Candace Derksen

The cool, rainy weather this spring has meant a slow start for the season's activities in more ways than one. That holds true in the Town of Morris where residents are eager to try out the community's renovated pool.

"Unfortunately, the weather this spring hasn't been conducive, even though there was a bit of a head start on getting the zero-entry done to the pool last year, however, it has now delayed the opening of the pool," explained Mayor Scott Crick. 

The pool is now expected to open later this month with the dates still to be determined. 

Fifty-seven per cent of students in Border Land School Division (BLSD) feel a high sense of belonging, according to the Our School Survey conducted this past fall. That is slightly below the national average of 62 per cent, notes assistant superintendent, Shauna Hamm.

Manitoba premier, Wab Kinew, is in France this week representing the province at D-Day 80th anniversary ceremonies. He is joined by Waverley MLA and the province's military liaison, David Pankratz, paying respect to the veterans and the fallen soldiers and to say 'thank you' for protecting our freedoms and liberties.

The Manitoba Legislature has broken for the summer and MLAs are returning to their home constituencies. 
    
Premier Wab Kinew says the last week was filled with a lot of procedural businesses, like bills entering the final stages and getting passed into law.

Grade 12 English final exams will now be formulated by teachers at the school division level. This, after the Province postponed the Provincial exam last Friday out of what it says was an abundance of caution regarding identification of certain Manitobans used in the reading material for the exam. 

Premier Wab Kinew says going with locally developed exams will ensure the finals are written before June 21st.

Manitoba's Premier is excited about the new agreement nurses in Southern Health Sante Sud voted in favour of ratifying earlier this month.    
    
61.4 per cent of the health region's nurses voted to accept the new offer which runs through 2027. The only holdout in Manitoba were the nurses in Shared Health which only voted 43 per cent in favour of the new contract.
    
Wab Kinew believes the new agreement is an important tool that can be used to fix healthcare and deliver better care to patients.

Service was restored Tuesday to one of the two fuel lines at the Imperial Oil pipeline repair site south of St. Adolphe.
    
An update sent out by the province noted this returns a partial flow of fuel through the pipeline and will significantly reduce the volume of fuel that has to be alternatively delivered by rail and truck.
    
Provincial inspectors will continue to monitor the operation as repairs to the second fuel line are completed in order to return the pipeline to full operation. That work is on schedule and expected to be completed by mid-June.

The Manitoba Government is walking back on funding cuts to its Urban/Hometown Green Team program. 
    
Recently, we reported that many organizations, like summer camps, were caught off guard when their applications for this year were either denied or approved for considerably less than in previous years. 

"We're trying to balance the budget at the provincial level," explained Premier Wab Kinew when asked about what prompted the reduced program support. "We were left quite a significant deficit and we're trying to get a handle on that."

Manitoba Premier, Wab Kinew, says the Unexplained Wealth Act, introduced in the Legislature this spring, is aimed at cracking down on crime and keeping communities safe.

"I know public safety is such a big topic for a lot of people," he said during last week's Premier Report, which airs on CFAM 950. The Premier noted, the Act is another tool for law enforcement to crack down on drug traffickers and other organized crime groups who profit from crime.

Emerson-Franklin Reeve Dave Carlson is welcoming proposed changes to the province's Medical First Response (MFR) model that would allow municipalities to operate Community-Based First Response programs.

Carlson, who is also a local volunteer fire fighter, says the Municipality's emergency services department has been running a medical first response program for 40 years, but a change by the former PC Government requiring members register with the College of Paramedics of Manitoba and the necessary 312 hour of training, didn't fit with their volunteer-based model.