Hospital access a struggle for dialysis patient

For the past five years, Caroline Fisher has consistently used the Access Transit buses three times a week to get to and from the dialysis unit at the Brandon Regional Health Centre to receive life-sustaining treatment.

Up until three months ago, she — along with other dialysis patients who struggle with mobility — were dropped off at the hospital door. Now, Fisher estimates she walks about 91 metres (300 feet) from the drop-off point to the door, aided by the use of a walker.

“Who made this decision?” she said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s hard enough with a walker, I cannot imagine pushing a person in a wheelchair.”

The parking stalls are sloped down from the entrance, Fisher said, expressing concerns how snow, ice and wind will impact the trek in the winter.

Cattle ranchers among finalists for national award

WINNIPEG — A family in western Manitoba is one of seven finalists for a national environmental award honouring beef cattle producers.

Connor and Kyla English, alongside Connor’s parents, Brian and Leanne English, are nominated for the Canadian Cattle Association’s Environmental Stewardship Award. The 30-year-old award is presented to beef farmers and ranchers who explore innovative ways to protect, preserve and enhance their operations and the environment simultaneously.

This year’s recipient will be announced on Wednesday during a banquet at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Winnipeg.

The English family’s roots near Bradwardine date back to 1898. Today, Connor, Kyla, Brian and Leanne manage a herd of about 320 breeding cows on nearly 445 hectares (1,100 acres) of owned and rented pasture and forage land.

Tomatoes arrive to feed growing demand

A truckload of about 2,000 boxes of Ontario-grown Roma tomatoes arrived in Brandon on Friday, offering residents access to fresh produce at prices below those at some retail stores.

The delivery was brought to the city by Sanni Wasiu, owner of Manaar Logistics, as part of his growing produce distribution business serving several Canadian provinces — and catering to Brandon’s Nigerian community in particular.

Wasiu said a 25-pound box of tomatoes sells for $16, compared with what he described as retail prices of $25 to $30.

“That’s the difference, and that’s the reason. Considering that this is the season as well … people seize the opportunity to buy and stock for a whole year,” he told the Sun.

The show goes on

» Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun

Prof calls for greater council transparency

A political science expert says the City of Brandon should be more transparent in relation to closed-door meetings.

The city has held 78 committee of the whole meetings — most of which were closed to the public — since the new council took office in October 2022, according to data obtained by the Sun.

Those meetings aren’t listed publicly, and minutes of the meetings — where notes are taken by staff — aren’t publicly accessible on the city’s website.

University of Winnipeg Prof. Aaron Moore, whose expertise includes municipal politics, said while he believes the city is complying with legislation, people expect more transparency.

Province warns of overland flooding

The province on Friday issued an overland flood watch as parts of southwestern Manitoba were expected to receive as much as 120 millimetres of rain.

The Virden and Melita areas, as well as the Souris River basin in Saskatchewan, could receive 50 to 80 mm of rain on Friday and into Saturday, the province said in a news release.

Localized amounts could reach 100 to 120 mm where more severe thunderstorms develop.

“Heavy rainfall over a short period may result in overland flooding, particularly in low-lying areas and locations with limited drainage capacity,” the province said.

Trump asks Supreme Court to let White House ballroom construction continue during appeal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the White House to continue construction on its $400 million ballroom project while it appeals a lower court’s order to halt the work.

Trump’s solicitor general petitioned the high court to suspend last week’s decision by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The divided panel ruled last week Trump must stop the White House ballroom’s construction because Congress has not approved the project. The panel’s majority said Trump doesn’t have the unilateral authority to build a 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom where the White House’s East Wing stood before he ordered its demolition last fall.

The lower court suspended its own ruling for two weeks to give Trump's Republican administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court. The solicitor general asked the Supreme Court to rule on its stay petition before the appeals court panel’s decision takes effect on Aug. 21.

Diplomacy, peacekeeping cuts weaken Carney’s middle-power vision: South African envoy

OTTAWA - South Africa's envoy to Ottawa says Canada's decision to remove most of its peacekeepers from the continent doesn't align with the Carney government's pledge to get middle powers working together.

"I am saddened by the fact that the budget cuts (are) appearing to be a kind of withdrawal of Canada's commitment towards peace in Africa," High Commissioner Rieaz Shaik told The Canadian Press.

"You don't withdraw from the global commons and then say you want to build a middle-power alliance."

Shaik's comments come as Canada plans to recall peacekeepers from Congo and from South Sudan, where Ottawa has suspended its embassy. The foreign service is also reversing staffing changes that were meant to foster closer ties with South Africa.

Anxious Canadian firms bet Trump will buckle before 50% tariff deadline

MONTREAL - Companies are opting to wait and see as the clock ticks down on U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline, rather than rushing shipments across the border to beat the buzzer, industry insiders say.

A new round of 50 per cent tariffs on nearly US$20 billion worth of Canadian goods ranging from dairy to down jackets is set to take effect Aug. 19. Unlike most of Trump’s other tariffs, the duties would not exempt goods that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, a trade deal widely known as CUSMA.

In spite of the looming threat, business owners have avoided front-loading their shipments, said Janine Harker, president of the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers.

"For better or for worse, everybody has settled into a process of watchful waiting — and planning to the extent possible, but very much not trying to get too ahead of what actually comes out as the official direction on Aug. 19," she said.