Latest news with #WallyDaudrich
CBC
16-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Former Manitoba PC leadership candidate loses appeal of polar bear ecotourism permit cut
A Churchill ecotourism business has lost its appeal to keep its polar bear viewing vehicle permits this year. In February, the provincial Wildlife Branch informed Wally Daudrich that it was rescinding licences for his company, Lazy Bear Expeditions, to operate two tundra vehicles on the coastal plains of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area, where polar bears gather in large numbers each fall before the ice freezes up on Hudson Bay. The Wildlife Branch told Daudrich — a former candidate for leader of Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party — that the continuing decline in the number of polar bears on the western side of Hudson Bay, based on a 2021 aerial survey, was the reason for the decision. The branch said the province was reducing the number of vehicles allowed to traverse the tundra in the management area from 20 to 18. That was the number of vehicles permitted to carry tourists to see polar bears prior to 2020, when the provincial government granted two vehicle allocations to Lazy Bear. Last March, Daudrich asked the Manitoba Court of King's Bench to review the Wildlife Branch's decision, declare it invalid and restore his permits for two vehicles. Daudrich also asked the court to declare the decision was unreasonable and made in bad faith. A judge dismissed Daudrich's motion for an injunction in April. In a decision dated June 9, the three justices of the Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed Daudrich's appeal of the April decision. "What Lazy Bear is actually seeking is not an injunction prohibiting the minister from acting," the decision says. "Rather, it is an injunction requiring the minister to act — to issue a new permit when an earlier permit expired — something the minister is not obligated to do." The Wildlife Branch inaccurately told Daudrich that it was "rescinding" Lazy Bear's vehicle licences, but its intention was to let Daudrich know that his business would not receive a permit in the 2025-26 season, the appeal court's decision says. Established precedent has proven there's no automatic right to licence or permit renewals, the appeal court decision says. The judge who heard Daudrich's injunction motion also said Daudrich did not prove that he'd suffered irreparable harm without the vehicle licences that couldn't be recovered as damages from the province if his lawsuit were successful, according to the appeal court decision. A provincial spokesperson said they could not comment on a matter before the courts.
CBC
04-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Manitoba PCs nominate former party volunteer to run in Spruce Woods byelection
Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives have nominated a party volunteer as their candidate in the upcoming Spruce Woods byelection. Souris resident Colleen Robbins, the former PC regional director in southwestern Manitoba, was the only candidate who completed the process to apply for the party's nomination in Spruce Woods, the Tories informed party members via email on Tuesday. Party spokesperson Michele Halverson confirmed the nomination. Robbins will attempt to succeed former PC Spruce Woods MLA Grant Jackson, who resigned in March to run as the federal Conservative candidate in Brandon-Souris. Jackson is now a Conservative MP. The PC candidate in Spruce Woods is the presumptive MLA by virtue of the fact no other party has won the southwestern Manitoba constituency since it was created in 2011. In four provincial elections over the past 14 years, former MLAs Jackson and Cliff Cullen won more than 60 per cent of the vote in the constituency. Former PC leadership candidate Wally Daudrich, who lost the Official Opposition party's leadership race to Obby Khan in April, initially expressed interest in running for the party in Spruce Woods but did not apply for the nomination. Daudrich said Tuesday he asked Khan to appoint him as a candidate in a goodwill gesture, considering Khan narrowly won the leadership on a weighted vote. Khan declined and insisted on a contested nomination in Spruce Woods, Daudrich said. Jon Lovlin, a spokesperson for Khan, said the party must respect grassroots decisions. Daudrich said he has no interest in running for any other party. He said the creation of any new right-of-centre party in Manitoba would be counterproductive for the conservative movement. A byelection in Spruce Woods must be called by Sept. 24. Premier Wab Kinew has yet to indicate when the byelection will take place.
