A 37-year-old Brandon man, who along with his partner ran a daycare out of their house, has been arrested on sex charges. He faces counts of sexual assault and creating child pornography, that police say, was distributed ‘at an international level.’ The six children found in the home are being safeguarded.
———-
Five Brandon contractors have pleaded guilty to conspiracy following an investigation into social housing contracts. The Competition Bureau says they divided $3.5-million in Manitoba Housing contracts among themselves and set the price. They were fined a combined total $196,000.
———-
The Manitoba government and the Chamber of Commerce is spending a total of $200,000 for a pilot program to support black entrepreneurs. The program seeks to address under-representation of black businesses in Manitoba’s economy, and aims to empower individuals to build sustainable enterprises.
———-
The federal government is hosting a summit in Toronto today aimed at bolstering the economy as the country faces Trump Tariffs. The 25% tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U-S is on hold until March 4th – but many business and labour leaders want Canada to look for alternative trading partners, and ways to strengthen internal trade.
———-
Canada Post has laid off 50 managers as part of corporate-wide restructuring – half were located in Ottawa, and the rest in Toronto and other parts of the country. The corporation says the layoffs will not impact service.
Last month, Ottawa gave Canada Post a billion dollar repayable loan to keep it afloat.
———-
According to a new report, Nova Scotia had the highest rate of poverty among the provinces in 2022 – and Manitoba had the highest rate of ‘deep poverty’, where some could not afford a basic standard of living. That rate was almost 7% in Manitoba. BC had the second-highest poverty rate in Canada.
———-
A Manitoba company, MJG Technologies, is developing camera systems that could eventually be on every school bus in the country. The system features four cameras on the exterior buses that can see 50 feet in every direction – plus a blind spot monitoring system. Canada will be the first country in the world to require ‘perimeter visibility systems’ by 2027.
———-
Down the road in Winnipeg it’s costing more to fill up the car – average prices are about $1.50-a-litre. According to GasBuddy-dot-com that’s nearly seven-cents higher than the start of January – and they’re expected to rise even higher when the carbon tax increases, and pricier summer blends arrive. In Brandon, pump prices range from $1.37.9 to $1.39.9-a litre.
———-
All 11 pavilions will be open today on Day Two of the Westman Multicultural Festival in Brandon. The celebration of culture and food continues Saturday as well, and you can check for pavilion hours on the Festival’s social media page which has links to their website where you can also download your passport for a chance to win prizes.
