One of the low points of the local provincial election campaign to date came at the 27-minute point into a debate earlier this week in the food court at the downtown Town Centre. “I think we just heard the code for ‘you’re going to be cut’,” Brandon East NDP incumbent Drew Caldwell stated. “A ‘comprehensive government review of wasteful spending’ which we’ve heard up here a few times from the two Conservative candidates … the NRC is not in their wheelhouse whatsoever. This is a program that is in grave jeopardy pf being cancelled with a change in government — there’s no ifs ands or buts.” Caldwell then went into default Dipper mode and brought up similar programs that had funding cut way back in the 1990s under the last Tory government. He failed to mention the Tories’ fiscally prudent administration was suffering massive slashes to transfer payments from the federal Liberal government of the day. I was a bit shocked to see Caldwell — who at the time of the Legislature’s dissolution in March was minister of municipal government — engage in such bottom-feeding fear mongering in front of debate hosts Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, which administers the province’s Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. There is simply no evidence that the Tories will make any such cuts to the fund. Said Brandon West incumbent Tory Reg Helwer: “The only thing we’re going to cut is the PST back to 7%. We’ll empower those on the front-line and protect those services.” Said Brandon East Tory candidate Len Isleifson: “We’re going to cut NDP waste and we’re going to take the savings and re-direct it back into programs. We are committed to reducing poverty and we’re going to do that by creating partnerships.” Caldwell shares political and social DNA with many on the board and staff of the BNRC and also with most the 50 or so folks in the audience that day. They trust and respect him. He has wrangled a lot of cash from the provincial treasury for many programs that have helped improve the city’s core. But a lot of that cash would have flowed under any party in power during the money-flush early 2000s. So for this veteran politician, who also once served the inner-city Rosser Ward on city council, to say a Tory government would destroy an organization that supports that community is beyond the pale. But the polls show Caldwell and his party are in serious trouble in this election and we could well see the Tories take over on April 19. Caldwell is nervous. While he personally is well-liked, he wears the millstone of both his fractured party and his unwavering support of Canada’s most unpopular premier, Greg Selinger,  around his neck. So his nervousness is manifesting into aggression and anger. And he’s starting to say things he should give a second thought to. The bulk of the debate was fairly predictable talking points from most of the candidates. The Tories talked about reviewing the NDP government’s books, cutting waste and creating jobs. The NDPers, including Brandon West candidate Linda Ross, boasted about their social programming efforts. The Liberals — and by that I mean Brandon East’s Vanessa Hamilton, a former short-term city councillor — spoke about gradually balancing the budget in five to six years, without risking programs. Blooper-prone parachute Brandon West Liberal candidate Billy Moore has clearly been told to shut up by his party. He offered little of substance during the session. The BNRC is one of those non-profit organizations that works tirelessly to make Brandon a better place to live for all by helping those less fortunate or simply struggling a bit in the central area of the city to create safe, attractive and inviting neighbourhoods. That’s just a very abbreviated synopsis of what BNRC does. So where does the organization get its money for all that good work? Through a partnership arrangement by the Province of Manitoba and the City of Brandon. It also receives some federal cash for The Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness. Isleifson has credentials that show is also has a real recognition of the needs of Brandon’s central neighbourhoods. He has volunteered with the United Way for 13 years and co-chaired the City of Brandon Poverty Committee. “We have one child, in every 3.5. living in poverty and that’s unacceptable in any place,” said the former city councillor and deputy mayor. “My commitment, if elected, is to … reduce poverty — and not just reduce it to where it is acceptable because it’s unacceptable — but to eliminate it altogether.” Helwer said his party wants everyone to succeed. “Ideally we’d like to give everyone a hand-up out of poverty and we can do this by reducing the PST, lowering the minimum personal exemption and indexing the personal tax brackets,” he said. “All of this will allow Manitobans to keep more of their hard-earned money and choose how to spend it themselves, rather having the Selinger government taking it from them. “We need more jobs and more economic opportunity.” It was fascinating to watch Caldwell sneer at Helwer with such an intense scorn on his face it was almost creepy. And those two have known each other since their time at Brandon University. It was really noticeable when Helwer mentioned a couple of recent NDP contract scandals and how the money wasted in those and other mismanagement could fund agencies such as the BNRC for years. “All the questions the candidates will be asked today will be about making the lives of Manitobans better and taking care of all members of the Brandon community,” BNRC general manager Carly Gasparini said at the opening of the debate. “The BNRC wants to change how we talk about homelessness and poverty in the community. Having our leaders being part of that conversation is vital to that success.” But not by scaring the bejeezus out of people, Mr. Caldwell. For more information on the BNRC, visit: bnrc.ca

That's a wrap on the ski season at Asessippi Ski Area & Resort, near Russell, MB. Conditions were quite fine and an estimated 200 skiers and boarders came out to celebrate the end of the season with one last run. My son Riley just purchased a snowboard at Brandon's Stream & Wood and was really eager to give it a live test. So they were among the crowd on the final day at Asessippi. If you were one of the daring few, you could ski or snowboard into the 'slush cup' to go out with a splash. The 'slush cup' is literally a man-made slush pool at the bottom of the hill. Not a mom's idea of a good choice. Luckily my boys took a pass and stayed warm and dry. If you were so inclined to think about next season, the pro shop at Asessippi was selling rental boots at just $5 a pair and kids' ski sets at $30. Each year the season starts in December. For yearlong information and special events, look them up online at asessippi.com.

The Eighth Street Bridge should be turned into a weather-protected active transportation corridor. No, that’s not exactly what administration is recommending to city council. It’s a policy plank from my run for council’s Rosser Ward in 2014. What city council will debate at its regular meeting Monday night is a recommendation — after some very serious, and very drawn-out studies and considerations — that the crumbling Eighth Street Bridge be scheduled for demolition. And then to direct administration to engage CP Rail, the Province of Manitoba, and the Government of Canada as potential funding partners to explore options for an active transportation/pedestrian connection in the vicinity of Eighth Street to serve as a continued north-south corridor for the City of Brandon. Ironically, the man who won that 2014 Rosser Ward race, Coun. Kris Desjarlais, and the sitting councillor he defeated, Corey Roberts, want to repair the bridge to vehicular traffic or apparently replace it entirely, respectively. Both options are quite wrongheaded in my view. And apparently I’m on the side of the experts. Patrick Pulak, the city’s director of engineering services and water resources, states in his report to council since the bridge has been closed there haven’t been any traffic problems. States Pulak: “By all appearances, the citizens have adjusted accordingly with little or no impact to traffic in the area, and service is certainly within acceptable levels.” And given the costs involved to repair or replace the largely neighbourhood bridge for vehicular traffic, I think I’m also on the side of the vast majority of Brandon taxpayers. And I hope, the majority of city councillors who should vote in favour of the admin’s report tomorrow night on the matter. This excerpt from a Brandon Sun editorial is nicely phrased: “There are perhaps upwards of 50,000 citizens in this city. For Brandon taxpayers to be stuck with a potentially $35-million bill for the benefit of only a few hundred people — let’s be generous and say a few thousand — who would make use of a motor-vehicle bridge, defies logic.” Mayor Rick Chrest has shown he can run a tight ship and this is one issue that simply can’t be moored for further study. The Eighth Street Bridge is, literally, falling down. I’ll be at the meeting tomorrow night and will follow up on this story. *** In more happenings at City Hall, does anyone recall a public statement from the city that it had decided to keep the Wheat City Golf Course open and as an 18-hole facility? I’ve asked around and looked online and apparently it was simply a straw pole at some closed-door meeting of council. The last official word I can find — unless I’ve been buried in a sand trap — is in the “Our Plan, Our City: Brandon City Council 2015-2018 Strategic Plan” developed following a two-day council retreat in March 2015: “The Wheat City Golf Course and Recreation Centre are important components of the affordable and accessible public recreation options provided by the City of Brandon. The facility provides the only 18-hole golf course within Brandon City limits, and also provides outdoor recreation amenities like tennis courts, walking trails, a tobogganing hill, and groomed skiing and snowshoe trails. “However, habitual flooding of the golf course from the nearby Assiniboine River and the aging status of the Recreation Centre Building has placed the City of Brandon at a crossroads for this public recreation facility. “A strategic direction must be determined for the Wheat City Golf Course and Recreaton Centre. City Council is committed to looking at all options carefully and doing so with the community’s best interests in mind.” Well I guess a decision was made. And there is some money for the place in this year’s draft budget. Now while I’ve always been of two minds about saving the course, I do admire a political body that can make a decision after so many, many years of indecision by its predecessors. It just came as a bit of a shock. All of a sudden we find out that dike work had begun a few weeks ago, which involved the removal — and subsequent day and night burning — of some trees and other debris. Then city announced Friday that this year’s golf season is set to tee off April 13. It included with the release an aerial shot of the course, which I’ve included on here. “The Wheat City Golf Course will be offering an 18-hole green fee and 1/2 cart rental for $32 until May 30. The Pro Shop, located on 3500 McDonald Avenue, will open two days in advance of the season’s launch as the facility’s tennis courts will be available for play,” a city release said. Apparently the previous plans for a private-sector condo development that could involve a new clubhouse, will be re-tendered. It will also coincide with an extension and level crossing of 34th Street to McDonald Avenue. Plans for a private-sector development on the clubhouse site were made public a few years ago. But that’s when large areas of the golf course were subject to annual flooding that required expensive repairs. The future of that place has been the subject of discussion for years. But now it appears to have been settled. Good to see the city moving Fore!-ward. *** I was rather shocked to hear over the weekend that Eric Lawson will be leaving Brandon for a job in B.C. starting May 2. Lawson is publisher of the Brandon Sun and president of the Rotary Club of Brandon. I used to work for Lawson as his managing editor. I admired his low-key and efficient management style (even his grace when terminating my position two years ago). But I digress. I am vice-president of the Brandon Rotary Club. Lawson’s year at the helm will now be cut short by a couple of months, throwing president-elect Cheryl Winger into the fray. And forcing me to accelerate my Rotary leadership studies to back her up as needed. I’m looking forward to the challenge, but relieved to know there are many experienced members who will be more than happy to share their wisdom. For more on the club’s activities: rotaryclubofbrandon.org And I’m sure the Sun will continue to kinda survive — as long as its parent company doesn’t let the publisher position sit vacant for too long, as it did in the early 2000s — while the newspaper weathers the storm of media fragmentation. And upstart information websites such as bdnmb.ca. I wish Eric and his wife Linda well. I’ve included here a photo of Eric on a horse-drawn wagon before being paraded out last week on opening night of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. (UPDATE: A small edit has been made in this column for taste and style.)

The 2016 Royal Manitoba Fair wrapped up Saturday night and attendance over the week was up about 8,000 visits from last year. Over the six days, the fair reported it saw 110,000 visits. Figures I have from the 2015 event pegged that number at 102,000. Why the increase? Well, the 2015 version suffered from bad weather, it also ended on Easter Weekend and I think perhaps there was some ‘fair fatigue’ from locals who had seen little change in the programming year to year. But some new blood in the front office, some tinkering to the event line-up and a week of very good spring weather, all added up to impressive crowds each day. I took a walk through the barns late in the week and have included some photos for your enjoyment. Here’s a statement released from the fair’s GM Saturday night: “The achievements of the week cannot be contributed to any one event,” said Ron Kristjansson, general manager of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. “The exhibitors, the volunteers, the sponsors and the visitors combined with exceptional competitions and an outstanding line up of entertainers all contributed to the success of this year’s event.” With the steady decline of the family farm, as larger corporate agriculture operations emerge, the fair is also a chance for city folks — not to mention Westman’s influx of immigrants — a chance to get up close and personal with the source of our food. “The mission of the Provincial Exhibition and all of our events is to educate youth about the importance of agriculture,” Kathy Cleaver, president of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, also said in the release following the fair. “The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair gives thousands of kids and families a chance to touch, feel and experience agriculture. “Our communities are changing and with more families living off the farm, these opportunities are often not available.” The next event for the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba is the Manitoba Summer Fair, June 8-12, at the Keystone Centre.

The PC Party is doing very well so far in the provincial election campaign. The mainstream media appears to be less hostile than usual — almost warming up to the Tories at times — and the polls are still in the party’s favour. But it’s no secret the way the vote splits and the concentration of party support in the province requires at least a minimally viable Liberal Party presence in some constituencies to ensure a Progressive Conservative majority. But the lame-ass Liberals are being shredded at every turn, both by their candidates’ muck-ups and the media who expected so much more from rookie Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari. So the predictions of the Grits taking a handful of seats are fading. But their candidates still need to swipe votes from soft NDPers — and even just folks who voted federally for the Liberals and PM Trudeau II — to help the Tories over that first-past-the-post predicament they inherently face in certain constituencies each election. In Brandon East, the Grits have a very capable candidate in Vanessa Hamilton, who resigned her Riverview city council seat for this race. In Brandon West we have a parachute Liberal candidate from Portage la Prairie whose rip-chord apparently failed and he hit his head hard on landing in the Wheat City earlier this week. Billy Moore’s first order of business was to completely throw off the Grits daily message stream by blurting out in a small-time debate he wants to close hospitals. He later walked that back, but his stupidity was exposed for all to see. Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Manitoba, told the Canadian Press earlier this week the Liberals continue to struggle with organizational challenges and are “not in the same league” as the NDP and Progressive Conservatives. So clearly, the Tories must rethink some strategies in vote-rich Winnipeg. That’s where the election will be won for them. It’s where a majority could shrink to a minority. Or worse. And the province desperately needs a change in government. We can’t suffer another four years of the Damn Dirty Dippers. So sure, Tory Leader Brian Pallister should focus on the Capital Region. Almost exclusively. But I live in Brandon. I love Brandon. So I’m expressing here my concerns for this city. I think it’s safe to say that Tory Reg Helwer will keep his seat in Brandon West. NDPer Linda Ross isn’t that well-known — she’s been a school trustee forever, but that doesn’t create a great profile (they’re the people who really raise your taxes each year). And while Ross is a very bright woman, she won’t be running the same type of door-to-door campaign as Helwer. If the polls and talk in the street are correct, we will see a PC government elected on April 19. And Helwer, having nicely grown into his role as MLA, while proving himself capable in QP and with the media, will likely be in cabinet. That leaves Brandon East. While I plan a more thorough look at what promises to be one of the hottest races to watch in the province, I’ll just say now that NDP MLA and cabinet minister Drew Caldwell is in for the fight of his political life. Progressive Conservative Len Isleifson (pictured with Pallister at the top of this column) is a former city councillor who has been planning this run for quite some time. While Caldwell is a larger-than-life personality, Isleifson is determined and focussed. But just as Isleifson isn’t a name that rolls off the tongue, it’s also one that isn’t rolling around voters’ minds. So all of this preamble — yup, that’s my preamble when I’m fired up on a Friday — brings me to my point of today’s diatribe. Why have the Tories so far declined an invitation to participate in the Leaders Debate on April 7 at 7 p.m. at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium? It’s a major public forum organized by the Brandon Sun, CKLQ 880 and WCGtv. The Tories have already taken some heat in the media for stating they couldn’t attend due to scheduling, or some such nonsense. Problem is, Pallister will square off earlier THE SAME DAY at the Brandon Chamber of Commerce’s Provincial Election Leader Forum over the lunch hour. Now on the face of it, and perhaps in a high school current affairs class, Pallister is doing the right thing by working a friendly business crowd and avoiding being tripped up in a live broadcast public debate (that will surely be stacked by union activists and such). I’m a chamber member and believe in it strongly, but it’s still a special interest group. The media debate is open to the general public and will have a panel of expert reporters and a Brandon University political scientist. To me, it’s an invitation Pallister has to find a way to accept. I’m not sure Pallister understands the damage he will do to the morale of Westman Tories and to the chances of Isleifson to give Caldwell a real run for his money. Sure, a Dec. 2015 poll showed the Tories were well ahead in the constituency — the NDP was last — but the accuracy of that poll has been called into question. And it is four months old now. My main concern is that IF the Tories are to form government, then what’s best for Brandon? Sure, the city will have Helwer in Brandon West on the inside where funding and policy decisions are made, but what about Brandon East? Do we want the city to be represented by Caldwell, sitting in opposition — angry, disgruntled and simply throwing sticks in the spokes of the new government? Or do we want the entire city represented by the governing party? The way the picture looks now, from 30,000 feet up, if I was Pally, I would accept the invitation to do the media-sponsored Leaders Debate at the WMCA and use every opportunity he can to drop Isleifson’s name. That effort, combined with Liberal Hamilton’s hard work and popularity, could ensure a win for in Brandon East for the Tories. While I like Caldwell and we’ve been friends since the ’80s — heck, he was best man at my last wedding — unless his NDP is going to win the 41st general election, then I think his unwavering passion and dedication to Brandon could be better directed than heckling from the Opposition benches.