The Manitoba government has reached a new agreement with the Manitoba Association of Health Care Providers (MAHCP) to provide compensation to staff redeployed or reassigned to priority areas as part of the province's response to COVID-19, Manitoba, Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Cameron Friesen announced today. “Health-care workers have been at the forefront of Manitoba’s response to the pandemic, showing unrelenting dedication and commitment to patients in hospital and in the community as well as those Manitobans living in personal care homes,” said Friesen. “This agreement recognizes the efforts and sacrifices of staff whose personal and professional lives may be disrupted by a change in their work that is made necessary by the demands of COVID-19.” The agreement identifies personal care homes, intensive care units (ICUs) and dedicated COVID-19 units throughout the province as “priority areas” and enable health-care employers to make changes to work assignments, work locations, schedules, shift patterns and/or hours of work. Redeployment and reassignment are used to respond to increased patient volumes in COVID-19 units or ICUs and to ensure sufficient staffing in PCHs to meet the changing resident care demands resulting from COVID-19. Affected staff will receive an allowance for each disruption to their normal work schedule or location that is associated with a reassignment or redeployment to any of the identified “priority” health care settings. The agreement also provides a COVID-19 northern allowance, which includes travel reimbursement and compensation for staff redeployed to the north. The allowance also extends to staff already working in Manitoba’s north that are reassigned or redeployed to pick up additional shifts elsewhere in the Northern Health Region. In the case of any reassignment or redeployment, each individual health care worker’s training and skill level will be taken into account, as well as the region in which they work. Staff will be assigned according to skillset and area of greatest need and are provided with appropriate training and orientation to their new work environment and team. They are also provided with the necessary personal protective equipment for the setting for which they work. The MAHCP agreement follows a similar agreement signed earlier this month between the Manitoba government and the Manitoba Nurses Union. Similar agreements have also been signed with the Manitoba Government Employees Union and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. The Manitoba government has previously announced a provincial Caregiver Wage Support Program which tops up hourly wages for those eligible workers providing direct patient or residential care in Personal Care Homes. All agreements are in place for the duration of the pandemic response. (Province of MB News Release)

On Wednesday evening, Brandon Fire and Emergency Services along with Brandon Police Service responded to the McKenzie Seeds building in the 000 block of 9th Street for a possible fire. When emergency services arrived, heavy smoke could be seen coming from the 3rd floor of the building. Brandon Fire's ladder truck was utilized to gain access onto the roof of a connected structure to the south of the main McKenzie Seeds building, which gave firefighters access to the fire floor of McKenzie Seeds. Firefighters broke a window on the east side of the building to help ventilate the smoke from the structure. Fire crews got a full knockdown on the fire within an hour or so. No word on a possible cause of the fire. Photo by: Liam Pattison Photography Photo by: Liam Pattison Photography Photo by: Liam Pattison Photography Photo by: Liam Pattison Photography

randon, MB – Mayor Rick Chrest, Brandon Transit, City of Brandon Public Works, Brandon Police Service and Brandon Fire & Emergency Services would like to bring some Christmas cheer and recognize the staff and residents of Brandon’s Personal Care Homes and Brandon Regional Health Centre. These City of Brandon departments will be taking part in a drive-by of Brandon’s Personal Care Homes and the Brandon Regional Health Centre on December 23rd from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. We would like to take this opportunity on behalf of all City of Brandon employees to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best of the Holiday Season! (City of Brandon PSA)

Source: Brandon Police Service Media release On Monday evening, a 911 caller reported a robbery in progress in the 700 block of Franklin Street.  The male victim was being robbed of his personal property by a male armed with a knife.  After an extensive search of the area the suspect was located and arrested without incident.  The 29-year-old male from Brandon is being held in custody for a court appearance in the morning.  He is charged with robbery with violence and breach of two court orders.  The victim was not injured during the incident.

The Manitoba government is providing $5 million to the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce to develop a program that provides financial relief to dine-in restaurants that have been affected financially by the province moving to Critical (red) on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System and resulting public health orders, Premier Brian Pallister announced today.   “Manitoba’s restaurant community has made significant sacrifices in order to help halt the spread of this deadly virus and protect all Manitobans during this crucial time in our fight against COVID-19,” said Pallister. “Many businesses have taken on additional costs to adapt their operations to comply with public health orders and safely provide Manitobans with the services they rely on while supporting their efforts to stay home. Our government continues to work with the business community to identify industry needs and help target our support to help offset new expenses.”   Based on a recommendation from business leadership and stakeholders, the $5-million Dine-in Restaurant Relief Program will be delivered by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce in partnership with the Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association. The program will be designed to provide a rebate to dine-in restaurants across Manitoba that have shifted to a delivery model as a result of moving to Critical (red) and subsequent public health orders. The rebate will help offset additional costs related to food delivery services, whether a restaurant provides its own delivery service or uses a third-party delivery company.   “In a time when the restaurant industry in Manitoba has experienced significant revenue losses due to the pandemic and code red restrictions, we are pleased to see our provincial government creating this initiative to ensure some of the additional expenses of operating during this unprecedented time are recognized,” said Shaun Jeffrey, executive director, Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association. “We welcome this additional support to keep our restaurateurs’ spirits up during this holiday season. We look forward to working with all the partners involved to get these supports to the businesses that need them the most while supporting them as they rely on this lone revenue stream to keep them viable in the future.”     The Dine-in Restaurant Relief Program is the second program rolled out from that $50 million investment. On Dec. 3, the province announced a $1.5-million commitment from the fund to help support business, and chambers of commerce throughout Manitoba in developing and promoting their community business. A portion of that funding was also allocated for the GoodLocal online shopping platform and delivery service in the capital region, which connects local makers and merchants with buyers at www.goodlocal.ca.   The Manitoba Bridge Grant provides an immediate one-time payment of $5,000 to small and medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit and charitable organizations that were directly ordered to temporarily cease operations or close their publicly accessible physical locations by Manitoba COVID-19 public-health orders in effect on Nov. 12. The province expanded the grant in December to include funding of up to $5,000 for full-time Manitoba home-based businesses that have been affected by Manitoba COVID-19 public-health orders in effect as of Nov. 12. As of Dec. 21, the province has provided approximately $43 million to 8,600 successful applicants.    More information on the Dine-in Restaurant Relief Program and how to apply will be available for restaurants in the weeks ahead.  (Province of MB News Release)