Shannon Dueck

The Member of Parliament for Provencher says he is excited to welcome two new Conservative members to the team.

There were four by-elections held across Canada on Monday. Conservative candidate Branden Leslie took the Portage-Lisgar seat, while Arpan Khanna won for the party in Oxford, Ontario. The other two by-elections saw Liberal Ben Carr win the Winnipeg South Centre seat and Liberal Anna Gainey win in Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Westmount, Quebec.

"I don't think there were any real surprises in the overall results from (Monday's) by-elections," says Ted Falk. 

The Member of Parliament for Provencher says he is excited to welcome two new Conservative members to the team.

There were four by-elections held across Canada on Monday. Conservative candidate Branden Leslie took the Portage-Lisgar seat, while Arpan Khanna won for the party in Oxford, Ontario. The other two by-elections saw Liberal Ben Carr win the Winnipeg South Centre seat and Liberal Anna Gainey win in Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Westmount, Quebec.

"I don't think there were any real surprises in the overall results from (Monday's) by-elections," says Ted Falk. 

There will be some traffic disruptions along the Trans Canada Highway at the Manitoba/ Ontario border beginning Monday.

According to Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI), this is all part of the preliminary work in twinning that highway.

MTI is advising that rock blasting will begin Monday and continue for the next four to six weeks. Traffic will be stopped for each blast for approximately 15 minutes, depending on site-specific conditions and traffic volumes. Motorists are being warned to expect delays. 

Manitoba Government House Leader Kelvin Goertzen says a number of pieces of legislation, which should have local interest, were approved prior to the Manitoba Legislature rising for the summer break.

The Legislature rose last week, and Goertzen says one of the main pieces of legislation to be approved was the provincial budget. He notes that is not something that is always approved in spring. And, because of its approval, Goertzen says that means Manitobans will start to see more on their paychecks, beginning this summer. 

The wildfire danger in southern Manitoba is moderate right now.

That is according to the Manitoba Wildfire Service, which says it is mainly low for the northern half of the province.

There are 14 active wildfires currently burning in Manitoba. The Manitoba Wildfire Service says it is working with ground crews and aircraft to suppress three fires in the vicinity of Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi and St. Theresa Point. While the fire is several kilometres away, smoke may be an issue for these communities.

Provincial parks in Manitoba will be offering free access this coming weekend. 

The weekend of June 9-11 also happens to be free family fishing weekend. 

Greg Nesbitt is Minister of Natural Resources and Northern Development for Manitoba. He says summer is almost here and he knows that Manitobans treasure these warm, late spring weekends.

"Throughout this weekend, residents and visitors will be able to fish for free while also enjoying free access to our beautiful provincial parks," adds Nesbitt.

Providence University College and Theological Seminary has not been granted its wish to be recognized with full university status. President Dr. Kenton Anderson says they already act like a university, but want the official recognition in order to be able to take their place alongside their peers in the province. 

It appears the hot weather we have been experiencing the last week is a sign of things to come.

David Phillips with Environment Canada has issued his summer weather outlook for the months of June, July and August. He says their models are pointing towards a summer that is warmer than normal for southern Manitoba.

The Eastman ATV Association has decided to postpone its ATV Ride For Mom.
    
President Don Eidse says the event was supposed to take place this coming Saturday, but conditions will not allow it.

"Level 1 restrictions are still in place and that means there is no backwoods travel, as the risk for fire is too high," explains Eidse. "And we certainly don't want to encourage anyone or have an event that is running any sort of risk."

Instead, the event will take place on Saturday, October 14th. 

The Mayor of Ritchot says they are extremely grateful for the more than a quarter million dollars in provincial grant money announced for the municipality this week.

Chris Ewen is referring to the Building Sustainable Communities program. A total of 428 community development projects across the province were provided with a grant this week, totalling more than $25 million. Ten of those, worth nearly $260,000 are in Ritchot alone.