A 39-year-old female from Brandon was arrested for Sexual Assault, Sexual Interference and Assault on Monday as a result of an ongoing investigation from April 10th. It is alleged that the suspect inappropriately touched an 11-year-old boy who was sleeping over at her residence. The suspect was released from Police custody and is scheduled to appear in Court in June.

The Manitoba government will establish five rapid-access, front-line clinics across the province to treat individuals seeking help for substance-related addictions, including patients struggling with opiate, methamphetamine and alcohol addiction, Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Kelvin Goertzen announced today. “These clinics bring together addiction treatment with health services, enabling patients to move smoothly between addictions medicine specialists, primary care providers and community supports. This will allow those in need to access help sooner, closer to home and with necessary ongoing support,” said Goertzen. “Manitoba patients, their families and experts in addictions and mental health have identified these clinics as an important step toward addressing long waits for treatment and the need for increased availability of services in rural and northern areas of our province.” Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM) clinics are modelled after a successful program in Ontario. They will provide assessment, counselling, the prescription of appropriate medication, and connect patients to community treatment programs and primary care physicians. The RAAM clinical team will provide ongoing support to primary care providers including mentoring, re-assessment and referral of patients. Arlene Last-Kolb began advocating for better care following her 24-year-old son Jessie's opiate-related death in 2014. She said RAAM clinics are a big step towards improving addictions treatment in Manitoba. "When those suffering from substance use disorder are reaching out for help, the health-care system needs to respond quickly while providing ongoing support,” said Last-Kolb. "The establishment of RAAM clinics throughout our province will give Manitobans suffering from addiction a safe place to seek help that can save their lives.” The clinic model is intended to treat any and all substance-related addictions and has been successful in relieving pressure on emergency departments in other jurisdictions by serving as a specialized source of support and treatment for patients who may relapse. “These clinics will work closely with hospitals, emergency departments, crisis services, and primary care centres to get patients linked quickly into the addictions system for assessment, services and treatment,” said Dr. Ginette Poulin, medical director of the Additions Foundation of Manitoba. “The clinics will reduce long waits and line-ups that often result in patients transitioning in and out of the health system. We look forward to these clinics having positive effects for Manitobans seeking help with addiction issues such as crystal meth and opioids.” The clinics will engage physicians with enhanced competency in addictions medicine and collaborate with regulatory bodies to ensure appropriate education, tools and ongoing support are provided to health-care professionals. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba is regularly offering education for physicians in areas such as opioid replacement therapy. The College is also in the process of developing more tools and educational materials to assist prescribers in tackling this difficult issue. “The integration of opioid replacement therapy into primary care will allow patients to be referred to a primary care physician or nurse practitioner once stable, for ongoing treatment and support in the community,” said Dr. Anna Ziomek, Registrar and CEO, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Manitoba. “This will also enable specialized clinics to focus on more complex cases.” Approximately $1.237 million in funding through Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living will support this new model in existing clinics in Winnipeg (two), Brandon, the Interlake and northern Manitoba. Work to identify specific locations is ongoing with engagement of clinical leadership from the regional health authorities, Addictions Foundation of Manitoba and other key stakeholders, said Goertzen. The clinics were highlighted as a successful model during extensive public and stakeholder consultations through the development of a soon-to-be-released provincial Mental Health and Addictions Strategy, commissioned in 2017. They will build upon other mental health and addictions services offered in Manitoba, including the Provincial Naloxone Distribution Program, which will receive an ongoing annual commitment of $100,000, Goertzen added. In addition, an electronic health record system with specific instruments for the continuum of child and adult crisis, inpatient and community mental health services is being initiated by the Northern Regional Health Authority, building upon the success of a provincial pilot project. These health records will provide standardized data collection, reporting tools and tracking to streamline coordination of services towards improving mental health outcomes for children, youth and adults. For more information on the Mental Health and Addictions Strategy, visit https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/mha/strategy.html. For more information on addictions services, visit http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/mh/addictions/index.html. For more information on mental health crisis and non-crisis regional services, visit http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/mh/crisis.html.

Shortly before 3:00 this afternoon, Whitehead Fire Department along with Brandon Fire and Emergency Services responded to Road 114W and Highway 1A just west of Brandon for a large grass fire. Firefighters from both departments worked to contain the large and rapidly spreading fire. High winds shifted fire quickly and made firefighting dangerous and difficult. Multiple small structures were also consumed by the fast moving fire. Massive plumes of smoke could be seen from all around Brandon. No injuries occurred.  Photos by: Liam Pattison Photography

The Manitoba government and City of Brandon are looking for unique ideas, concepts or specific proposals to create new affordable housing at 705 Lorne Ave., Families Minister Scott Fielding and Mayor Rick Chrest, City of Brandon, announced today.  Together, they issued a request for expression of interest (REOI). The REOI is directed at non-profit housing organizations interested in constructing affordable rental or co-operative rental housing at the Lorne Avenue site, a parcel of land currently owned by the City of Brandon.  Results from the REOI process will then inform a future request for proposals for the land’s development and, ultimately, the selection of a successful proponent. Once that process is complete, the city has committed to transfer property ownership to the successful proponent at a cost of one dollar, as well as provide a tax-offsetting grant.  The Manitoba government has also committed to contribute capital funding of up to 35 per cent of total eligible project costs, or up to $65,000 per unit, to the project through the Investment in Affordable Housing program. “We are looking to partner with non-profit organizations and the City of Brandon to find innovative ways to increase housing capacity and improve access to affordable housing for Manitobans,” said Fielding.  “We strongly encourage proponents to consider a mix of units that best serves and address the community’s needs.” The current REOI process for the land at 705 Lorne Ave. is the latest of a number of strategic affordable housing partnerships that have come to fruition in the City of Brandon in recent months. This week, the Western Manitoba Non-Profit Seniors Housing Co-operative Ltd.  handed over keys to tenants of its new multi-unit residential build at 2105 Brandon Ave., a project that saw 48 affordable housing units constructed as a partnership with Manitoba Housing and the City of Brandon, along with a further 15 market-value units. Affordable housing builds have been completed on city-donated land at 230 Rosser Ave. East (duplex) and 255 Frederick St. (single-family home), projects that were partnerships of the City of Brandon and the Canadian Mental Health Association and Habitat For Humanity, respectively. “The City of Brandon’s Affordable Housing strategy is one that leverages partnerships to create a blend of housing options for a wide range of demographics in our community, and we are proud of the strides made thus far,” said Chrest.  “With the expression of interest process now underway for the land at 705 Lorne Ave., it is yet another example of how partnerships have been an integral part of the City of Brandon’s work to create affordable housing in our community.  With this type of partnership, we provide the land and incentives, the Manitoba government provides capital assistance and the not-for-profit community will provide the vision, leadership and operational resources to build and operate new affordable housing units.” The REOI is posted on www.merx.com and the City of Brandon website https://purchasing.brandon.ca/.   The submission deadline is July 23.

Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon’s Community Services Department and the Brandon Environment Committee are joining forces and challenging businesses and residents of Brandon to “step up and tidy up!” Beginning May 15th, the City of Brandon and the Brandon Environment Committee will champion a 16-week community clean-up campaign called “Tidy Up Tuesdays”. The idea behind “Tidy Up Tuesdays” is a simple one – at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, workplaces, organizations and individual residents alike are encouraged to take 10 minutes and spruce up the City through simple tasks like sweeping the sidewalk, picking up litter, pulling weeds, or tidying up the alleyways and parking lots in their neighbourhood. All types of community groups are encouraged to register with the City of Brandon on or before May 15th, whether it be a school or church organization, a corporate business or workplace team of employees, or even a collection of like-minded residents in their own neighbourhood. “A clean community is a healthy community, and a clean community feels safe and welcoming to spend time in and makes you proud and want to live there,” notes City of Brandon Community Development Programmer Kevin Bertram.  “It makes visitors want to come to our City and it makes people want to do business here, so we encourage all businesses and residents of Brandon to take just a few minutes of their time each week and help bolster our collective community pride – many hands make light work!” A limited quantity of free “Tidy Up Tuesdays” kits sponsored by Home Hardware and Guardian Fencing are available for corporate groups who register with the City of Brandon, by calling the City of Brandon Community Development section at 204-729-2257. The kits include gloves, garbage bags, information on safe litter collection, and a window decal. Community groups and individuals can also register for the challenge and receive complementary “Tidy Up Tuesdays” supplies by contacting the Community Development section or by attending the campaign’s kick-off clean-up event set on Tuesday, May 15th, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Princess Park (818 Princess Avenue). The kick-off clean-up event is being presented by the Brandon Environment Committee and features a FREE BBQ for clean-up participants and a friendly City Councillor challenge to register the most ward participants. Registered groups are then encouraged to let the City know how they are contributing each week of the campaign via the “Tidy Up Tuesdays” social media challenge. Participants can post pictures or videos of their groups tidying up on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the tag, #TidyUpTuesdays. Each week, those that have participated in the social media challenge will be entered into a draw to win a “Fair Trade Coffee Break”, courtesy of the City of Brandon. More information about the “Tidy Up Tuesdays” campaign is available by calling the City of Brandon Community Development Section at 204-729-2257 or by visiting the Brandon Environment Committee website at www.brandonenvironment.ca.