Old toilets losing their charm

The popularity of new dual-flush toilets presents something of a problem for second hand retailers.

ReStore, a used building supplies company that raises funds for Habitat for Humanity, is full to the brim with old-model toilets.

ReStore normally acquires two or three toilets a week, but it received over 100 this week before Brenda Mulvaney, the store’s general manager, finally said no, reported CBC News.

People now dump the toilets on her lot after hours.

Used toilets can be dropped off at the Brady Hill landfill, where they’ll be crushed into floor materials.

Friendly is gone, the bison might follow

Manitoba’s flag is up for review by a grassroots movement within the provincial governing party.

The New Democratic Party’s Riel Constituency Association claimed the flag is old news left over from its days as a British colony, reported the Canadian Press.

The group will present its report in an upcoming NDP convention.

The flag also finished 44th in a volunteer study of state and provincial flags by an American flag association, one place behind Ontario’s similar flag.

The Conservative Party of Manitoba argued the flag, with its British ensign, is an important symbol of the province’s roots.

Premier Doer has yet to comment on the issue.

Welcome back, Manitoba politicos

The provincial legislature will open its doors on Mar. 25 with the introduction of the 2009 budget.

This will be the third session of Manitoba’s 39th Legislative Assembly, which began with last fall’s throne speech.

The speech presented the provincial response to the growing financial crisis, proposing tax cuts, skills investments and a $4.7 billion investment in provincial infrastructure over the next four years.

Last year, the provincial legislature sat the most days – 72 – of any western Canadian government.

MPI moves to the heart of downtown

Manitoba Public Insurance has purchased Cityplace mall, a nine-story building which will effectively become its head office.

The crown corporation has been in the building since 1980. It already occupies 80 per cent of its offices.

Marilyn McLaren, the company’s chief executive officer, told the Winnipeg Free Press the acquisition will help stabilize MPI’s costs, which in turn will reflect positively on customers.

MPI paid indebted real estate firm Huntingdon REIT $80.5 million dollars for the plaza.

Media giant trouble just keeps piling

CanWest Global Communications Corporation could potentially be facing its last days as a media giant.

The company, whose corporate offices are located in Winnipeg, is approaching a deadline to negotiate a new line of credit from its lenders.

This move would allow the company to shore up its operation costs and avoid potential bankruptcy.

Reuters reported that earlier this month, the banks had more than halved the media giant’s line of credit from $300 million to a $112 million, $92 million of which had already been lent out.

The company, which now has a debt load of $3.7 billion, has seen a severe drop in revenues from its television and newspaper outlets since the onset of the recession.

Published in Volume 63, Number 22 of The Uniter (March 5, 2009)