Daddy dig will (hopefully) deter lecherous pig

Heavy snow across the border forces province to revise flood forecast along Red

Recent heavy snows in the northern United States have caused the provincial government to upgrade the expected severity of this spring's flood along the Red River.

On Monday, the Hydrologic Forecast Centre issued a bulletin saying it now forecasts a flood "of a magnitude higher than in 2009," with normal or average weather conditions.

The flood of 2009 was the fourth highest along the Red since 1826 and largest since 1997's Flood of the Century. In 2009, 1,000 square kilometres of land flooded in the Red River Valley between Winnipeg and Emerson. Highway 75 was closed at Morris for 37 days (April 7 to May 13).

In its Feb. 28 flood forecast, the province predicted a flood along the Red comparable to 2011 — which was best remembered for flooding along the Assiniboine River. Next to the 1997 and 2009 floods, however, 2011 was the third largest Red River flood in a half-century.

Premier sold transparency, but he’s delivering truculence

It is a well-known fact in certain political circles that Premier Brian Pallister loves going to movies. And when possible, he likes to go alone.

A voracious consumer of the cinema, Pallister has a long tradition of attending movies by himself. Not exclusively, but certainly more than the average movie buff. It's a fascinating bit of personal detail about a man who is otherwise a very private individual.

Here's the thing: I have some pretty solid intel about the theatre the premier visits most regularly on his solo movie nights, but I'm not going to include it in this column because I believe that would be an invasion of his privacy. The fact Pallister attends movies on his own is a great bit of personal trivia; where he attends movies is really nobody's business but his.

Although politicians live very public lives, there are things about them the rest of us simply don't need to know. Over the years, I have come into possession of troves of very sensitive, very personal information about very public people: failed marriages, family illnesses, tragic deaths, substance-abuse problems and all manner of generally bad behaviour. In most instances, I have been very comfortable with a decision to leave these details out of my columns.

Taylor Allen

Eighteen years old and still in high school, Taylor got his start with the Free Press on June 1, 2011. Well, sort of...

Small businesses want more from budget: CFIB

TORONTO - Small business owners and advocates say Ottawa should rethink the eligibility requirements for subsidies after Monday’s federal budget failed to include companies launched shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic or after it began.

These companies don't qualify because they haven't been in operation long enough to show the year-over-year revenue declines the programs require, Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly said Tuesday.

"There are thousands and thousands of business owners who've received essentially nothing from any of the government support programs and it's deeply unfair," said Kelly, whose organization represents at least 110,000 small businesses in the country.

Kelly said the lack of relief for these businesses is "a really, really critical gap."

Today’s horoscope

MOON ALERT: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The new moon is in Scorpio.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

This might be one of the best days of the year to go through paperwork you’ve been avoiding; especially relating to financial matters related to inheritances, taxes, debt and insurance matters. Brace yourself and dig in.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)