Canada needs tax reform — relieving small business pain might be the first step

OTTAWA - One of Prime Minister Mark Carney's point people on the government's budget consultations says Ottawa plans to tackle long-awaited tax code reform "one bite at a time" and changes for small businesses are high on the priority list.

The Canadian Press spoke to a number of tax experts and advocates in recent weeks who all agreed that major reform to simplify and improve Canada's tax system is long overdue.

They get little argument from Wayne Long, MP for Saint John—Kennebecasis and secretary of state for the Canada Revenue Agency and financial institutions.

"When you say the word tax code to people, everybody rolls their eyes. Everybody's like, 'Oh, the tax code used to be one book thick, now it's two books thick. We just keep piling on,'" Long told The Canadian Press on Friday.

Fastest-growing Ebola outbreak through the eyes of Canadian aid workers

TORONTO - Little pink coffins are sold on the roadside in Bunia, a northeastern city in the Congo, prepared for children who will die of Ebola.

Meghan Thumath, a registered nurse and public health delegate with the Canadian Red Cross, said coffin sellers are as common as fruit stands.

“You can't help to be affected as a health-care provider,” Thumath said, her eyes welling up with tears.

More than 2,100 people have died out of over 4,500 infected since the outbreak was declared in the spring, according to the latest government figures.

Care homes told to make space for hospital patients

WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has directed three long-term care centres to make space for hospital patients, citing “exceptionally high demand for care across the health-care system.”

“Riverview Health Centre, Deer Lodge Centre and Misericordia Health Centre have been asked to identify additional temporary capacity for patients who no longer require an acute-care hospital bed but continue to need an appropriate level of care before they can transition to their next care setting,” a WRHA spokesperson said Thursday.

“This whole-of-system response will help create additional capacity in acute-care hospitals, supporting patient flow and timely access to emergency departments and other hospital services.”

The spokesperson described the measures as part of “standard surge protocol,” atypical and temporary, but did not provide a timeline of how long patients would be staying at the health-care centres.

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon kill 11 people in another test to truce

BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people Saturday, in the deadliest attacks since a truce between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on June 20.

Lebanon's Health Ministry and state news agency said an airstrike that targeted a home on the edge of Ansar village killed seven people, including three children, and wounded two. The second, on the village of Deir al-Zahrani, killed four and wounded 17.

Israel and the Lebanese government announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, laying out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. It envisions steps toward an eventual peace agreement between the countries, which remain technically at war nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment.

Hezbollah has refused direct talks and wasn’t party to the deal.

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.