Winnipeg has taken a shine to urban cycling
Troy Media publisher Doug Firby and Travel editor Lisa Monforton are part of a group of Canadians who call themselves ConnecTour. Starting in May in British Columbia and ending in October in Newfoundland, they hope to make an 8,000-km bicycle journey across the country, discovering how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and our…
Or is his time as premier of Manitoba coming to an end?
Brian Pallister likely knows that his time as premier of Manitoba is coming to an end, even though he leads a solid majority government. Fortunately for Pallister, his party and Manitoba, if he retires soon to open the door for a new Progressive Conservative leader, he could be remembered for making Crown corporations and the…
Members offer a place for touring cyclists to pitch their tents and grab a shower. In exchange: an evening of conversation
Troy Media publisher Doug Firby and Travel editor Lisa Monforton are part of a group of Canadians who call themselves ConnecTour. Starting in May in British Columbia and ending in October in Newfoundland, they hope to make an 8,000-km bicycle journey across the country, discovering how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and our…
Manitoba’s provincial government depends on long-calcified federal transfer programs to fund 37% of its budget
Around 1915, Winnipeg was frequently described as a second Chicago, a serious transportation hub with a bustling private economy. In 1921, it was the third-largest city in Canada. In the 1960s, Winnipeg was Western Canada’s corporate headquarters city. Today, Winnipeg is Canada’s ninth-largest city, known more in the United States, if not by most Canadians,…
The bees came at us like a fleet of enemy fighter planes
Troy Media publisher Doug Firby and Travel editor Lisa Monforton are part of a group of Canadians who call themselves ConnecTour. Starting in May in British Columbia and ending in October in Newfoundland, they hope to make an 8,000-km bicycle journey across the country, discovering how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and our…
The province isn't in much better financial shape than Newfoundland and Labrador
The scourge of COVID-19 is slowly being beaten back but Manitoba’s economy was in trouble before COVID-19 and the last 15 months have weakened it even more. Before COVID-19, the province’s economic weakness could be attributed to its big-spending governments. The Liberal federal government, the Progressive Conservative provincial government and Winnipeg’s municipal government continue to…
An economic burden for future generations
The debt in Canada’s Prairie provinces has grown colossally during the COVID-19 pandemic, just as debt has in the rest of Canada and around the world. At the end of 2020, Alberta’s debt was estimated at $98 billion, Manitoba’s was $28.6 billion and Saskatchewan’s was $15 billion. These debts are an economic burden for the taxpayers…
Partnerships with private operators bring significant efficiencies and revenue sources for the public
Manitobans shouldn’t be afraid of the government partnering with the private sector to run public services such as provincial parks. Research shows these partnership agreements with private operators are quite common, are often well run, and bring significant efficiencies and revenue sources for the public. In 2020, the provincial government passed a law allowing companies…
The current turmoil could weaken budgetary discipline, leading governments into long-term spending and increased debt
At the end of 2020, Alberta’s debt was estimated at $98 billion, Manitoba’s was $28.6 billion and Saskatchewan’s stood at $15 billion. These debts are lower than Quebec’s ($220 billion) and Ontario’s ($448.9 billion), but there are concerns about their sustainability. Indeed, they’re a long-term burden for the governments, the taxpayers and the economy. Debt growth…
New legislation will allow Manitoba to follow the lead of Canada’s biggest provinces, creating clear lines between management and staff
Principals and teachers shouldn’t be in the same union. That was a key recommendation of the Manitoba Commission on Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education report. Clearly, the Manitoba government has taken this recommendation to heart. Bill 64, the Education Modernization Act, proposes to remove principals and vice-principals from teacher bargaining units. This is a significant…
After two decades of political and managerial incompetence, Manitoba is on track to lose the province’s best economic advantage
Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall’s report on the Keeyask dam and Bipole III transmission line expansion is a damning verdict on Manitoba Hydro’s past boards and executives, and various Manitoba governments. While Wall’s public criticism concentrates on the NDP, there’s much room for the current Progressive Conservative government to share the blame. Premiers former and…
Manitoba’s Opposition New Democratic Party proposes the creation of a new Crown corporation to provide high-speed internet service to rural and remote communities, particularly First Nations communities, in that province. This is a bad idea for several reasons. A host of private-sector and government organizations are launching enormous flotillas of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to…
Unsurprisingly, as a government car insurance monopoly, MPI’s history is marked by politics
Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) is in updating its computer programs and associated practices. Through an estimated multimillion-dollar effort, MPI plans to provide its customers with online services. With MPI’s long-needed revamped technology, licensed drivers and vehicle owners will be able to select insurance options and pay MPI bills without even conversing with a broker. Yet…
Their emergence of nine new strains points to the importance of broader strategies to protect crops in Western Canada
Nine new strains of clubroot – a disease that can kill canola crops – have been discovered in Western Canadian fields. While that’s not good news for producers, the discovery shows how important it is to build a multi-pronged strategy for protecting their crops, not relying solely on canola plants bred to resist the disease,…
Manitoba can quarterback an economic resurgence in Western Canada, with a focus on electric vehicles
The slogan on licence plates reads, “Friendly Manitoba” but it might need to be changed to “Powerhouse Manitoba” over the next decade! Manitoba has a combination of the Hudson Bay seaport in Churchill giving access to an Atlantic Ocean channel, world-class nickel deposits, and a rail line allowing other precious metals such as lithium and…