Muslima and her son Ducale, 2, both residents of Luuq, Somalia. Ducale has been recovering from acute malnourishment since February.

Grim hunger conditions remain in Somalia

Cuts to the federal aid budget are a step in the wrong direction amid immense need, aid organizations such as the Canadian Foodgrains Bank say

Hunger among people in Somalia is rampant after years of drought and conflict, and the care offered by relief groups is life-saving, according to a Canadian Foodgrains Bank staff member who is fresh off a trip to the region. “It’s absolutely critical that we can provide this kind of support in this setting,” said Stefan Epp-Koop,

UN

Fraser: Expectations should be low for Food Systems Summit

global The emerging international consensus is unlikely to please the Canadian ag sector

The emerging international consensus is unlikely to please the Canadian ag sector Canadian producers should prepare for disappointment at the upcoming United Nations’ Food Systems Summit. Planned to take place in New York this September, the summit will look to launch new strategies to deliver on the UN’s 17 development goals. In Canada, dialogues have


Orvel Currie, lawyer representing the RM of Rosser, speaks on the final day of the appeal hearing in Winnipeg Aug. 18.

Municipal Board considering benchmark ruling

Lawyers weigh in on precedent
 to be set in quarry appeal


The lawyers on either side of the contentious Lilyfield quarry case don’t agree on much, but they agree on one thing: the Municipal Board should be judging for itself whether the quarry in the RM of Rosser should go ahead. During an appeal hearing Aug. 18, lawyers for both the municipality and the landowner suggested






Energy strategy could help rural Manitoba

Energy strategy could help rural Manitoba

Rather than being a solution to provide lower costs and prices, the Hydro monopoly has become a barrier to innovation

Manitoba’s energy strategy is inconsistent with current and future sustainable and renewable energy priorities. Overreliance on hydro-electric power from the Nelson River is no longer competitive, and is steadily increasing huge debts to be borne by future taxpayers/hydro customers. In particular, provincial policy and existing legislation does not encourage local rural solutions. A fresh review

Flooding at Portage diversion in Manitoba.

Rural infrastructure to get cash infusion

The numbers look impressive, but the breakdown between provincial and municipal spending 
needs to be examined when funding is announced

Municipal officials are welcoming the provincial government’s commitment to invest in infrastructure over the next five years. “On the municipal side we were pleased with the announcements that came. It’s nowhere near enough to cover the $11-billion deficit that we have in infrastructure, but this is a pretty good start,” said Doug Dobrowolski, president of


Still waiting: Repairs to the bridge between Coulter and Waskada should be completed by the summer of 2014. Residents have had to detour around it since the spring of 2011.

Prepare now for future climate havoc, IISD report urges

Coulter-Waskada bridge to be repaired by early spring, says province

Southwestern Manitoba residents know first hand about the lingering inconveniences and costly after-effects associated with weather-related disasters. More than two years after spring flooding wiped out the Souris River bridge between Coulter and Waskada, they’re still waiting on repairs to a key transportation link in their area. In the meantime, area residents as well as

Despite economic recovery, use of food banks at near-record levels

More than 700,000 Canadians turn to food banks every month, and many of them are employed or from two-parent households

Food bank use is at near-record levels and will only come down if there’s an increase in affordable housing, says Food Banks Canada. More than 700,000 Canadians turn to food banks every month because they have “to choose between paying rent or buying food,” said Katherine Schmidt, the organization’s executive director. “At the root of