government might not even know themselves. During Tuesday's session in Legislature, Riding Mountain MLA Greg Nesbitt asked a question about a FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) request about the DRHC.
"We'd got a Freedom of Information response back to say that no briefing notes about the Dauphin Regional Health Centre were generated for the Minister of Health...I was the Minister of Natural Resources in our previous government there, and there wasn't a day gone by that I didn't have briefing notes on topics, especially the current topics of the day," said Nesbitt.
The Dauphin Regional Health Centre's greatly reduced capabilities are still a major issue, not just for Dauphin, but for numerous nearby communities - including ones in Nesbitt's Riding Mountain constituency. The DRHC was one of the most talked about issues during the PC Caucus's recent retreat and public meetings in Dauphin.
From the beginning of the DRHC's closure, the Progressive Conservative party - representing the Official Opposition in Legislature - has been vocal about the NDP Government's lack of communication around the closure, and what timelines and plans are in place to restore additional services.
"We had a lot of good conversations with people at our caucus retreat in Dauphin about the Dauphin Regional Health Centre, and a lot of them still had questions about what had taken place, and what has to take place...we believe that the government needs to be clear with Manitobans that there's a lot of work to be done in Dauphin," said Nesbitt.
Nesbitt said he'll keep pushing for more communication from the Government and Prairie Mountain Health about the Dauphin Regional Health Centre, as it affects his constituents in the same way as Dauphin.
"Especially on the east end of my constituency there, it's just as quick to get to Dauphin as is to Brandon or Winnipeg, quicker to get to Dauphin as a matter of fact...communication is really important, and letting our citizens know so they can use the Dauphin facility is something I'll keep pushing for, and more transparency from this government moving forward," said Nesbitt.
The Dauphin Regional Health Centre's Emergency Department was reopened on September 7th, with portable CT scanner services returning at the end of September. Other services, including cancer care, dialysis, and surgical services are still on pause.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
The Province is looking to introduce a list of rules for Personal Electric Vehicles, or PEVs, set to take effect in 2027.
The big ones: riders must be 16+, and must wear a properly fitted helmet - both drivers and passengers need helmets. PEVs will only be allowed on roads with a posted speed limit of 50 km/h or less, and on those roads, PEVs will only be allowed to go a maximum of 25 km/h.
PEVs will also not be allowed on sidewalks, unless there is signage or traffic control devices that specifically allow it. Other rules include using hand signals when turning or stopping, not using headphones or earphones in both ears when riding, and making sure to ride as close to the curb as is practical - similar to already existing rules for bicycles.
Peace officers will be able to stop and inspect PEVs at any time, to ensure the vehicles and safety equipment are up to code. For more information, click here to visit the Province's website page on PEVs.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
The province is in the final stages of launching a livestock investigation unit through the RCMP.
Dauphin MLA and Manitoba Agriculture minister Ron Kostyshyn says they will seloect an officer in the coming weeks and months to head up the unit, whose primary role will be to investigate cases of livestock theft in Manitoba.
Kostyshyn adds the addition of this unit comes at a hey time.
"The value of cattle continues to be very lucrative, and we have felt the number of potential cases of livestock that continues to go missing, that we need to bring forward a program that has been running in both Saskatchewan and Alberta for a number of years."
Kostyshyn says over the past 3-1/2 years, there have been 57 cases in Manitoba of livestock going missing.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
Fall cleanup starts today in the City of Dauphin, with crews starting in the Day 1 waste and recycling collection area, and making just one pass across the entire city.
Grass, leaves, garden waste, and shrubs and tree branches that are less than 6 inches in diameter, and less than 8 feet long can all be placed on the curb for collection.
Items collected must be free of garbage, recyclables, and hazardous materials, and must be placed at the curb in neat, identifiable piles, or must be in biodegradable bags or boxes.
The City also asks that branches are piled parallel to the curb, not sticking into the road.
The project is designed to help residents get rid of their yard waste in the fall.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
According to the Dauphin Rail Museum, Dauphin's VIA Rail Passenger Service is set to resume on November 1st.
VIA Rail Passenger Service to Dauphin has been cancelled due to ongoing flood-related repairs and damages. Now that repairs are mostly complete, VIA looks set to resume service.
The Dauphin Rail Museum said they confirmed the service is to be resumed through VIA Rail's booking site, and through a chat with a customer service agent.
Their Facebook page will continue to post updates on VIA Rail service. You can also contact VIA Rail directly.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
The Parkland Chamber of Commerce is hosting several Candidate Public Forums this week, to give Parkland residents a way to ask questions to the candidates, and see what they want to do for their communities.
The first goes tomorrow - for the City of Dauphin, at the Dauphin Active Living Centre, starting at 6:30 PM. Kamryn Winters, Parkland Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, went over some key details.
"We are doing City of Dauphin forums, so that is gonna happen Tuesday, October 13th at the Dauphin Active Living Centre, the doors are gonna open to 6:30, the forum will start at 7:00, and we're gonna go through the candidates for Councillor, the candidates for Mayor, it's gonna be a really good night, we encourage all residents, business owners to come out," said Winters.
If you want your candidates to answer a question, Winters said to make sure you submit it beforehand.
"We do encourage pre-registration, it's free to attend, but if you can pre-register at parklandchamberofcommerce.ca that just helps us know what we're expecting for numbers, and if you're interested in submitting a question, you can also head to our website and just click the link when you go and register for the event," said Winters.
There's one more this week - on Wednesday, October 14th at the Lawrence Community Centre in Rorketon for Lakeshore Municipality - and a pair next week, for Grandview and Gilbert Plains.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
After zebra mussels were found in Clear Lake back in 2023, motorized boat use was banned outright - but new guidelines this year helped a successful comeback.
According to Parks Canada, the AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species) Program in Riding Mountain National Park conducted 6,365 watercraft inspections - 618 of them were motorized. Across the more than 6,000 inspections, 514 decontaminations were completed.
June 6th was the busiest day of the season. On that day alone, 223 inspections were done.
Parks Canada thanks parkgoers for their cooperation with the AIS Program. Zebra mussels, and other invasive species, are very costly and difficult to control once they're introduce to an area, so the best defence against them is monitoring, education, and prevention.
Looking to 2027's boating season, Parks Canada asks watercraft users to leave their AIS tags attached to their watercraft through the winter, and to store watercraft outdoors or in an unheated building if possible, as freezing temperatures help to kill off any possible invasive species.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
Swan River PC MLA Rick Wowchuk spoke on the topic of senior safety in Legislature last Wednesday. One of his constituents - a senior living at Rainbow Lodge Retirement Home - came to him saying she felt unsafe in her community, and Wowchuk relayed that message to Legislature.
"There's absolutely no respect for the existing communities, and especially for the people and the clientele who are already in these homes, some of them have been in there for ten, twelve years...they're feeling very unsafe, and the one individual I talked to really feared for her life, she felt unsafe," said Wowchuk.
Wowchuk went on to say drugs are one of the chief concerns among seniors in Swan River, and that seniors and their safety should be a higher priority for the Government, saying the ones who built Manitoba deserve to be looked after.
"This is their home, and if you can't feel safe in your home, then where can you feel safe...these are people who built our province. All they want to do is have a peaceful retirement, they want to have that feeling of being secure, being looked after, and that's not happening with this NDP Government," said Wowchuk.
Wowchuk's questions were responded to by Bernadette Smith, NDP MLA for Point Douglas, and Minister of Housing, Addictions, and Homelessness. She said Wowchuk has a lack of social responsibility, and he should look to former colleagues who previously removed the 55+ age requirement for seniors housing. Wowchuk said these kinds of remarks, as well as laughing and heckling from other NDP MLAs, were uncalled for.
"[Premier Wab Kinew] really doesn't care about the safety of the people, that's the feeling I get, and my constituents, listening to that type of question period and knowing that there's heckling and laughing going on when I am asking a very, very serious question...we got to work together, and we got to take things seriously, especially when it becomes an issue of safety to people within Manitoba," said Wowchuk.
Wowchuk posted video of the question on Facebook, saying his constituents deserve better when they speak up for issues that affect them.
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Mountain View School Division is running a contest to help give their land-based learning a bit of a creative touch.
Indigenous Education Facilitator Melissa Ferland said to get that creative boost, they're turning to a source that's right in front of them.
"We have four blank ice shacks right now, and the contest is for all students in Mountain View School Division to submit a design for the four shacks...the theme of the challenge is to answer the question, what does it mean to live, learn, and have relationships with the land and water in the Parkland," said Ferland.
In their Facebook post announcing the contest, MVSD says designs might include things like land and water, fish, animals, and plants, and Indigenous culture, teachings, or languages.
The ice shacks aren't a new part of their land-based learning - they were used last year, but they were pretty bland. Ferland said the contest is a good way to let students have a bit of influence on the programming, and to develop a personal connection.
"We actually used the shacks last year for our land-based programming, we were able to take 355 students out on the ice last year, and then that's when we really noticed that the shacks were looking pretty plain, they're plain white on the snow, it wasn't really the best...we wanted to get student input on the creation of the design, to give it some meaning, have some student input so that they can feel more of an ownership over the whole programming," said Ferland.
Winning students will get to paint their designs on the ice shacks themselves. The contest runs until October 23rd, so students have plenty of time to think up some meaningful designs.
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- Contributed by Ian Gillingham
A late Wednesday evening ATV accident on the Keesseekowenin First Nation has sent a Brandon man to hospital in critical condition.
RCMP say two quads were going at high speed on a trail, when the injured man's machine hit an approach at a road crossing and went airborne.
The 25 year old was thrown from the ATV, and eventually taken to hospital.
The other quad driver, a 19-year-old from Keeseekoowenin, left the scene and returned home, where he was later arrested by RCMP and charged with impaired driving.
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- Contributed by Jeff Henson
