The City of Brandon Grants Review Committee is now receiving grant applications for the 2023 fiscal year from non-profit organizations operating a service within city limits. Organizations requesting grants must meet the following criteria: Be a non-profit organization; Clearly demonstrate that the organization is fulfilling a need in our community which is in line with the City’s mandate to provide social support and recreational, cultural, and youth services; Include fundraising efforts as an important part of the organization's financial efforts; and Clearly demonstrate a financial need for the funds requested. City of Brandon PSA Applications are required to be submitted online through the Grant Application Form. The deadline to apply is Thursday, September 29, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. Grant applications will be reviewed in the fall of 2022 by the Grants Review Committee, with recommended grant funding to be provided for City Council approval prior to its 2023 budget deliberations.  Approved grant funds will be issued following final approval of the Financial Plan in the spring of 2023. The City of Brandon Municipal Grants Fact Sheet can be found on the City of Brandon website.

Source: BPS News Release On August 1, 2022, police responded to a report of a Break and Enter to a residence in the 400 block of 8th street.  Shortly before 6:00 pm, the homeowner returned to find an individual running out the front door.  He stopped him until police arrived. Investigation revealed that a 42-year-old male and a 33-year-old female had broken in and not only stolen items, but also caused extensive damage to the home.  The female was located and arrested nearby as she attempted to conceal stolen items in a bush. The female was to abide by conditions not to attend Brandon.  Both individuals were lodged at Brandon Police Service and will appear in court today on charges of Break and Enter and Theft, Mischief Under $5000.  The female will face an additional charge of Fail to Comply with Court Order.

“CRIME STOPPERS WANTED” for: July 29th, 2022 The Brandon Police Service is seeking the public’s assistance in locating this person who is: “WANTED BY POLICE” Crystal Leigh MALCOLM (48 yrs) FOR Failing to Attend Court While on charge for numerous offenses including breach of undertaking, theft, and failing to attend court, the accused, Crystal MALCOLM, once again failed to attend court. On July 20th, 2022, a warrant of arrest was issued for Crystal MALCOLM. Attempts to locate Crystal MALCOLM have been unsuccessful as her whereabouts is unknown at this time. ****************************************************************** CRIME OF THE WEEK for July 29th, 2022 The Brandon Police Service is seeking the public’s assistance in solving a; Theft Under $5000 On July 16th, at 9:40pm, a male suspect stole a quantity of meat from a business in the 3400’ block of Victoria Ave. The male suspect appeared to be in his 30’s, approximately 5’10”, with a shaved head. He was wearing a red t-shirt, light blue shorts with palm trees on them, black and white Adidas sandals, and a light colored camouflage back pack. He also had a tattoo on the back of his right calf. Photo of the suspect are attached to this release:

In 2017, Brittany Roque (Roque) brought a concern forward regarding the sharing of her intimate images while she was an applicant for a position with the Brandon Police Service (BPS). The Chief of Police was made aware. Since the concern involved a member of the BPS, and as mandated by legislation, the Chief contacted the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU). The IIU investigated, conducted a full and complete analysis of this matter, and concluded that there was no attempt to obstruct justice by the BPS officer. The finding was that the officer’s receipt, viewing and maintenance of the images fell within the exceptions outlined in both the Criminal Code (Canada) and the Intimate Images Protection Act (Manitoba). Roque also filed a Statement of Claim with the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench against Terry Lynn Peters (Peters), alleging that she distributed the images. Peters named the City of Brandon, as the entity responsible for acts or omissions by officers of BPS as a third party in the action. On April 12, 2022, the Court of Queen’s Bench in Manitoba found Peters and the City of Brandon jointly liable for general damages. Criminal investigations, when brought to the courts, must meet a standard of “beyond reasonable doubt”. While the City and BPS respect the court’s decision, we remain satisfied that Deputy Chief Randy Lewis acted in good faith and in belief as to best interests of BPS and the residents of Brandon. Deputy Chief Lewis is a highly respected, ethical, and virtuous leader of BPS and a valued member of the community. The City of Brandon and BPS did not pursue an appeal on the matter. At the time of these events, the Intimate Images Protection Act was an emerging piece of legislation that was being newly navigated by many employers and organizations. In the years since this matter transpired, we have learned a great deal and made modifications to our hiring processes and policies to bring them in line with the noted legislation. This will be the final statement from the City of Brandon and BPS regarding this matter. (City of Brandon Release)

The Manitoba government is investing $600,000 in capital funding for the child-care expansion project at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Brandon’s Y Downtown Early Learning Centre, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko announced here today. “Our government is committed to ensuring Manitoba families have access to quality, affordable and inclusive child care that is conveniently located,” said Ewasko. “We are proud to invest in this significant expansion project that will double the number of spaces at the Y Downtown to increase accessibility to needed child-care services in the city of Brandon and the Westman region.” The expansion was made possible through a capital grant under the Early Learning and Child Care Building Fund, which dedicates $1.9 million annually for child-care centre development projects. This fund supports increases in community-based child-care spaces across the province through new construction or the expansion of existing centres to increase their capacity. The Y Downtown child-care centre project was awarded the maximum grant available under the fund. The minister noted the Y Downtown’s child-care capacity will double to 96 from 48 spaces once the project is complete, creating 12 new infant spaces and 36 pre-school spaces helping more families in need of child-care services. “The Y is thrilled to be increasing the number of child-care spaces in our community, particularly infant and toddler spaces,” said Lon Cullen, president and CEO, YMCA of Brandon. “This is particularly important given the dire shortage of infant spaces in our community. We are thankful to the province to be able to enhance our child-care spaces in the Dood Cristall Family YMCA located in the heart of downtown.” The expansion of the Y Downtown’s child-care facility is part of a larger project underway at the YMCA of Brandon. In addition to increasing accessibility to child-care spaces, the project features initiatives that will enhance the services offered to the community, especially for youth, seniors and families. These initiatives include increasing space for supportive programming and creating two outdoor play areas. The centre expansion is expected to open in November 2023, the minister noted. The project’s funding also builds on other recent investments in child-care projects including Dugald Daycare Inc., a new stand-alone child-care facility providing 74 child-care spaces adjacent to Dugald School. In addition to these provincially funded projects, the provincial and federal governments have made investments in child care as part of the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement launched last summer, and the extended Canada-Manitoba Early Learning and Child Care Agreement launched earlier this year. For more information about early learning and child-care development supports and child-care services in Manitoba, visit https://gov.mb.ca/education/childcare/. For more information about the Early Learning and Child Care Building Fund, visit https://gov.mb.ca/education/childcare/resources/building_fund.html. (Province of MB News Releasse)