MB Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

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What`s Behind the Curtain?
Manitoba
2008-08
Daily Online Edition

 

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City, transit union reach agreement

The brakes are off and the buses are on back on track.

After a week of uncertainty, the City of Winnipeg and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 reached a collective agreement settlement yesterday to avert a strike by city transit drivers and maintenance workers. "This settlement is fair to employees, and enables us to meet our obligations to the public," the city`s chief administrative officer Glen Laubenstein said in a statement.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2...326546-sun.html

 

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Farmers to get record $7B

Prairie farmers will receive a record $7 billion from grain marketed through the Canadian Wheat Board for the crop year that ended Thursday, up 57 per cent from the previous year, the CWB projects.

The Winnipeg-based grain seller also estimates Western Canadian farmers will pocket an extra $560 million for their wheat and durum in 2007-08 because of their "pooled approach" to marketing.

"The CWB took a strategic approach to marketing during a time of unprecedented prices," the board`s president, Ian White, told a news conference Thursday.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4799218c.html

 

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Investors: beware of dishonest advisers

OK, now I`m angry.

I apologize to those of you who think of me as a mild-mannered and diplomatic Bruce Wayne, but some recent occurrences have me feeling more like the Dark Knight, ready to kick some butt.

What has me riled is repeatedly discovering people in a position of trust misusing that trust for their own purposes. Pushing me over the edge is the fact a few of these people are called "financial advisers," but are really salespeople in professionals` clothing.

All I`m asking for is full and honest disclosure of all relevant facts, proper warnings when people are taking any form of risk, and no false promises or representations.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4799250c.html

 

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Hydro gas rate hike has consumers feeling the heat

An almost seven per cent rate hike in natural gas set to come into affect tomorrow could leave seniors and others on fixed incomes who own their own homes out in the cold this winter, an official said.

Cheryl Barker, executive director of the Herman Prior 55-plus Centre in Portage la Prairie, said besides seniors, the rate hike will also affect the centre itself.

"It`s going to bother us if it goes up," she noted.

Currently, Barker said, the centre`s budget for their heating bill is about $1,000 per month but that should rise.

"It`ll be over that if they bump it up," Barker stated.

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/Article....aspx?e=1138512

 

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Multiplex sparks lawsuit

A group of ratepayers from the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie are taking their concerns over the RM`s funding of the proposed PCU Centre to court.

On Tuesday morning, a group of roughly 70 residents met with Grant Driedger, a legal representative with Smith Neufeld Jodoin Law Offices in Carman, to discuss their legal options.

"There`s a group of ratepayers from pretty much across the RM, who have significant concerns with the borrowing and the amount of funding that the RM is proposing to put into the multiplex," explained Driedger after the meeting. "The concerns are both that it`s being done and also how it`s been done.

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/Article....aspx?e=1138511

 

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At-risk homes, scant protection

Brad Sitarz was the first one to get through to tell 911 where the fire was.

Sitarz had spotted the billowing black smoke signal coming from a house just down the street from his own in the still-under-construction southeast Winnipeg development known as Royalwood.

By the time he reached the flaming house, Sitarz could see the homeowner standing outside.

He could hear him, too.

Big, buzz-cut Brian Whitney was cursing. Two weeks after it happened, Sitarz still remembers the gist of what Whitney was saying between expletives.

Where are the fire trucks?

Where are my guys?

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4799819c.html

 

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Planned 5-star hotel a rarity

They`re the creme-de-la-creme of the hospitality world, and there are only two in all of Canada.

While this country has its fair share of luxury hotels, there are only two -- the Grand Pacific Hotel in Victoria and the Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver -- that are designated as five-star properties under the country`s national accommodations rating program (Canada Select).

And earlier this week, Lakeview Management Inc. served notice that it plans to add a third name to that list when it announced the construction of the $20-million Grand Winnipeg Airport Hotel, which is set to open in the spring of 2010.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4799837c.html

 

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Developing Third Street North

A new chapter in the seemingly never-ending story of Third Street North and the development of Third Street Manor began this week as Beausejour council considered and denied a request from Canstar Project Development Group.
Canstar, which submitted the winning proposal for the development of the seniors` housing complex, asked council to amend the agreement between the two parties in order to allow Canstar to market the complex as a condominium as opposed to the life-lease condominium previously accepted. In a letter dated July 21, 2008, Betty-lynn Hodgkinson of Canstar explained, "We, along with council, believed that this would be a well-received housing concept in the community of Beausejour. Unfortunately, this concept has not been accepted by the community, mainly due to concerns with the monthly rental costs involved. On today`s date, we only have two remaining potential tenants. Most expressed an interest in buying the units as owners in a simple, 55-plus condominium rather than tenants of a life-lease condominium."

http://www.beausejourreview.com/Local%20News/413421.html

 

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Expanding and improving water and sewer service

At Tuesday`s meeting, Beausejour council awarded a tender for work on the water and sewer system to Twin Eagle Contracting of Whitemouth.
The Third Street South water and sewer system extension and the installation of insulation along First Street South`s sewer main were tendered as a combined project and two bids were received by the deadline with a third rejected after arriving late. The winning bid from Twin Eagle Contracting was $71.430, significantly less than the competing bid of $161,159. The winning bid includes $61,070 for the extension, $6,465 for service connections, and $3,895 for the installation of insulation.

http://www.beausejourreview.com/Local%20News/413427.html

 

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Phase One planned for Boyne Park

Plans have been drawn up and money is being raised.
And The Friends of Boyne Park are busy getting ready for Phase One for a renovated park between the Boyne Lodge Personal Care Home and the Boyne Towers.

Big contribution from DCU
Friends` spokesperson Mary Heard said about $10,000 had been raised. And that number doubled on July 29, when the Dufferin Credit Union donated $10,000.
She said to begin Phase One they will need about $25,000 in place and the total cost of the project will be about $74,000.

http://www.carmanvalleyleader.com/News/413258.html

 

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Housing project to begin

Gladstone-area residents looking for a place to hang their hat won`t have to go far with plans for the completion of a new housing project for this fall.

The owners of ClarkeSon Suites expected to begin construction of the new 10-unit apartment building just this past week.

"It`s worked out well," said Eileen Clarke, mayor of Gladstone and co-owner of the family project.

There appears to be a high demand for the apartments, too, as all 10 units have already been spoken for, with about six more interested renters on a waiting list.

http://www.cpheraldleader.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1140487

 

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Tax hike looms in St. Laurent

St. Laurent taxpayers will be paying another mill on their property if council approves a borrowing bylaw to cover the cost of artifical ice.
The anticipated 0.965 mill translates to an additional $44 on a home with an assessed value of $100,000.
Roger Bouvier, St. Laurent`s acting chief administrative officer, says some classes of property will experience a lower increase.
"This will vary depending on the land," said Bouvier. "Farm land with no buildings on it, for instance, will see a $5 to $6 increase while cottage owners will see an increase around $40."

http://www.interlakespectator.com/News/413469.html

 

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Pelican road plan headed to municipal board

GIMLI -- Pelican Beach property owners want their roads improved but not if that means more of the same. The subdivision`s association executive told a public hearing July 23 that existing roads were poorly constructed and have been inadequately maintained.
The condition of existing roads was front-and-centre during a sometimes confusing presentation by association executive. The intent of the hearing was to hear representations from property owners about a plan that set out how the costs for road reconstruction would be allocated.
A plan presented last fall was rejected because property owners wanted the municipality to pick up the cost of Thompson Dr. In both this earlier plan and the one presented this week, all properties would be assessed a proportionate share to cover two-thirds of the cost for Thompson Dr.

http://www.interlakespectator.com/News/413479.html

 

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Pelican Beach: Build it, then maintain it

GIMLI -- Gord Murison is pessimistic about a road reconstruction plan for Pelican Beach.
Murison is a member of the board of the Pelican Beach Homeowners Association.
Council gave first reading to a local improvement plan to seal-coat and reconstruct roads in the upscale subdivision.
Murison said Thompson Dr. the main access to Pelican Beach is frequently pitted with holes and often bumpy because of the heavy traffic, which includes cement and other construction trucks.
“Was there an engineering study to suggest seal-coat would be sufficient on Thompson Dr.?” he said during a public hearing into the roads plan Wednesday evening.

http://www.interlakespectator.com/News/413480.html

 

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Sewer construction begins in Arborg

ARBORG -- Construction of a sewer line in the Arborg industrial park began this month shortly after tenders for the project were awarded to Selkirk-based Buus Construction Ltd.
It was learned at the RM of Bifrost`s July 9 regular meeting of council that the Buus`s tender came in at more than $150,000 less than the nearest competitive bid.
Council`s initial estimate pegged the project at more than $900,000 and it was pleasantly surprised when the tenders submitted were lower than previously estimated.

http://www.interlakespectator.com/News/413483.html

 

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Home construction picking up the pace

The pace of new home construction continues to increase across the Morden -Stanley - Winkler region.
After slowing earlier this year, new housing starts were more comparable to last year`s pace at the mid-point of 2008.
The statistics compiled by the MSTW (Morden Stanley Thompson and Winkler) Planning District show how the numbers compared as of the end of June from 2007 to 2008.


http://www.mordentimes.com/News/413249.html

 

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Tenants fumed over bed bugs

Tenants of a Manitoba Housing apartment complex in Selkirk are fed up with what they claim is negligence on the provincial housing program`s part to rid their homes of a nasty pest infestation.
According to tenants, Manitoba Housing has been painstakingly slow in taking care of the problem at the apartment complex at 215 Eaton Ave., allowing it to fester for weeks since the initial complaint was made. Tenants are also claiming that Manitoba Housing is at fault for the entire infestation, when they knowingly allowed an individual with pest-infested furniture to habitate in the building.

http://www.selkirkjournal.com/News/413501.html

 

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Mowing charge doubled to prod tardy lot owners

So far this year the City of Winkler has found close to 100 property owners who think it`s worth $50. Now the city is going to find out how many think it`s worth twice that.
In an effort to get the more tardy owners to clean up their vacant lots, city council has doubled the penalty it assesses when it has to have the work done itself.
Transportation committee chairman Henry Siemens says there are too many property owners who did not respond to requests to make their vacant lots more presentable by having them mowed. For that reason, he said, his committee was recommending that the charge to go up again, to $100.
"Even at $50, some people saw it as a service and waited for the city to do it," Siemens said. Doubling the charge to $100 is intended to make it more punitive, he explained, adding that the property owners are first contacted and asked to mow their properties. Failing that, they are told, the city will have it done and bill them accordingly.
Mayor Martin Harder agreed with the committee`s recommendation, commenting, "We want people (both owners and developers) to look after their lots."

http://www.winklertimes.com/News/413239.html

 

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Transit driver deal has yet to be ratified

Winnipeg bus drivers could still strike this month after the union`s legal counsel insisted the deal reached this week must go to a ratification vote.

Keith Scott, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, said the union originally acted on the advice of its international office, which said the union constitution allowed the executive to accept the agreement without a membership vote.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4800177c.html