This year’s Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival (NMTF) Queen Trapper has come from a long line of competitors. She has competed against her sister who was last year’s Queen Trapper in hopes of winning the title and this has been her year.
“I have been competing in the NMTF’s Queen Trapper events since I was 13 years old, and I'm 36 now, however, I did take a break in between than to have my four children Marcus, Myles, Kacey and Kylie,” said NMTF 2024 Queen Trapper Kristen Burns. “It’s been almost 20 years that I've been competing and I owe it to my family who has always been supportive of me.

It was another successful run for this year’s Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival (NMTF). Despite the dog sled races being cancelled due to the lack of snow, there were still lots of highlights, events and festivities for spectators to engage in.
“The biggest difference from this year’s festival compared to last years is there were no dog races,” said NMTF Board of Directors Chairperson Laurie Stevenson.

The Pas Handi-Van is preparing for their annual radio pledgee show to help raise money for their operations this year. Along with raising operating funds, they are looking at raising money to purchase a new handi-van unit.
“We have our radio pledge show coming up on March 7 and 8,” said The Pas Handi-Van Office Manager Val Miron. “The community has always been beyond generous with their donations to support The Pas Handi-van; it simply amazing. The radio pledge show provides more ongoing operational support to The Pas Handi-van. Anything over that will go to the costs of a new van.

Canada Post is still struggling to provide consistent service to residents in the tri-community area. A letter of complaint was sent to Canada Post by a long-term resident of the area, who is beyond frustrated at the delays and lack of service.
In a letter written to the Churchill-Keewatinook Aski MP Niki Ashton and Manitoba NDP MLA Amanda Lathlin the following was stated, “I’m a long-time resident of The Pas with a considerable concern about the abysmal service from Canada Post in our community. I ask as elected representatives for the people in The Pas and surrounding area that you look into this matter and advocate for us for immediate improvement.
“Aside from the lack of access to the wickets in the post office during business hours, to the lack of timely delivery of parcels and mail that as a community we hear is due to staff shortages and inadequate space at the local post office; this has led to unreliability and limited access to a service we used to trust.

This year Louis Riel Day is going to be given more recognition in terms of celebrating. This past November, Premier Wab Kinew set in motion a law to right a 153-year-old wrong and declared Louis Riel as Manitoba’s first premier through the Louis Riel Act. The Louis Riel Act will come into force on the day it receives royal assent.
“This is significant because it reaffirms what we have always said, that Louis Riel was our first premier and should be acknowledged as such,” said Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) The Pas Region Vice President Judy Mayer. “This has been coming for over 153 years now and we’ve always known this. It’s historic for us and for the Premier to reaffirm that for us has been huge too.

The Town of the Pas held their council meeting on February 12, in council chambers. Val Berscheid, President of the Opasquia Agricultural Society did a presentation on the organization’s activities and goals for the future of their event. Their mission is to provide agricultural events for the community.
In 2012, the Opasquia Ag Society built the 500-seat grandstand that cost approximately $200,000. The Town of The Pas was the first investor and then others followed. In 2018, opened their RV Park with 20 sites, that included water, electricity and 30-amp service. It’s been fairly busy and there have been long term stays booked as well.
Last year, the Opasquia Ag Society upgraded the track. Before, If it rained, the events would be cancelled, and originally the track was built on the railbed, so rocks come up and people had to pick the rocks off the track every year. Initially, they had just enough money to do a little bit of the track, but Strilkiwski Construction gave them enough to do the whole track. Now it is an all-weather track that allows the events to happen rain or shine.

Taking care of pets is a huge responsibility and judging by the number of stray and unfixed animals, more has to be done. The Pas and Area Animal Shelter (TPAAS) is now offering a Low Income Spay and Neuter Program to assist with the issue of pets not being spay or neutered in the tri-community.
“People apply to the Low Income Spay and Neuter Program that we offer here at The Pas and Area Animal Shelter,” said TPAAS Secretary Lynda Geswin. “Forms are available online through our Facebook page, at the vet clinic and at the shelter. This is a program that is subsidized both by the shelter and the local vet clinic. We are trying to support pet owners who want what is best for their pet but can't financially do it. There are only a handful of spaces per month. “The cost is $100 per cat neuter. $125 per cat spay and $170 per dog spay or neuter. Those costs include vaccinations. Animals must have their vaccinations before their spay or neuter, so people should start the application process early. “This program was pets have a longer life expectancy. only launched a couple of months ago,” said Geswin. “We have spayed two dogs, and have a few others going through the process.” Getting your pet spay or neutered alleviates a lot of problems that TPAAS is seeing with the overpopulation of stray animals. The benefits to getting your pet spay or neutered, far outweigh any negatives aspects, if there are any. “There are so many reasons to have your pet spay or neutered,” said Geswin. “In Manitoba, we are facing a cat and dog overpopulation crisis. There are so many dogs, and not enough homes for them all. There was a time when we were fairly successful finding placement for dogs with Winnipeg based rescues, but that time is over. Rescue placements are hard to come by, and the amount of animals in need seems to be in creasing instead of de creasing. “On a more personal level, spaying your pet can reduce difficult behavior such as aggression, marking territory, running away, and fighting are all common in unaltered pets. Spaying and neutering reduce the risks of some cancers, and as a result, “Some of the other challenges in pets who are not spay or neutered that we see are unneutered dogs packing up when there is a female in heat,” said Geswin. “Not only is it a challenge to keep un fixed animals at home, but they can also become aggressive in these situations. Female cats yowl and are very annoying when they are in heat. Male cats mark their territory by spraying on things. “Also, we get a lot of messages where people tell us they are over whelmed caring for a litter of puppies. Puppies are a lot of work.” TPAAS is fundraising to keep shelter operations going as well as looking for sponsors for the new Low Income Spay and Neuter Program. “We are currently looking for people who are interested in sponsoring a spay or a neuter in the month of February,” said Geswin. “Sponsor ship amounts range from $50 for a partial spay or neuter, to $485 to sponsor the full cost of a dog spay. “We are always looking for volunteers and foster homes. Specifically related to spay and neuter month, we are looking for volunteers who are willing to drive people to vet appointments. Many of our applicants do not have vehicles, and getting to appointments is difficult.” There are still lots of pets looking for their for ever home at the TPAAS. All adoption fees help cover costs of the first rounds of vaccinations and help offset some expenses the shelter has in keeping animals. “In the shelter, and in foster homes combined, we have 26 dogs, and 36 cats up for adoption,” said Geswin. “Adoption fees are as $230 male cat; $275 female cat; $325 male dog and $400 female dog. Costs include first vaccination series, which includes rabies for dogs, deworming and spay or neuter. “Adoption fees only partially cover the costs incurred by the shelter to do the basic vetting of an animal- vaccinations, de worming and spay or neuter. Almost all of our animals come needing all of those procedures done, and it is not unusual for us to have additional health related costs for an animal as well. “The shelter is open most Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.,” said Geswin. “People are welcome to come by and see the animals. We are hosting an open house during NMTF, on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m."

An incredible opportunity came to Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) last week that gave youth a chance to come up with a way to do business and pitch it in front of an audience. Bears’ Lair Youth Camp made its first stop in Manitoba to offer a free youth entrepreneurship camp for Indigenous youth ages 11 to 18. The concept of Bears’ Lair started out with a vision to encourage entrepreneurs.
“I was the Economic Development Officer for the Squamish Nation in British Columbia, for 13 years and provided grants for entrepreneurs of the nation through a trust grant,” said Bears’ Lair Creator and Executive Producer Geena Jackson. “I started teaching classes on how to be an entrepreneur at night and provided a catered dinner and daycare for youth from toddlers to young teens, so the parents could learn, while the youth played in the gym, played video games and were entertained outside the classroom. After two out of six classes, the youth started sitting beside their parents, participating in the class and answering questions faster than their parents. A light bulb went off in my head. “These youth are absorbing the information faster than the adults, they are more technical savvy, and they do not have the barriers or triggers of being an entrepreneur like adults. They don’t know the hard work it takes yet; they are a sponge of positivity and possibility for the future. It is amazing. “I held the first Entrepreneur Youth camp in 2015, for the Squamish Nation and it was a huge success,” Jackson. “Now that TV show Bears' Lair is a huge success and up lifts Indigenous Entrepreneurs, it was a natural progression to educate, elevate and inspire Indigenous youth all over Canada. They are the future leaders and decision makers.” Bears’ Lair facilitated their camp at Oscar Lathlin Collegiate (OLC) and had several activities to enhance the students’ knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship. “There were 22 OCN youth that participated, all 11-19 years of age,” said Jackson. “We created five teams and they gathered at the high school, OLC, from February 2 to 5, to learn about business. The youth learned about team building, social confidence, financial literacy, public speaking, media training, constructive comments, feedback and stepping out of their com fort zone. We also played icebreaker and team building games, and the youth developed strong relation ships with each other and new friends. “Goals for the youth are set throughout the camp using our curriculum of five team challenges. Those consist of building a brand, which involves choosing a busi 24023gm0 ness type, creating a name, motto, design a logo and determine core values. Then there is the target market component where youth create products and services to solve a problem and determine who their audience and market is. “With the marketing strategy, youth decide how to advertise and reach customers, and from that create a marketing plan,” said Jackson. “Then they work on a budget and financial plan and youth have to determine their start up and operational costs, and how they will use their budget and any revenue for the future. Finally, the youth pitch their business by using the business model created. The youth film and deliver a five-minute business pitch that is premiered at the graduation and community celebration event. They work together in their teams with the guidance of a coach to create their business, and learn each factor of entrepreneurship.” The youth were mentored by local mentors in the community, each one had diverse background that brought forward different learning perspectives. “The mentors and coaches for the camp were Bears’ Lair team members, as well as OCN leadership and local business owners,” said Jackson. “This included Holly Chartrand, who is a local entrepreneur and award winning author; Savanna Sayese, who is a teacher with OCN; Dean Montgomery, the executive Producer of Bears’ Lair TV and president of Indigenous Initiatives; Jay Falkus, the director of operations for Bears’ Lair Dream Camps and head videographer and myself. “The judges for the graduation and celebration event were also an inspiration for the youth, as they were community and business leaders themselves. The judges were OCN Chief Maureen Brown; Darryl Bauer, OCN Eco nomic Development Officer; Courtney Hester, OCN Councillor and Dan Quesnel, who is the Scotiabank Manager. They were all excellent judges.” Several incredible entrepreneurial ideas were born as a result of the Bears’ Lair camp. Al though all presentations were solid, only one winner was chosen. “There were five groups who came up with amazing ideas,” said Jack son. “Bannock to go was the concept of a bannock cafe. Spirit Outdoors was a facility for youth that has programming for after school to encourage kids to do something active and away from video games and spending more time with each other. Maskwa Café was a proposal to set up a cafe that serves coffee, bannock, treats and a bookstore. OCN Attracts was an outdoor play ground for summer, fall and winter with activities for families and youth to be entertained. Dancing Raven Event Planning was a party event planning business for weddings, graduations, etc. “The team that created Dancing Raven Event Planning won. The judges were so impressed by all of the youth, but Dancing Raven had a small team of two people and the judges liked that they took on all of the roles of the business. The two-team members, Layne Nabess and Alzena Lajambe, persevered. They had a really good business idea and presented it very well. The winning team won $250 each and all other participants received $100 for at tending. All of the students also received matching hoodies and backpacks. “The kids came out of their shell, developed new friendships, all improved with public speaking and social confidence and most importantly everyone showed up and supported their team members,” said Jackson. “ It’s been said that 95 per cent of success in anything is showing up and the 22 youth did. They were in credible and our team can not wait to come back again.