Westman

It's been 5 months since Grant Jackson resigned from the Manitoba Legislature as the MLA for Spruce Woods to join the race for Brandon-Souris in the federal election after the announcement of MP Larry Maguire's retirement.  Jackson became the new MP by a majority vote for Brandon-Souris at the end of April.

And that began the next race, MLA for Spruce Woods.

Heading into the 2025-26 minor hockey season, Hockey Manitoba has announced they will be launching the 'Green Armband Initiative', a program designed for younger officials, starting in the Pembina Valley with plans for it to expand province wide in the future.

For all officials, every level

The dates are set Premier Scott Moe's trade mission to Asia runs September 6th to 12th.

It's a very important region for the province ... In 2024, Saskatchewan exported over $10 billion to Asia—$4.4 billion to China, $929 million to Japan and 162 million to South Korea.

The goal is to reinforce future trade opportunities and engage with China on their temporary duties on peas and canola.

The Premier has invited Prime Minister Mark Carney and any other federal ministers  to join the trade mission.

For Alex Boersch of Abtshof Farms near Elie, the 2025 season has felt like a battle on two fronts. After seeding in spring, heavy rainfall quickly drowned out crops, forcing the family to reseed roughly 500 acres. What followed was nearly two months of severe drought, leaving plants struggling to recover. Then, just as harvest was set to begin, the skies opened again.

“We got four and a half inches,” Boersch notes.

Alberta Agriculture's latest crop report shows two per cent of the crop has been combined. That's down from the 5-year average of eight per cent and the 10-year average of six per cent.

Warm, dry conditions in the Southern part of the province are helping with the harvest, while the cooler temperatures in the North West, North East, and Peace regions are slowing crop maturity and delaying harvest.

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) are calling for swift action to address ongoing trade tariffs that continue to impact farmers.

APAS met with Kody Blois, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister when he was in Saskatoon for last week's canola meeting. 

APAS President Bill Prybylski emphasized the urgency of resolving tariff disputes with China and the United States, which have disrupted normal trade flows and hurt our agricultural economy.

The Alberta government is streamlining its process for restoring watersheds.

The province is removing the requirement to have a temporary diversion licence as part of a riparian restoration project.

The government said it expects the change to cut red tape, keep plants alive and ensure that the time and money put into watershed restoration projects are not wasted.

“Freedom to water is about cutting through the clutter of bureaucracy so real work can happen,” provincial environment minister Rebecca Schulz said in a press release.

Canada’s declining productivity, supply chain woes and political decisions all affect trade with its neighbour

As vexing as the current trade environment might be, Canada has to recognize there were issues long before U.S. president Donald Trump and his on-again, off-again tariffs came along, said panelists at a policy summit last month.

“We’re not really in a different place,” said Cal Bricker, chief executive officer of Spirits Canada.

You can call in to ask host Carla Hrycyna all of your gardening questions live every Saturday morning starting at 9:15am: 1-800-374-3315

Effective Dates:
Friday, August 1 to Saturday, November 15, 2025
Crop residue burning is not authorized, except by permit, in the following municipalities:
Rosser, Headingley, St. François Xavier, Cartier, Macdonald, Ritchot, Taché, Springfield, East St. Paul, and West St. Paul.

Additional Restriction for Monday, August 25, 2025:
Due to poor ventilation conditions and low transport winds, crop residue burning is not authorized anywhere in Manitoba, except by permit.