Measles cases are rising in Manitoba. Public health officials are promoting vaccines as the best way to protect vulnerable people from this illness.

Right on cue, the CBC published an article asking whether the provincial government should make measles vaccines mandatory for students to attend school. However, going down this road would be a huge mistake.

We saw during the COVID-19 pandemic what happens when governments go too far with vaccine mandates. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s inflammatory remarks about unvaccinated people and his government’s unnecessary requirement for truckers to get the COVID-19 vaccine were prime examples.

One of the fastest ways to destroy confidence in public health policy is to run roughshod over the rights of those who have a different opinion. We should not be the least bit surprised that vaccine skepticism is higher now than ever before. Instead of increasing confidence in vaccines, overbearing government mandates destroyed it.

Manitoba’s French language school division will continue having vocational programming taught through The Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology throughtout next school year, after the college said it will close its doors.

Administration for Winnipeg-based MITT announced on Jan. 28 it will wind down operations and transfer selected programs to RRC Polytech. The college saw its international student enrolment drop by more than 55 percent, causing unsustainable “financial and operational shocks,” a press release said.

Luc Bremault, assistant superintendent for Division scolaire franco-manitobaine, said the announcement came as a “complete surprise.” DSFM is the only school division in the province without its own vocational programs and has relied on MITT to provide carpentry, electrical and metal workshops for students.

“These exploratory course that lead to more certifiable technical educational courses are indispensable,” he told The Carillon. “They’re very important to us, and we don’t have anything otherwise.”

I recently completed reading 22 Cells in Nuremburg by Douglas Kelley.

Kelley’s observations on the Nazi rise in 1930s Germany remind me of similar patterns with some of today’s political leaders.

Kelley points out the Nazi Party gained power democratically in a time of “moral disengagement” highlighted by the erosion of democratic restraint. Once in power, the party quickly became an authoritarian regime; told “big lies,” suppressed the free press and freedom of speech and basic human rights. The party leadership employed the unchecked process of “executive orders.” With a personality trait of grandiosity Hitler acted without restraint and demanded unconditional loyalty.

Early in his reign he consolidated power and “followership” by promises to make Germany great again. Sound familiar? He used emotional appeal and scapegoating; anti-Semitism, anti-immigrants, homophobia; in other words, rabble-rousing. His position was, everything is broken and only I can fix it.

A Steinbach area man has pleaded guilty to harrasment, wherein during a two-week period he made 364 phone calls to his ex-girlfriend.

Juden Giesbrecht, 19, started dating the victim on Dec. 18, 2024. The two are participants in El’ Dad, where they met. El’ Dad is an organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities with either housing, supports, and/or programing.

On March 4, 2025, the victim called police to report that Giesbrecht had threatened to kill her and harm her friends. She told police she began dating Giesbrecht in December and that she had given him her phone number and since then he had been calling her non-stop. She told him to stop calling so much and that a month prior “things had gotten really bad,” according to Crown attorney Jennifer Neufeld, and that “he began to be manipulative over the phone if she didn’t answer his calls, that he would threaten to harm himself if she wouldn’t speak to him or wouldn’t answer the phone.”

She also told police that on two occasions Giesbrecht had threatened to kill her which led to her breaking up with him and she eventually begin dating someone else. When Giesbrecht found out that she was dating someone else, he threatened to get his friends to attack the new boyfriend and “cut him up into little pieces,” according to Neufeld.

RCMP say the number of reported scams and frauds in Manitoba continues to rise.

In a news release highlighting the issue as part of Fraud Prevention Month, police warn that vigilance is key.

“Fraud is increasingly a problem in Manitoba, across Canada and around the world,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Cavanagh, of the Manitoba RCMP Major Crime Services Cyber and Financial Unit. “We encourage Manitobans of all ages to remain vigilant and do your research before making payments or sharing banking and other personal information, particularly when individuals you don’t know are reaching out in person or online for any reason.”

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reports that Manitobans were defrauded out of $31 million in 2024, noting that’s just from scams that were reported. It’s estimated that only five to 10 percent of victims actually come forward to law enforcement.

At the Steinbach Arts Council, our work is about more than access.

It is about the environment we create — spaces that are safe and welcoming, led by skilled instructors and mentors, with room to try, to learn, and to grow. We believe that environment matters. When people feel supported, they take creative risks. They build confidence. They begin to recognize their own potential.

Each year, SAC supports thousands of people across southeast Manitoba at every stage of their artistic development. Children build critical thinking skills and confidence through music, theatre, and visual arts. Teens strengthen discipline, collaboration, and leadership. Adults continue learning and creating. Seniors find meaningful connection and opportunities to remain engaged. Our focus is not on one moment or one performance. It is on growth that happens over time.

Fundamentally, this work builds something we all believe in - community.

As Steinbach city council approved tenders for infrastructure projects on Tuesday, councillors noted that prices were much lower than anticipated.

Council approved a $1.38 million tender to Maple Leaf Construction for their 2026 capital works program projects including asphalt overlay on four streets and new sidewalks. Their consultant’s estimate was $1.98 million.

Moments later they approved a contract for the Millwork Drive wastewater sewer renewal project and a tender to Friesen Hauling & Excavating for close to $1.46 million, well below the consultant’s estimate of $2.13 million.

Combined it represents savings of nearly $1.3 million.