Shannon Dueck

Lifesaving Society Manitoba is urging everyone to stay off the ice in the southern portion of the province.

Even though daytime highs are for the most part still staying below freezing, spokesperson Dr. Christopher Love says in many places the ice is weaker than it appears. Dr. Love explains that all winter long, the ice is always slightly unpredictable. But, by the time we get to March and early April, it becomes very, very unpredictable and potentially very dangerous.

Our provincial government on Thursday announced details of a multi-million dollar investment towards Manitoba seniors.

Seniors and Long-term Care Minister Scott Johnston says his government is committing $4.5 million in additional investments in six unique programs that offer high-quality services and foster safe, inclusive, and accessible communities.

"We had a very good year in spite of the very different circumstances that we found ourselves in."

That is how the Chief Executive Officer for Steinbach Credit Union is describing their last year. SCU held its annual general meeting on Tuesday and Glenn Friesen says it was a year that saw them get to $9.1 billion in assets and grow to more than 106,000 members.

It was also a year that started with the lowest interest rates in Canadian history and ended with the fastest growing interest rates in many, many generations. 

Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen is in Ottawa today for a meeting on bail reform.

Goertzen says justice ministers met in Halifax last fall and have a unified opinion that bail reform is needed. 

"We're seeing far too many individuals who are violent offenders, who are getting bail very easily and then committing another crime when they are out on bail," explains Goertzen. 

The Manitoba government would like to strengthen penalties against individuals causing wildfires.

The penalty for someone causing a wildfire has not changed in our province since 1998. Legislation has been introduced, and if approved, it will see a substantial increase in fines and length of jail time for convictions.

Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen is in Ottawa today for a meeting on bail reform.

Goertzen says justice ministers met in Halifax last fall and have a unified opinion that bail reform is needed. 

"We're seeing far too many individuals who are violent offenders, who are getting bail very easily and then committing another crime when they are out on bail," explains Goertzen. 

Our province is in the planning stages of raising the dike at Ste. Agathe. And the public was invited to offer feedback.

Mitch Duval is Chief Administrative Officer for the Rural Municipality of Ritchot. He says public engagement sessions took place yesterday where residents could discuss design options and provide their thoughts.

Our stretch of clear, dry weather in southern Manitoba is about to come to an end. In fact, by the time you go to bed Sunday night, there could be a whole lot more snow on the ground.

Natalie Hasell with Environment Canada says this week we will feel the effects of several low-pressure systems. For the Red River Valley, the total accumulation of new snow this week could be 30 centimetres, if not more. Much greater accumulations are anticipated south of the border.

The Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada says it will not be a quick transition to spring in southern Manitoba.

March 1st marks the first day of spring on the meteorological calendar. For those who buy into the theory that if March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion, or vice versa, David Phillips says March in southern Manitoba is actually coming in more like frozen mutton. He notes the first two days of March are expected to be cooler than normal before we soar above the freezing mark on Friday. 

The President and Chief Executive Officer for Sio Silica says gaining the necessary approvals for their proposed extraction project in southeastern Manitoba would pump more than one billion dollars into the Manitoba economy over the lifetime of the project.