In brief
JENELLE PETRINCHUK STAFF
U of M alumnus killed in Nepal
On Saturday, Sept. 23, a helicopter crash in Eastern Nepal killed 24 people, seven of whom were members of the World Wildlife Fund organization (WWF).
One of the victims of the crash, Mingma Norbu Sherpa, was a University of Manitoba graduate.
Born in Nepal in 1955, he graduated from the Hillary Khumjung School, a school for Sherpa children. He attended the University of Canterbury in New Zealand in 1980 and went on to earn his master’s degree in natural resources management from the U of M. He graduated in 1985.
At the time of the crash, Norbu Sherpa was the WWF’s managing director for the Eastern Himalayas. He was married with two children.
Canadian’s payroll increases
According to Statistics Canada the average weekly earnings of payroll employees for the fi rst seven months of 2006 is up 3.5 per cent from the fi rst seven months of last year.
In the same time span, educational services and health and social assistance earnings have both increased by 4.8 per cent while retail trade earnings have increased by 3.5 per cent and manufacturing by 2.9 per cent.
Since the beginning of 2006, 148,800 new payroll jobs have come into play.
Destination Winnipeg knows how to attract tourists
The 2006 Marketing Canada Awards were held on Sept. 25 in Th under Bay, Ont.. Destination Winnipeg won an award under the category of Business Development Publications: Tourism.
Destination Winnipeg is the city’s economic development and tourism services agency. Winnipeg’s 2006 Visitor’s Guide is the publication that won the agency the national award. Th e guide includes no advertisements and provides information on every aspect of Winnipeg culture from sports to museums. City maps are included with the guide.
Stuart Duncan, president of Destination Winnipeg, stated in a company press release that “Th is is a team award and we have outstanding people that market our city in everything they do.” Duncan accepted the award on behalf of the agency.
Another Star Attraction in Winnipeg
Th e Maison Gabrielle-Roy House was granted the status of a “Manitoba Star Attraction” on Sept. 27, a designation given by Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism.
The house is now a historical museum that covers literarure of importance from throughout the world. Thanks in part to government funding, the house underwent restoration beginning in 2001 and ending in 2003. It opened offi cially as a museum on June 23, 2003.
Gabrielle Roy, an accomplished Canadian author, spent almost 28 years of her life in the house located on 375 Deschambault St. in St. Boniface.
Other Star Attractions in Winnipeg include the Manitoba Legislative Building (a Provincial Heritage site), the Manitoba Museum and the Royal Canadian Mint.
Coalition pickets to put military housing back in use
Oct. 2 was World Habitat Day, according to the United Nations. It was on this day that the River Heights Ministerial Housing Action Group and the Right to Housing Coalition picketed along Kenaston Blvd. in Winnipeg.
Th e picketers were addressing the Department of National Defence that currently owns more than 100 homes on the Kapyong military base that have remained empty for two years.
The Action Group and the Housing Coalition argue that because of the shortage of low-cost housing in Winnipeg, the homes on the base should be released for temporary use until long-term plans are made.
According to a new release fromthe Coalition and the Action Group only members of the Canadian Forces, reservists and federal employees may rent the homes.
Canada’s population continues to increase
As of July 1, 2006, Canada’s population has reached an estimated 32,623,500, according to Statistics Canada.
The study explains that “Net international migration continues to be the main engine of population growth in Canada.” Of the 324,000 increase in population, 254,400 of those people were immigrants. Th is is up by 9,800 from July 1, 2005.
Alberta had the most growth in population. Th e Statistics Canada survey explains, “this was due to its booming economy and its highest level of migration from other parts of Canada.”
Th e survey also states that Canada’s growth rate has recently been slightly higher than the United States, as Canada’s population increased at a rate of 10 people for every 1,000 in the population. In 2004-05 the U.S. population was increasing at 9.3 people per 1,000.
Political parties speak their minds on accessible information
On Sept. 28, a panel on freedom of information was held at the Winnipeg Press Club.
Moderated by CTV’s Janet Stewart, the topic of the night was the availability of government information to the public, as well as the time it should take to be readily avaliable.
The three panelists were Gord Mackintosh, justice minister for the New Democratic Party, Hugh McFadyen, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and Jon Gerrard, leader of the Liberal Party.
Although topics ranged from aboriginal rights to mental health patients throughout the evening, all three panelists had basically the same opinion: information should be more readily available to the public, especially in times of emergency.
