Sixteen-year-old Emily Heape has overcome incredible odds and was granted a dream come true through the Dream Factory. Just before Christmas, Heape went on her dream trip to Australia to experience all kinds of adventures with her family.
“We started our journey to Australia on Dec 17, flying to Vancouver after spending the weekend in Winnipeg,” said Heape. “What felt like a billion hours later, we arrived at my aunt and uncle’s house in Noosa, Australia. We extended our stay as a family holiday and in total, we were in Australia for 17 days.
“My thoughts and first impressions of Australia when we first arrived were darn it’s hot here! If I’m not dead by the time we leave, I’ll be a raisin. It was really warm, but beautiful and so different from Canada.” Heape did a lot of sightseeing while in Australia and witnesses some breathtaking views. She also made sure to check out all the animals and sea creatures she could. “While we were in Australia, we did lots of fun things,” said Heape. “We went up this huge 230 metre tower called Q1 at the Gold Coast. From there, we got to see a 360 degree view of the beach, ocean and the city of Bris bane all at once. Then we went to the Australia Zoo, which was my favourite, and we got to see all of the different amazing animals. We visited some markets and mom loved all the different vendors. “We also went to Rainbow Beach, went swimming in the ocean and to the Great Barrier Reef, which was amazing. All of the different fish and creatures you could see, it was incredible. To get out to the reef, we had to take this huge boat that kind of reminded me of a ferry. “While we were at the Great Barrier Reef, we tried snorkelling, but I did n’t like it very much,” said Heape. “There was this glass-bottom boat that my dad and I went on, and you could see everything. It was so cool. Later, while my mom and brother were still snorkeling, my dad and I went in the submersible. That was even better than the glass bottom boat. You could see a lot more in the submersible than in the glass bottom boat. I think that was one of my favourite things we did the whole trip. There was this one fish that they named Wally, since he was al ways around. “Also, we took a glass-bottomed sky rail ride up a mountain at the world's oldest tropical rainforest while in Cairns and visited a 100-year-old town called Kuranda.” Each adventure Heape went on was left a lasting impression and she was really engaged at the zoo, where she saw lots of different animals for the very first time, up close and personal. “My favourite activity in Australia was the submersible,” said Heape. “This was my favourite activity because it was like a whole different world under the water that I had never seen before. It was a whole experience in itself. I enjoyed seeing all of the cool and different sea creatures. “All of the different animals that we got to see were one of my favourite parts of the trip. My aunt and uncle had quite a few different animals in their yard. They have wild turkeys they named Walter and Winne, as well as kookaburras, and wild cockatoos among others. They have lots of different kinds of bugs and spiders. My mom and brother got to see a praying mantis. There was this huge beetle at the B&B that was the size of a palm. “There were lots of different kinds of birds when we went to the zoo,” said Heape. “We went to a bird show and we got to see so many types of birds there. At the zoo, we saw a Komodo dragon, tortoises, and lots of different types of lizards and snakes. We went to a crocodile show, which was pretty cool to see, we saw a cassowary, which sort of looks like a fancy ostrich native to Australia. “We went and saw the koalas, which to be honest were sort of boring, but very cute. One day we went to a koala sanctuary, which I enjoyed much more as we got to pet a koala and see it up close. We got to see some sleep ing dingoes and a binturong, which looks like a bear and a cat combined. We got to see lots of wallabies and lazy kangaroos, as well we got to see some elephants, which made me very happy. We also went and saw a tiger and a giraffe.” This trip to Australia will always be one Heape and her family will cherish forever. Not everything went as smoothly as planned, but the memories made will last a lifetime. “I went swimming in the ocean for the first time when we went to Rainbow Beach,” said Heape. “Unfortunately, one of the medications that I take causes my face to react to the sun and it gets sore and itchy, so swimming in the salt water didn’t make my face feel very good. “I think I’ll remember everything since this trip was my dream trip and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Finally visiting my aunt and uncle and having them show us where they live, with all the different places and things that are unique to Australia is something we’ll always remember.

The Town of The Pas, like many rural and northern Manitoba communities, is struggling with having adequate numbers of police officers stationed in the community. The cost of policing is rising, as is the cost of everything else, but there are just not enough police officers on hand to deal with the various issues around community safety and crime.
The Town of The Pas has budgeted for the creation of a Community Safety Officer Program. Currently, there is an ad out to hire a Community Safety Manager to spearhead the project.
“The Community Safety Officer (CSO) Program is still in the works, but the hope is to have a Community Safety Manager in place by the end of February 2024, to help role this program out,” said Town of The Pas Assistant CAO Jenn Early. “The plan is that the safety officers will be out and about the community, getting to know people and businesses. They will have a Peace Officer Status. “There will be two CSOs and a manager hired. They will do patrols in vehicles, bikes and walking. The CSOs and Community Safety Man ager will be working closely with the RCMP. We are hoping to have them work shift work and on weekends. The Com munity Safety Manager will be in constant contact with the local RCMP and our CSOs will work closely with the RCMP. If the RCMP need assistance they will contact the CSO’s and the vice versa. “We are working on a LOU with the local detachment to ensure we are on the same page,” said Early. “The CSO program is to help the RCMP so they can deal with more pressing matters; it’s not so the RCMP have less to do. The CSO’s will deal with individuals intoxicated in the downtown area, provide them rides home or to the homeless shelter or the RCMP detachment, if they do not have any other place to go and are a danger to them selves or others. They will also issue parking tickets; assist the RCMP with traffic control for parades; stay with individuals who are at the hospital under the MHA; provide basic community safety such as patrols and presence around town and eventually issue fines for by-law infractions. “Before they deal with enforcing our by-laws, we want them to get the com munity safety side of things started first.” Applicant for the CSO positions will have to meet certain qualifying criteria before they apply and then there is mandatory training to complete before they can act in the capacity they are hired for. “Since the CSOs will have access to cells at the RCMP detachment, they will also have to success fully pass and maintain Criminal Records Check and Vulnerable Sector Checks, enhanced security clearance required by MB Justice and Child Abuse Registry Check,” said Early. “There is a four-week training program through Brandon City Police that the CSO candidates will have to complete. This Level 1 Training is a requirement in accordance with the Manitoba’s Police Services Act (PSA). The Manitoba Safety Officer Induction Training is the minimum training requirement for issuance of a peace officer appointment for safety officers. “The officer course will provide training including, arrests and detention; understanding the system flow of laid charges; Indigenous awareness and community diversity; the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; court testimony; the Criminal Code; criminal investigation; Duty to Act and Duty of Care; elements of a crime; exhibit handling; interviewing; an introduction to law; Manitoba’s Intoxicated Persons Detention Act; legislation around governing peace officers; Manitoba’s Mental Health Act including authorities, forms, etc; Child and Family Services including missing persons matters; note taking and report writing; provincial acts, statutes, and municipal bylaws; radio procedures; restorative justice; search and seizure, along with the authority to search vehicles, persons and dwellings; tactical communications; traffic enforcement training; use of force and officer safety; and Victims’ Services and Social Services Level II Training,” said Early. “They will also have to meet the following requirements that are in accordance with Manitoba’s Police Services Act, such as the minimum physical requirements, vision and hearing requirements.” The cost of policing is beyond any municipality’s control, but the Town of The Pas realizes they need more supports to keep the community safe. The Town of the Pas’ 2024 budget is $308,000 for the CSO program and $3,714,000 for the RCMP policing. There is still more funding needed for this particular project. “We have an agreement already signed be tween the Province, the Town of the Pas and the RCMP,” said Early. “We have a committee of council formed with three members of Council, the CAO, myself, along with the local RCMP Staff Sergeant and Sergeant. We have started advertising for the Community Safety Manager and will be re viewing resumes the second week of February. There is a job description completed for the CSOs, but won’t start advertising until the manager is hired. “There are a few com ponents we are still working on such as the LOU with the local detachment, a vehicle for the CSOs and we’re still looking for funding, as this program is not funding by the Province. We’re working with the communities of Thompson and Ste. Anne, as they are the only two municipalities in Manitoba that currently have the CSO program up and running. We’re in the process of developing policies and procedures for this pro gram, and hoping that once the manager is hired, this person can take this on. “We are hoping to have tow CSOs in place by the end of March be ginning of April, and then hopefully there will be Level 1 Training avail able,” said Early. “We would like to see the pro gram in operation by May. It won’t be fully operational for some time as there will be lots of training and learning curves. We want the community safety aspect side of things figured out before we have them start by-law enforcement.”

Teachers in the Swan Valley School Division participated in training delivered by the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba (TRCM) this past Friday. Teachers from Grades 9 to 12 attended the morning session, while teachers from kindergarten to Grade 8 attended the afternoon.
TRCM’s Treaty Education Lead Connie Wyatt Anderson was the facilitator and is a former resident of the Swan Valley. Her passion for storytelling led to her calling to teach history.
“I grew up in Mafeking and went to high school in Swan River,” said Wyatt Anderson. “It felt like I was related to everyone and my parents still live there. My dad was a real seasoned storyteller, so I think early on I got a love of local stories and history. I attended the University of Winnipeg and when I finished, I ended up teaching in Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN).
“OCN had just built a new school and I was offered a job teaching history. That was just the perfect fit for me.”
Wyatt Anderson taught at OCN for 22 years and then in 2014, left to focus her time on pedagogical writing.
This led her to become part of TRCM developing curriculum and teaching about the treaties and their role in Canada.
“While teaching history back then, I was following the history curriculum and textbook and it was a reflection of its time, and even back then I noticed there were massive gaps in it,” said Wyatt Anderson. “The nice thing about history is that parts of it may be in textbooks, but it’s also in the people, the land, the language and is all around you. The coolest thing about being a history teacher is using the framework from the provincial government and then making it meaningful for the students.
“In 2009, Jamie Wilson became the second treaty commissioner in Manitoba and I knew him personally because he is from OCN. We taught together. When he came in, one of his goals was to begin an education initiative, where students in schools could learn about the treaties. He reached out to me because he knew I had been involved in curriculum development with the Province, so over the years I had been on five different curriculum teams.
I was asked if I was interested in doing it and that is how I got set on this path.
“When I first got started, I’ll admit, I knew just the bare bones of what a treaty was,” said Wyatt Anderson. “I had an understanding as a history teacher, but it was Jamie who really taught me to see it from the perspective of a partnership. It wasn’t just about Indigenous people; it was about factors such as how one’s non-Indigenous great-grandfather accessed land back then and relating that piece to how things unfolded.
“I came in and framed the curriculum. After being a long-time teacher, I knew the project would be successful if it was there to support teachers, not give them extra work. No teacher needs another special project; they have so much already to do. I will refer again to the recipe analogy, but this was like a meal kit, giving teachers the information, they needed to put it together. This was meant to support what they were doing.
“One of the first things I thought in my head, was this cannot be a special project, because those tend to be fleeting and die out,” said Wyatt Anderson. “Our friends in Saskatchewan had done the same thing and they predated Manitoba’s treaty education by a decade. They were excellent supporters to us.
“From there we started off offering workshops on treaty education. I’ve been all around Manitoba and sharing this with teachers.”
Wyatt Anderson encourages educators to use the information they learn about treaty relations and personalize it to suit the area, relevance and audience they are teaching it to.
“I always tell teachers to use the curriculum like a recipe,” said Wyatt Anderson. “There is a reason why allrecipes.com is so popular. The first thing everyone does with a recipe is make it their own, and you can do that in the way you teach history.
Two people can take the same recipe and adjust it for the people they are cooking for, much like teachers can do that with the way they teach history.
“I kind of like the idea of contested history, but when an event happens, not everyone sees it the same way. There are things where two people could witness the same thing and have different takes on it. Everybody tends to think that history is about a regurgitation of facts, it is to some extent, but it’s also about skills too; the ability to weigh evidence and develop critical thinking.
“Nothing in history is random; you have to look at the patterns. Every single thing is connected, except when a tornado hits.
Students are really good if you give them the leeway to find the connections. Dates don’t fall out of the sky and nothing is random.
“Teachers were doing great work already and I knew that,” said Wyatt Anderson. “I think that teachers sometimes aren’t supportive enough and I think by providing something like this, it gives them a little more courage to learn and teach more on something that may be outside their normal scope. This initiative started as a voluntary one and was for an entire decade. A lot of people embraced taking this opportunity to learn about the treaties on their own, while some school divisions totally embraced it. All this stuff predates the calls to action.
“We’re in a different place now, it’s 2024, and when we first started a lot of people were gobsmacked, because they didn’t know any of this. Many said they never took it to school or didn’t understand any of it.
Some people were empowered and felt they could do this and incorporate it into their teaching plans, while others could see themselves in this narrative about treaties as well.”

Municipalities all across Manitoba are looking for more cost-effective ways of doing things, while maintaining a certain standard level of service. Recycling costs have been a topic of discussion for all Manitoba municipalities, as to find out how to recoup the costs of operating recycling services in each community, which has been a growing challenge.
Mult-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM) has a draft plan proposal to spearhead and manage recycling in the province and take it off municipalities’ plates.
“The proposed plan to transition to full Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) would take a minimum of three years once approved,” said MMSM Executive Director Karen Melnychuk. “Communities will have the choice to either become service providers to MMSM or MMSM will put out Request For Proposals (RFP) for residential collection services based on catchment areas. All post-collection will become the responsibility of MMSM.
“Currently MMSM funds up to 80 percent of the costs of residential recycling programs. MMSM works with communities and municipalities behind the scenes. With the transition to full EPR, MMSM would take over full management and responsibility for residential recycling in the province of Manitoba.”

At last week’s Town of The Pas council meeting, members from The Pas Association for Human Development (TPAHD) Board of Directors made a presentation during Citizen’s Period. In that presentation, TPAHD was looking for the town for forgiveness of their property taxes for the next three years, to help them keep operating costs down, while they work on increasing their number of individuals who attend the programs and services, revenue and income streams. TPAHD has an umbrella of services and programs for people with disabilities that are funded through the provincial government, private funding and the New To You thrift store. “TPAHD was established in the 1980s by a group of people and parents that strongly felt it was important that individuals with disabilities could remain in The Pas as adults and access services,” said TPAHD Executive Director Cathy Lipscomb. “Under TPAHD umbrella, a number of programs operate. “The Workplace is a day program that operates Monday to Friday, that supports and provides programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities. It’s primarily funded through Community Living Disability Services (CLDS) under the Manitoba Department of Families. “New To You is a second-hand retail outlet that is completely supported through community donations to create retail and revenue,” said Lipscomb. “SEP is a program of offering services to individual living wage above the minimum individuals with a disability or barrier of some kind that may be hindering them on their life path to education or employment. Funding is providing annually for individuals through Manitoba Education and Training. “The Workplace and New To You are the pro grams that are currently suffering financial hard ships. SEP has a separate funder and has success fully secured adequate funding for this contract year that expires on September 30, 2024.” At the Town of The Pas council meeting, TPAHD Treasurer Darryl Shotton noted that before the pandemic they pro vided services and programming for 12 to 15 individuals, and now that number has reduced to six. TPAHD put great emphasis in keeping staff employed during the pandemic, with hopes it wouldn’t last long and to be prepared to resume services once things re turned to normal. “The Workplace currently employs one direct support worker and the executive director full-time,” said Lipscomb. “Currently there are three individuals working full-time and three part-time. Two part-time workers have indicated they would love to work full-time, but there has not been funding se cured from the Province to make this happen. would be short lived and wanted to ensure that the staff would return, when it was declared safe to do so. When The Workplace was allowed to reopen, it was done under the guidance and direction of the Province. “It was done by stag gearing the return of individuals and keeping the smaller co-hort together,” said Lipscomb. “The funding at the time was reduced again and the per diems were based on actual days of service for each individual. TPAHD maintained full staff at this time, thus draining even more of our rainy-day fund. “After many months of operating at half capacity, we were given clearance to resume to pre-pandemic numbers. Not all individuals re turned to full-time, but TPAHD made accommodations for half-time re turns and made adjustments to the staffing ratio. “New To You was closed down completely, then it was deemed essential and was allowed to re open with limits,” said Lipscomb. “Even with the ability to re-open, the revenue did not rebound, as many surrounding com munities remained on lockdown, with a lot of our customers from these surrounding areas. “Donated good also had restrictions and were required to be isolated be fore handling. Donations continue to pour in and still do.” The majority of the programming and services provided to individuals with disabilities at TPAHD focused on life skills and employability. Funding for these pro grams from the provincial government relies on assessing the individuals’ needs, while profits from New To You allowed it to be a self-sufficient operation. Now, New to You pays individuals with dis abilities working there with store credit, rather than a minimum wage paycheque. “Before the pandemic, individuals worked on life skills such as dish washing, doing laundry, com munity awareness and involvement activities, basic cooking, shopping, peer mentoring, socialization and customer interactions through working at New To You,” said Lipscomb. “Post pandemic, we still maintain our programming, but the com munity awareness and involvement activities have become limited due to opportunities and staff shortages. “The Workplace has a Service Purchase Agreement with the Manitoba government. This is the primary funder of the day program. Funding levels are based on the individual and what their needs are. The way individuals are funded has changed. It takes into consideration the level of support needed by each individual, in all parts of their lives, and what supports are needed for them to be successful. “New To You has no external funding and all revenue is created through purchase transactions,” said Lipscomb. “Before the pandemic, it was a self-sufficient business that was able to cost share the fixed expenses of the building, pay wages to the full-time manager, part time store clerk, as well as pay minimum wages for each hour worked by the individuals in attendance at The Workplace. “After the pandemic, sales have dropped and the income pays the wages of the full-time manager, but is unable to cost share any fixed expenses of the building. Individuals from The Workplace continue to help process items for sale, but are given store credit for their time.” Now TPAHD is in a financial crisis and are reaching out to various levels of government for assistance. “TPAHD is in a financial crisis and our immediate concerns are being able to keep the doors open and to continue to provide services to the individuals we are supporting,” said Lipscomb. “We have reached out to all levels of government for assistance. We have approached the Town of The Pas and have a meeting scheduled with Manitoba Department of Families on February 6. We have for warded a letter to Amanda Lathlin and reached out to Niki Ashton about our Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) repayment. Since we have repaid CEBA, it has resulted in draining our bank account. “No one has offered any assistance yet.” In Shotton’s letter to town council, he noted that there are 31 students in the Life Skills Program at MBCI that will be graduating in the upcoming years and six from Oscar Lathlin Collegiate that are graduating this year that would be eligible to come to The Workplace. TPAHD is working on adding new services, in hopes to attract more individuals, however, it will require more money for programming and staffing costs to do so. “Our plan is to secure additional funds to pay our outstanding debt,” said Lipscomb. “We’re working on securing more types of services, thus reaching more individuals. This will require an in crease in revenue to have more staff to offer a variety of services.” “Pre-pandemic, The Workplace and New To You were shut down completely. Funding for The Workplace was clawed back to a minimal amount of dollars that wasn’t even adequate enough to cover any fixed expenses. TPAHD Board of Directors made a decision to keep its employees on the payroll, with the expectation that staying home. In a letter to town council, Shotton noted that some of the issues stemmed from reducing sales at the New To You thrift store, a reduction in clients due to the closing of a local group home and increased employee costs while trying to provide living wage above the minimum. The majority of the programming and services provided to individuals with disabilities at TPAHD focused on life skills and employability. Funding for these pro grams from the provincial government relies on assessing the individuals’ needs, while profits from New To You allowed it to be a self-sufficient operation. Now, New to You pays individuals with dis abilities working there with store credit, rather than a minimum wage paycheque. “Before the pandemic, individuals worked on life skills such as dish washing, doing laundry, com munity awareness and involvement activities, basic cooking, shopping, peer mentoring, socialization and customer interactions through working at New To You,” said Lipscomb. “Post pandemic, we still maintain our programming, but the com munity awareness and involvement activities have become limited due to opportunities and staff shortages. “The Workplace has a Service Purchase Agreement with the Manitoba government. This is the primary funder of the day program. Funding levels are based on the individual and what their needs are. The way individuals are funded has changed. It takes into consideration the level of support needed by each individual, in all parts of their lives, and what supports are needed for them to be successful. “New To You has no external funding and all revenue is created through purchase transactions,” said Lipscomb. “Before the pandemic, it was a self-sufficient business that was able to cost share the fixed expenses of the building, pay wages to the full-time manager, part time store clerk, as well as pay minimum wages for each hour worked by the individuals in attendance at The Workplace. “After the pandemic, sales have dropped and the income pays the wages of the full-time manager, but is unable to cost share any fixed expenses of the building. Individuals from The Workplace continue to help process items for sale, but are given store credit for their time.” Now TPAHD is in a financial crisis and are reaching out to various levels of government for assistance. “TPAHD is in a financial crisis and our immediate concerns are being able to keep the doors open and to continue to provide services to the individuals we are supporting,” said Lipscomb. “We have reached out to all levels of government for assistance. We have approached the Town of The Pas and have a meeting scheduled with Manitoba Department of Families on February 6. We have for warded a letter to Amanda Lathlin and reached out to Niki Ashton about our Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) repayment. Since we have repaid CEBA, it has resulted in draining our bank account. “No one has offered any assistance yet.” In Shotton’s letter to town council, he noted that there are 31 students in the Life Skills Program at MBCI that will be graduating in the upcoming years and six from Oscar Lathlin Collegiate that are graduating this year that would be eligible to come to The Workplace. TPAHD is working on adding new services, in hopes to attract more individuals, however, it will require more money for programming and staffing costs to do so. “Our plan is to secure additional funds to pay our outstanding debt,” said Lipscomb. “We’re working on securing more types of services, thus reaching more individuals. This will require an in crease in revenue to have more staff to offer a variety of services."

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.