• A small fare increase for Flin Flon public transit riders has been formally approved. City council voted last week to boost the daily adult fare from $1.50 to $2 and the senior/ student fare from $1.25 to $1.50. These fares have been charged since June, but a council motion was required as a matter of housekeeping. Adult transit passes remain $40 and senior / student passes are still $33.
• The City of Flin Flon is upgrading its vehicle fleet to the tune of more than $100,000. City council voted last week to purchase three Ford vehicles: a 2014 pickup truck for $32,009 plus taxes, another 2014 pickup truck for $32,639 plus taxes, and a 2015 cargo van for $35,980 plus taxes. The money will come from the city’s equipment replacement reserve fund.
• An investigation has found that municipal politicians in Bruce County, Ont., broke provincial laws by holding undisclosed meetings around the potential of nuclear waste storage, The Canadian Press reports. For years they met with representatives from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), but the meetings should have been open to the public under Ontario’s Municipal Act, the investigation found. Creighton is the only non-Ontario community learning more about NWMO’s nuclear waste storage plan.
• Dozens of Pukatawagan residents took part in a community walk last week to draw attention to incidence of cancer on the northern Manitoba reserve, CTV Winnipeg reports. Community leaders told CTV that more and more residents are suffering from cancer, with some blaming soil contamination from a Manitoba Hydro plant. A CancerCare Manitoba spokesperson said there is no indication cancer is higher in the North compared to other regions of the province.
• The federal government announced last week it will invest nearly $1 million over two years to rehabilitate the airside electrical system at the airport in Lac Brochet, a remote northern Manitoba reserve. The work is meant to ensure continued airfield visibility and safe airport operations for flight crews, passengers and airport employees.
• Health officials are reminding Saskatchewan residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites as the risk for West Nile virus continues to increase. The risk of contracting the virus usually peaks in late July and in August when the mosquitoes that carry the virus are most active and present in higher numbers. People are advised to take precautions when outside in areas with mosquitoes. “Protect yourself from mosquito bites by covering up and wearing repellents or reducing the amount of time spent outdoors,” Provincial West Nile Virus Coordinator Phil Curry said. “Mosquitoes can be active at any time but are most active in the evening and throughout the night.”
• The Manitoba government is boosting funding for support worker wages at agencies that offer residential services for adults with intellectual disabilities. The additional $6 million over three years will permit residential agencies to raise starting wages in each of the next three years to between $13 and $14 an hour by 2017. The changes will start this year.
• Manitobans are invited to share their views about small-scale food production and processing. “Small-scale production, processing and direct-farm sales open new markets for farmers and entrepreneurs across the province,” Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn Kostyshyn said. Manitobans may submit their views through an online survey available on the provincial government website.
