1108MTBA Mining brought to its knees through no fault of its own
THE Manitoba mining industry has been under a spotlight recently, starting with the otherwise celebratory nature of the annual provincial mining conference last week.
Then on Friday, one of the province`s two largest miners -- HudBay Minerals -- announced its intentions to merge with Lundin Mining to form the second-largest Canadian base metal miner. Later that day it became clear that not only was that deal not worth celebrating -- HudBay`s shares fell 40 per cent -- the whole industry is on its knees, with mines and development projects being put on hold all over the world.
1108MTBA Conservatives make cuts, but not to Manitoba`s cash
OTTAWA -- Manitoba will not feel the pinch of a federal cash crunch even though Ottawa is trimming everything from expense accounts to public financing of political parties to keep its budget in the black.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released his economic update in the House of Commons Thursday, producing a bleak picture of the country`s finances that will see the country pushed into a recession by the end of March 2009. It suggests the government will see revenues drop by $3.2 billion this year, $8.9 billion next year and $7.9 billion the year after that.
WESTJET will be flying south to Mexico from Winnipeg more often this winter. The Calgary-based airline has added weekly non-stop flights out of Winnipeg to Mazatlan, Mexico, starting Jan. 6 and to Puerta Vallarta two days later. The service to both destinations will run until late March or early April, according to Robert Palmer, WestJet`s manager of public relations.
When Premier Gary Doer said "everything is on the table" yesterday when asked if he`s going to cut the dreaded vote tax, I hope he meant a butcher table. Doer has backtracked on the controversial law his government passed recently, which would force taxpayers to shell out $1.25 per year to political parties for each vote they cast in elections.
The Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) had their thoughts focused on infrastructure, drainage and the environment during their 10th annual convention in Winnipeg from Nov. 24 to 27.
From the total 75 resolutions put forward, 63 were carried.
Some of the issues that received approval include a resolution to lobby the province for a one per cent tax share allocated from the provincial sales tax to generate funds for the member municipalities` infrastructure work, a vote which was carried with more than 80 per cent in favour.
Winnipeg is one of four Canadian cities that have been shortlisted by the federal government to host an $88-million HIV vaccine manufacturing facility funded in part by software billionaire Bill Gates. The International Centre for Infectious Diseases, a Winnipeg-based non-profit group that is working to expand the city`s profile in medical microbiology and related disciplines, is expected to announce Monday, which is World AIDS Day, that a consortium it leads is one of four being considered by Ottawa as the location for an AIDS vaccine manufacturing facility.
1108MTBA Hard-hit producers selling off beef herds
DIRE warnings of a large cattle sell-off are turning to reality this fall, with one industry official estimating the Manitoba beef herd could shrink by 20 per cent in 2008. Drought in southwestern Manitoba and excess rainfall in the Interlake and Westlake regions this summer brought more misery to an industry that hasn`t caught a break since the BSE crisis in 2003.
