Dragons’ Den auditions to hit Winnipeg

The Canadian invention show Dragons’ Den is scouting for season six and the audition tour is stopping in Winnipeg later this week. The show gives inspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to hawk their latest inventions to a panel of tycoons, all in order to earn real cash or investments to get their product out to a wider audience. In addition, an inventor that comes up with the best environmentally-friendly product is qualified to win a $100,000 Greenvention prize from Sun Chips. Auditions are being held on Saturday, March 6 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at CBC Winnipeg, 541 Portage Ave.

GoTravel goes under, leaving Winnipeggers without vacation

After offering locals the chance to fly from Winnipeg to London for under $399, the tour operator GoTravel has gone out of business due to economic conditions. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, GoTravel has apologized to customers, but cannot be responsible for getting them refunds on their planned vacations. Winnipeggers have been told to talk to their credit card companies about getting their money back.

Manitoba throws Olympic-sized party in Vancouver

As part of the Manitoba Homecoming 2010 program, locals threw a social in downtown Vancouver to promote our local culture. Eight hundred people attended a Vancouver bar and were treated to kolbasa, cheese cubes and a healthy dose of Winnipeg Jets jerseys. According to CBC News, Olympic speedskater Kyle Parrott, a Manitoban, attended with members from his family.

“You come in here and even though we are in Vancouver and we are in the middle of this huge event, you come in here, and it’s full of Manitoba people and it just has that Manitoba feel,” he commented.

Fireball streaks sky over Manitoba

While not the stuff of disaster movies, Manitobans witnessed a fireball streak across the sky recently as a small meteor came through the Earth’s atmosphere. One eyewitness in the Bird’s Hill Park area reported witnessing an object in the sky about the size of a toonie, with a tail the third of the length of his windshield. Based on the reports, the meteor was probably about the size of a baseball or a cabbage, and debris may still be found in the area around where it was seen. Anyone with information on this rare sight is asked to call Scott Young at the Manitoba Planetarium.

Canada bests U.S. and Mexico in property rights

While not yet stacking up to the protection offered by north European countries like Finland, Canada has outranked the U.S. and Mexico for best property rights in the annual index by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. In 2010, Canada tied with Germany and Ireland for 12th in the world, scoring an 8.0 out of a possible 10. Examples of where improvements can be made have shown up locally. In Manitoba, the Rural Municipality of Ellice attempted to expropriate land from an elderly farmer – thanks to a vaguely written law. To ensure rights for all, the goal is for a constitutional amendment to make property protection a Charter right.

Published in Volume 64, Number 21 of The Uniter (March 4, 2010)