The Manitoba government is launching a new online Young Worker Readiness Certificate Course to teach youth the basics about workers’ and employers’ rights and responsibilities for safety and health in the workplace, Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen announced today. “Having a job can be a fulfilling experience for youth as it can provide a sense of accomplishment and responsibility,” said Pedersen.  “This course contains important information everyone should know before getting their first job.”   The interactive course is based on Saskatchewan’s successful youth readiness course and is tailored for Manitoba.  It will help aspiring young workers to: •    understand more about the work world and where to go for information about workplace safety and health; •    examine a pay statement; •    learn about workplace expectations and responsibilities and practice problem solving; and   •    know workers’ and employers’ rights and responsibilities for keeping workplaces safe, and how to recognize and address common workplace hazards. “At SAFE Work Manitoba, we recognize how vital this initiative is for Manitoba's youngest workers,” said Jamie Hall, chief operating officer of SAFE Work Manitoba.  “The course will help keep young workers safe.  Young workers can be more vulnerable to injuries as they haven’t had work experience and don’t necessarily know the potential hazards of the workplace.  When they’re well-informed, everyone is one step closer to coming home safe at the end of the day.” Employers seeking to hire a worker under the age of 16 are required to confirm the successful completion of the course and keep a copy of the certificate as an employment record.  The certificate of completion is transferable to different employers, meaning youth only need to complete the course once.    “The new online training course will better prepare young Manitobans for entering the workforce and help keep them safe,” said Pedersen.   The course replaces an outdated process where employers were required to apply for a government permit to hire a young worker between the ages of 13 and 15, regardless of type of work.  Manitoba was the only province in Canada that required such a permit, which created red tape headaches for employers and was difficult to enforce, Pedersen said. “This initiative is designed to enhance the knowledge and safety consciousness ‎of young workers, which we hope will help create a lifetime culture of safety among young Manitobans,” said Bill Gardner, chair of the Manitoba Employers Council. The minister noted a person must be 13 years of age to work in Manitoba and employers must follow rules to protect the safety and health of young people in the workplace.   Young people who are 13, 14 or 15 years of age are not permitted to work: •    on a construction site; •    in industrial or manufacturing processes; •    on drilling or servicing rigs; •    on scaffolds or swing stages; •    pruning, repairing, maintaining, or removing trees or shrubs; •    at heights more than 1.5 metres; •    with herbicides or pesticides; or •    without direct adult supervision. Additionally, 13 year olds cannot work with dangerous tools or machinery, such as knives, slicers or deep fryers, in the food preparation industry. There are also restrictions on the hours a person under 16 years of age can work.  Young people aged 13, 14, or 15 cannot work between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., and cannot work more than 20 hours per week during a school week.   Youth can now complete the Young Worker Readiness Certificate Course online at https://ywrcc.safemanitoba.com/.   The course is administered by the Manitoba government and was developed in partnership with SAFE Work Manitoba.

Source:  Brandon Police Service Media Release On November 24th 2018, police attended the area of the Brandon Experimental Farm on Grand Valley Road to assist Natural Resources for a complaint of a male poaching deer.  The male fled the scene from police and a short pursuit was initiated.  The pursuit was abandoned as it entered the city limits as being too dangerous to the public and the offender was not apprehended.  On Saturday morning, the suspect, a 30-year-old male from Virden, was seen by police in Brandon and eventually apprehended without incident in the parking lot of a business on 18th Street.  A search of the male’s vehicle revealed a loaded hunting rifle with ammunition and a partial deer carcass.  The male is charged with dangerous driving, flight from police; possess a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, and theft.  The male was released from police custody and will appear in court in January.  Natural Resource officers will be following up with their own investigation with cooperation with the Brandon Police.

Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon’s Community Services Department is pleased to inform the public that the Manitoba Hydro Power Smart Waterfall of Lights display will officially be turned on for the 2018-2019 winter season today at 5 p.m. The sparkling display of holiday lighting is located immediately west of the City of Brandon’s Community Services Complex on McGregor Avenue. As of this evening, the display will be turned on and will remain lit from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. nightly through the winter season. NO public vehicles are allowed in the direct area of the Power Smart Waterfall of Lights display. The public is encouraged to park in designated areas on McGregor Avenue or Hilton Avenue and walk through the area to view the lights. The City of Brandon Community Services Department asks all members of the public to enjoy the lighting displays at a safe distance and not to walk in areas where power cords are present. Today also marks the official opening of the Hanbury Hill toboggan hill, located just off Braecrest Drive in Sir Winston Churchill Park. Hanbury Hill’s warm-up gazebo will now be open from the hours of 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., while decorative lighting and flood lighting is turned on each evening from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. for the duration of the season. Other toboggan hills available for public use include ones in Rideau Park and at the Wheat City Golf Course/Recreation Centre, and smaller sliding hills include the 34th Street & Cherry Crescent Sliding Hill and the Parkdale Park Sliding Hill. Due to the construction activity currently underway at the Wheat City Golf Course/Recreation Centre, all members of the public are asked to keep away from all fenced-in areas and watch carefully for heavy machinery coming and going from the area. Families are encouraged to enjoy all the above mentioned free winter recreation offerings; however, the City of Brandon would note that all are unsupervised areas. Meanwhile, Community Services crews continue preparation on the popular public skating oval along McGregor Avenue, with a tentative ice opening date of Friday, December 14th. The community is asked to respect all signage and barricades as preparation of the oval continues and to stay off the ice surface until it is ready for public use. For more information on public winter activities provided by the City of Brandon’s Community Services Department, call 204-729-2148

On Thursday, staff of a group home reported finding two license plates at a residence on Cornell Bay. The plates were found to belong to the stolen vehicle from Winnipeg. Police executed a search warrant at the residence that recovered a 12 gauge sawed-off shotgun, Savage Arms .22 caliber long rifle and a sock full of ammunition. The registration for the stolen vehicle from Winnipeg was also found in the residence. An 18yr old Brandon woman was arrested for Possession of Prohibited Firearm, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime x2, Unauthorized Possession of Firearm, Unsafe Storage of Firearm x2, Unsafe Storage of Ammunition and Possess Weapon for Dangerous Purpose and lodged at BCC to appear in Court.

Dirty T Shirt Productions has taken the unique story of the McPhail Brothers to Bell MTS FIBE TV 1. McPhail Brother Workshop, a six-episode series follows Joel and Josh McPhail into their shop, as they create stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces out of wood and metal Producer / Director Steve Langston explained the show captures the creative genius of two of his childhood friends. Joel and Josh first headed to the workshop, he said, when their mother planned to buy a $2,000 dining room table for their cabin and the brothers knew they could make one. Youtube Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtzqeDoIFYc “Because they're always into making stuff and it turned out really well. People started asking them to build stuff for them and that’s when the business took off,” Langston said, noting carpentry for the former Brandonites is still part time, on weekends and evenings. McPhail Brothers Workshop, filmed in Portage la Prairie, shares the passion Joel and Josh have for their projects, along with the feisty relationship between the siblings. They work with a lot of Manitoban materials, Langston said, particularly Manitoba maple, as well as reclaimed products, from barn board to truck parts. “I mean, they're not necessarily just carpenters, they're welders and they're doing all sorts of interesting things that make their products so unique,” he added. Langston admitted McPhail Brothers Workshop was a fun project for all involved. “It's one of those projects where you have to almost pinch yourself," he said, adding the show demonstrates hard work between the two brothers does pay off. When asked about the experience of filming a television show with his brother the oldest McPhail Brother offered, “Being able to create these projects with my brother has been a great bonding experience, but being able to film it all and share it with the world at the same time is just amazing. Each McPhail Brothers Workshop episode is approximately eight minutes long and available now to Bell MTS subscribers. Dirty T Shirt Productions is a Manitoba company founded by Steve Langston in 2010. The company regularly works with many of Manitoba's more visible brands and has been seen across Canada on familiar channels, such as CBC, AMI, Bell MTS and more. Look for McPhail Brothers Workshop on Instagram at @mcphailbros and check out their hand-crafted work at mcphailbrothers.com.