Brandon is looking at a couple more days of extreme wind chills in the minus 30 to minus 40 range before the weather breaks. Environment Canada says by Friday the daytime high will be around minus 15 – and single ‘minus digits’ by Sunday when more snow arrives.
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Some billion dollar disasters dominated Environment Canada’s Top 10 most impactful weather stories of 2024. The year began with a January deep freeze across western Canada – and ended with twin atmospheric rivers that dumped more than 300 mm of rain on some parts of southwest BC. The wildfire in Jasper and summer flooding in Ontario also made the list.
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Doctors Manitoba is warning only a quarter of hospitals in rural and northern Manitoba will have emergency rooms open 24/7 this month. Brandon Hospital’s ER is one of the 18 that’ll be fully open in December. Staffing shortages continue to plague the system.
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Sunrise Credit Union has come through with a $100,000 donation for a new medical clinic in Glenboro. Construction of the $2.5-million Spirit Sands Medical Clinic is expected to begin in the spring and take a year to complete. It’s anticipated the clinic will be staffed by 3 or 4 health practitioners.
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As expected, the Bank of Canada has dropped its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 3.25-percent. Analysts had predicted the move after the latest employment numbers showed the jobless rate rose to 6.8-percent. With inflation back at the 2-percent target, the central bank is now focused on keeping it there.
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There’s a war of words now between Canada Post and its striking workers. The union says its latest list of proposals was meant to bring the two parties closer, but Canada Post says the gap appears wider, claiming in some cases the union has increased its demands. The strike is in its 4th week.
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The premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are meeting today to discuss U-S president-elect Donald Trump and his threat of massive tariffs on provincial exports. Ahead of the meeting, Trump appeared to poke fun at Trudeau in a social media post calling him the ‘governor’ of the ‘Great State of Canada.’
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TikTok has filed a legal challenge of the federal government’s order to shut down its Canadian operations. After a security review of the Chinese company, the government ordered it to cease business in Canada. TikTok says the move will cost hundreds of jobs.
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Various bagel brands at grocery stores in several provinces, including Manitoba, are being recalled because they may contain metal pieces. The metal pieces were reportedly found in salt used in making the bagels. Bigway, Co-op, Super A and TGP bagel brands are impacted. So far, there have been no complaints of injuries.
