About 200,000 COVID-19 rebate cheques are being sent to Canada Post this week, Manitoba Public Insurance announced today. In total, 680,000 cheques will be issued in coming weeks, for a total rebate amount of $312 million. It’s expected all cheques will be mailed by mid-February. “The pandemic has negatively impacted many Manitobans personal finances, but it has also reduced the collision claims to MPI allowing for a rebate,” Kelvin Goertzen, Minister of Justice and Attorney General & Minister Responsible for Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) said today. “Returning these funds to its customers benefits Manitobans and is in keeping with the mandate of Manitoba Public Insurance. “The last two years have been a challenging time in our province. This current rebate is both positive and welcomed. Together, we’ll work our way through this challenging time in our province.” This is the third MPI COVID-19 rebate in less than two years. In total, MPI will have provided rebates of nearly $500 million to its policy holders ─ $110 million in May 2020 and $69 million in December 2020. This latest will result in about $328 rebated to an average private passenger policy. “The financial strength of MPI has allowed us to once again provide a COVID-related rebate cheque,” said Eric Herbelin, President & CEO, Manitoba Public Insurance. “Once again the public auto insurance model demonstrates its strength and financial benefits to our customers.” The rebate is calculated on the Basic Autopac premiums paid between November 22, 2020, and December 9, 2021, and is expected to be about 27 per cent of the customer’s annual Basic Autopac premium. Rebate amounts of $10 or less will be credited to the customer’s account. (Manitoba Public Insurance News Release)

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release From September of 2021 until January 2022, members of the Brandon Police Service Major Crime Section, Crime Suppression Unit and General Patrol have been investigating those responsible for a large portion of the commercial and residential property offences (break and enters / thefts) in Brandon and the surrounding communities.  Many of the businesses targeted by thieves were construction related.  A lot of the stolen property consisted of power tools and equipment. Throughout this time, multiple investigations and eight search warrants to residential properties were executed in which investigators recovered an extensive amount of stolen property, the replacement value is now estimated to exceed $100,000.  In addition to this property, two stolen vehicles were recovered, which led police to recover even more stolen property and illicit drugs.  Going through all of the recovered stolen property has proven to be very labor-intensive for investigators.  Some of the property will never be returned or connected with the rightful owners, as the serial numbers were not recorded prior to the thefts.  Investigators suspect that further charges would have been possible had the recovered stolen property been connected to specific incident reports. Sixteen individuals have been arrested in connection with these investigations and eleven of them have been charged with trafficking stolen property. Investigators have found connections between the individuals involved in these crimes.  Trafficking in stolen property is directly tied to and influenced by the meth drug trade. Seven of the residential search warrants were executed on October 13, 2021, November 11, 2021 and November 25, 2021, and were previously reported on our webpage.  The two recovered stolen vehicles were also reported on our webpage. https://www.brandon.ca/news/media-releases/26-november-2021  (four residential search warrants) https://www.brandon.ca/news/media-releases/12-november-2021-media-release (one residential search warrant) https://www.brandon.ca/news/media-releases/14-october-2021  (two residential search warrants) https://www.brandon.ca/news/media-releases/20-december-2021 (stolen vehicle and stolen property recovered) https://www.brandon.ca/news/media-releases/29-october-2021 (stolen vehicle and 8.8 grams of meth recovered) On December 21, 2021, at 11:00 am, members of the Major Crime Section with the assistance of the Crime Suppression Unit executed the eighth search warrant at a residential property on Wankling Blvd.  The search of the residence led to the recovery of stolen goods consisting of numerous power tools, a drone, and clothing all believed to be stolen.  Arrested from the residence was a 48-year-old male, Robby BALLINGGALL.  He was later released and will appear in court on March 3, 2022, on a charge of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime for the Purpose of Trafficking. Due to the volume of property recovered from the eighth search, the investigation continued.  Police also recovered a long gun, a small amount of meth and a ballistic helmet.  As of January 26, 2022, BALLINGALL now faces additional charges of CDSA Possession of Methamphetamine, Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm, Possess Firearm Contrary to a Prohibition Order, Fail to Comply with Release Order X2, and under the Body Armour & Fortified Vehicle Control Act – Possession of Body Armour without a Permit. The following individuals have each appeared in court on charges of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime for the Purpose of Trafficking: Robert CRIGGIE (male age 34) Trevor LINKLATOR (male age 37) Cody CARDINAL (male age 39) Nelson LECKIE (male 47) Christopher LALIBERTY (male age 38) Catherine SHINGOOSE aka ANGUS (female age 44) Terence KIMBALL (male age 44) Dillon DOWSWELL (male age 30)  The following males have appeared in court on charges of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime for the Purpose of Trafficking and under the CDSA - Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Meth: Anthony Campbell (male age 35) Richard BEAM (male age 49) The following individual has appeared in court on a charge of Possession For the Purpose of Trafficking Meth: Craig FINLEY (male age 51) The following individual has appeared in court on a charge of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime: Cameron YUEN (male age 21) The following Individual has appeared in court on a charge of Take Motor Vehicle without Owner’s Consent: Brianna BALLANTYNE (female age 28) Two other individuals, a 39-year-old male and a 35-year-old female have also been arrested on December 19, 2021 and will each appear in court on March 3, 2022 on Charges of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime X2.  

Source: BPS News Release On Saturday afternoon, members of the Organized Crime Section assisted by the Patrol Section executed a search warrant at a residence on Willowdale Crs.  Two people were stopped in a vehicle in the 2200 block of Park Ave in relation to the investigation and arrested.  One of the men, a 21 year old Brandon resident had an arrest warrant for Fail To attend for Identification. He was later released on an appearance notice.  Two people, a man and a woman were located  in the residence that was searched. They were interviewed and released without charge. In the residence, police recovered a large quantity of methamphetamine and two prohibited firearms.  A 27 year old man from Neepawa who was in the vehicle stopped earlier, was lodged for court on charges of Possession of a weapon for a Dangerous Purpose, Possession of Proceeds of Crime, Possession of the Purpose of Trafficking in Methamphetamine, and several firearms offences. He will appear in court on Sunday.

– After two days of budget deliberations, Brandon City Council has approved a $225 million-dollar budget, representing a municipal tax increase of 1.92% for 2022. Council debated several amendments with all areas of municipal spending being carefully considered for either augmented financial support or spending reductions. Council was also able to initiate numerous enhancements to the budget that will be of benefit to our residents. A few examples include: Drainage improvements $100,000 toward lead pipe replacement program Increased recreational programs including the construction of two new playgrounds Downtown Improvements Progress on the outdoor sports complex Improvements to Brandon’s Community Sportsplex Improvements to the water treatment plant “This was the most challenging of the past 8 budgets I’ve worked with and I’m extremely proud of the work of our entire Council and administrative team,” notes Mayor Rick Chrest. “We have reduced the proposed tax increase to 1.92%, which is less than half of current inflation, while maintaining or enhancing City services. We also commenced the largest era of City capital investment in our history. I always cherish the very collegial, collaborative and progressive approach of our Council, and the constructive results we have achieved in the face of difficult tasks.” The Council approved budget will now proceed to the public hearing stage, a date for which will be determined in the spring.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release) On January 27, 2022, police responded to a report of a disturbance in a business in the 000 block of 9th street at noon.  Investigation revealed that a 30-year-old female sprayed another individual with bear mace and fled.  The victim was treated by BFES.  Police located and arrested the suspect a short distance away.  She was later released to appear in court on April 7, 2022, on a charge of Assault with a Weapon.