The Manitoba government is introducing legislation that would extend parental leave provisions and leave for individuals to care for a critically ill adult family member, Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen announced today. “We know that raising a family is one of life’s most rewarding challenges,” said Pedersen.  “We are pleased to introduce measures to provide additional flexibility for parents to care for their children, and make it easier for families to care for loved ones who are critically ill.” The minister noted the proposed legislation would make several changes to the Employment Standards Code, including: extending parental leave from 37 weeks to 63 weeks to care for a new child in the family; establishing a new 17-week leave to allow employees to care for an adult family member who is critically ill; raising the minimum age for employment from 12 to 13, to bring it in line with the United Nations’ International Labour Organization Minimum Age Convention 138, which came into force in Canada in June 2017 with unanimous support from all provinces and territories; eliminating the requirement for employers to obtain a permit before employing someone under the age of 16, instead requiring employers to ensure a young person between the ages of 13 and 16 has a certificate verifying they have completed an approved work readiness course online; introducing a new process to allow an employer and an employee or group of employees to enter into an agreement on averaging hours of work, without requiring approval from the director of employment standards; authorizing the director of employment standards to refuse frivolous or vexatious complaints; and clarifying unionized employees would no longer have the ability to file a complaint with the director of employment standards since collective agreements include grievance processes for handling disputes between employers and employees about wages or other terms of employment. “These additional measures include red tape reduction initiatives and opportunities to modernize departmental functions,” said Pedersen.  “From day one, our government has worked to repair the services we are entrusted to provide and ensure the regulatory system is fair, accountable and responsive to the needs of Manitobans today and into the future.” The coming into force date for changes to protected leaves is set at royal assent, while the remaining proposed changes would take effect upon proclamation.

At 1:14pm this afternoon, Rivers/Daly Fire Department was dispatched to a reported structure fire approximately 1/2 mile east of the Highway 259 and 250 junction near Rivers. Upon arrival, heavy smoke could be seen from the rear of the structure as well as fire coming through the roof. Firefighters set up defensive and offensive firefighting operations, but then pulled out of the structure due to safety concerns and continued the defensive operations. The road to the property was lined with personal vehicles of volunteer firefighters who responded to the scene. Whitehead Fire Department, Rapid City Fire Department and Deerboine Hutterite Colony were called in for mutual aid to help battle the fire and bring in water tankers. Water tankers made close to 20 trips for water, as there were no hydrants in the area of the fire. Thankfully nobody was injured in the fire. Crews finally cleared the scene at 8:20pm.  Photos by Liam Pattison Photography.

Brandon, MB – After cleaning up from Brandon’s recent March snowstorm, staff in the City of Brandon’s Streets & Roads Section have turned their attention to patching the growing number of spring potholes popping up on City streets. Potholes are prevalent in the spring due to the season’s freeze-thaw cycles. Crews are currently using a temporary winter asphalt and tar mixture to address potholes until more consistently warm temperatures arrive, at which time they can also begin using the City’s in-house asphalt reclaimer and asphalt pre-mix heater to patch potholes more permanently with hot mix. Later in the spring, the Public Works Department will be able to secure a commercial supply of hot mix asphalt. Motorists are encouraged to help crews out where possible and report problem potholes by calling the City of Brandon’s 24-hour Pothole Hotline at 204-729-2200. While the phone line is monitored for issues to be addressed, calls are not returned. Residents can also alert Street & Roads staff to problem potholes by submitting an online report on the City’s website by following this link: http://www.brandon.ca/report-an-issue. The City of Brandon reminds its residents that a number of roads within City limits, including Victoria Avenue, Richmond Avenue, First Street, and 18th Street (including the bridges), are under the jurisdiction of the Province of Manitoba and, therefore, do not fall within the City of Brandon’s pothole patching program. Residents wishing to report a pothole or unsafe driving condition on a Provincial roadway can call 1-866-MANITOBA (1-866-626-4862). Residents should also note that the City of Brandon’s pothole patching program does not apply to the aprons (sloped approaches) leading into private driveways, nor does it apply to the accesses/approaches or parking lots of private businesses. Finally, the City of Brandon cautions all motorists that you should never swerve to avoid a pothole in your path! Drivers are advised to reduce their speed when approaching a pothole, but don’t brake when driving over the pothole as this can cause more damage. More pothole navigation pointers can be found by visiting the Manitoba Public Insurance website’s pothole page here: http://www.mpi.mb.ca/en/Rd-Safety/Tips/60-Sec-Driver/Pages/Potholes.aspx.

Brandon Police Service Media Release On Sunday morning, Police received a call from a resident in the 1200 Block of 10th Street reporting what looked like a bullet hole through the window. Police attended and confirmed that a small caliber rifle was likely used to cause the damage. Investigation into this incident led to the recovery of a video of the shooting that was posted on a social media public forum. The incident occurred in the early morning hours of March 18 2018. Police were able to identify the suspects responsible and on Sunday evening, Police attended a residence in the 1100 Block of 5th Street locating the suspects. At approximately 10:50 p.m. Sunday night, Police executed a Search Warrant at the residence where the suspects were located and recovered a .22 calibre rifle, .22 calibre ammunition, a loaded high velocity pellet gun, a set of nun chucks, a throwing knife, three pistol style pellet guns, a machete knife and fourteen counterfeit American $100.00 bills. A 17-year-old male youth from Brandon and a 19-year-old male from Brandon have been arrested for Discharging a Firearm with Intent, Careless Storage of a Firearm and Unauthorized Possession of Prohibited Weapons. Both suspects were lodged at the Brandon Correctional Center and are scheduled to appear in Court on Monday afternoon. Further investigation revealed that the suspects were involved in an altercation earlier in the night with unknown individuals. The shooting of the residence appeared to be an attempt at retribution however, the residence shot at was mistaken by the suspects and not in relation to the earlier conflict.

The government of Manitoba introduced proposed changes to provincial laws that would provide stricter penalties to confront the dangerous and deadly issue of distracted driving, Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler announced today. “Many drivers fail to understand the danger associated with distracted driving,” said Schuler.  “In Manitoba, using a hand-operated electronic device, such as a cellphone, while driving is illegal.  Despite this, there has been an unprecedented four-fold increase in the number of accidents involving distracted drivers between 2011 and 2016, with no decline in serious injuries or fatal collisions caused by distracted driving in Manitoba.” The Highway Traffic Act would be amended to create a tiered administrative licence suspension of three days for a first offence and seven days for a second and subsequent offence for prohibited use of a hand-operated electronic device while driving. Further, The Drivers and Vehicles Act would change to make careless driving a reportable offence, requiring a peace officer who lays a careless driving charge to notify the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.  The registrar would review the driver’s record to determine if driver improvement and control measures are necessary. “These stricter penalties for distracted driving are similar to those of impaired driving because the consequences are just as serious,” Schuler said.  “With a roadside licence suspension, we will address the immediate road safety risk and ensure the greatest deterrent impact on driver behaviour.” In 2016, distracted driving was the leading contributing factor in serious collisions at 29 per cent, and the third factor for fatalities at 27 per cent.  In Manitoba, using a hand-operated electronic device such as a cellphone while driving is prohibited, and convicted drivers face a $204 fine and a drop of five levels on the Driver Safety Rating scale. Police may charge drivers with using a hand-operated electronic device while driving or careless driving under The Highway Traffic Act.  Police use careless driving to address a variety of distractions such as personal grooming and handling pets where the distraction negatively affects driving behaviour.