A bill sponsored by Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa MP Dan Mazier has passed an important hurdle in the parliamentary process with its second reading and will now move to committee for further study.

Bill C-288, An Act to Amend the Telecommunications Act, was introduced by Mazier in June. If enacted, the bill would require Canadian internet companies to provide Canadians with accurate and transparent information regarding the internet services they pay for.

The Conservative Shadow Minister for Rural Economic Development and Connectivity, said Canadians do not believe they are receiving the internet they are paying for due to misleading speed claims from service providers.

“Connectivity is essential to the safety of our communities, to the economic growth of rural regions and to the accessibility of services like education and health care,” Mazier said during Bill C-288’s final hour of debate in the second reading. “Canadians should know what they are paying for before they purchase an internet service, not after.”

Mazier felt a sense of momentum this month after the United States announced it would introduce an internet service label for consumers, a measure similar to his proposed legislation.

“The Federal Communications Commission today unveiled new rules that will for the first time require broadband providers to display easy-to-understand labels to allow consumers to comparison shop for broadband services,” read a Nov. 17 news release by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Mazier was pleased to receive all-party support from MPs across the political spectrum.

“Bill C-288 is truly a pro-consumer bill that will improve Canada’s telecommunications sector,” Mazier said. “I am proud to have worked with all parliamentarians to get where we are.”

Once Bill C-288 makes it through the committee stage, it will be sent back to the House of Commons for further votes. If the legislation passes these required stages, Bill C-288 will be sent from the House of Commons to the Senate, where it will move through the same stages of the parliamentary process.

“I look forward to working on behalf of Canadians to get Bill C-288 across the finish line,” Mazier said.

Francis Chartrand is a huge supporter of the British Royal Family. And that support makes her recent receipt of a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medal, that much sweeter.

“It feels great. I got a letter from the Leg. in the first week of November,” Chartrand said, adding she was nominated to receive the medal by several people, with the one recognized in the correspondence coming from NDP leader and MLA for Fort Rouge, Wab Kinew. “I’m a big fan of the Royal Family and I just love Canada and I love the Northwest Region and I love Parkland,” Chartrand added, displaying the kind of passion that got her nominated for the recognition. I want to thank my nominators, it was a huge honor and I want to thank the Province of Manitoba for recognizing the Queen’s commitment and her 70-year reign.”

The vice-president of the Manitoba Metis Federation based at the Northwest Metis Council Inc. office in Dauphin received the medal at a special ceremony at the Manitoba Legislature, last week.

Premier Heather Stefanson and Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville handed out the awards to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne in 1952.

“As recipients of the platinum jubilee medal, each of you brings the spirit of public service to life,” Neville told the recipients during the ceremony. “Each of you leads by example. Each of you takes responsibility for making your community, your province and your country a better place.”

Queen Elizabeth, Canada’s head of state and the longest-reigning British monarch, died, Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

“In fact, I was in Scotland when the Queen passed away,” adding she had tried to earlier visit Balmoral Castle and was not allowed entry. “But we went to Edinburgh, So we were on the Royal Mile and we were having dinner at five, well before five, I guess, and they made the announcement. Then some of the staff came and told us the queen passed away, so they started shutting down the Royal Mile. So we went to her palace and put flowers and paid tribute to her before we left the Royal Mile. So that’s a real piece of history.”

Manitoba was one of five provinces which decided to provide medals for their residents after the federal government opted out of offering medals for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Chartrand is appreciative of the recognition as it raises awareness about the work of the Manitoba Metis Federation in the Northwest Region and across the province.

“It’s a recognition, I believe. People think that ‘they’re way up there’ and they don’t understand and recognize what we do at the local level and the community involvement we have in the programs and services we’re able to bring to our citizens,” Chartrand said.

One hundred and forty Manitobans have received the medals so far, with a total of 1,000 selected to receive the honour. The remaining medals will be awarded at future ceremonies throughout the province.

Just this month some community members in Moose Lake seized an opportunity to become more proactive in helping to care for dogs in their community. Originally this opportunity was meant to go to Pukatawagan, but due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, that plan fell through, so it was important to provide the services and help to animals where needed.
“An initial plan to travel to Pukatawagan was no longer an option due to the train being out of service,” said MAA North Paw Chapter Volunteer Irene Huculak. “Niagara Dog Rescue (NDR) and the Manitoba Animal Alliance (MAA) North Paw chatted on how we could salvage this trip. We decided to ask neighboring communities if we could come in and help where we could.

Aurora House along with the Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters (MAWS) have been busy this month creating awareness for November is the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Several engaging activities were scheduled throughout November and were free to participate in.
“MAWS hosted a virtual Film Fest every week of November,” said MAWS Communication Specialist Amrita Chavan. “We held our final screening on Nov. 25, which was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. We screened Dr. Gabor Mate’s award-winning documentary, The Wisdom of Trauma.

Every year the Manitoba Credit Unions Order of Merit is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated a significant commitment to the Manitoba Credit Union system, as an employee or elected official. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, The Manitoba Credit Unions Order of Merit was unable to facilitate a ceremony for two years. Two weeks ago, a former Swan Valley Credit Union (SVCU) Board member received the Manitoba Credit Unions Order of Merit for 2021.
“Alex Eggie’s time on the Board from 1988 to 2012, including nine years as President, was during an important era in SVCU’s nearly 70-year history,” said SVCU CEO Craig Zamzow. “Hailing from the Big Woody District, this community of people is known for their rarely matched pride and volunteerism, and included many who were founding SVCU directors in 1953.
“Alex brought that commitment to the SVCU Board and set a great example for fellow directors and managers. Alex was a key leader when SVCU decided to expand and opened a branch in Benito, purchased the Bank of Montreal branch in Swan River, and purchased three insurance agencies as the credit union diversified.
“I still clearly remember Alex explaining to new directors about the amount of time that should be invested in reviewing Board packages before the meeting to ensure everyone was prepared,” said Zamzow. “His passion for fairness, commitment to community, and willingness to ask the tough questions when needed, still help guide our leadership group today.”
Eggie was drawn into being a part of the SVCU through his interest in a grassroots collective approach to providing a need or service in the community and helping it grow.
“I was always interested in the cooperative movement and one of the SVCU directors put my name forward to be elected to the board, and that was how I got started in it,” said Alex Eggie. “I was elected in 1988 and over the years I was Vice-President for two years, President for nine years and then was our delegate from District 6 to Credit Union Central for nine years. Then after that, I served on the SVCU Board as a board member for three years after that.”
Over the years Eggie has seen and experienced firsthand, how the SVCU has grown to what it has become today.
“The growth the SVCU has seen over the years has been significant,” said Eggie. “One of the highlights was that after the difficulties in the 1980s with high interest rates and accounts that were overdue, was the fact that in a few years we were able to pay patronage dividends because we had 10 percent equity. From then, we continued to grow. We were around $40 million when I went on the SVCU Board to just about $200 million when I left.
“Along the way we acquired the Bank of Montreal branch in Swan River and opened up a branch in Benito. There was growth besides the natural ones that we acquired. We built a new building, which is environmentally friendly. We acquired an insurance group that is still active today. That was to provide better service and wealth management to our members.”
Eggie has enjoyed his time on the SVCU Board and saw many benefits that the SVCU has brought to the Valley.
“My time I spent on Credit Union Central’s Board was rewarding,” said Eggie. “I had an idea of how the whole system was performing.
Despite all the achievements we had, I will always remember best the people that I met while I was on the board.”
Eggie travelled to Winnipeg for the Manitoba Credit Unions Order of Merit ceremony, which was held on Nov. 17, at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
“It was a well-done event,” said Eggie. “The Manitoba Credit Union presented the Order of Merit to recipients for the past two years, but because of COVID-19, they couldn’t do presentations in person.
There were five members in total that received the Order of Merit.”
Other past and current SVCU Board members were also in attendance to see Eggie presented with this honour.
“I’ve learned a lot from Alex over the years and am proud to count him as a key mentor for me personally,” said Zamzow. “Being recognized in the Manitoba Credit Union’s Order of Merit is very fitting and I was honoured to be able to be in attendance for Alex’s special day of recognition, acknowledging his significant positive impact to SVCU and the Manitoba Credit Union System.”

The Swan Valley got hit with another big snowfall this weekend, with a reported 5.6 mm of winter precipitation falling on Sunday (Nov. 27) and an expected 8.8 cm yesterday (Nov. 28).

After a spirited effort led to a 4-3 victory over the Portage Terriers, Nov. 22, the Dauphin Kings stumbled in a home-and-home with the Neepawa Titans.

Neepawa scored a 5-1 win over the Kings, Friday in Neepawa, before scoring a 2-1 win in Dauphin on Saturday.

As a result the Kings find themselves in third place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s MGEU West Division, two points back of the Swan Valley Stampeders and one up on the Waywayseecappo Wolverines.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the Kings were not very good in Friday’s game against Neepawa.

“We were terrible. We weren’t very good. Had no jump,” he said.

Special teams played a role in all three games, last week. Dauphin did not have a single power play against Portage, which scored twice on five chances with the man advantage. On Friday, the Titans scored three times in five chances, including a five-on-three late in the second period when the Kings were called for three minor penalties three seconds apart.

On Saturday, Neepawa had a goal in four power plays, while the Kings only had two chances with an extra man.

Hedley said the calls on Friday changed the game.

“We chased the game the whole time. It was a bad goal the first one. He (Marko Belak) just missed it. Missed a wrist shot from the blueline. The second one bounced off two sticks and bounced in,” he said. “We had come back and were all over them in the second and they gave us three penalties, two different guys on the same stoppage.”

Hedley hopes this is the kind of adversity the team can learn from. The Kings, he felt, were the better team on Saturday.

“We deserved better. I thought our guys worked hard. It’s just we’re not crashing, we’re not going to the paint hard enough. We’re not getting traffic, we’re not getting in front of his eyes and taking his eyes away,” he said, adding some players had outstanding games, among them Jonathan Wong, who returned to the lineup after missing several games.

“I think our energy was better. Shift after shift in the second period, they never got out of their zone. We had all kinds of chances. Pucks didn’t bounce our way. Sometimes you go through it. But (Neepawa goalie Mason) Lobreau definitely stole the game for them,” Hedley said.

The game was Teddy Bear Toss Night for the Kings. After a scoreless first period, fans finally got to throw their stuffed toys onto the ice when Myles Yearwood scored at the 10 minute mark.

The weekend marked the debuts of forwards Aaron Neal, who was acquired from the British Columbia Hockey League’s Powell River Kings, and Roblin’s Jakob Brook, who was released by the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats.

While it will take time for the newcomers to get used to the systems, Hedley feels the Kings will get better as time goes on.

“We’ve got a good hockey club. Now it’s a matter of finding ways to score and keep pucks out of our net,” he said.

The Kings are expected to make more roster moves this week, as Dec. 1 is the deadline to get down to 25 players.

The Kings will play the Winkler Flyers in a home-and-home this weekend. Friday’s game is in Winkler, with the rematch in Dauphin on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Dauphin’s new city and RM council attended its first Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) convention and city mayor David Bosiak thinks it was a worthwhile endeavour.

Last week’s meeting, he said, provided a needed opportunity for newly-elected officials to network with provincial officials and bureaucrats, as well as other elected representatives new to municipal politics.

“What was most interesting, I’ll be honest, was sitting in and meeting the others in the Cities Caucus. Of that group of 10 of us, six have new mayors. So there’s a fairly significant level, 46 per cent overall this year, of new councillors or mayors, which is one of the highest levels AMM has ever experienced. So there’s a significant turnover of people,” Bosiak said.

Bosiak also found interesting the diversity of election experiences across the province with some municipalities having their entire council acclaimed and others, such as the City of Dauphin which had near record levels of participation, driven by philosophical differences.

“That really struck me, that disparity,” Bosiak said, adding that seemed to drive the overall feel of the convention. “This is my first AMM as an elected person, so I can’t say that this hasn’t happened previously, but there seemed to be a priority from AMM to share information and encourage good behaviour. There was a couple of speakers that were talking about governance and democracy and how to try and maintain good governance and have a democratic process,” Bosiak said. “There was a couple of specific points made about the conflict of interest guidelines that the province has now established that all councillors and elected heads of council have to participate in. So I think that was probably a historic undercurrent of recent disfunctions in some municipalities that is being addressed by AMM. Overall, I think that that’s their message.”

When it came to interactions with the province, Bosiak said there was a good showing of cabinet ministers who were quick to announce new programming, Bosiak said, adding AMM members were more concerned with the seven year freeze on municipal operating grants and the promise of a number of previously announced programs which have yet to be funded by the province, such as the Community Safety and Well-Being Planning Pilot Project on which Dauphin has been waiting.

“There were 29 resolutions at this conference, most passed, and many were about the province loosening the purse strings and helping municipalities,” Bosiak said. “The one thing that I knew before, but it was made crystal clear to me was the federal and provincial governments can run deficits, municipalities can’t. They talk many times about how municipal governments are closest to the people, yet we have very limited abilities to defer expenditures that are imposed upon us or alternate abilities to generate revenues.”

That relates directly to another of the major issues, Bosiak said, which was the debt looming over communities related to the RCMP’s first collective bargaining agreement and the retroactive pay associated with it.

“The real sticky point there for municipalities was we weren’t around the table during the negotiations,” Bosiak said, adding the city’s director of finance, Scott Carr, has indicated the issue is the biggest financial matter facing the community. “If we can get some relief on that retroactive pay amount, our ability to manage is much better. But will be really squeezed if we’re forced to find that retroactive pay and submit it to the RCMP.”

While City representatives did not have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with provincial ministers, Bosiak said meetings with RCMP representatives and provincial bureaucrats, as well as informal conversations with elected officials made him feel as if they are being heard.

All in all, he is pleased with the experience and the fact the entire council, with the exception of councillor Devin Shtykalo was able to attend.

“We did a lot of listening and we met a lot of other council members and leaders from around the province,” Bosiak said. “So I think it was a very worthwhile effort for us.”

Meanwhile, Ernie Sirski, the new reeve of the Rural Municipality of Dauphin, attended his first Association of Manitoba Municipalities meeting, last week as well.

Sirski had no expectations going into the meetings and was hoping to just learn as much as he could.

“I think I know what my role is as a reeve. I think I’ve got that figured out. But it’s more to try and figure out where we sit in the bigger picture of the municipalities of Manitoba and, hopefully, what we can accomplish and how we move this province forward,” he said. “That’s the big one. Because we don’t operate in a vacuum. We operate along with a whole bunch of other people.”

There were some training sessions for newly-elected reeves, mayors and councillors, as well as other information regarding other organizations they have to deal with.

“It was okay. It was alright,” he said.

Sirski was able to re-establish contact with people he has known for years, but hasn’t seen in a long time.

“It’s a really small province that we live in when you add everything up. When I say it’s a small province, I saw people that I’ve known for 30 years, that I haven’t seen for 20,” he said. “And then I met a whole bunch of new people, as well. It was a great opportunity.”

In meetings such as this, Sirski feels, ‘you get out what you put into them,’ so he was out meeting and connecting with people.

“I guess the thing I’m looking forward to is working with staff, whether it’s administration or public works in our rural municipality. I’m hoping that we can move this municipality forward in co-operation and collaboration with other organizations and municipalities in our area to make the Parkland something that people can come visit. That farmers can continue to practice their best practices for farming and to make sure that agriculture remains a strong and vibrant business in this area,” he said.

Winter is nearly upon us and, whether through festive holiday lighting, fireplaces, electrical heating units or cooking for family gatherings, the winter months frequently provide opportunity for exposure to fire hazards.

This week is the Canada Safety Council’s National Home Fire Safety Week, centering on the theme of being proactive and freeze out winter fires.

“One of the big things that we go to on a regular basis with the Dauphin Fire Department are those vehicle fires from your extension cords,” Dauphin fire chief Cam Abrey said. “The continual use of them, people folding them up and crimping the wires and throwing them into the back of their vehicle and pulling them out. We have to watch that we replace those cords on a regular basis. Make sure that you’re checking them, that there’s no bare wires.”

With everyone preparing for Christmas and decorating their homes, inside and out, using CSA approved decorations in a proper application, Abrey said. Inspect those devices for bare or frayed wires and ensure you are not overloading circuits.

“We don’t want to be Clark Griswold of Christmas Vacation, overpowering the home of what it can actually handle,” Abrey said.

Symptoms of an overloaded circuit can include flickering or dimming lights, blown fuses, a tripping circuit breaker and a burning smell. Cooking can be a cause of fires at anytime of the year, but can be an even bigger concern through the holidays with extended family and other guests in the home, Abrey added.

“We’re cooking extra food, more than normal, so keeping an eye on your cooking is important. Don’t leave your cooking unattended,” he said. “It’s the same messages that we promote throughout the entire year.”

Finally, with the colder weather, home heating appliances deserve special attention, Abrey added.

“Whether you have electric heat or natural gas or you’re using wood heat, all of that can also have some incidents if you’re not doing regular inspections,” he said.

For fireplaces and other wood-burning appliances, ensure chimneys are cleaned on a regular basis, Abrey added. For electric and natural gas furnaces, regular maintenance performed by a qualified technician is a must.

“Also remember to have carbon monoxide detection in the home if you do have any kind of a fuel burning appliance,” Abrey said. “It’s more than just the fire safety, it’s people’s general safety that we’re concerned for.”

This heightened exposure to fire hazards during colder months unsurprisingly leads to more fatalities. According to Statistics Canada, between 2011 and 2020, the four highest average incidents of accidental fire-related fatalities by month occurred in January (210), March (195), February (180) and December (165). Additionally, residential properties accounted for 92 per cent of all unintentional fire-related fatalities in that same time period.

Avoid becoming a victim in your own home - ensure your residence is equipped with working tools including smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher, and ensure that you and your housemates have an established and practiced escape plan.

“Never forget that you want to plan and practice your home fire escape plans and make sure that your smoke alarms are actually working,” Abrey said. “And do have a functioning fire extinguisher in the home, as well.”

For Sarah Shuttleworth, the Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) is just too important to have it not operate for a third year in a row.

So the granddaughter of program founder John Shuttleworth made a point of ensuring area residents have a safe way to get home after celebrating this holiday season

“Obviously we couldn’t do it through the height of the pandemic, but I felt like this year would be a good year to get it going again, so I kind of got my parents and grandparents to agree to do it,” Shuttleworth said. “I thought for the 30th season it would be a good year to start.”

With RIDE celebrating such a long history, the 22-year-old Shuttleworth has had a lot of exposure to the program, but still found it useful to tap into her grandfather’s wealth of knowledge.

“I’ve gone every year since the year I was born, so I’ve learned a lot from him and my grandmother and my mom, of course, about how the program is run and how to run it successfully. So I really asked him a lot about how it started, just with an understanding of why it’s running, how it runs, things like that, she said. “So he shared a lot of his knowledge with me, for sure.”

While RIDE volunteers are committed to being out keeping the streets safe from impaired drivers this year, more help is needed, Shuttleworth said.

“Our last year was 2019, so unfortunately our volunteer list has dwindled quite a bit since then. We are in need of volunteers, the program runs solely on volunteers, we don’t have any paid staff,” she said. “So we’re really hoping that we have a lot of new volunteers, that haven’t volunteered for the program yet, to come out this year.”

Anyone interested in helping out can leave a message on the group’s Facebook page or can call 204-638-1463 and leave a message and someone will get back to them.

“The ideal number would be 20 volunteers a night because it’s teams of two, so that would be 10 teams. but that is quite a bit. We don’t have nearly that for each night yet, but ideally that’s the number,” Shuttleworth said. “Lots of people like to go out and celebrate and may not have a safe ride home, but they have their vehicle with them. So I think it’s really important to have this program running in order to provide everyone with a safe ride home.”

RIDE volunteers will pick you and your vehicle up from a provided location. They will then drive you and your vehicle to your destination, preferably your home residence.

RIDE gets underway Dec. 2, and will run each Friday and Saturday night in December, except for Dec. 24 and 30.