A new report by Deloitte shows Manitoba remains the most affordable province in the country when it comes to basic utility costs, Finance Minister Stan Struthers said Monday.

It shows we pay an average annual cost of $2,815 for electricity, heating and car insurance. The next-lowest province is British Columbia at $3,368 annually, while the highest cost for the services is in Ontario, $4,800 higher than Manitoba.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/most-affordable-182938461.html

Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach has not yet been around 49 years, and yet plans are already in the works for the 50th anniversary. The event will happen in 2014.

Executive Director Barry Dyck says each year the museum holds an Advisory Council meeting. These meetings always have one specific agenda item and this year the topic of discussion centered around their 50th anniversary. That meeting took place in late November.

Dyck admits it took some mulling over from the board to decide exactly which year their 50th anniversary should be held. What needed to be considered was whether the anniversary would be celebrated fifty years after the museum was "conceived" or fifty years after the museum was "born."

"At the end of the day, the board decided that incorporation date was probably as reasonable as any," notes Dyck. "And so MHV was incorporated, albeit under a different name, in 1964. And so 2014 would mark fifty years of operation as an incorporated village museum."

http://www.steinbachonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32378&Itemid=100413

The P.E.I. government is conducting a review of provincial parks and it could eventually lead to parks closing and more provincial campgrounds leased by private operators.

Tourism Minister Rob Henderson said his department simply does not have the money to keep up the park infrastructure. The department asked for $2.5 million this year for upgrades and repairs and received just one third of that.

The province is reviewing all 10 provincial park campgrounds and 16 day parks.

"How do we take that money and get the best bang for our buck?" said Henderson.

"It really comes down to the fundamental question of how many campgrounds, how many day use parks do we need?"

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2012/12/11/pei-provincial-parks-review-584.html

The union representing security screeners at 17 Atlantic Canadian airports is re-entering negotiations in the hopes of avoiding a strike during the holiday season.

Talks between the United Steelworkers and Securitas Transportation Airport Security broke down in September.

The union's contract expired in October, and workers could have walked off the job as early as a day later. But any strike was put on hold when federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to rule on whether the workers provide an essential service.

Lawrence McKay, the area co-ordinator for the United Steelworkers, says that ruling may no longer be necessary.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2012/12/11/pei-airport-security-stirke-584.html

Tourism Calgary, in partnership with internationally acclaimed fashion designer Paul Hardy, recently unveiled an unparalleled couture "Tweet Dress", the result of a first-of-its-kind social media campaign that highlights Calgary's unique style and vibrancy.

Tourism Calgary initially launched the campaign at Paul Hardy's 10th anniversary fashion show this fall, asking Calgarians and visitors to answer "What's in style in Calgary?" using the hashtag #StyleYYC. The response received was overwhelming, and dress designer Paul Hardy was immersed in tweets for the creation.

"From the different fabrics to the city skyline, every aspect of the Tweet Dress was motivated by the abundance of tweets we received from Calgarians," says Hardy. "Conversations took place online about popular restaurants, our unpredictable seasons and the necessity for layers, to historic city landmarks and more. From these tweets, the dress was easily shaped, as each design decision was dictated by the people who love Calgary."

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=118845

OTTAWA - The Canadian War Museum says a smaller version of its War of 1812 exhibition will tour across the country, beginning next spring with a stop at the St. Catharines Museum in St. Catharines, Ont.

Mannequins, ship and battlefield models, and maps are among artifacts featured in the travelling 140-square-metre exhibit.

Venues booked until 2015 include the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, N.B., Chatham-Kent Museum in Chatham, Ont., Royal Canadian Artillery Museum in Shilo, Man., Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Eptek Art & Culture Centre in Summerside, P.E.I., and Diefenbaker Canada Centre in Saskatoon.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/war-museum-says-smaller-1812-exhibit-will-tour-museums-across-canada-182887581.html

SYDNEY - The city of Mildura is not at the end of a dirt road in the Australian bush, in tire-choking desert sand far from food and water. Unfortunately, Apple's much-maligned mapping application thinks it is.

More than two months after Apple's CEO apologized for errors in its Maps service, Australian police say the app is "potentially life threatening" because of the bad directions it has given to the southern city. On Tuesday, a police official said Apple had "sort of half-fixed" the problem.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/apple-maps-stranding-drivers-in-middle-of-desert-like-state-park-in-australia-police-warn-182921031.html

A full-scale replica of Noah's Ark has opened to the public in the Netherlands.

Stormy weather Monday could do nothing to dampen the good mood of its creator, Dutchman Johan Huibers. In fact, the rain was appropriate. In the Biblical story, God orders Noah to build a boat big enough to save animals and Noah's family while Earth is covered in an enormous flood.

Huibers, a Christian, used books 6-9 of Genesis as his inspiration, following the instructions God gives Noah down to the last cubit.

Translating to modern measurements, Huibers came up with a vessel that works out to a whopping 130 metres long, 29 metres across and 23 metres high.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/12/10/wrd-noahs-ark-replica-netherlands.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Dec.  '29)

Montreal – A new association, to be known as the Canadian Association of Tourist and Publicity Bureaux, with headquarters in Montreal was formed at the concluding meeting of the convention of Canadian tourist, convention and publicity organizations today. The new body which will be represented from coast to coast, will take out a Dominion charter. Hon. Mr. Justice Aresenault, representing the Prince Edward Island Publicity association, was elected president.