MB Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

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It`s time to get real

The Canadian Taxpayers` Federation`s call yesterday to use revenue from commercial land around Canad Inns Stadium to refurbish the facility isn`t as off-the-wall as some people may think.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers board of directors were proposing that very idea just a few years ago after they signed a long-term deal with the city to use the stadium and the land around it rent-free for 50 years. They even had an artist rendition of what a refurbished stadium may look like on their website at the time, including commercial and retail space surrounding the facility.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/News/Manitoba/2...444896-sun.html

 

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Layton outlines $108-M planfor city transit

Federal New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton stood on a corner of the Graham Avenue transit mall Wednesday morning to outline a promise that would deliver $108 million for Winnipeg public transit.

"Many Canadians understand now we have to take strong action to deal with climate change," Layton said at a news conference as buses rumbled by a few metres away.

"In fact, in many ways Canadians are ahead of governments often times on these issues. But they`re looking for the solutions to be available to them so they can leave their car at home once in a while. But you can`t do that if you haven`t got transit that`s affordable and available to you."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4805297c.html

 

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Fix rail line, official urges

Manitoba suppliers and the Port of Churchill stand to gain considerable new business from Nunavut, but a territory official warns the wonky rail line leading to the port threatens to derail the potential shipping bonanza.

"That rail bed has to be attended to," said Brock Junkin, president and CEO of Sakku Investments Corp., the group responsible for economic development in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut.

Last fall, Ottawa, the province and OmniTRAX, the Denver-based company that owns the port and the 1,300-kilometre rail line leading to it, pledged to invest $60 million in rail upgrades and another $8 million in port infrastructure improvements over the next five years.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4805216c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

No change to Delta zoning bylaws

If it ain`t broke, don`t fix it.

The Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie has decided current zoning bylaws in Delta Beach are fine, and no further zoning designs are needed in the nearly completed secondary land-use plan for the south-basin area of Lake Manitoba.

A draft of the secondary plan was completed by a group of graduate students from the University of Manitoba last April, and since that time a summer student has been putting the final touches on the plan.

The secondary plan outlines specific policies for development of natural features, agriculture, seasonal resorts development, residential development and recreation in the territory that borders on the Delta Marsh region and extends north of Highway 227, between the east and west boundaries of the Rural Municipality of Portage.

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/Article....aspx?e=1155141

 

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Travel part of premier`s job: Doer

Premier Gary Doer has taken at least 14 out-of-province trips so far this year, totalling about a month on the road, according to new travel data released Thursday.

Between January 1 and June 30, the premier`s travels have taken him everywhere from Manila to Mexico to Minnesota as he talked up climate change, met with politicians and helped raise money for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The 14 trips cost about $21,400 in total, including about $50 for carbon offsets, according to provincial records.

And while critics are keen to paint Doer as a high-flying premier, he points out there has been a payoff to the province from his travels. In fact, a two-day trade mission to Savannah, Georgia in June is being credited with Standard Aero spending more than $20 million on a plant expansion that could create more than 300 jobs over the next six years in Winnipeg.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4805912c.html

 

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Condos eyed for Silver Heights

The former Silver Heights Collegiate could become a 160-unit condominium development.

St. James-Assiniboia school board chairman Bruce Alexander said Thursday that trustees will vote Tuesday evening on accepting a conditional offer from Green Tree Group to buy the Lodge Avenue property, which closed in June of 2007 after 50 years as a school.

Alexander would not divulge financial details, but said the developer`s offer is contingent upon city council approving rezoning, demolition of the school, and development plans.

Green Tree officials declined to comment until the school board has voted, but St. James Coun. Scott Fielding was enthusiastic Thursday about the proposal.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4805840c.html

 

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U of M site for stadium raised

Canwest Executive Vice-President David Asper has had discussions with the University of Manitoba over possibly building a new football stadium on a soon-to-be vacant golf course next to the Fort Garry campus, Premier Gary Doer said Thursday.

But he and Mayor Sam Katz said nothing has been presented to them on the proposal and they are waiting to see if Asper, though his development company Creswin Properties, is prepared to go ahead with an earlier proposal. That plan involves building a $400-million stadium, hotel and water park in South Point Douglas.

Doer and Katz said the stadium saga has gone on long enough and it`s in the public`s interest to deal with it, one way or the other, within the next month.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4805800c.html

 

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Saan store bids adieu

The Saan Store name is about to officially enter the history books, but its concept of servicing small town Canada will continue on with the latest owners.

Mississauga-based discount retailers The Bargain! Shop paid $8 million for 93 Saan/Red Apple store leases in small town Canada -- including 10 in Manitoba -- and intends to open The Bargain! Shop stores in all those locations.

Michael Roellinghoff the president and CEO of TB!S said his company was attracted by the real estate opportunities and the staffing that was in place.

The expansion of the chain to 270 stores from about 180 will see the evolution of the small town Canadian retailer come full circle. TB!Ss arose out of former Woolworth`s and Robinson stores which fell by the wayside as Canadian retailers moved to regional malls.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4805910c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

PCU Centre construction soon to start

After months of debate at city hall and in coffee shops throughout Portage la Prairie, preliminary work has gotten underway on the construction of the PCU Centre.

A trailer has been set up at the location acting as the site office, construction crews have been busy building a safety fence around the 8.5 hectares of land in the construction site, and the official sod turning ceremony is scheduled for August 18.

"We`re really looking forward to this, for the community," explained Portage mayor, Ken Brennan. "We know that the community has been waiting for this for decades, and it`s going to fell real good on Monday when we finally get this thing going."

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/Article....aspx?e=1157370

 

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Oil pipeline concerns Winkler

The mayor of Winkler is worried about the environmental risks of an oil pipeline he says is being built dangerously near the city`s main water supply.

Mayor Martin Harder said TransCanada originally agreed to reroute its new oil pipeline away from the main recharge area for Winkler`s massive underground aquifer. The recharge area is a deep gravel pit full of fresh water that supplies the aquifer.

TransCanada routed the pipeline north of the recharge area, but Harder said he was recently informed the pipes will be built 20 metres underground, running directly through the vast underground water body.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4806499c.html

 

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Gaming company nabs huge contract

A small Winnipeg company that specializes in the new "serious gaming" field of computer games has been awarded a significant contract by the Canada Space Agency.

Project Whitecard, a four-person shop being nurtured at the business incubator at the University of Manitoba`s Smartpark, will be the lead supplier in a $250,000 contract to produce a game that will be designed to teach mathematics in more than 60,000 middle- and high-school classrooms across the country.

The interactive, 3-D graphics game will take place within an International Space Station environment.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4806515c.html

 

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New company comes to Altona

Cole Wire Products and National Pet Cages is moving to Altona, according to an announcement by the Altona Community Development Corporation. Chairperson Terry Wiebe confirmed that construction of Coles` new 5,000 square foot building in the Altona Industrial Park recently got underway.
Cole Wire Products manufactures wire products including pet cages, store fixtures and construction related items.
They currently employ five employees at their present location in Steinbach, Manitoba.
National Pet Cages is an American subsidiary that distributes pet cages throughout mainland USA. Overall website sales are active throughout all regions of North America.

http://www.altonaecho.com/News/414710.html

 

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Harvesting hopes for a productive 2008 crop year

The harvest of 2008 is getting under way in the Carman and surrounding central region areas.
"There`s already the winter wheat and fall rye starting to come off and even some other cereals," said Kim Brown-Livingston, Carman-based MAFRI farm production advisor. "Longer season crops like corn and soybeans are developing well."
However Brown-Livingston said moisture early this week delayed some of the initial harvest work.
"The rain slowed down some of the harvesting that just got under way," Brown-Livingston said. "There will be lots of crops ready towards the middle and latter part of August - that will start being `crunch time`."

http://www.carmanvalleyleader.com/News/414732.html

 

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Austin Credit Union expands

Austin Credit Union (ACU) will soon be spreading its wings at its branch in Gladstone.

Plans are in the works for the company to build a new branch office just west of the current Town of Gladstone office at 48 Dennis St. W.

Currently, the ACU branch is located in two Gladstone buildings — at 16 Dennis St. W. and 14 Dennis St. E.

Mike Vercaigne, president of Austin Credit Union`s board of directors, is excited to see the company will soon be able to work from one office at its new building.

"It`s a little bit difficult to have any continuity of information and staffing and everything else if you are in two separate buildings every time. That was always the biggest issue. We need one facility here," he said on Aug. 12.

http://www.cpheraldleader.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1160526

 

[joeiannuzzi]

RM stays the course with secondary plan

If it ain`t broke, don`t fix it.

The Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie has decided current zoning bylaws in Delta Beach are fine, and no further zoning designs are needed in the nearly completed secondary land-use plan for the south-basin area of Lake Manitoba.

A draft of the secondary plan was completed by a group of graduate students from the University of Manitoba last April, and since that time, a summer student has been busy putting the final touches on the plan.

The secondary plan outlines specific policies for development of natural features, agriculture, seasonal resorts development, residential development and recreation in the territory that borders on the Delta Marsh region and extends north of Highway 227, between the east and west boundaries of the Rural Municipality of Portage.

http://www.cpheraldleader.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1160524

 

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Portage RM raising water rates

At their regular meeting on Aug. 12, councillors from the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie passed a bylaw allowing them to raise rates for those use the Cartier Regional Water Supply System.

Under the bylaw, which passed second and third reading, residents will now be charged $11 per 1,000 gallons as opposed to the current charge of $6.50 per 1,000 gallons.

Reeve Toby Trimble explained the RM is currently paying $7.91 per gallon for the water from the Cartier system, and has been operating at a loss for some time. The new $11 rate will cover both cost of purchasing the water as well as operating and maintaining the line.

He added council had originally wanted to raise the rates to $12 per 1,000 gallons, but after receiving some complaints about the hike, the Manitoba Public Utility Board held a hearing and the RM changed its mind.

http://www.cpheraldleader.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1160523

 

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Septic field push raises controversy

Rising sewage-hauling costs are at the centre of recent controversy over Camp Cedarwood`s initiative to have its holding talk system replaced by a septic tank and field.

Norm Fisher, a resident of the Pinawa Bay area, said he was taken aback recently to find out Camp Cedarwood is working with Manitoba Conservation to have the project approved.

Fisher is concerned about water quality in Pinawa Bay, a concern that has gotten more serious in Lac du Bonnet over the years as the region grows. Camp Cedarwood falls under the jurisdiction of the RM of Alexander.

"I can`t believe septic systems are still allowed so close to a river," Fisher said. "I thought this was a thing of the past."

http://www.lacdubonnetleader.com/News/414861.html

 

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`Regulatory expropriation`

Grand Marais residents say a proposed bylaw amendment and subsequent moratorium on the development of their waterfront property is an attempt to squeeze them off their land through regulatory expropriation under a smoke-screen of environmental concern.
While tourism is expected to grow with an RM of St. Clements proposed development called Destination Grand Marais – consisting of a golf course, marina, street improvements and trail additions – some area residents say a 150-foot setback on property identified as `environmentally sensitive` in the wake of the municipal development plan`s release is more than a coincidence.

http://www.selkirkjournal.com/News/414782.html

 

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RTMs proposed at Teulon council

Teulon`s industrial park may be in store for some expansion soon.
Bruce Koke, of Hinterland Homes, made a presentation at Teulon Town Council`s meeting on Aug. 12, 2008 and proposed the construction of Ready-To-Move homes (RTM`s) in Teulon`s Industrial Park.
Teulon Council expressed their approval and the next step will be Koke`s, who must now get permission from South Interlake Planning so he may go ahead with the business venture.

http://www.stonewallargusteulontimes.com/News/414936.html

 

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Province plans law for pets in suites

The Doer government plans to introduce legislation, possibly before the end of the year, to encourage landlords to let tenants bring pets into their apartments.

Among several proposed changes to the Landlord Tenant Act is a provision enabling landlords to charge a "pet deposit," similar to a damage deposit, to cover replacement costs if Rover chews up the carpeting.

Greg Selinger, minister of consumer and corporate affairs, said a government advisory department has been participating in discussions between landlord and tenant groups and the consensus is people should be able to have pets in their apartments. Landlords will not be forced to let pets in, he stressed, and the ultimate decision will still be up to the discretion of individual landlords.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4807217c.html