The Town of The Pas held a regular scheduled council meeting on January 22 in council chambers. The meeting started off with four presentations during Citizen’s Period.
The first presentation was by Val Miron, the Office Manager for The Pas Handi-Van. Miron did a presentation as part of a request for council to budget the annual grant given to The Pas Handi-Van and to inform them that it is time to look at purchasing a new model.
“The Town of The Pas, for over 30 plus years, has been providing a $20,000 grant towards the operating costs for The Pas Handi-Van,” said Miron. “Our operation has not changed any since it was founded in 1980. We operate on a shoestring budget and provide a vital service to the community.
“We are starting to look at the purchase of a new handi-van, as the current one is a 2017 model. Handi-vans only last five to seven years. The van we are looking at is a 10-passenger vehicle, which is smaller than the old one, but we don’t transfer as many groups in one single trip as we use to. “Overall, it could be more affordable to have a smaller handi-van and potentially could last longer,” said Miron. “The cost of a new one is be tween $110,000 to $180,000, depending on what one gets in them, such as a better heater and air bag suspension; it all adds up. There is approximately $108,000 in the trust fund to purchase a new handi-van, however, The Pas Handi-Van doesn’t want to spend all their reserves, in case something comes up and they are in need of it.” Murphy asked about kilometres on van and if there is a need for another. Miron said there were 48,000 kms on this handi van, and they don’t do well with high kilometers or last past that amount. Once the handi-vans get high in mileage, there are higher maintenance costs and longer down time for repairs. At this time, there is no need for more than one van; the down time for repairs makes it seem like there is a need. Ed Demchynski presented a proposal on 2024 Canada Day fireworks, proposing a 26-minute pyro musical, with his choice of music and would be at the Ag grounds. Cost is $22,300 for mate rial and setup, plus GST. He would like a 90-day approval, to let him know if he is doing it. It takes 150 hours of set up to do it. Caitlin Henderson from The Pas Regional Library presented their budget and request for funding for this year. The Pas Regional Library did not ask for an increase this year, because of inflation. This year they asked for a $166,000 grant to operate in 2024. Murphy asked if the 2023 actuals were close to what was budgeted in 2023. Henderson told him there were some small re visions were made, but everything was fairly close. The Pas Association of Human Development (TPAHD) Board made a presentation to accompany a letter with a request for the town to provide for giveness for three years of taxes totalling $11,000 and were also looking for a letter of support. The organization has been in existence for 40 years and due to the after math of the pandemic and with no increases in their daily per diem for clients, they are losing money. There was $100,000 in the bank, but do to the expenses of keeping operations going through the pandemic, not being able to generate much revenue and having limited fund ing from the Province during the pandemic, the reserves has dwindled away. TPAHD Treasurer Darryl Shotton noted that there are six individuals graduating from Oscar Lathlin Collegiate in June and there may be some potential individuals who will need services and could work at New To You thrift shop. Currently, there are 31 students at MBCI in the life skills program and it’s not certain how many of those will come to The Work place and New To You. Right now, TPAHD has six clients; before COVID-19 they had 12 to 13 clients and could handle 25 clients, teach them life skills. The new building cost $600,000 and is now paid off, however TPAHD can’t use it as equity for an operating loan. Murphy asked if they would get by if they didn’t get relief on their taxes. TPAHD wasn’t sure if they would get by if the taxes were not forgiven, but they have a meeting with the Province on Feb ruary 6. Murphy wants to pro vide support and advocating to help TPAHD to continue. Councillor Manych sat in the citizen’s chair to speak about recycling. Manych stated that the Tri-Com Recycling is an independent contractor and it’s not council’s business to be asking for a budget from them. What was submitted was an in voice, not their budget. Council is being invoiced for a service and should be paying it and that Tri-Com Recycling is not presenting their budget. Councillor Manych stated that he felt you can’t really dispute an in voice and Murphy said they wanted a breakdown of things, because they may need to consider reducing services. Councillor Allen pointed out that the $176,518.82 is an amount based on an agreement that has not yet been signed between The Town of The Pas and Tri-Com Recycling. Councillor Manych said it may not be signed, but it’s been agreed to because the Town of The Pas received a service. The Pas Community Economic Development’s Economic Development Officer Jonathan Lalonde presented an update on 2023 services and a budget for 2024. Some highlights that Mayor Murphy noted were for financials were that for departments up to November 2023. Airport revenue was up significantly towards $700,000. The return on investments saw over $3,000 just on interest. The downside is the increase of expenses. A resolution was passed for Policy FA-831 to waive the business licence fee for three years for new business in The Pas. There was some discussion around the Trap pers’ sign at 1559 Gordon to be moved. It has been determined that it will be extremely expensive to move and there is a risk of damaging it. The owner of the Trappers’ sign stated to administration that he would be willing to give the sign to the town, only if there is a long-term plan to redo the sign and not at the risk of it being thrown out by another council. The owner of the Trappers’ sign also indicated that he would like it to be relocated to a more central downtown area and part of a bigger revitalization plan. Council plans to get The Pas Community Development Corporation to take this project over and look at applying for grants to move and fix it. Murphy had concerns about dumping the entire project on the TPCDC, so it needs to be determined who will take ownership of it from that point. The Skippy L fate is still in the wind. In October 2023, the Heritage Society put town administration in contact with the great-grandson of Tomb Lamb, Fraser Fisher, who was interested in the restoration of the Skippy L. Fisher was pro vided with the Condition Assessment but council administration never heard back from him. Another email was sent in December 2023, and again in January 2024, and there is still no response. The condition of the Skippy L is worsening, so it still needs to be ad dressed. Right now, council is waiting on the Heritage Society’s response on how to proceed and looking into plans for demolition. The Skippy L can be refurbished, but it can’t be de-designated without in volving the owner who designated it. There is some confusion as to what can be done and who owns it. Councillor Lane asked how the Skippy L got designated a heritage site without knowing who owned it. The town has fenced and boarded up the Skippy L and will continue to check to make sure no one is getting in there. Councillor Allen wanted an assessment from the town’s insurance company to see what the liability is on the town if someone got hurt. The Community Safety Officer program is moving forward. The LOU with the local RCMP Detachment, training, equipment and responsibilities has been discussed. The committee has re viewed the community safety officer programs in Thompson and Ste Anne. Ads are out to hire a Com munity Safety Officer and council has budgeted for all positions, equipment, uniforms, training and vehicles. In 2022, the Town of the Pas had an operating deficit of $217,131. There are two options to handling this deficit, one is to apply it to the 2024 tax levy or apply it to the general operating surplus. It was recommended to apply it to the general operating surplus, as there is enough room. If it were to be applied to the 2024 tax levy, it would increase the mill rate by 1.078 mills. The Town of The Pas is still working on cleaning the Lido Theatre building. Currently they are trying to work on agreeing on date and time when the previous owner can go and remove his personal items from the building. Once this hap pens, the town will make arrangements to clean up the Lido and get an assessment done.

There is a strong divide in the Valley when it comes to the topic of a shelter in the community. There are some who that feel having a shelter in Swan River will only increase crime and encourage more people who are experiencing homelessness to come to the community. There are others who feel that there is a definite need to provide shelter to people who don’t have anywhere to sleep when the temperatures drop down to -30C below or colder.
In the neighbouring community of The Pas, Oscar’s Place is an emergency shelter that has been operating for quite some time. It’s had its challenges over the years with having enough funding to keep the doors open, but it’s also provided a safe place for those in need to keep out of the cold.
Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy feels that having a shelter in the community is the social and morally right thing to do, but also wants more services in the community to help with the other issues that have led people to be homeless in the first place.
“It’s important to recognize that there are a group of individuals in our communities who are having issues with housing needs,” said Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy. “It’s good to have a shelter because we don’t want people to freeze to death, but it has to be accompanied by complete wrap-around services to help with issues of addictions and mental health. Oscar’s Place is designated as an emergency shelter and is only supposed to be used by a person for a few days. Without the services to help people address what had led to the issue of homelessness, there is a possibility of people then treating the shelter as a residence, which then takes away from it becoming an emergency shelter.
“There are just not enough addiction supports for people in our community and there is no quick access to mental health supports either. There’s a definite gap to deal with here. I’ve spoken to people in the community who use the shelter and they’ve shared with me that they are struggling with addictions and want to get help, but there is over a three-week waiting period for them to get into addiction treatment. I’ve also heard others tell me they went for addiction treatment and came back here, which is their home community, and went back into the exact same environment they were in before, with no transitional housing or support to maintain sobriety. There were no supports to access housing, employment and sober living. So how does a community expect to break the cycle of homelessness, if we don’t have all the supports in place?”
Murphy doesn’t agree with the mentality of kicking people out of The Pas who are homeless. Many of the people experiencing homelessness are originally from the area, and Murphy also believes that people have the right to come and stay in a community if they choose to.
“We need to take care of people who are struggling and don’t want to see anyone freezing to death,” said Murphy.
“As human beings, we should have a heart and compassion to make sure no one freezes to death. As for those who say the homeless need to go back to where they came from, well those people who are homeless in our community are citizens of The Pas. They may have come from somewhere else, but if they choose to come to our community and want to stay here, then that’s where they live.
“As the Town of The Pas, or Opaskwayak Cree Nation or the R.M. of Kelsey, we can’t take care of the homelessness situation on our own; we need more support.”
The Pas also runs a soup kitchen through The Pas Friendship Centre. The Pas Friendship Centre is very familiar with the homeless population in the community and believes that Oscar’s Place is a definite need in the area.
“Oscar’s Place saves lives, plain and simple,” said The Pas Friendship Centre Executive Director Doug Bartlett. “The weather in northern Manitoba, being what it is, takes a toll on the homeless population. Oscar’s Place provides up to 26 people, with a warm place to spend the night.
“That being said, I believe the shelter could be twice as big and there would not be enough room for all the homeless population. Another concern was that Oscar’s Place was not open during the day, however, this has been rectified. The homeless population can now attend the shelter from 3:30 p.m., and this will be until the cold snap has ended.”
Bartlett doesn’t believe a shelter is a drawing card for more homeless people to come to a community. There is a lack of affordable housing all across Manitoba, and it gets particularly worse, more north of the province.
“I do not believe having a shelter in our community is the reason so many people are coming to The Pas and find themselves homeless,” said Bartlett. “What has been a major factor in the homeless issue in our and every other community in the north, is the lack of housing. Many people that come to our community are here because there are 12 to 18 people living in the same house in their home community.
“They come to the larger community of The Pas and soon find themselves on the streets. Then the addictions take over. The longer they are on the streets, the harder it is to intervene and provide services. Many of the homeless population have been walking the streets here for many years, and this is their community too.”
The Pas Friendship Centre realized that if people don’t have a place to keep warm in the community, then they also do not have food to sustain them. Recently, The Pas Friendship Centre expanded its soup kitchen from its building into a separate one on LaRose Avenue.
“The soup kitchen provides the homeless population a warm meal once a day,” said Bartlett. “For many of them, this is the only meal they will have that day. While they are at the soup kitchen, there is an opportunity to provide them with information and services.
“These can range from assistance with health information to having clothing provided. We have both a Health Navigator and a Homeless Navigator on staff to assist them. As well, we also have a Homeless Mentor who works directly with the community homeless. One of the impacts on the community is there are fewer people roaming the streets when the soup kitchen is open. We do however have rules such as, if you are intoxicated in any way, you will not be allowed in.”
Bartlett shares many of the same views as Murphy when it comes to the need for wrap-around services in the community to help reduce homelessness, addictions, poverty and crime.
“The staff at The Pas Friendship Centre have a very trying job,” said Bartlett. “ We cannot let our personal biases dictate our actions in how we work with the community homeless people. The staff have developed relationships with our homeless clients on a basic level that understand that they are where they are and can move forward from there.
“To address the homelessness in northern communities, it comes down to providing housing and addiction treatment services that are based in the north. Sending people south for treatment and then returning them to the same situation they left will not bring the client to a place where they are able to stay clean and sober.
“Addiction to substances has been classified as a medical disease by Health Canada,” said Bartlett. “Too often communities choose to ignore this and blame the addict with the age-old adage that if they had a moral compass, they wouldn’t do drugs. It’s this type of nonsense that has been detrimental to addictions for years.
“Even when an addict has gotten treatment, there are so few rental spaces in this community that individuals end up on the streets and after a few weeks, they fall back to old patterns and ways of living. As a community, we need to come to the realization that housing is a major factor in homelessness.”

This winter has been one for the books, when it came to warmer than average temperatures in December and very little snow. Winter may be catching up, but the lack of snow on the ground in tri-community has put a major Trappers’ Festival event on the backburner for this year. This year the Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival (NMTF) board of directors had the difficult decision to cancel this year’s World Championship Dog Sled Races due to a lack of snow.
“Since 1948, the World Championship Dog Sled Races have only been cancelled for a day or two, due to warming weather resulting in the trail melting,” said Kinsmen Dog Race Chair Mike Roberts. “The races have not been cancelled in their entirety, other than in 2021, as a result of the pandemic. The race's start times have, in some years, been pushed back due to extreme cold temperatures. This is done in consultation with the mushers, for the safety of the dogs and mushers.

When a child gets sick or has a traumatic birth, people in the community step up to show support in a variety of ways. Last year, baby Theo Derry was born premature and faced some uncertain odds in the days ahead.
“My great-grandson Theo was such a premature baby that when he was born, he was only 23 weeks and four days,” said Theo’s Great-Grandmother Julie Bell. “If he had been at 22 weeks, they wouldn’t have even likely tried to save him. He just was passed that time and the wonderful staff at St. Boniface Hospital saved his life.”
Theo’s mother Breanna Mault, was fortunate to have her family there to support her and her children during this turn of events.
“My daughter, Jennifer, and I took care of the three other children that Breanna has, while she and Theo’s father stayed in Winnipeg at the Ronald McDonald House,” said Bell. “The Ronald McDonald House was a complete saviour to them at that time. We travelled back and forth to Winnipeg for quite some time.”
Theo’s family began to see progress in his development, which was very promising and gave them all hope for a positive outcome. Theo has progressed immensely but still is working on muscle development.
“One of the things that gave us hope in the beginning, is that Theo took to eating the special formula from the start,” said Bell. “Within the first month, he was able to eliminate properly, which meant that some of his organs had already started developing properly. He is doing really well with most things but isn’t sitting up on his own yet, because now he is starting to develop muscles. Theo is just a little slower at crawling because of muscle development.
“Theo is showing promising signs and he is a responsive baby. He has had one laser surgery to correct his peripheral vision, which they say can improve as he grows.”
As a result of Theo needing to be in close contact with medical professionals and therapy services, Breanna and her children have had to move to Winnipeg to ensure they have consistent access to care. The move has come with some challenges, as it keeps Breanna from having her mother and grandmother close by for support.
“Breanna has another son, before Theo, that was born premature, so she knows a lot about the exercises that need to be done to help him develop those muscles,” said Bell.
“She needs to be here in the city where she has those supports close by and access to the doctors. Breanna and her children have since moved to Winnipeg because Theo still needs some care and services that are much more accessible in the city. Theo is now just over a year old as of Jan. 2, and weighs about 15 lbs.. He’s eating well and has specialists that he has to see regularly to check on his development. His brother and sister just love Theo and being with him.”
Bell is in awe of how the medical field has progressed, especially when it comes to the care and treatment of premature babies. In a short span of time, there has been so much progress in this field and thanks to that innovation, it has helped babies like Theo reach their targeted goals for development.
“It’s just amazing the amount of innovation and improvement they have done in the health and science field over the last few years,” said Bell. “Theo should not have survived with the kinds of odds he was facing, but it’s amazing how far he has come along.
“He’s a very content baby and has the biggest grin you’ve ever seen. Theo likes to be in his swing, and once his neck muscles are a little stronger, they will put him in a special chair to give him support and continue that muscle growth. He spends a lot of time on the floor doing special exercises to build those muscles.”
Bell, her daughter, granddaughter and family are truly moved by the generosity and caring of the people in Valley during their time of need. People showed incredible support through donations which helped the family out during all of Theo’s medical needs.
“There are times where it’s difficult for Breanna to be out there with the three kids, but we are all so grateful to the people of the Swan Valley,” said Bell. “Some money was raised through the GoFundMe page and we had jars up in the community, which also brought in more donations to help out. Two local service clubs, the Lions and the Kinsmen, also donated.
“I can’t say enough about the people in the Valley; they’re just amazing. It not only helped in that first month but helped carry through afterwards. Breanna is still unable to work as she is providing the care that Theo needs. She still has some time left on her maternity leave, but that will be running out soon and she will have to look at other options.”

Recently The Pas Legion has voted in a new president, Roger Nikolychuk. Roger is no stranger when it comes to volunteering as Legion member, for he has strong family ties to The Pas Legion that started with his mother, Angie, who was the former president of The Pas Legion. Serving The Pas Legion has become the Nikolychuk family’s legacy.
“I’ve been a Legion member with The Pas Legion for 29 years, but I wasn’t really active until about 2014, when I became involved with it through the air cadets,” said Angie. “My kids were in air cadets at the time, and the Legion sponsors the air cadets and monitors their activities closely, so we naturally started giving back to The Pas Legion for everything they gave for the cadets.

Physician and nurse shortages, as well as closed ERs, are issues that aren’t going to be solved any time soon, especially for rural and northern Manitoba communities, but there is another option. The online service Q-Doc has had a successful year in providing patients with virtual appointments with physicians and nurse practitioners, to help people who don’t have access to immediate healthcare in their community and to prevent unnecessary visits to the ER. Q-Doc has seen substantial growth over 2023, when it came to service providers and patient usage.
“There have been a lot of highlights in the past year for Q-Doc,” said Q-Doc Co-founder Dr. Norman Silver. “At the end of 2022, we had 62 physicians and as of now we have 113, along with 30 nurse practitioners as part of a pilot project with the provincial government that went really well. So, provider wise, we have gone up about 80 percent in that capacity. We were able to recruit 30 nurse practitioners in a month. The nurse practitioner pilot went really well and allowed patients to be seen through Q-Doc as a result.

The Town of The Pas held a special budget meeting and a regular council meeting on January 8, in council chambers. During the citizens period, a representative from The Pas and Area Animal Shelter presented a financial request to council to help with the operations of the shelter. The organization planned on submitting the same request to the R.M. of Kelsey and Opaskwayak Cree Nation, since they serve those areas as well.
Council put forward a resolution to amend the policy to the Sales and Extensions of Lots From the March 1, 2018, Land Development Incentive. The policy was originally created to allow the approval of first and second extensions, however since then, council has approved third and fourth extensions, which led to a precedent being set.

Having something stolen is more than a disheartening experience, but when it’s something that has sentimental value, the loss that is felt is that much more. On the evening of Boxing Day, 2023 Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival Fur Queen Gloria Ballantyne-Packo had the unfortunate experience of having her family’s vehicle broken into while in Winnipeg, and amongst the valuables stolen was her 2023 Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival Fur Queen parka.
This parka is a one-of-a-kind article of clothing that each of the Fur Queen Court receives. It’s tailored made for each person and has a unique design that reflects the theme for the Trappers’ Festival. Each parka also has the name of the Fur Queen court member embroidered on it.
“The Fur Queen jacket is so special to me because it represents the hard work and dedication that I have put into the fur queen competition and Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival,” said Ballantyne-Packo. “It also reminds me of the experiences I have had with my fellow reigning court. We decided on every detail about the jackets including the colour, embroidery, and fur.

Although January brings the start of a new year, it can also be a difficult time of the year for people in terms of managing mental health. The aftermath of the Christmas holidays and excitement, combined with the winter months can take a toll on people, as they try to keep their mental health in check.
“The winter months in general, and the month of January in particular, can be very difficult for many people in terms of how it affects their mood, energy, and general sense of mental health and well-being,” said Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Swan Valley Branch Peer Support and Public Education Coordinator Rod Seib. “Of course, the shorter daylight hours have a real impact on mood, as light exposure has long been known to have an impact on mental health.

The Pas Fire Department received a total of 184 calls for service in 2023.
“We’ve seen a significant rise in grass fires in 2023, with 34 calls for service as opposed to 17 the year before,” said The Pas Fire Department Fire Chief Cody Langlois. “We will be working with other agencies to reduce this statistic as we approach 2024 grassfire season this year, cautiously, given the lack of snow cover potentially setting us up for a dry year.
“A statistic we highlighted this year was landfill fires, as we had a large surge in them responding to 21 in 2023. These are very challenging fires for our crews, as they can be very dangerous, We appreciate the communities patience while we dealt with these incidents.