Brandon Sun – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Semi-trailers make their way east on the Trans-Canada Highway amid strong wind and blowing snow on a cold Friday afternoon. The Trans-Canada Highway was closed from Headingley west to Sidney on Friday afternoon due to the blowing snow and low visibility. The closures came after a number of collisions, including two multi-vehicle collisions west of Portage, near Oakville, that occurred at about 11:20 a.m. RCMP said at least five vehicles were involved in one of those collisions, including an RCMP vehicle. While some people were taken to hospital, no serious injuries are believed to have occurred, police said. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

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Council OKs digital payment for street parking

By Alex Lambert 6 minute read Preview

Council OKs digital payment for street parking

By Alex Lambert 6 minute read Yesterday at 10:41 PM CST

The City of Brandon is going to start allowing people to pay digitally for street parking.

Council approved the decision at a special budget meeting Thursday evening.

“It’s not just a way to collect payment — it’s a way to serve our customers better,” Ryan Nickel, the city’s director of planning and buildings, told council at the meeting.

“I think we all understand this. We don’t walk around with coins,” he said.

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Yesterday at 10:41 PM CST

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett speaks at Thursday’s special council meeting. Fawcett said going to digital payment for parking “will be exciting.”

Man arrested for Dauphin break-in

1 minute read Preview

Man arrested for Dauphin break-in

1 minute read Yesterday at 10:40 PM CST

A man who allegedly broke into a couple’s home in Dauphin was arrested on Thursday morning.

Dauphin RCMP responded to a report of a break and enter in progress at a home on Fifth Avenue NW at around 5:15 a.m.

A couple inside the home woke up and noticed that some of their items had been moved and heard sounds coming from their basement, prompting them to call the police before leaving the home, RCMP said in a news release.

Mounties saw a man leaving the home and told him he was under arrest, the release said.

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Yesterday at 10:40 PM CST

An RCMP collar tab pin is seen in Edmonton on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Escaped prisoner has ties to Brandon

1 minute read Preview

Escaped prisoner has ties to Brandon

1 minute read Yesterday at 10:38 PM CST

RCMP are searching for a man with ties in Regina and Brandon after he escaped from a prison on Tuesday.

The prisoner, Robert Racine, 57, is serving a sentence at the White Spruce Training Centre and was last seen on Ball Road in Yorkton, Sask., at around 11:35 a.m. on Wednesday, RCMP said in a news release on Friday.

Yorkton RCMP are asking the public to report all sightings and information on his whereabouts.

Racine is described as roughly six feet tall and 200 pounds with blue eyes.

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Yesterday at 10:38 PM CST

Robert Racine, 57, escaped from a prison in Yorkton, Sask., on Wednesday afternoon. (Supplied)

Province puts money behind crisis unit

By Skye Anderson 4 minute read Preview

Province puts money behind crisis unit

By Skye Anderson 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:39 PM CST

Brandon Police Service’s newly formed crisis response unit got a major boost from the province Friday with the announcement of $290,000 in ongoing annual funding.

The funds will go to Prairie Mountain Health to support the response team, which includes two full-time police officers and three full-time mental health clinicians from PMH, along with peer support workers.

The crisis response unit (CRU) brings police officers and mental health clinicians together in a “meaningful way,” Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said at a Brandon press conference announcing the funding.

“This is about the right response at the right time delivered by the right people,” she said. “What that means … is safer, more appropriate responses to mental health crises. It means on-the-spot mental health supports, followup care and connections to services in the community.”

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Yesterday at 10:39 PM CST

Housing, Addictions and homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith addresses a small crowd on Friday morning during a press conference at Brandon City Hall. (Photos by Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Belated announcement hails Dauphin courthouse reopening

By Tessa Adamski 3 minute read Preview

Belated announcement hails Dauphin courthouse reopening

By Tessa Adamski 3 minute read Yesterday at 10:39 PM CST

The provincial government announced the grand reopening of the Dauphin courthouse on Thursday — although court proceedings have taken place in the new facility since July.

The courthouse at 114 River Ave. West fully reopened on July 7 last year, according to the Manitoba Courts website.

The former Progressive Conservative government closed the Dauphin Correctional Centre in May 2020 to complete renovations to expand the courthouse, which shared a building with the jail. The Tories previously said the facility, built in 1917, was no longer up to code.

The modern upgrades have made it a safer and more welcoming place, NDP Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said at an unrelated news conference in Brandon on Friday.

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Yesterday at 10:39 PM CST

Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe gestures during a press conference at Brandon City Hall on Friday morning. Wiebe said the modern upgrades at the Dauphin courthouse have made it a safer and more welcoming place. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun)

Produced on the Prairies Market ‘a one-stop shop’

By Wendy King 4 minute read Preview

Produced on the Prairies Market ‘a one-stop shop’

By Wendy King 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:37 PM CST

Manitoba Ag Days is gearing up to go Tuesday at the Keystone Centre in Brandon for its 49th year — and back again, and bigger than ever with 30 vendors, is the Produced on the Prairies Market.

Attendees will find the market in the FCC Pavilion at the top of the ramp in the Pioneer Lounge.

“The Produced on the Prairies Market allows us to focus on all of the amazing food and beverage products that are out there and bring them in front of the ag community,” says Kristen Phillips, Manitoba Ag Days general manager.

The “Produced on the Prairies” theme is a way to gather all facets of the agricultural industry together.

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Yesterday at 10:37 PM CST

Shelby Howard Pottery Company returns to the Produced on the Prairies Market with hand-built pottery as well as delightful home-baked goods. (Supplied by Shelby Howard)

Province introducing AI ‘guardrails’ for classrooms

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Preview

Province introducing AI ‘guardrails’ for classrooms

By Abiola Odutola 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:38 PM CST

The Manitoba government is developing a provincewide framework, “Guiding Principles on AI in Education,” to support high-quality teaching.

The framework was announced and discussed at Manitoba’s first Artificial Intelligence in Education Summit in Winnipeg on Friday morning. The summit was attended by more than 500 kindergarten to Grade 12 and post-secondary educators, school leaders, policymakers and industry partners from across the province.

The document will offer clear, teaching-focused guidance on how AI can enhance instruction, support student assessment throughout the learning process, and expand opportunities for student engagement and inclusion, the province said.

Safety, ethics and student well-being are foundational to the framework, particularly as AI tools become more accessible to students, Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt told the Sun in an interview after the morning session.

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Yesterday at 10:38 PM CST

Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt said responsible use of AI was a “big theme” of Friday’s event. (Mikaela MacKenzie/Winnipeg Free Press files)

Tariff deal brings relief on eve of Ag Days

By Alex Lambert 6 minute read Preview

Tariff deal brings relief on eve of Ag Days

By Alex Lambert 6 minute read Yesterday at 10:37 PM CST

As farmers from around the country get ready for the kickoff to Manitoba Ag Days 2026, there’s some focus on international challenges facing the industry — and a recent breakthrough on tariffs.

The three-day event hosts 580 exhibitors who will showcase everything from best practices in their field to inventions.

The 49th edition of Ag days runs from Tuesday to Thursday at the Keystone Centre in Brandon and its theme this year is “Produced on the Prairies.”

Agriculture experts, dignitaries and a geopolitical analyst are included on the long list of more than 80 speakers scheduled to attend.

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Yesterday at 10:37 PM CST

Grain bins stand out against a field of canola in bloom near Oak River. On Friday, China’s tariff on Canadian canola seed was dropped to 15 per cent from 84 per cent, while the tariff on canola meal was dropped completely. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files)

Ford, Unifor sound alarm over China EV deal

Ian Bickis and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Ford, Unifor sound alarm over China EV deal

Ian Bickis and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 1:38 PM CST

TORONTO - Ontario politicians and Canada's largest private sector union are slamming Canada's new trade agreement with China, saying it puts domestic auto jobs at risk with no guarantee of investments.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Friday that Canada has agreed to slash its 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs for up to 49,000 vehicles per year.

In exchange, China will drop or significantly reduce its retaliatory tariffs on Canadian agriculture products, including canola seed and meal, pork, seafood and peas.

Carney has framed the deal as a new strategic partnership with China that presents enormous opportunities for Canada.

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Updated: Yesterday at 1:38 PM CST

Ontario Premier Doug Ford makes an announcement and answers questions at a press conference in Mississauga, Ont., Tuesday, February 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Judge upholds cat custody ruling, saying parenthood and pet ownership aren’t same

Rob Drinkwater, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Judge upholds cat custody ruling, saying parenthood and pet ownership aren’t same

Rob Drinkwater, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:17 AM CST

An Alberta judge has divided up a group of cats between two feuding former spouses, saying neither gets to keep all of them because — in Alberta at least — pets aren’t the same as kids and legally shouldn’t be treated as such.

"Parenthood and pet ownership should not be conflated," Justice Douglas Mah said in a written judgment last month in a case registered in Fort McMurray.

"The legal test applicable to determining parenting after separation should be different than that for deciding the placement of pets after separation."

The ruling followed a protracted legal fight between Kishan Singh and Reba Smith.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:17 AM CST