With the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth, many are mourning the loss and reflecting back over her time reigning as Queen.

The Queen made several trips to Canada, with a stop in The Pas as part of her nationwide tour in 1970. For local resident June Robertson, it was an experience she has long since remembered.

Robertson was originally from England and later moved to The Pas with her husband. 

“It was kind of a thrill for me to meet Queen Elizabeth,” said June Robertson. “Originally, I’m from England and was a war bride who married a Canadian solider. I moved to Canada a year later in 1946. I was married in England, but my husband was repatriated and discharged from the army. It was quite some time before I could come over as a war bride, because there were so many ahead of me. That was the way it was with all the war brides; they had to wait at least a year before coming into Canada."

Read more in this week's paper!

September has been designated as World Suicide Prevention Month and many communities and organizations across the globe have or are hosting events to increase the awareness of suicide prevention.

In Canada, approximately 11 people die by suicide each day and it’s the second leading cause of death among youth and young adults ages 15 to 34. Suicide rates are three times higher among men. 

Every year 106 million people worldwide contemplate suicide and tragically 800,000 die by it. This means that over 159 million people survived a suicide related crisis every year. Suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility. 

With suicide being the second leading cause of death amongst youth, there is a big emphasis to watch for changes in behaviour that could be warning signs. 

“Youth go through many normal ups and downs,” said Northern Health Region Mental Health Promotion Specialist Shellie Verville. “If you notice changes in their behaviour or mood, it’s important to ask how they are doing. This is a time that may pass, but it could be something more serious. Youth can develop feelings of depression, anxiety and feel hopeless about the future, which can lead to thoughts of suicide."

Check out more details in this week's Opasquia Times!

A country rock singer songwriter, JR Charron says he grew up in Binscarth on simple straight forward music.

Four chords and the truth. He’s been called the small town boy with the big voice.

While he’s been making music of one kind or another since he was a teen, his art has really come together in a big way over the last few years.

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

Looking at the list of teachers for the three Park West division schools in our area, it’s heartwarming when you realize how many teachers are past graduates who have chosen to come home and share their time and talent with our students.

Christine MacIsaac Ushey and her daughter Zoe Anne, both graduates of Major Pratt, will be teaching junior high students in classrooms next door to one another this year.

Standing at the base of the main stairs in Major Pratt, they’re holding a picture of Christine’s mom Anne MacIsaac who was a beloved teacher of English in Major Pratt for many years.

The family continues to be inspired by Doug MacIsaac who was the superintendent of Pelly Trail School Division throughout the 1970’s.

Get more in this week's Russell Banner!

More than 70 people were on hand to hear Shelley Napier lay out the facts again about what happened when the Emergency Pandemic Plan written by herself and her staff ended up on the Manitoba Municipal Association website with the logo of this municipality and the name of our CAO as the author.

Her story moved some of the audience to tears and ended with apologies from several ratepayers in the audience who were upset at how the much respected emergency services consultant had been treated by the council and administration of this municipality.

The group of concerned citizens who organized the event also touched on the roles and responsibilities of council as well as answered a number of pertinent questions regarding procedural rules of order in municipal government.

Get more in this week's Russell Banner!

From Sept. 9-11 people from all walks of life were invited to Chalk the Walk for World Suicide Prevention Day, which took place on Sept. 10. With chalk available through the local Hero Club and Prairie Mountain Health representatives, community members were invited to beautify our community with images and messages of hope, resilience, suicide awareness and prevention. Every year, 160 million people world wide contemplated suicide and, tragically, 800,000 of them die by suicide. This means that more than 159 million people who survive a suicide related crisis every year. There is no reason that anyone has to die by suicide and, if we all do our part, we can prevent those deaths that do happen and the devastating impact that they have.

It’s decision time for the Dauphin Kings coaching staff.

The Kings ended the preseason with a 1-2-1-0 record as the team prepares for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League regular season.

The Kings lost 2-1 in overtime to the Swan Valley Stampeders, Sept. 6, then beat the Wisconsin Lumberjacks, 6-1, on home ice, Wednesday.

On the weekend, the Kings traveled west to play the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melville Millionaires, Saturday, losing 5-0.

On Sunday, Dauphin dropped an 8-4 decision to the Yorkton Terriers in Melville.

The regular season opens Friday, with the Kings hosting the Neepawa Titans at 7:30 p.m.

Following Friday’s home opener, the Kings and Titans will meet in Neepawa on Saturday in a rematch at 7:30 p.m.

Dauphin made one deal last week, sending Ben Hackl to his hometown Dryden Ice Dogs of the Superior International Junior Hockey League for future considerations.

Hackl had four goals and 20 points in 40 games last season, adding one goal and two assists in 14 playoff contests in helping the Kings win the Turnbull Cup.

Kings court:

Former Kings defenceman Scott Gillingham is one of 15 candidates running for mayor of Winnipeg. Gillingham was first elected to council in 2014 and was re-elected four years later.

He played for the Kings in the 1987-88 season, scoring five goals and adding 34 assists for 39 points in 45 games.

Dauphin’s Ray Baker skipped his Manitoba team to a gold medal at the 2022 Canada Senior Games, in Kamloops, Aug. 23 to 26.

Joined by Dwight Bottrell, Bob Scales and Keith Pottle, the Dauphin foursome went 5-1 in the round-robin, before winning their semifinal game and beating the host team, 8-1 in the final.

Baker said it was a long week for the team, playing eight games in a round-robin format.

“We were actually down a player for all of the week, because one of our players got injured early on. So we were playing with three,” he added. “It was a one-game-at-a-time thing and we made it through it all.”

The final, Baker said, was a great game and was closer than the score would indicate.

“Really, it was a question of whoever was fortunate enough to get the first deuce in the game. An opportunity came up and we decided to go and we went around a corner guard. We were fortunate to generate a deuce and after that, they were chasing us and we were able to capitalize on it,” he said.

Being a national champion is a good feeling, Baker said, remembering the games four years ago, when they went undefeated in the round-robin only to lose in the final and settle for silver.

“So it was pretty awesome to be able to get back there and play again and actually win both of the playoff games and get the gold. Yeah, it was cool,” he said.

Baker knew they would be contenders going into the competition.

“And we were playing well. We had a good team. But you never know. It was August. We haven’t thrown a lot of curling rocks for a while. And it took us a little while to settle in,” he said. “Once the week went on, we got stronger and stronger and we were probably a little more positive, as well, as we got closer to the end,” he said, adding he enjoyed his time in Kamloops, noting the ice conditions were fantastic.

“Probably the fastest curling ice I’ve ever played on.”

Ecole Macneill principal Monique Lefebvre welcomes students back to the first day of school, last Wednesday.

There was an air of excitement among students, staff and parents at the French immersion school in Dauphin, to be returning to a “normal” school environment, free from many of the public health restrictions which guided education over the last two years.

There will be 193 instructional days in the MVSD 2022-23 school year.

This week’s “ask the mayor” segment focusses on the need for positive relationships outside of the municipal.

The question for candidates Kerri Riehl and David Bosiak specifically asked, “Considering no municipality can operate successfully as an island, what weight do you give to relationships with neighboring municipalities and the two senior levels of government?
Further, how would you nurture and evolve those relationships?”

Here are their answers.

Kerri Riehl

It is critical for the City of Dauphin to build and sustain strong relationships with other municipalities, as well as the other two levels of government. These connections are the lifeblood of our community.

How would I nurture and evolve these relationships?

I own and operate an Incorporated business, Riehl Security Solutions. For the last seven years as an entrepreneur and sole owner of my company, I’ve examined revenue streams and expenses. I survived and pivoted during the covid era. I have a business mindset which requires analyses of markets and marketing, customers, finance, operations communication, information technology and business policies and strategies. The City of Dauphin is an incorporated business also bound by these same principles. The city financial audited revenue and expenses for the 2021 tax year:

Revenue
• Property taxes - $6,077,954
• Grants in lieu of taxation - $382,396
• User fees - $1,497,417
• Grants, Province of Manitoba - $2,098,450
Grants, Other - $849, 693
• Permits, licences and fees - $217,513
• Investment income - $67,830
• Other revenue - $421,130
• Water and sewer - $5,134,494.
• Total revenue - $16,746,877

Expenses
• General government services - $1,390,017
• Pretective services - $3,285,973
• Transportation services - $2,933,571
• Environmental health services - $977,681
• Public health and welfare services - $108,900
• Regional planning and development - $221,685
• Resource conservation and industrial development - $540,199
• Recreation and cultural services - $3,373,080
• Water and sewer services - $3,089,970
• Total expenses - $15,921,076
• Annual surplus - $825,801

In my opinion, we greatly need to increase revenue without relying solely on the taxpayer to “foot the bill” and bear the burden of increased taxation. Recent funding announcements:
• $9.1 million from the Provincial and Federal government for Dauphin’s lagoon expansion. We waited 10 years for this funding.
• $13 million to reconstruct Provincial Trunk Highway 5A.
• V15 million courthouse renovation.

The cities revenue was $16,746,877.00. Without funding from other levels of government the above infrastructure developments would not be possible. Therefore, it is imperative to work with these levels of government. The political system is designed for municipalities to capitalize on these opportunities.

The City of Dauphin is part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. This organization represents 2,000 municipalities and 90 per cent of the population. FCM’s annual conference and tradeshow provide council the opportunity to attend and learn best practices. It also provides council the opportunity to bring back ideas to our community. For example, I spoke with a Mayor from Nova Scotia whose city hired a grant writer to access and obtain funds from all levels of government. They received many grants increasing their revenue drastically for their community. I brought this idea back from FCM to our municipality.

The City of Dauphin is also a part of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities. The AMM is comprised of 137 municipalities across Manitoba. They hold two conferences and tradeshows a year. They have an executive board which I, as deputy-mayor, ran for vice -president. Unfortunately, I was not successful at the time. Dauphin has not had representation on this board in its 124 years of municipal governance. I will try again as the mayor of Dauphin.

I believe Dauphin needs to greatly improve its relationship with other municipalities. This is one of the key reasons we have not been successful at growing our economy. The provincial government’s regional and economic profile for this area clearly indicates agriculture, health care and education opportunities are vital to our economic growth.

I believe opportunities come from within our region as a collective force who then leverage provincial and federal funding. We have all the data, studies, plans, information at our fingertips. We need an action plan and not another document to sit idle on the shelf.

I have demonstrated over the last five years that I am action in motion. I started and developed a successful business. I work with municipalities and various levels of government daily. I teach for the province of Manitoba and been in 30 different communities reaching over 300 students. I am a private investigator and hold a Manitoba security guard license. I am a member of the Dauphin Parkland Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

I am going to continue to do what I’ve done since returning home in 2015. Be active, energetic, involved, engaged, attend meetings, be prepared, and be a voice for all citizens in our community. Our city is not an island. We are part of the broader development area called the Parkland region.

David Bosiak

When I started thinking about this topic the question “where are you from” kept running through my mind.

Whenever I’m away from home I speak of the benefits of life in Dauphin and those benefits extend beyond the city limits.

The Rural Municipality of Dauphin and its people and amenities are knitted into the fabric of this community and we in theirs. Our families are their families, our kids play on teams together, we are co-workers, we go to the same schools and churches. When good things happen in the RM the City benefits, and vice versa.

A positive relationship with the Rural Municipality of Dauphin is key to our collective success. If elected mayor I will maintain this important bond by increasing the number of joint City/RM council meetings and continue the beneficial relationship that has been created by the City/RM liaison committee meetings that include the mayor and reeve, RM CAO and City manager. Neither council should ever be surprised by a project or issue in each other’s jurisdiction.

Municipalities and governments are systems - systems I am familiar with. My previous work experiences took me throughout the province to most municipalities and many First Nations. I worked with mayors and reeves, chiefs, councillors, CAOs and city managers. I’ve seen relationships that work and those that didn’t. Things that don’t work? Bullying. Being a know-it-all. I guard against those instincts.

I remember the advice of a friend early in my career. While attending a national conference he said “attend as many sessions as you can, but make sure you put great effort into networking. Get to know people who know things you don’t. The connections you make will help you in the future.” I took that advice and applied it in literally everything I have done since. The advice to be curious about other perspectives and humble enough to admit there will always be things you don’t know was sound and continues to benefit me as a leader.

I am more interested in moving forward than being the person who comes up with the best idea first and consider myself an optimist and a bridge-builder.

I have never asked anyone to do anything I wasn’t prepared to do myself. I truly believe that anything is possible when people work together and relationships have to be respected for that to happen. A culture of relationship development and retention is the most important indicator in an organization that things will get done. I would set this expectation on council by never leaving a table of discussion if I didn’t get my way.

Relationships with other levels of government are also key to our success. My years of experience dealing with ministers, deputy-ministers, assistant deputy-ministers and program directors in a variety of departments and portfolios was an education in government relations.

I would continue these conversations for the benefit of the citizens of Dauphin, and would ensure that council is never blindsided by a decision like the closure of the jail again. I will further ensure that council members and city staff also develop working relationships with appropriate government representatives.

The work of building relationships with other governments is evolving in Dauphin. First Nation and Metis government organizations are making significant infrastructure and other investments in our community. These investments are key to our continued growth and prosperity.

Be it with the RM, our neighbouring municipalities or other levels of government, I will make sure we are ready and able to work together and that we are never an island unto ourselves.