Manitoba will soon require employers to stock free menstrual products for their workers.

The provincial government, in a March 9 news release, said that workplace washrooms and other accessible locations must have menstrual products, such as pads and tampons, for employees by early August.

The supplies will be offered at no cost to workers. Manitoba’s NDP government is the first province to require employers to provide the products, which will boost workplace health, reduce stigma and improve gender equity, the release said.

“These changes are about dignity and fairness at work,” Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino said in the statement.

Border Land School Division will be cutting the number of wards in its jurisdiction ahead of the fall election season to address the growing population in the region.

The division will go from seven to four wards, merging former areas, according to a March 11 press release. No changes will be made to school catchment areas, bus routes or the number of school board trustees.

Ward 1 will include Sprague, Piney, Sundown and Buffalo Point First Nation. Ward 2 covers Vita, Stuartburn and Sundown. Ward 3 represents Emerson, Ridgeville, Tolstoi, Dominion City, Arnaud, Rosa, Woodmore and Roseau River Anishinaabe First Nation. Ward 4 has Rosenfeld, Horndean, Letellier, St. Joseph, Gretna, Rosetown, Halbstadt, Sommerfeld, Altona, Gnadenfeld and Neubergthal.

Five trustees will now represent Ward 4, two trustees have seats in Ward 3 and Ward 1 and 2 have one trustee each.

The Rural Municipality of La Broquerie’s $10.7 million 2026 budget passed its first reading last week.

Annual property taxes will be increasing by $32 for rural ratepayers with an average home value of $326,000. Residents in L.U.D.s will pay $44 more with the average home value of $289,000.

Rural commercial properties valued at $602,000 will pay $45 more in taxes, while L.U.D properties with an average value at $647,000 will see a $60 jump.

The mill rate slightly rose for both rural and L.U.D. ratepayers, but well under the provincial 2025 inflation rate of 2.7 percent. The rural mill rate will rise to 14.22 in 2026 from 14.107 in 2025, a 0.8 percent increase. L.U.D. mill rates grew by 1.2 percent, increasing from 14.310 in 2025 to 14.478 in 2026.

If there’s one thing this NDP government is determined to do, it’s open a supervised consumption site.

It’s become a matter of doctrine that providing a “safe” place to consume illegal drugs is the best way to save lives. The problem with this rigid doctrine is it causes politicians to defend the indefensible.

Consider, for example, the NDP’s proposed supervised consumption site at 366 Henry Ave in Winnipeg. Last week, the Progressive Conservatives tabled documents in the legislature from the province’s 2024 application to Health Canada for the original supervised consumption site.

According to these documents, people who appear to be as young as 16 years old would be allowed to consume drugs in that site. No identification would be required. To make matters worse, family members would not be informed without the drug user’s explicit consent.

Across Manitoba, from St Adolphe parish to Ste Agathe parish and the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Cooks Creek, families gather each spring to celebrate one of the most central moments of the Christian faith, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is far more than a holiday, it is a time of deep reflection, spiritual renewal and enduring hope.

Observed by more than 2.6 billion Christians around the world, Easter commemorates the death and resurrection of Jesus, whose life and teachings continue to shape cultures, communities and individuals today. Born more than 2,000 years ago into humble circumstances, Jesus of Nazareth lived a life defined by service, compassion and truth. Through His teachings, He showed others how to live with grace and how to enter the kingdom of heaven.

His final days were marked by betrayal, suffering and an unjust death. Crucifixion was a punishment reserved for the most hardened criminals, yet Christ, an innocent man, accepted it willingly. His death on the cross was the ultimate act of sacrifice, taking the place of the guilty so that all might find redemption.

Yet Easter does not end in sorrow, as three days later, Jesus rose from the grave, defeating death and forever changing the course of human history. His resurrection represents victory not only over death, but over sin, despair and hopelessness. This is why churches fill with worshippers; homes are alive with celebration and communities pause to reflect during this sacred season.