Misipawistik Cree Nation’s Sonya Ballantyne has been busy writing up a storm and is releasing her newest children’s book called Little by Little You Can Change the World. Ballantyne’s book features a prominent Winnipeg Indigenous community activist who has been using his efforts for the greater good.
“I was asked by Portage and Main/High Water Press to pitch them ideas for graphic novels specifically about Indigenous people of note,” said Ballantyne. “I made multiple lists of people I thought would be interesting to write about and those lists always included Michael Champagne.
“I had encountered Michael in the community multiple times and finally got to know him when we sat down a few times to discuss the sort of story he wanted to tell about his life. We found out we were both huge fans of the book series Animorphs and we both held a deep belief that the world is changeable.

In a time when Manitoba and Canada are in a physician shortage crisis, northern Manitoba has some promising potential in the works. Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) member Jacqueline Smith is about to enter medical school and focus on becoming a physician. This has been a lifelong dream for her and thanks to the assistance of some Indigenous programs, she can move forward and achieve that goal.
“I wanted to become a doctor from a young age but didn’t see myself represented in that field as an Indigenous person, specifically as an Indigenous woman,” said Smith. “A lack of representation discouraged me from going after that goal and I internalized the feeling of not being smart enough or that that job was not meant for people like me.

Local band Low Budget Rock Star has had the opportunity of a lifetime present itself to them. After years of struggles and hard work, their efforts have paid off and they recently signed a record deal with a company in Nashville.
“When I left Nashville, from the last time I was there to record, I got a call back from them and they told me what they wanted to do with my music to get me on their label,” said Low Budget Rock Star Lead Singer and Songwriter Kennie Henderson. “It never really set in for a few months for me, I just thought oh that’s really cool.

Last week an announcement that shocked many in northern Manitoba was made. Mahihkan Bus Lines released a statement online that read, “We regret to inform you that Mahihkan Bus Lines Limited Partnership will be closing its operations, effective September 6, 2024. Despite our best efforts to sustain our business operations in order to provide a reliable transportation option for residents in northern Manitoba, ongoing market volatility, inflationary pressures and challenging economic circumstances have forced us to make this difficult decision.

A byelection is set for Oct. 30 to fill four vacant positions on the Mountain View School Division board of trustees.

The polling will seek to identify two trustees in Ward 1, which covers the Municipality of Roblin.

One trustee is to be elected in Ward 2, which encompasses the Municipality of Ethelbert, Gilbert Plains Municipality, Grandview Municipality and a portion of the RM of Mountain.

Finally one trustee will be identified in Ward 4 to represent the city of Dauphin.

The Ward 2 seat became vacant this past March when trustee Charlene Gulak resigned from the board to pursue a professional opportunity.

The other seats at the board table became vacant when trustees Scott McCallum, Floyd Martens and Liefa Misko stepped away from the board in early June after superindent/CEO Stephen Jaddock was fired without cause during a special board meeting, May 31.

For the three, the firing was the last straw in a series of events they considered “dark and repressive,” highlighted by a presentation on residential schools by trustee Paul Coffey, which was widely condemned as racist and prompted Manitoba Education Minister Nello Altomare to launch a governance review of the division.

Altomare eventually appointed a three-person oversight panel comprised of Manitoba Métis Federation vice-president Frances Chartrand, Brandon School Division trustee Jim Murray and Manitoba Teachers’ Society staff officer Andrea Zaroda, to assist in navigating board and staff turnover, strengthening governance practices, and community relations and to “ensure that MVSD progresses on key priorities, such as diversity, inclusion and reconciliation.”

Candidate packages for the byelection can be picked up at the Mountain View School Division office, beginning today.

All nominations need to be made in writing and be signed by at least 25 voters, or not less than one per cent of voters in the ward, whichever is less. In all cases, nomination papers need to be signed by at least two voters.

Each nomination must also be accompanied by the candidate’s declaration of qualification.

Nominations may be filed in person at the Mountain View School Division office, Sept. 18, 19, 20, 23 and 24, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The papers may also be filed by fax or by a candidate’s official agent.

For more information contact senior election official Kirk Dawson at 204-621-7165 or the MVSD office by phone at 204-638-3001 or by fax at 204-638-7250.

Byron Hardy and his adult son, Andrew Hardy, have lived in the Swan Valley for several years now, with Byron semi-retiring from his work in policing and Andrew joining the local Emergency Medical Service (EMS).
Byron started his career as an RCMP member, going through training in 1982, but spent the majority of his career with the Saskatoon Police. However, at 63 years old, he’s made the choice to rejoin policing as an RCMP member, making him and his son first responders at the same time, and soon in the same jurisdiction. While Byron has been recently serving in the Ste. Rose detachment, he will be soon serving shifts in Swan River this fall.
Andrew started working as EMS locally 12 years ago and has been going strong since.
“When I grew up, my dad was a cop and my buddies were firefighters and other cops and paramedics,” said Andrew. “I was kind of always around that whole emergency world and I’ve always been interested in it.”
At one point when the Hardys were living in Calgary, Andrew was exposed to some medical training while working security alongside ski patrol in Canada Olympic Park, which is part of what incepted the idea in his mind to join the world of EMS. It was in Calgary where he first became a licenced paramedic before moving to Swan River and getting licenced in Manitoba.
“I’ve always kind of been interested in it since high school,” said Andrew, noting his dad’s initial reservations, because of when he was nine years old and went to a blood donation clinic with Byron and saw the needle go into Byron’s arm and fill with blood.
“At that moment, everything went looney tunes and the floor went vertical. (Dad) thought I was a bit too woozy with blood, but I think I’ve gotten over that and I’ve been okay since.”
With Andrew growing up as a cop’s son, he always saw his dad as the classic hero cop. He would hear stories about what Byron would do on shift sometimes, but his perspective shifted a bit once he joined the first responder world and experienced it first hand.
He added that the two of them have not worked a call together since Byron joined the police force, but noted that when he has noticed him on the street, Byron was happy to be back in that world.
“Once a cop, always a cop,” said Andrew. “I could never lie to him ever, he was a walking lie detector. He had that cop mentality and I was never scared to go with him anywhere.
“It’s cool that he’s back in it now because I’ve never seen him in an RCMP uniform because he quit before I was born. I only ever saw him in Saskatoon Police uniforms.”
Even though Byron may have had some concerns about Andrew’s brief childhood blood aversion, he said otherwise was never concerned about Andrew joining a first responder role.
“My wife, Darlene, and I raised our children to have that warrior mentality,” he said. “When I say warrior, I mean paramedics, policing, firefighting and all those front line guys like nurses and doctors too. Even though we seldom use that term ‘warrior’, that’s really what some of those front line people are.
“I know Andrew has a reputation for being a very good medic and know some of the calls he’s gone to. I think sometimes paramedics in general don’t realize what they go through. There have been calls where they save people’s lives and the general public doesn’t hear about that. It’s good to see these guys out in the street, especially Andrew and the level of professionalism that he has and as good as he is at his job.”
While nobody hopes for a bad call while on shift as a first responder, both Byron and Andrew look forward to being called out together for the first time when they are both on shift in Swan River. Byron even double-checked when Andrew was working around the time when Byron returns to work in Swan River so he could ask to work the same shifts.
Andrew noted that the times he and his dad have been on a call together in the past was when Byron was working as a chaplain, and he got suited up with basically everything but the weapons.
“I started my chaplaincy with Calgary Police Service in 2009,” said Byron. “Calgary is large enough to have several, and with different faith backgrounds.
“I came back to Swan River in 2018, and enrolled into the chaplaincy in 2019, but for the Manitoba Veterans Association. (The job) is all about spiritual care, not even as much faith-based as much as spiritual care. We would phone these guys every six months and ask them how they were doing, and that would be a piece of it as well (in addition to going on calls).”
As a chaplain, sometimes even active members would consult with Byron to get his take on things, given that he has multiple decades of experience in policing.
Byron comes from a Christian faith background, and naturally raised his children in that faith as well. With the two of them being in roles that can be intense or traumatic, they find their faith is at least part of the reason why they can stay grounded and focused on the work they do without too many negative impacts.
“Some of the guys I work with don’t have that faith component and several of them are still grounded and have pretty level heads, but I think there’s the additional component that faith brings,” said Byron. “That’s one of the reasons chaplaincy is involved in policing, firefighting and paramedics, is so that those guys can have that outreach as well.”
Byron recalled a moment when he was working in Calgary when a member of the police service took her own life, and he helped perform the funeral as chaplain
“When you go to a funeral and it is a faith-based funeral, you’re able to at least speak hope into people’s lives,” he said.
Both Byron and Andrew enjoy their respective jobs and feel well-suited to their roles.
“I know it’s cliche, but I like to help people,” said Andrew. “We have saved some lives, but when it comes down to it, it is difficult to do that successfully. I feel like it takes a certain mentality to do that job and a lot of people don’t handle it well.”
Andrew added that he also likes that he is empowered with the tools and the skills to help people as best as he can where they are, acting as a mobile emergency room, to give people their best chance.
Andrew even likes the shift work and working nights.
“Most of the calls seem to come in at night, based on how society works,” he said. “I like the pace of the night shift. Things are kind of low key. Also, having four days on and four days off is sweet.”
For Byron, who has worked in policing off and on since he was 20 years old, he finds policing to be second nature to him.
“The thing that I have found that has been super important is that this job forces you to work out and stay in shape,” he said. “Certainly not everyone has that mentality, but my older brother and I are in our 60s and we push each other to work out and stay in shape. He’s still doing major case management with the RCMP as well, and was a high-ranking officer with the Mounties.”
Byron added that he had a stint as a full-time teacher during his break from policing, and he found teaching to be more stressful and more difficult than policing.
Andrew also added that whenever he picked up his child from daycare, he also didn’t know how people managed that many children that were not their own, even though he can handle the three boys of his own when his wife isn’t around.
With Byron back in policing, his family agrees that he is back in his happy place and he has communicated with Andrew that he is having fun, doing what he is meant to do.
And, soon enough, both of them will be on shift protecting and healing the streets of Swan River and area.

As harvest time is upon us, Mother Nature is also hard at work to prepare for the end of the season as bees pollinate sunflowers to help with the growth of sunflower seeds.

It wasn’t exactly the Magical Mystery Tour but there was some mystery and some magic so it came pretty close.

On Wednesday, a group of 19 people boarded a bus from Shuttle Bug Tours & Charter Services based at Onanole for a day-long guided retail tourism experience in the Roblin-Russell area.

Find out more in this week’s Review.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard are excited to announce the re-signing of Head Coach/GM Eric Labrosse and Assistant Coach Paul-Antoine (PA) Deslauriers to a five year contract with the team. "We are extremely excited about the staff we have heading into the season," Blizzard Owner Rob White commented. "This signing gives us a solid foundation to create something for the team. I am confident in saying we have some of the best staff that are available in Junior hockey in Canada right now."

Expect recreation in Dauphin to look a little different in 2025 compared to the past.

In light of an RM resolution indicating “the RM of Dauphin has decided to terminate their participation in the Dauphin Recreation Services Board and terminate the Dauphin Recreation Services Agreement effective December 31, 2024,” city councillors, senior city managers and managers from Dauphin Recreation Services formed a special planning group to deal with impending funding shortfalls.

RM council has since affirmed its commitment to recreation and by resolution on July 23 provided $375,000 in funding to DRS for 2025 operations and capital expenditures.

While Dauphin mayor Daivid Bosiak is pleased RM council has provided some funding for recreation this year, the work of the special planning group will continue.

“We’re moving ahead with 2025 based on what we know and that’s going to mean changes to DRS operations, programs, facilities, those are still to be determined,” Bosiak said.

“There will be some kind of, I’m calling it at this point adjustments because even with the $375,000 that the RM has committed by resolution . . . that’s still a couple hundred thousand, short of what we need. The city, who has been backfilling since 2017, we’re at our max of being able to back fill. So the only other option is DRS has to find more money somewhere, raise more money, or reduce costs somehow.”

Bosiak added the special planning group is focused on the coming year and “will not be delayed or diverted by any issues.” The City, he added, is looking forward to productive talks with the RM about recreation in 2026 and beyond.

Read the full story in this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.