MB Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

[joeiannuzzi]

Long-inadequate Husavik drainage drowning valuable cropland

GIMLI -- A delegation of a dozen people from the Husavik West Drainage Area may have won the ear of the latest edition of Gimli council Wednesday evening. Barrie Sigurdson spoke on behalf of property owners in the area, many of whom derive their income from farming.
Sigurdson says drainage on Husavik Rd. has not been effective for 10 years. Past councils have promised action to address concerns there but there`s been no action, he told council`s regular meeting Aug. 13.
He says overland funding caused by inadequate drainage is costing producers. "Crop loss is becoming worse each year," he said. "We understand that there will be big rains, but even one to two inches of rainfall causes devastating losses (in the Husavik West area)."

http://www.interlakespectator.com/News/415138.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Quality lacking in housing, say St. Laurent residents

Rust coloured water stains speckle tiled basement floors while black strips of mold have become a decoration in bedrooms and drywall in St Laurent`s Manitoba Housing units.
Now residents like Shirley Ducharme want a permanent solution to the basement flooding in their homes.
"I`ve been here for the past six years and in those six years we`ve been subjected to basement flooding two or three times a year," said Ducharme.
"Each time they send someone to fix it, they say they`ve remedied the problem. Unfortunately, they haven`t."

http://www.interlakespectator.com/News/415148.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Riverton Building Supplies expands

Hunters and sport fishers in the North Interlake won`t have far to travel to pick up their supplies as Riverton Building Supplies gets set to kick off the grand opening of its new outdoor sporting goods department.
Brian Eyolfson, owner of the building supply store, says the new venture will focus on offering top quality fishing and hunting supplies for the outdoor enthusiast.

http://www.interlakespectator.com/News/415155.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Maskwa project unveiled

An open-pit mine expected to begin production in North Eastman in 2011 will employ 150 people for at least seven years, the Leader has learned.

Mustang Minerals held an open house at the Lac du Bonnet Community Centre on Monday, where the detailed plan for the open-pit nickel mine was unveiled.

The Maskwa Nickel Project -- located in Nopiming Provincial Park and the surrounding area-- has been in development since Mustang Minerals purchased the site in 2004. The company`s proposal is to develop a processing mill on Crown land just outside Nopiming Park.

http://www.lacdubonnetleader.com/News/415677.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Too good to be true

It`s the greed that gets them.

Ask RCMP fraud investigator Const. Ben Doiron what the one common denominator among the victims of investment scams is, and he wouldn`t say it`s naivet © or a lack of intelligence. It`s the mighty dollar that blindfolds victims, giving swindlers the chance to exploit them.

"Many people are very savvy, but a lot of people have unfortunately learned their lessons from falling victim," says the member of the commercial crime unit at D Division in Winnipeg. Doiron says he receives several hundred calls a year and he figures that`s just a fraction of what`s going on out there.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4810452c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Winnipeg Square gets an update

The new owners of Winnipeg`s largest underground shopping mall -- The Shops of Winnipeg Square -- are putting their stamp on the property with a $3-million facelift for the mall and the lobby area of the adjoining Commodity Exchange Tower.

Toronto-based Crown Realty Partners acquired the mall and 32-storey office-tower last September from Oxford Properties Group and GE Capital Canada Inc., and it`s wasted no time in investing more money on upgrades.

It got the ball rolling by installing new high-efficiency lighting in the mall and office tower, as well as in two other office buildings it acquired in 2006 at 333 Main St. and 191 Pioneer Ave. That project, the cost of which has not been disclosed, began last fall and was completed this past summer.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4810878c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Condos slated for Portage Ave.

An out-of-province saviour may have been found for one of the leading symbols of downtown decay -- the Avenue Building on Portage Avenue.

A Saskatoon developer -- Kingdom Ventures Corp. -- has reached a tenative deal to buy the long-vacant Portage Avenue office building for approximately $600,000.

Kingdom co-owner David Johnston said the deal should be complete by the middle of September, and that he hopes to begin redeveloping the six-storey building before the end of the year.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4811343c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

New FM stations set for city dial

Winnipeggers will soon be able to turn the dial to two more radio stations.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved two new FM licences on August 21, adding to an already competitive local radio market.

Native Communications Inc. will operate a new station in English and aboriginal languages to compliment the country-music-based NCI FM, which already serves Manitoba. "The station is aimed at Winnipeg`s downtown youth," said NCI`s Paul Trudeau, noting it will serve a niche market created by Winnipeg`s growing aboriginal population.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/Business/2008/0...583001-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Global growth means more jobs at Buhler

Higher grain prices around the world and a newly accessible eastern European dealer network is producing a mini hiring boom at Buhler Industries.

The Winnipeg tractor and agricultural equipment manufacturer has hired about 100 people this year and is looking to fill another 100 positions at its Winnipeg tractor plant as well as its short-line equipment plants in Morden, Saskatoon and Fargo, N.D.

Todd Trueman, Buhler`s director of human resources, said about 60 of the new positions available are for the Winnipeg plant and the remainder are spread throughout the system.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4811864c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Cottagers closing in on deal with band

Winnipeggers who were forced to walk away from their Lake of the Woods cottages in December are on the verge getting their property back.

Last December, they closed their cottages at Devil`s Gap believing they would not be returning. But negotiations over the last several months have resulted in a new financial offer that band members are considering this week.

"In the end, it all comes down to money," said Reg Wightman, president of the association that represents 33 former cottage owners.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4811915c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

RM signs lease agreement

Despite opposition, councillors with the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie have voted to approve the final draft of a 99-year lease agreement with the Portage Industrial Exhibition Association (PIEA).

The fairgrounds land, about 8.5 hectares in total, will be the site of the new Portage Credit Union Centre.

About 15 concerned citizens came out for the vote, including Portage MLA David Faurschou, who made a presentation to council about the different departments of the provincial and federal government that would have to be contacted before a permanent causeway could be built across Crescent lake.

Faurschou said he was asked to look into the matter by his constituents.

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/Article....aspx?e=1175022

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Scam that wasn`t

Oops.

Winnipeg police backtracked yesterday after they issued a warning related to what they initially believed to be a fundraising scam -- it turns out it was legitimate after all.

DONATIONS

The fundraising campaign was actually being run by the Canadian Police Association, which represents police officers across the country. City police aren`t involved in the campaign -- they don`t solicit money over the phone at all -- and it appears no one bothered to give them a heads-up about it.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2...593971-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Bedbugs thriving in province

International travellers are bringing some unwanted guests back to Manitoba, and that`s creating a boom in business for one local exterminator.

Poulin`s Pest Control has seen a 600- to 700-per-cent increase in bedbug calls in the last four or five years, general manager Lincoln Poulin said in an interview.

And Poulin attributed the increase mainly to more Manitobans travelling overseas and unwittingly carrying back the tiny, blood-sucking parasites in their clothing or luggage.

If it`s any consolation, Poulin said it`s not a Winnipeg-only problem.

"It`s a North American thing," he said, adding Poulin`s other seven branches in Western Canada have also seen a big jump in bedbug cases .

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4812377c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Manitoba a leader in earnings, employment

Manitoba was one of the leaders in payroll employment and earnings growth in June, as the provincial economy continued to churn out new jobs, even though job creation was slowing in many other parts of the country.

New Statistics Canada figures released Wednesday show that Manitoba had the biggest month-over-month increase in average weekly earnings in June (1.4 per cent) and the second biggest increase in payroll employees (0.4 per cent) among the provinces.

Both numbers were well above the Canadian average, where earnings and payroll employment both grew by a meagre 0.1 per cent from May to June.

In fact, five provinces saw payroll employment levels drop, and a sixth saw no change.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4812373c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Airport contractor taps foreign workers

Foreign workers are being flown in to do basic construction work on one of Winnipeg`s biggest projects at the expense of local tradesmen, according to NDP MP Pat Martin.

He is filing complaints with the federal ministries of Human Resources and Immigration, demanding the foreign workers be sent home so Manitobans can build the Winnipeg airport and keep the benefits in the province.

"They are from Russia, Latvia, Poland, the Ukraine... We`re not going to take this lying down. It`s a rare thing to have such a nice construction project in the city of Winnipeg and it`s a very good thing for the skilled trades and the local industry," said Martin, who represents the Winnipeg Centre riding.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sto...p-4812828c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Private job growth study puts Manitoba at bottom

Manitoba ranked dead last in Canada in private-sector job growth and is in the middle of the pack in North America when it comes to overall labour market performance, according to a new study by a Canadian think tank.

A Fraser Institute report published Thursday said Alberta has the best-performing labour market in Canada and the United States, reflecting its strong job growth, high productivity and low durations of unemployment.

But it is the only Canadian province in the Top 10. Manitoba ranked 28th overall among provinces and states.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4812912c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Canada Post building attracts buyers

Canada`s Post`s massive downtown property is attracting plenty of interest from outside parties keen on buying and redeveloping it.

"We`ve had a number of really interesting proposals for the land," Kathi Neal, Canada Post`s communications manager for Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario, said in an interview Thursday.

But Neal said the sale of the property is a confidential process and she`s not at liberty to say how many proposals have been received, where they`re coming from -- inside or outside Manitoba -- or what type of uses the prospective buyers are proposing for the one-square-block property at the south side of Graham Avenue between Smith and Gary streets.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4812870c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

It`s official! Fairgrounds will be home of multiplex

With one vote at a special council meeting Thursday morning, Portage la Prairie city councillors put an end to any debate on where the Portage Credit Union Centre should be built.

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of entering into a 99-year lease agreement with the Rural Municipality of Portage and the Portage Industrial Exhibition Association (PIEA) to build the new multiplex on approximately 8.5 hectares of land at the Island Park fairgrounds.

"This is a big step, and it`s the right step," said Mayor Ken Brennan after the meeting. "We really feel good about this lease signing; it`s just another step that we have to take to get this multiplex built .… I`m really pleased for the community."

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/Article....aspx?e=1178283

 

[joeiannuzzi]

New listings reach real estate milestone

Buyers of existing homes caught a break in July as the number of new listings soared to its highest level in nearly a decade in Manitoba, according to new figures released from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The association said that on a seasonally adjusted basis, a total of 1,648 new listings came onto the Multiple Listing Service markets in Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Thompson in July.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4813401c.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Betting on hotel as tourist draw

It may not be Miami Beach, but the South Beach Casino & Resort Hotel is now every bit a destination location by any hospitality industry measure.

Three years after the opening of the South Beach Casino -- and two expansions later -- a $20 million, six-storey, 95 room hotel has been added to complex.

About 150 people attended a ribbon-cutting for the hotel yesterday, including representatives of government, First Nations and the tourism industry, as well as bankers and lawyers. The hotel opens for business on Sunday.

Motorists driving north on Highway 59 can see the colourful structure rising above the tree line as soon as the divided highway ends at the edge of Brokenhead First Nation, where the complex is located about a 35-minute drive north of the Perimeter.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe...p-4813421c.html