Brandon Minute: Issue 67

Brandon Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Brandon politics

📅 This Week In Brandon: 📅

• There will be a meeting of City Council this evening at 7:00 pm. Presentations will include an update on the downtown outdoor art installation project and an update from Brandon Tourism. Committee reports from the Manitoba Heritage Advisory Committee, the Keystone Centre Board, and the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples' Council will be shared. Council will consider a citizen appointment to the Age Friendly Committee. Two key by-laws will go through their second and third readings: one to borrow funds for upgrades to the City’s water treatment facility, and another for purchasing and retrofitting a police operations centre.
  
  
• The City of Brandon has launched a refreshed version of its official website, designed to improve how residents, businesses, and visitors access local information and services. The updated site features clearer navigation, a better Google-powered search tool, and new options like a dynamic events calendar and alert banners for important updates. Unfortunately, Committee meeting agendas and minutes are still not accessible, and Council meeting agendas rarely include links to the documents that will be discussed. Transparency needs to be improved!
  
  
• City of Brandon staff and community members gathered outside City Hall on Friday to unearth a time capsule buried nearly 25 years ago by the United Commercial Travelers (UCT) as part of the City’s millennium celebrations. The capsule, hidden in a flower bed in 2000, was packed with memorabilia including a City bus route map, collector pins, a James Ehnes CD, and a VHS tape from defunct station CKX. Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett led the unveiling, joined by past and present UCT members, former Mayor Reg Atkinson, and former Councillor Beth Smale. UCT members who helped organize the original project, now in their 90s, said they were delighted to be present for the capsule’s opening. The items will be displayed at UCT’s corn roast and may be donated to the Brandon General Museum. The event fulfilled a challenge issued by Council in 1999 for millennium projects, leaving some wondering whether a new capsule should be planned for the next generation.
  
  
• Twelve employers in Brandon are now part of the federal Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP), which helps skilled immigrants apply for permanent residency if they secure a job locally. Companies like Prairie Mountain Health, Maple Leaf Foods, and Koch Fertilizer have signed on, aiming to fill labour gaps in the region. The Brandon Chamber of Commerce says the program should make the city more attractive to newcomers while helping employers find the workers they need. Recent immigrants must meet certain requirements, including language proficiency and work experience, to qualify. The RCIP replaces the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, and local leaders hope this new pilot will help ease worker shortages and encourage more newcomers to settle long term in Brandon, boosting economic growth. Brandon is one of 14 Canadian communities taking part in the pilot program.
  
  
• As wildfires continue to threaten northern Manitoba, the town of Lynn Lake has issued a mandatory evacuation order due to the risk of a prolonged power outage. In response, a reception centre has been established in Brandon to support evacuees, as the city prepares to welcome residents fleeing the area over 1,100 kilometres to the north. The concern is that wildfire activity could damage Manitoba Hydro lines, leaving Lynn Lake without power for up to a month. Manitoba is currently battling 60 active wildfires, 17 of which are out of control, marking one of the province’s worst wildfire seasons in recent memory.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

Take a moment to explore the City’s new website. 

Do you think it’s clear and transparent? Can you easily find the information you need? 

Have a look and let us know what you think.

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

This week's sponsor is you! We don't have big corporate backers, so if you like what you're reading, please consider making a donation or signing up as a monthly member.

Having said that, if you are a local business and are interested in being a sponsor, send us an email and we'll talk!