The Interlake Tourism Association has a new manager as Melissa Van Soelen has taken the helm after long time manager Gail McDonald retired on June 30, 2020.
New manager for Interlake Tourism Association
Province announces minor changes to current public health orders
The Manitoba government is making two amendments to the public health orders currently in effect until March 25, Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer, announced on March 12.
“Manitoba’s pandemic response system is designed to enable us to make adjustments where we can based on public feedback and COVID-19 indicators, while always ensuring the health and safety of all Manitobans remains our top priority,” Roussin said. “With warmer temperatures and an early spring on the horizon, we continue to encourage Manitobans to engage in activities outdoors as much as possible. Removing the household-only limit to outdoor dining and licenced premises will give Manitobans an additional opportunity to gather with friends and colleagues in a safe environment.”
The province is also making an adjustment to mask use in churches. The following changes to the current public health order are in effect as of Saturday, March 13 at 12:01 a.m.:
• amending mask-use rules in churches to allow masks not to be used while household groups are seated at a service, are appropriately distanced from other groups and are not singing; and
• allowing outdoor dining on patios at restaurants and licensed premises for groups up to six people from different households.
Manitobans are reminded that following the fundamentals – including frequent handwashing, staying home when sick, physical distancing and wearing a mask in public places – is critical to keep Manitoba’s COVID-19 curve down, especially as the province continues to gradually restart services and activities throughout the province, Roussin noted.
With these changes, the public health orders continue to be in effect until March 25.
Burden of Truth comes to an end
Selkirk mayor Larry Johannson told the Selkirk Settler Times on March 19 the popular television series, Burden of Truth, which aired on CBC will be no more.
According to Johannson, Burden of Truth won’t have a fifth season. It came as a disappointment for Johannson as many of the locations in the series was filmed in Selkirk, but he also expressed his gratitude towards Eagle Vision, who was responsible for producing the popular series for the CBC.
Residents excited for Eveline Street reconstruction project
A survey of Selkirk residents to gauge their desires for a safer, more accessible Eveline Street showed strong support in addition to enthusiasm for environmental options and keeping history in the mix.
Almost 250 residents participated in a research survey conducted by Credit Union Central of Manitoba and the City of Selkirk that asked residents for their thoughts on everything from how often they visit the area to where they park when at other city stores with large parking lots.
Mayor Larry Johannson said the survey provided valuable insight for the city.
“Anytime we can reach out to citizens and get their thoughts on improvements to the city it’s a big help and we appreciate when citizens take ownership and participate,” Johannson said.
“We received some really positive feedback on this project, and people let us know what they don’t want too and that’s great as well. All that information is important and I’m really thankful to all those who took the time to fill the survey out, having a role in the development of your community is important and it’s nice to see people taking advantage of that.”
Dan McDermid, Director of Operations, said Eveline Street between Eaton and Queen avenues was identified through the city’s Capital Asset Management Program (CAMP) as a priority.
“That section of Eveline is in poor shape and needs a total reconstruction and while we’re doing that we’re going to do other improvements,” McDermid said.
“The street doesn’t meet modern standards for accessibility, lighting, public safety and other urban design best practices, so that work will be included in the scope of this job upon reconstruction as well.”
The CUCM Research survey was conducted in February of this year through the city’s CitizenVoice, a group of citizens who signed on to participate in a number of surveys each year. About 200 members of CitizenVoice took part in this survey.
The survey was also open to the general public through the Selkirk Record newspaper and on the city’s website and though only 50 participants took part, the results were the same.
Vanessa Figus, the city’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator, said the survey provided a wealth of information.
“The survey results were very positive and many of the comments showed how forward thinking the citizens are,” Figus said.
“There were concerns, of course, but I think the survey showed how invested people are in their community. One resident told us Selkirk is moving in the right direction and they’d like us to keep doing that.”
Respondents had the opportunity to provide additional comments at the end of the survey, and Figus said there was a great offering of ideas in that section.
“People told us they were excited for the reconstruction and would prefer that the design be rustic rather than too modern looking,” Figus said.
Comments included having rustic planters, traditional lantern-style lighting and one respondent had several interesting suggestions, including a throwback to the streetcar.
“The Streetcar played a part on Eveline and somehow pay homage (to it) and play on its history. I like the Veteran banner program and the pride it instills,” the person said.
“To me Eveline is under appreciated historically.”
Some forward thinkers suggested solar powered lights, charging stations for electric cars, drinking water fountains and 3D painted crossings.
Support for bike lanes was strong and 19 people included it in their additional comments.
“A bike lane on Eveline should be a priority rather than worrying about parking,” one respondent wrote.
“More people would be encouraged to ride their bikes downtown and to the park if there was a bike path on Eveline. You notice the businesses more when you are on a bike or on foot. It would make things much safer for bikes and pedestrians.”
Figus noted there were some who opposed sidewalk ‘bump outs’ but she said they are more for safety than a design element.
“In addition to providing a shorter crossing distance, the bump out puts the pedestrian in a position to be more visible to drivers. Bump outs are not decorative, they are a safety measure,” she said.
Some residents wondered why Main Street north of Manitoba was not a bigger priority. Figus said that the city agrees that section of Main Street is in bad shape, but reminds citizens that Main Street is a provincial highway and not maintained by the city.
“We get complaints about that section of Main Street often, however it’s a provincial responsibility. We raise this concern with the province often – and certainly citizens can do so though their MLA or the department responsible which is Manitoba Infrastructure.”
CAO Duane Nicol said the survey has provided the city with raw data that staff will analyze and look for key findings. The information will be shared with landscape architects HTFC Planning & Design and design engineers JR Cousins.
“This information is extremely helpful and shows us what citizens want and expect in the reconstruction of an important street in the City of Selkirk,” Nicol said.
“They’ve told us plenty and while not unanimous, there was strong support for the project. Many people liked the investment into Manitoba Avenue, they liked the rustic and historic features of it and so that’s something they want us to replicate on Eveline. There were also many people who strongly supported the reintroduction of street trees to Eveline. Trees not only improve the look of the streetscape, but they are a strategic natural infrastructure investment. They absorb and store stormwater reducing the burden on the system, they remove air pollution and they provide shade thus reducing the temperature of the downtown.”
Making street crossings accessible to wheelchairs and mobility aides and well marked was important to citizens, with 90 per cent strongly agreeing or agreeing.
Having sidewalks and pedestrian walkways on both sides of the street received solid support, with more than 70 per cent of respondents strongly agreeing or agreeing.
Having metred parking on Eveline received thumbs down from respondents, with 62 per cent strongly disagreeing to their use and another 14 per cent disagreeing.
Thirty per cent of those who responded strongly agreed and another 25 per cent agreed that existing parking lots on Eveline could be better designed to fit more cars.
The survey asked people how far they generally park their cars from three businesses – Walmart, Canadian Tire and Safeway. Using four colour-coded bands, identified as Band A being closest to the store and Band D furthest away, respondents were asked to show where in the parking lot they most often parked.
An average of 67 per cent of respondents parked in Bands C and D, which is between 50 and 75 metres from each store. On average, survey respondents said they regularly walk 45 metres from their car to the entrance of the three businesses.
“If we look at Eveline Street, there is a city parking lot within an average distance of 30 or 45 metres from any store front between Eaton and Manitoba avenues,” said Nicol.
“The survey shows that people are willing to walk that distance to go to a business.”
The city’s Strategic Plan makes revitalizing downtown, engaging the entire community in shaping the city’s future and revitalizing Selkirk’s image priorities and the reconstruction of Eveline hits on all three points.
If you would like to have your say in the city’s next survey, visit www.MySelkirk.ca/CitizenVoice to join today.
Einarson back in Calgary curling bubble
Gimli’s Kerri Einarson returned to the Calgary bubble just a couple of weeks after she won her second straight Canadian women’s curling crown.
So, she is prepared go through all of the same COVID-19 restrictions that she followed during the Scotties Tournament of Hearts to compete in the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship alongside multi-Brier champ Brad Gushue of Newfoundland.
“It feels good to be back,” Einarson said from Calgary on the eve of opening day. “Basically, it’s like a second home to us.”
Einarson returned home from the Scotties and self-isolated for two weeks.
“It sucks that we had to quarantine and couldn’t celebrate too much,” she said.
After competing in the Mixed Doubles, Einarson will once again return home, quarantine, then return to Calgary for two Grand Slam events, then the women’s world championship.
Einarson has never played Mixed Doubles before.
“It’s a different game and different pace, so it will be a learning curve for me,” she said. “Brad and I both skip, so we’ll be good with the strategy, just not the sweeping. But I’ve played (four-person) Mixed before and I’m OK with the sweeping.”
Einarson’s whole squad is competing in the Mixed Doubles, including fifth Krysten Karwacki, who has teamed with Derek Samagalski (second for West. St. Paul’s Mike McEwen) to represent Manitoba.
“We’re both really excited,” Karwacki said. “Last year, when we won Manitoba, we were pretty excited because it was the first time that we had ever played together. Then, the nationals got cancelled due to Covid, which we understood, but it was pretty disappointing.”
After finding out that there would be a national Mixed Doubles championship, Einarson asked Karwacki to be her fifth at the Scotties.
“I was definitely interested,” she said. “To go with a team like that and wear the Maple Leaf on my back was pretty special. I was really involved with the team, even though I was just the fifth.”
Karwacki had thought her season was over after playing two cashspiels with Assiniboine Memorial’s Darcy Robertson in the fall.
“So, to get good news within a few weeks in January was like going from zero to 60,” said Karwacki, who turns 30 on April 30, the first day of the women’s world championship. “And to curl in the Covid bubble is pretty special.”
Einarson’s third, Val Sweeting, is curling with Marc Kennedy (third for Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs). Second Shannon Birchard is with Saskatchewan’s Catlin Schneider (third for Saskatchewan’s Colton Flasch) and lead Brianne Meilleur is partnering with Mark Nichols, Gushue’s third.
“We can’t practise together, but it will be good for us to be on the ice throwing,” Einarson said.
BITERS: Kaitlyn Lawes, third for Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones, is playing with Connor Lawes (third for Ontario’s John Willsey), her nephew … Jocelyn Peterman, second for Jones, and Brad Gushue’s second, Brett Gallant, are the defending champs … Jones is also playing with her husband, Brent Laing (lead for Ontario’s John Epping) while Jones lead Lisa Weagle is playing with Epping.
Jim Bender has more than 30 years experience as a sports reporter. He writes on a variety of sports for the Selkirk Settler Times.
Carruthers on familiar ice at Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship
Just four years ago, West St. Paul’s Reid Carruthers helped set up Canada’s Olympic gold medal in Mixed Doubles curling.
Carruthers had teamed up with Joanne Courtney, then the second for Ontario’s Rachel Homan, to win the 2017 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. Then, the pair was under pressure to earn enough points at the Worlds to ensure that Canada would have an entry into the Olympics. They did, leading the way for Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes and Ontario’s John Morris to win Olympic gold in that discipline.
Carruthers is back in this year’s Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in the Calgary bubble with a new partner, Selena Njegovan.
“Joanne Courtney had her baby and was going to take a year off Mixed Doubles, so I asked Selena,” Carruthers said from Calgary, where he has remained since competing at the Brier as third for Mike McEwen. “Connor (Njegovan, her husband) had suggested it to me in the dressing room during one of the Slams. He said, ‘I can’t play with her, we’d fight too much.’ Connor is very intense on the ice.”
Connor plays lead for Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson.
“She’s a heck of a shooter and I’ve known her for years,” Carruthers said. “She’s even been an instructor at my curling camp. We tried to play in an event last year, but that got cancelled. Then, we signed up for one or two spiels in the fall, but they got cancelled (due to the pandemic), too. So, we’re going to be learning on the fly.”
While Carruthers is well-versed in Mixed Doubles, Njegovan has never played it before.
“It’s a tough field and we’re just gonna play as well as we can and see what happens,” said Njegovan, who was named to the second all-star team at the Scotties while at third for Chelsea Carey (subbing for East St. Paul’s Tracy Fleury).
Almost half of the players in the 35-team field are either Manitobans or played for various four-person Manitoba teams.
“It seems like we’re always playing Manitobans,” joked Njegovan, referring to the five ‘Toban teams at the Scotties.
Njegovan returned home from the Scotties and isolated for two weeks, so she could not practice.
Carruthers has remained in the Calgary bubble, still under all of the restrictions the curlers have had to follow. So, there was no sightseeing or getting out on the town.
“I’ve just been sitting on my balcony getting sunshine, walking around the hotel parking lot and getting into chat rooms and Zooms,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back on the ice.”
The championship started Thursday.
BRIER REFLECTIONS: Carruthers said the Mike McEwen team just got off to a bad start. “It was a tough field and we weren’t sharp early,” he said. “Losing the first game put us in tough and a couple of breaks didn’t go our way. And we just didn’t play with as much confidence as we did at the last Brier.”
BITERS: Tracy Fleury is planning to play in the first Grand Slam event to be played after the men’s world championship, Selena Njegovan said. Tracy’s husband will look after her baby, remaining in Sudbury. Chelsea Carey will skip the squad in the second Slam, Njegovan said … Joanne Courtney, by the way, is also competing in the Mixed Doubles, teaming up with Darren Moulding, third for Alberta Brier champion Brendan Bottcher (who’s also playing in it).
Jim Bender has more than 30 years experience as a sports reporter. He writes on a variety of sports topics for the Selkirk Settler Times.
Jets find way to win
It was a lucky day the Winnipeg Jets on St. Patrick’s Day as the local National Hockey League team found found a way to defeat the Montreal Canadiens at BellMTS Place on March 17.
The Jets needed overtime to secure the 4-3 victory over the visiting Canadiens.
Winnipeg opened up a 2-0 lead after the first period as Blake Wheeler scored the games opening goal, which was followed up by Kyle Connor.
Winnipeg and Montreal traded goals during the second period and heading into the second intermission with the Jets having a 3-1 lead.
Montreal owned the third period scoring two unanswered goals, which set the game into overtime tied at 3-3.
Nikolaj Ehlers Emerged as the hero for the Jets when he netted the overtime goal and secured the win for Winnipeg.
The Jets travel to Edmonton for a pair road game against the Oilers on March 18 and 20.
In-house planning will help make investing in Selkirk extremely easy
The City of Selkirk anticipates a move to providing planning services in-house will not only result in a cost savings to taxpayers of at least $60,000 in the first year alone, it will usher in an era of superior customer service.
“In the City of Selkirk we strive to provide exceptional service and to make things easier for citizens,” said Chief Administrative Officer Duane Nicol.
“We’ve looked to some of Manitoba’s most successful cities, some of which handle their own planning, and we see that they are able to provide a level of service that we not only admire but want to be able to achieve here.”
The city will consider making a formal request to the Minister of Municipal Relations to be removed from the Red River Planning District (RRPD) following a public hearing this month.
In the City of Steinbach, for example, a residential building permit is completed on average in five to eight days. Currently, the service target for the RRPD is 20 business days for that same service.
“We want to learn from the exemplars of planning offices and use their best practices to enhance our services and encourage development in Selkirk,” Nicol said.
Handling its own planning also streamlines the process for clients.
“By having integrated processes, the client isn’t running between two offices and back and forth and having confusion and ultimately costly delays,” Nicol said.
“This is really a continuation of our efforts to enhance the services we offer in Selkirk. This is about vertically integrating economic development, public works and land-use planning. Stripping away complexity and red tape and making it ridiculously easy to invest in Selkirk. It’s what our citizens asked for in our community strategic plan and it’s what successful cities are doing today.”
Tim Feduniw, the city’s Director of Sustainable Economic Development, says taking over its own planning services allows for flexibility the city can’t achieve without its independence.
“When we look at places like Steinbach and Winkler, both of whom were included in the feasibility study the city did on having its own in-house planning, we see the successes they’re having in sustainable development and growth.
“What we’ve learned is these guys, they do planning really, really well and we want to model ourselves after them,” Feduniw said.
“That’s what we want to do in Selkirk.”
Dale Place, President and CEO of The Kinetic Group, a Selkirk development company, said delays and frustrations with getting your building project off the ground do not exist in the City of Winkler. In fact, the first time he applied for a building permit he thought it was some sort of joke when he got the go ahead on the same day he applied.
“I felt like I was on some kind of candid camera show,” Place laughed.
“I was shocked, I dropped off my drawings thinking it’s going to be some huge time frame for all this to be processed, but they phoned me later that same day and told me the permit is ready.
“They said, ‘don’t worry about it, we’ll do all the paperwork in the background and you can get started, so here’s your permit’.”
Winkler does not handle its planning in-house, but is part of the well oiled machine that is the Morden, Stanley, RM of Thompson, Winkler Planning District (MSTW).
Place said MSTW has a mentality that barriers to development should be removed, not piled on and that planning is about the community and not about revenue coming into the planning office.
“They’ve really shown what’s needed, in Winkler, for growth and to get businesses running, that is why that community is growing leaps and bounds,” Place said.
“Everybody in that office knows how hard it is to start a business, any red tape they can remove will assist the process, in the long term it brings people who live in the area, buy houses, spend money, it’s all beneficial.”
Nicol said RRPD service fees are set to rise five per cent this year and the fees the city pays to belong to the planning board are up by more than 40 per cent over last year. The feasibility study’s projection of saving $60,000 a year translates into taxes the city doesn’t have to charge.
“By simplifying our processes, reducing delays and keeping a close eye on service fees, we intend to save clients money. Money they don’t lose to delays and extra costs is money they can put into their build.”
Selkirk’s Strategic Plan calls for a strong and stable local economy and for the city to take firmer control of its economic destiny. It also tasks the city’s leaders to make safe and reliable infrastructure a priority by having clear intentions for future development while still striving for more effective regional development approaches.
The city will hold a virtual public hearing on March 23. Any interested parties must visit www.MySelkirk.ca/RRPDhearing to register and receive a link to join the meeting. For those who want to participate but do not have Internet access, the city asks that you call CitizenSupport at 204-785-4900 where alternate arrangements may be made.
House of Economy Community Group gives generously to Palliative Care Program
House of Economy Community Group is one of four groups involved with running the House of Economy Thrift Store at 246 Manitoba Ave., in Selkirk. This year, the group has generously donated $4,000 to the Palliative Care program.
Palliative care is specialized medical care that focuses on providing end-of-life patients relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious illness, no matter the diagnosis or stage of disease. Palliative care teams aim to improve the quality of life for both patients and their families.
Colleen Girling from House of Economy Community Group would like to thank everyone that donates to the House of Economy.
“Because of all the kind people in the community, we are able to make these types of donations to many important causes in our city.”
Executive director of the Interlake Eastern Health Foundation Pamela McCallum acknowledges the group’s work and is grateful for their generosity.
“The Palliative Care program is continuously supported by our gracious community remembers, and we are beyond thankful for their gifts. Each and every donation the foundation receives is hard at work enhancing local, dedicated patient and resident care.”
Interlake Eastern Health Foundation’s mission is to raise funds that support health care in the Interlake-Eastern health region. For more information visit www.iehf.ca or contact Pamela McCallum, executive director at (204) 785-7044. For more information on the House of Economy Thrift Store please call 204-785-8350.
Province is putting students first
The Manitoba government released its kindergarten to Grade 12 strategy with a focus on putting students first, Education Minister Cliff Cullen announced March 15, saying the Better Education Starts Today strategy that will shift resources to the classroom while giving parents and guardians much more input, as it rebuilds Manitoba’s kindergarten to Grade 12 education system through the proposed putting students first bill.
“The strategy introduces much-needed change to create a unified provincial education system that is accountable for results, classroom focused, student centred and parent friendly, leading to the most improved education system in Canada,” said Cullen. “We want students to graduate high school with the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to move into post-secondary education, the labour market, or whatever path they choose, and have the best opportunity to succeed.”
Manitoba is one of the highest spending provinces on education and getting among the country’s lowest student achievement results. Per capita, Manitoba has the highest number of school divisions and elected trustees across all provinces.
The government’s plan streamlines administration by unifying 37 school divisions into one Provincial Education Authority (authority) while maintaining the French school division, Division Scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM). The authority will deliver kindergarten to Grade 12 education, manage shared administrative services such as collective bargaining, procurement, IT and workforce planning – money that will be reinvested directly into classrooms. Within the authority, 15 regions will provide a focus on local needs. Parents will have involvement that is more meaningful in local decision-making through new School Community Councils.
“Our government believes in a robust education system that addresses the inequalities of the current system,” Cullen said. “We have committed to building 20 new schools and followed that up with our $1.6 billion education funding guarantee. However, we want to ensure we have a system focused on students, teachers and, ultimately, results.”
Within the next five years, Manitoba’s government is committed to becoming the most improved education system in Canada by:
• shifting resources to the classroom to ensure that student learning and achievement come first;
• ensuring that teachers, school staff and leaders have the capacity, knowledge and tools they need to support student performance;
• unifying the education system with a focus on accountability for results, outcomes and addressing the vast disparities in the system;
• giving parents and caregivers more opportunity to participate and play a meaningful role in the design and oversight of the system; and
• considering the provincial needs and ensuring that all students are ready for life-long success regardless of where in the province they live.
“Maintaining the status quo puts our students further behind, and that is why our government is making the necessary reforms and investing in our children’s futures,” said Cullen. “By unifying our system and focusing educators on what matters most – student outcomes – the government expects up to $40 million will be shifted to the classrooms to support educational results.”
Manitoba Education will be undertaking public consultations on a variety of areas as it builds a roadmap for the future on topics such as curriculum development, teacher training and learning, and ways to support the most vulnerable students. This includes further conversation with education partners, parents, and the wider Manitoba community, and a survey that will be available on http://engagemb.ca.
The BEST strategy was informed by the Manitoba’s Commission on Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education report, Our Children’s Success: Manitoba’s Future, received in March 2020. The 75 recommendations of the commission represent the most extensive reformation of Manitoba’s kindergarten to Grade 12 education system in decades and presents a clear plan of action for becoming the most improved education system in Canada. The BEST strategy also drew on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic from across Manitoba’s education system.
For more information, visit www.bettereducationmb.ca.