Brandon Minute: Transit Consultations, Meals2Go Expansion, and a Tax Increase Passes

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. The agenda includes a proposed amendment to the Oakridge Estates Neighbourhood Plan, a few subdivision applications, and a couple of rezoning proposals.
  
  
• The City of Brandon is conducting a second round of public engagement on the future of Brandon Transit, including open houses and online surveys. In-person open houses begin today at 6:00 pm and continue throughout the week. The full list, with dates and times, is available here. The online survey closes on February 23rd.
  
  
• Harvest Manitoba is expanding its Meals2Go program to Brandon, adding Betty Gibson and King George Schools to the initiative. The program provides food kits to students for weekends, when they don’t have access to school meals, including items like cereal, yogurt, milk, and fresh fruit. Already in operation in schools across Winnipeg and Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Meals2Go now serves 5,000 students in 15 schools across Manitoba.

Last Week In Brandon:

• City Council passed the budget. They “reduced” the proposed 2025 property tax increase from 11.7% to 6.9%, after using surplus funds, making cost adjustments, and receiving a provincial grant. The budget allocates $30.7 million for wastewater infrastructure, $18.9 million for land drainage, and $18.2 million for transit fleet projects. Other key investments include $16.1 million for city facilities, including a new police operations center, $12.8 million for parks and recreation, and $1.2 million for solid waste projects. Additional funding includes $250,000 for street preservation, $200,000 for pothole repairs, $100,000 for a pedestrian corridor, $100,000 for tree enhancement, and $50,000 each for sidewalk preservation and medical doctor recruitment. The finalized budget will be ratified later this year.
  
  
• It was announced that Peavey Mart is closing all of its Canadian stores, including the Brandon location on 18th Street North. The closure is part of a nationwide shutdown of all 90 Peavey Mart and six MainStreet Hardware locations. The Brandon store, which opened in 2016 after transforming from a TSC Store, is among six Peavey Marts in Manitoba closing their doors.
  
  
• Brandon has been allocated up to 180 skilled workers under the Government of Canada’s Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP), aimed at addressing labour shortages and fostering economic growth in rural areas. The program is employer-driven, with designated businesses in sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and trades playing a key role in hiring newcomers. The RCIP will help fill high-skilled positions that are challenging to staff locally.