The City of Brandon wishes to advise that Brandon City Hall (410-9th Street), the City of Brandon Civic Services Complex (900 Richmond Avenue East), and the A.R. McDiarmid Civic Complex (638 Princess Avenue), will all be closed on Monday, February 19th in observance of Remembrance Day, and will re-open for regular business hours on Tuesday, February 20th. As per its winter hours of operation, the Eastview Landfill is CLOSED on Sunday, February 18th, but open Monday, February 19th between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. The Eastview Landfill’s winter hours of operation can be found at http://www.brandon.ca/sanitation/landfill/landfill-overview. All Brandon Transit services will run on statutory holiday hours (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) on Monday, February 19th, while the Brandon Transit Info Centre will be closed that day. Brandon Transit routes can be found at http://www.brandontransit.ca/routes-schedules/regular-routes-schedules. Brandon’s Community Sportsplex will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, February 19th. A full facility schedule can be found at https://mycommunity.brandon.ca/Facility/GetSchedule. Seasonal hours of operation at Brandon’s public skating oval and the Power Smart Waterfall of Lights are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. For any after-hours public works emergencies, call the City of Brandon Public Works After-Hours Line at 204-729-2285. Have a safe and enjoyable Louis Riel Day holiday!

Brandon Police Service Media Release A 46 year old woman from Brandon has been charged with assault after officers attended a disturbance at a residence in the 600 block of 11th St on Saturday evening.  When the officers arrived at the residence, the accused was observed on top of a man, repeatedly punching him in the head.  The 79 year old victim was treated at the scene for minor injures to his face and refused to provide further details of the altercation.  The woman was lodged at Brandon Correctional Center and will be released to appear in court in April.

Brandon Police Service Media Release On Friday evening around 10:00 PM, staff from the Liquor Mart located in the 1600 block of 18th street, reported that 6 youths had just entered the store, and one male proceeded to steal a bottle of Vodka valued at approximately 50.00. With the help of a keen eyed citizen, the 15 year old male was located, identified as the suspect, and found in possession of the Alcohol. The Youth was released to his parent, and is scheduled to appear in court on March 20th.

Brandon Police Service Media Release At approximately 3:10 p.m., members of the Crime Support Unit conducted a vehicle stop in the 200 Block of 10th Street during a drug investigation. A 24-year-old female from Brandon, 31-year-old male from Brandon and 38-year-old male from Brandon were occupants of the vehicle and taken into Police custody. The 31-year-old man was found to have a large quantity of cash in his possession and the 38-year-old man also had a large quantity of cash as well as 14 grams of cocaine. The continued investigation resulted in a Search Warrant Executed at a residence in the 200 Block of 12th Street. The search of the residence recovered approximately 70 grams of cocaine, 50 grams of Marihuana and other drug paraphernalia consistent with drug trafficking. The 24-year-old female has been arrested for Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Cocaine. She was released to attend Court in April. The 31-year-old man, who resides in the residence where the Search Warrant was executed, was arrested for Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Cocaine and Marihuana as well as Possession of Proceeds of Crime and several Breaches of Court Orders. He was lodged at the Brandon Correctional Center and is scheduled to appear in Court on Friday. The 38-year-old man was arrested for Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Cocaine and Possession of Proceeds of Crime. The man was released and is scheduled to appear in Court in April. The total street value of seized drugs is approximately $8,900

Following a request for proposals (RFP) issued on Nov. 7 seeking qualified applicants to operate retail cannabis locations, the Manitoba government has evaluated the submissions according to the criteria established in the RFP and conditionally accepted four proposals, Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen announced today. “I’d like to thank all applicants who responded to the RFP,” said Pedersen.  “Following a thorough evaluation process, it has been determined that these four proposals best meet the criteria outlined in the RFP.  An independent third-party was appointed to ensure the selection process was fair and equitable, and I’d like to thank Optimus | SBR for providing this oversight.” The province has conditionally accepted proposals from the following organizations: Consortium of Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. and Canopy Growth Corporation – Delta 9 operates an 80,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Winnipeg and expects to hire approximately 100 people for production and retail in the first year, and an additional 100 the following year.  Canopy Growth is headquartered in Smiths Falls, Ont., and operates numerous production facilities across Canada and around the world with over 700,000 sq. ft. of production licensed under Canada’s medical cannabis framework. National Access Cannabis – Operating medical cannabis care centres across Canada, National Access is committed to adapting its established medical clinic model to meet the needs of the Manitoba retail market and deliver secure, safe and responsible access to legal cannabis. Tokyo Smoke, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hiku Brands Company, in partnership with BOBHQ – As part of Hiku’s goal to establish a retail cannabis presence across Canada, Tokyo Smoke plans to build a network of design-forward retail cannabis stores in Manitoba with a focus on customer experience, product selection and consumer education. 10552763 Canada Corporation – The corporation is a new entity featuring Avana Canada Inc. of Ontario, Fisher River Cree Nation of Manitoba, Chippewas of the Thames of Ontario, MediPharm Labs of Ontario, and US-based retailer Native Roots Dispensary. The acceptance of these proposals is conditional upon several factors including reaching all of the necessary agreements and providing the required documents as outlined in the RFP, the minister said.  In the coming weeks, the Manitoba government will continue to work with these organizations on the next stages of due diligence including the number and location of retail stores each proponent will be permitted to operate under provincial licensing arrangements. “Our primary concern from the start has been public safety, and this will continue to be paramount,” said Pedersen.  “We’ve said from the outset that this process has been rushed and it’s more important to get it right than meet an arbitrary deadline.  However, we’ve worked quickly and diligently, and we’re confident that we’re on track to have retail locations begin operating in Manitoba as early as July 2.” The minister noted Manitoba remains committed to establishing a highly competitive retail environment that creates new economic opportunities at the local level. “As we move forward, we’ll continue to engage with Indigenous communities regarding on-reserve cannabis retail opportunities and with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities on promoting access to retail throughout the province,” said Pedersen.  “Manitoba’s hybrid retail and distribution model allows both the public and private sectors to do what they each do best.  This is a step-by-step process and we’ll continue to work toward our objectives of eliminating the black market and keeping cannabis out of the hands of youth.”