A public hearing for the 2023 Financial Plan was held on May 24 in Council Chambers. It was an opportunity for the public to get information, learn about the financial situation, understand how tax dollars were spent and hear about the town’s short and long-term goals. Managers from various departments were in attendance to provide more information of what is going on in their departments.
The 2023 budget reveals a modest tax increase, but there have been some revenues, which have greatly helped to keep that increase as minimal as possible. The priorities in this year’s budget were to maintain and review levels of service in comparison to previous years; maintain create self-sustaining infrastructure and ensure available financial resources to participate in future federal, provincial and municipal grant programs when available.
For the 2023 budget, 1 mill will provide the Town of the Pas with $201,000 of revenue. Property tax values went up by $3 million, which is 1.52 percent increase in overall assessed property in the town.

Almost a decade of work came to fruition last week when ground was broken for the new Community Cancer Care unit in Russell.

“First of all, I want to thank everybody that is here today to show their support for this wonderful long awaited event,” Gloria Tibbatts, president of the Expanding Community Cancer Care Committee (ECCC) said.

“Our Expanding Community Cancer Care Committee has worked tirelessly for eight and a half years fundraising for this new chemotherapy building which is now happening.”

It’s been a long road for the committee which has been headed up by Gloria Tibbatts and Judy Forsyth as they navigated the changes over the years. “Over the years, ECCC has worked with three Ministers of Health, two different premiers, and two Prairie Mountain Health CEO’s,” Tibbatts said.

Read the full story in this week's Russell Banner!

The SVRSS 2023 graduate class worked together with the Swan Valley Consumers Co-op to fundraise for their upcoming Safe Grad celebration, with a barbe­cue lunch held on Thursday (May 25).

French Immersion students from Kindergarten to high school level participated in the ÉSRSS a un Incroyable Talent show held at the ÉSRSS on Thursday eve­ning (May 25). The event was presented by the Swan River chapter of the Canadian Parents for French. 

It was their’s to lose and has been all season.

From the first game to the last, the Dauphin Clippers rugby teams dominated the Westman High School Rugby and it culminated with both the girls and boys celebrating the first championship in team history.

After hammering Souris, 67-0 in their semifinal match, last Wednesday, the Clippers girls secured their first league title with a 36-3 win over Rivers.

Tanya Devos and Emma Fox each scored three tries to lead Dauphin past Souris, while Chloe Fletcher had a pair. Megan Thompson, Jana Manzano and Paityn Bourgouin each had a single try and Brooke Miner kicked six converts.

In the championship game, Fox again scored three tries with singles coming from Devos, Thompson and Bree Walker. Thompson added two converts and Ruth Evans had one.

For Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak it was his first championship, as well, after coaching in the league since 2010. He said it felt amazing.

“The girls put in a great effort. There was a lot of building blocks that were put in place for the success of this program and it all starts back with the grassroots,” he said, adding the Clippers benefited from the efforts of the Parkland Pirates youth program coaches Gerald Lopez, Becky McGregor, Codi Harrigan, Mark Symchych and many others that have been involved.

“This year really is the harvest year of the first years of that youth program. And it goes to show what it means for the high school program,” Sarkonak said. “Now they’re graduating out of it and, hopefully, the Dauphin Mavericks men’s team and the Lady Mavericks, with them trying to get back and going again, that they’ll reap the fruits of the labour from that youth program.”

Dauphin led 17-3 at halftime, but the Clippers were their own worst enemy at times, getting called for a number of penalties. They were able to clean up their game in the second half and pulled away from their opponents.

“I told them, they earned the right to play in this game with the work that they put into this season. And, although it was a final, it’s still just another game. And you’ve got to go out there and play your game. Don’t take anybody for granted and just play together as a team. Not individuals. Don’t shoulder anything and work together. And if you do, good things will happen. And it did,” Sarkonak said.

Although he is unsure of what they may face next weekend in Winnipeg, Sarkonak likes his team’s chances at provincials.

“I’m very confident going into provincials with the squad that we have here,” he said.

The girls will open the provincial tournament, Friday at 4:15 p.m., against Winnipeg’s Vincent Massey in one semifinal, while the other will see Rivers battle St. Mary’s Collegiate.

The trip to Ireland earlier this year was a factor in the Clippers successful season. Although not all of the girls made the trip to the Emerald Isle, the ones that went got a leg up on the competition, Sarkonak said.

“They hit the ground running once they came back and they never looked back at all,” he said.

On the boy’s side, Guzman Garcia and Joseph Lopez each had two tries to lead Dauphin to a 38-0 win over Vincent Massey in their semifinal victory.

Rhett Tkachyk and Louis Prevot added singles and Prevot kicked four converts.

Matthew Zurba led the way in the championship game against Crocus Plains, scoring three tries, while Lopez had one in a 26-0 victory.

Prevot had three converts.

Minutes after the trophy presentation, Clippers coach Aaron Miner said it felt a bit surreal.

“It’s been 10 years in the making,” he said.

The Clippers boys were called for a number of penalties throughout the game, but they were unable to overcome them.

“When they took those penalties, they knew that they were legit penalties. They managed to maintain their composure and not talk back to the refs this time. And they kept it in line and made those tackles when they needed to,” Miner said.

Crocus Plains made it interesting several times, coming close to the goalline on a few occasions. But Dauphin’s defence came up strong and kept their opponents from scoring.

Miner credits that to the player’s commitment and dedication.

“I credit it to their going to the gym every day. Their training. Just the physical shape that they came into the season with this year has just been tremendous,” he said. “Each and every one of these guys goes to the gym or runs after practice or does whatever it takes to become a better player. And it was proven today. We’re champions for a reason.”

Like Sarkonak, Miner said the trip to Ireland was a huge factor in the team’s success.

“Over half of them went to Ireland and they were training quite heavily before we went to Ireland, during the Ireland trip and then the training just didn’t stop when we got back. We had another month before our first game once we returned from Ireland and the training intensified,” he said. “It just got even stronger, even harder. The boys knew what we had. They knew that this was our so-called harvest year, we like to call it in rugby, where you harvest, because we had a big group of Grade 12s. It’s just amazing to watch today.”

Although they will face some challenges at provincials, Miner likes his team’s chances.

“It’ll be a great tournament. We’re looking forward to it, this Friday and Saturday in Winnipeg,” he said.

The boys will open, Friday at 3 p.m., against Dakota Collegiate, while Crocus Plains will face St. Paul’s in the other semifinal.

All games will be livestreamed on the Veo Live app. Download the app and follow the link - veolive.page.link/APRZ or look for the Crusaders club logo.

Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa MP Dan Mazier is upping his efforts to tackle crime through reform of Canada’s bail system.

Mazier has dedicated a significant amount of his parliamentary work to promoting legislation, which gets tough on crime and draws attention to what he says is an increase in crime under the current Liberal government.

“The reality is that violent crime has increased by 32 per cent since Justin Trudeau took office,” Mazier said. “Violent repeat offenders are being released on bail because of the prime minister’s catch-and-release policies and now Canadians see the disastrous result.”

Mazier has spent the last year focusing his work on addressing crime, through meetings with law enforcement, initiating community townhalls, launching petitions, and opposing the government’s Bill C-5, which removed mandatory minimum sentences for multiple offences.

Now he is going one step further by working to change the law and formally adding his name to bills C-325 and C-313.

Bill C-325 seeks to reform Canada’s Criminal Code by creating a new offence for criminals who violate parole conditions. Pierre Paul-Hus, the Conservative MP who authored the legislation, highlighted the story of Myles Sanderson, who murdered 10 people in Saskatchewan in multiple knife attacks.

Despite being charged with 59 crimes before the murders, Sanderson was released on conditions.

Paul-Hus says a criminal like Sanderson should have never been on the streets, but the current legal system made it possible.

Additionally, Bill C-325 would require probation officers to report violent criminals who breach their release conditions, an action that is currently not required.

“Canadians are fed up with a failed justice system that allows dangerous repeat offenders to serve their sentences from the comfort of their home. One day a criminal is arrested, and the next day they’re back on the streets committing another crime,” Mazier said. “This isn’t fair to communities, and it’s certainly not fair to victims.”

The local MP is also working to pass additional bail reform laws by jointly seconding Bill C-313, which would amend the Criminal Code and result in a greater burden being placed on repeat offenders to justify why they should be granted bail.

By eliminating the wording that someone must pose a “substantial” likelihood to re-offend in order to be denied bail and replacing it with a ”minimal” likelihood to re-offend, the threshold for detention would be lower.

Mazier plans to continue his efforts in tackling crime by working with all members of the House of Commons to pass the bills.

Dauphin residents are being asked to hop out of their cars and onto their bikes next week.

June 5 to 11 is Bike Week and Dauphin Recreation Services and the Dauphin Derailleurs Cycle Club (DDCC) have organized a number of activities to celebrate.

Monday is Bike to Work and School Day, while Tuesday is Bike to a Park or Playground highlighted by a gathering at Fusion Credit Union for coffee and cookies from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The gathering is an opportunity to find out everything that is going on to celebrate Bike Week and join DDCC and mayor David Bosiak for a “slow roll through Vermillion Park,” said spokesperson J.L Guillas.

“The Derailleurs will have some of our fat bikes there if people want to try that,” he said, adding the exact itinerary for the ride has not been set. “It’s depending on who shows up. If it’s families, if it’s kids, we’ll take them over to Vermillion and have a gentle ride. It’s not a time trial.”

Wednesday will feature a bicycle based scavenger hunt, while an open house will be at Northgate Trails on Thursday at 7 p.m., providing an opportunity to tour one of the micro cabins at the site, try out a fat bike, get information about programming, learn about the trails and volunteer opportunities, and chat with a board member.

Guillas encourages everyone to bring a bike and a friend.

“I believe the Kids of Mud will have their race that night, as well. So there’s going to be lots of activity,” Guillas said. “People shouldn’t be shy if the parking lot is full. Come on in.”

Finally, Friday has been designated as Bike to Get Your Favourite Treat day, Guillas said, adding more activities and contests are being added all the time.

For example, he said, the Parkland Chamber of Commerce is asking employers to encourage their staff to ride their bikes and track the kilometers they cover for the week. The business with the most accumulated kilometres will win $50 per employee to a maximum of $500.

All of the activities add up to an opportunity to promote Dauphin as a bicycle-friendly city, Guillas said.

“Dauphin, it’s very accessible by bicycle and if people get in the habit of it, it just becomes more of a culture change for individuals and families and it’s just a positive thing,” he said. “Bike Week itself is to just remind people how much fun it can be to be on a bike, how accessible the city is on a bicycle and then also the great facility we have over at Northgate.”

The city is regularily adding to its active transportation routes making cycling even more of an option, Guillas added.

“There’s another piece that’s coming, that’s going to be constructed this year linking up right to (Assiniboine) college from the Kingsway Trail,” he said. “It’s about the culture of biking and also the infrastructure. Vermillion Park is a great place to take young kids to learn biking in a safe place to get them off the roads. We’ve got lots of great opportunities in town and also the big facility south of town.”

Whether you are an experienced cyclist or just starting to seek two-wheeled adventures, Guillas encourages everyone to take in all that Bike Week has to offer.

“It’s a good workout and it’s good lifestyle choice. It can be fun, you do it with your friends and you see things in town that you don’t see when you’re speeding by in your car,” he said.

“Whether you’re on a $100 used bicycle, a hand-me-down bicycle or a top-end bike, it doesn’t matter, it’s all fun and it’s for everybody.”

City crews conducting a spring cleaning of the community have moved on to Day 2 on the garbage and recycling schedule.

During one pass through the city, crews will collect accumulated garden waste, grass clippings and leaves, as well as shrubs and tree branches less than six inches in diameter at a maximum length of eight feet, last week.

These items will only be collected if they are free of household waste, hazardous waste and recyclable materials and are in a clearly identifiable pile.

The spring clean up campaign will occur in the back lanes, so place the items near your back lane for pick-up.

Those residences that do not have a back lane, place your items on the boulevard near the curb.

Large equipment will be used, so it is important to place the items close to the lane or curb to avoid property damage.

The Manitoba 4-H Council recently held it's first provincial rally in many years! Over 170 4-H members from across the province attended the rally that was held in the Keystone Centre in Brandon on May 13.
4-H members were able to pre-register and choose 2two workshops from a list of 17. These workshops consisted of beef, equestrian, archery, small animals, crafts, science in the kitchen, woodworking, tye dye, cookie decorating, drum making, dog training, roping, and more.

To find out more of the story go to https://wcmbnews.com/opasquia-times

If you grew up in The Pas and learned how to swim here, there’s a good chance that you had Mrs. Cherlyn Cain as your swim instructor. Cain has been a dedicated lifeguard and swim instructor in the community for at least 40 years. She got her start in learning how to swim at a much later age in life, but didn’t let that hold her back.
“The place I grew up as a child, there wasn’t a lot of bodies of water around except for a small creek by our farm,” said Cain. “We could paddle up to our ankles and when the water got deeper, our parents were very adamant about us kids not going near that creek.

To find out more of the story go to https://wcmbnews.com/opasquia-times