Prairie Outpost

Our latest episode of the Prairie Outpost. Here Dylon and Willis discuss ….

Manitoba hits the top: Manitoba went from near the bottom in terms of per capita active cases of SARS-CoV-2, with very few new cases per day, to the top by the end of August. We’re number two again (Alberta has surpassed us in per capita active cases), but this is a stark development.

Travel restrictions to the north: The Province reinstates travel restrictions to north of the 53rd parallel.

Shock Jock Dave Wheeler returns to terrestrial radio: Racially insensitive shock jock Dave Wheeler returns to radio. Wheeler was fired from 92.1 CITI FM for transphobic remarks in 2018 and had earlier been suspended for parody songs/videos denigrating people from the two working class neighbourhoods in Winnipeg. After his firing, Wheeler hosted a podcast where he mocked the Wetʼsuwetʼen land protests, had four episodes on whether blackface is okay, and ran a pizzeria ad making fun of Black Lives Matter. Most of these occurred in 2020!

Back to school: Manitoba children prepare to go back to school. The province, which previously told school boards to not mandate masks, has changed course on the issue. Schools reopened in May in Israel, following a heat wave in which mask mandates were waived for four days there was a massive spike in new cases of SARS-CoV-2.

Masks on buses: Following a petition by Zach Fleisher, Winnipeg transit is mandating masks.

Looming back-rent and evictions crisis: The Manitoba freeze on rent increases and non-urgent evictions ends September 30th. Tenants owe any accumulated back-rent and there is currently no new COVID-19 rent relief programs for residential tenants. The effective unemployment rate, which takes into account reduced hours and participation, is 12%. According to Dr. Jesse Hajer, low income workers are more likely to be laid off and more likely to be renters. This puts them at risk of accumulating back-rents during the COVID crisis. A solution, Hajer noted, could be modifying criteria for the Rent Assist program, which is usually based on last tax year’s earnings. If modified for self-declared earnings this year, when the COVID job disruptions hit, it could provide a needed safety valve.

West Broadway Tenants Committee organizing: The West Broadway Tenants Committee is organizing to help tenants. You can email them at wbtenants@gmail.com or check out there Facebook page.

Sarah Nick back on radio: Sarah Nick, who was let go from her former radio hosting spot to make room for Dave Wheeler, is back on radio. This time she’ll be hosting on KiSS 102.3 FM.

Interested in these topics? Check out the full episode!