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Category: 3. Business
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New year cheer lifts stocks to fresh peaks – Dawn
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Some small businesses raise prices due to tariffs, Colorado liquor store reducing them
Many small businesses in Colorado have taken a significant hit due to tariffs. While some of those businesses are passing along the increased costs to customers, a local liquor store is doing the opposite and reducing its prices for wines and spirits.
At Mr. B’s Wine & Spirits, they’re in the spirit of helping customers.
“We’re just trying to think put ourselves in the shoes of the consumer, and if they continue to see prices go up, they’re going to not shop with us,” said General Manager Ryan Corey.
CBS
They bring in products from all over the world, including Europe, Canada and Mexico, all hit with tariffs.
Corey said around 65% of their wine selection has been impacted by tariffs, and more than half of their products have increased in cost in the past year.
“They’ve all been affected some way, somehow, by tariff increases upwards of 20% at some points. These prices have been absorbed by either us or the importers,” said Corey.
Instead of bottling up the tariff costs and passing them along to customers, they’re reducing prices instead.
“We’ve taken a different approach and taken a look at basically every single product in the store, bottle by bottle, and looked at it, looked at our margins, strategize how we could get those prices lower, and still be able to be a sustainable and successful business,” said Corey, who added some bottles of wine have gone down $1 up to $10.
Meanwhile, at Blue Spruce Chocolates in Kittredge, owner Mark Joyce imports the beans from Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. What is not so sweet, he says, are soaring cocoa prices and tariff impacts.
“When I buy a bag of beans now from our distributor, there’s a line item on the invoice for the tariff that’s been applied to the beans. A bag of beans is now 15% more than what it was in January,” said Joyce.
CBS
Joyce added that the ingredients to make the chocolates have also been impacted by tariffs. He said they import their cocoa butter, vanilla, and even the packaging, all of which have been affected. Joyce said due to the increased costs, the chocolate shop had no choice but to raise its prices.
“We just can’t absorb that, 15% is just too much for a small business to try to absorb. So, we’ve had to pass on the cost of the tariffs to our customers,” said Joyce. “We’re quite transparent with our customers too that the prices have increased.”
While the liquor store is looking at its margins and losing a little bit of profit with its price reductions, it’s gaining support and hopes to bring in more customers with the change.
“We can survive the pressures and competitions with the grocery stores and the big box stores, so small stores like us can find consumers to come shop with us over and over again,” said Corey. “We’re going to lower our prices and hopefully make you feel more comfortable with what we have on the shelves.”
Corey said they began rolling out the price reductions in early November, right before the holidays, and will continue the price reductions indefinitely. He added that in December 2025, the store did better than it did the year before.
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Ticketless train travel trial: Your questions answered
Passenger advocacy group, Campaign for Better Transport, wants those cheaper prices expanded beyond the app.
“It’s fantastic to see innovative schemes like this that make use of the latest technology for smart phones,” says policy and campaigns chief Silviya Barrett.
“But not everyone has access to this. So what we would like to see is schemes like that extended to other platforms, so that everyone can access the best prices, regardless of how they buy their train tickets.”
In November, the government announced rail fares in England would be frozen next year for the first time in 30 years.
The freeze until March 2027 will apply to regulated fares, which includes season tickets and off-peak returns.
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Accommodating emerging giants in the global economy
History provides examples of large changes in the relative economic size of nations. Often these economic realignments coincide with heightened geopolitical tension. A historical example is the relative decline of the UK in the face of the emerging giants of Germany and the US in the late-19th century (Kennedy 1988). More recent examples include the relative decline of the US in the wake of rapid Japanese growth after WWII and the emergence of China into global markets at the end of the 20th century (Kleinman et al. 2024). In our recent research (Kleinman et al. 2025), we provide empirical evidence on the impact of rapid economic growth in emerging economies on the income and welfare of other nations. We examine the mechanisms through which these effects occur, and assess the relative importance of foreign productivity growth and trade integration for a country’s income and welfare compared to its own productivity growth.
We use the class of quantitative trade models with a constant trade elasticity (as considered in Arkolakis et al. 2012) to provide empirical evidence on these questions. We combine this class of models with data on bilateral foreign trade, GDP, and population over the period from 1960-2020. We treat population and the ratio of expenditure to income (and hence trade deficits) as exogenous. We treat GDP (and hence wages) and bilateral trade as endogenous. We use the equilibrium conditions of this class of models to recover unique values for domestic trade (a country’s expenditure on its own goods), productivity, and bilateral trade frictions for which the observed data are an equilibrium in this class of models (up to normalisations).
In Figure 1, we show the unweighted average of our inverse measure of bilateral trade frictions (bilateral trade openness) over time. We find a marked increase in trade integration from 1960-2020, which is particularly rapid during the era of so-called ‘hyper globalisation’ from the late-1980s to the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. From that date onwards, we find a slowdown (‘slowbalisation’) and a reverse (‘deglobalisation’) of trade integration, which is reinforced by the onset of the US-China trade war in 2018. We find that our measure of trade openness, which allows for asymmetric trade costs, differs substantially from the conventional Head-Ries Index (Head and Ries 2001), which assumes symmetric trade costs.
Figure 1 Global trade openness over time
Note: Unweighted averages of bilateral trade openness across all exporter-importer pairs in each year (excluding each country’s openness with itself which is normalized to one); bilateral trade openness recovered from observed shares of expenditure of each importer on each exporter and PPML gravity equation estimation; figure shows levels (and not logs); higher values of both openness measures correspond to lower foreign trade frictions relative to domestic trade frictions; vertical lines show 2008 (Global Financial Crisis) and 2018 (beginning of US-China Trade War).
In Figure 2, we show our measures of country productivities for China, Japan and the US, where we normalise the geometric mean of all countries’ productivities to one in each year. The US has by far the highest initial level of productivity at the beginning of our sample period. Productivity in Japan converges rapidly towards that in the US in the opening decades of our sample, before briefly overtaking US levels in the early 1990s, and then falling below US levels by the end of our sample period. China’s productivity begins substantially below levels in both countries and is only on a downward trend during the 1960s and 1970s. Following China’s domestic reforms of 1978, we find a marked acceleration in its rate of productivity growth, although its level of productivity remains substantially below that in the US at the end of our sample period.
Figure 2 Country productivities over time
Note: log country productivities recovered from the general equilibrium equality between country income and expenditure on the goods produced by that country, using our measures of bilateral trade frictions from PPML gravity estimation; domestic trade frictions normalised to one; geometric mean of country productivities normalised to one in each year.
Using our measures of bilateral trade frictions and productivities from this class of models, we undertake counterfactuals to assess the contributions of domestic productivity growth, foreign productivity growth, and trade integration to changes in countries’ shares of global GDP and welfare. Our model features four exogenous primitives: productivities, bilateral trade frictions, populations, and the ratios of expenditure to income in each country. We isolate the contributions of individual model primitives by solving for the general equilibrium of the model allowing that primitive to change over time, but holding all other model primitives constant at their values at the end of our sample period. If we allow all model primitives to change over time, we exactly reproduce the observed data; if we allow only some model primitives to change over time, the model’s counterfactual predictions in general differ from the observed data.
Higher foreign productivity has three main effects on the domestic GDP share in this class of models. First, there is a negative composition effect from an increase in the size of foreign GDP in the denominator of the domestic GDP share. Second, there is a positive market size effect from an increase in foreign income, which raises the demand for domestic goods, and hence increases the domestic wage. Third, there is a negative cross-substitution effect from lower prices of foreign goods in markets around the world, which leads consumers in those markets to substitute towards foreign goods, thereby reducing the demand for domestic goods and hence decreasing the domestic wage. Higher foreign productivity also directly reduces domestic consumer prices, thereby decreasing the domestic cost of living and raising domestic welfare. Lower trade frictions have similar effects on domestic GDP shares and welfare as higher foreign productivity, but there is now bilateral variation in the incidence of these lower trade frictions across pairs of exporters and importers. Again, reductions in trade frictions affect domestic GDP shares and welfare through composition effects, market size effects, cross-substitution, and cost of living effects.
In Figure 3, we show the results of our counterfactuals for the impact of reductions in bilateral trade frictions on the relative income and welfare (real income) of the US. We find that globalisation reduced the share of the US in global GDP (left panel), through negative terms of trade effects. Other countries experienced larger reductions in their bilateral trade frictions to markets around the world than the US, which reduced their prices relative to those of the US. In response, consumers substituted away from US goods towards those of other countries, thereby bidding down wages in the US relative to those in other countries. Nevertheless, we find that the US gained in terms of welfare (as measured by real income) from these reductions in bilateral trade frictions (right panel), highlighting that changes in countries’ relative incomes can be misleading for changes in their welfare.
Figure 3 Globalisation and the US GDP share and welfare
Note: Left panel shows US share of global GDP; right panel shows US welfare (real income); black solid line shows actual values; grey solid line with cross markers shows counterfactual predictions in which all exogenous country characteristics (population shares, proportional deficits, bilateral trade frictions and productivity) are held constant at their 2020 values, except for bilateral trade costs, which are set equal to their values from our model inversion in each year; bilateral trade frictions recovered from PPML gravity equation estimation; domestic trade frictions normalised to one.
In Figure 4, we show the results of our counterfactuals for the impact of China’s productivity growth on the relative income and welfare (real income) of the US. We find that rapid growth in Chinese productivity contributed to the observed decline in the US share of global GDP over our sample period. While this decline is partly explained by cross-substitution away from US goods in each market around world, as the increase in China’s productivity reduces the relative price of its goods, it mostly reflects the mechanical effect of China becoming bigger, as its productivity growth raises its own GDP, thereby increasing the denominator in the US GDP share. Despite this negative impact on the relative economic size of the US, we find that Chinese productivity growth raised US welfare through the resulting reduction in consumer prices and the cost of living. We find a similar pattern for the impact of Japan’s rapid productivity growth in the opening decades of our sample period on the US GDP share and welfare. This pattern of results is consistent with Paul Krugman’s (1990) aphorism that “[p]roductivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything”. We find that the impact of foreign productivity growth on domestic welfare is relatively modest compared to that of domestic productivity growth, especially for a large country such as the US for which international trade is a relatively small share of expenditure.
Figure 4 Impact of Chinese productivity growth on US share of global GDP and welfare
Note: Left panel shows U.S. share of global GDP; right panel shows the relative change in US welfare (real income) compared to the final year of our sample; black line corresponds to data; grey line with crosses shows a model counterfactual in which all variables are held constant at their 2020 values, except for Chinese productivity which in each year equals its value from our model inversion; global GDP is the sum of the GDP of all countries included in our sample.
While our focus on the class of constant elasticity trade models implies that we could miss some of the mechanisms through which globalisation and productivity growth can affect income and welfare, this standard workhorse class of models provides an important benchmark for assessing these effects. Overall, our findings highlight that changes in countries’ relative incomes are potentially quite misleading for their welfare, and that while domestic productivity is far from everything, it plays a large role in determining domestic living standards. Although the quantitative magnitudes of the effects of globalisation and productivity growth could differ in models featuring alternative mechanisms, these two insights are of much broader applicability.
References
Arkolakis, C, A Costinot, and A Rodriguez-Clare (2012), “New Trade Models, Same Old Gains”, American Economic Review 102: 94-130.
Head, K and J Ries (2001), “Increasing Returns versus National Product Differentiation as an Explanation for the Pattern of U.S.-Canada Trade,” American Economic Review 91: 858-876.
Kennedy, P (1988), The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Unwin-Hyman.
Kleinman, B, S J Redding and E Liu (2024), “International Friends and Enemies,” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 16(4): 350-85.
Kleinman, B, E Liu, S J Redding and Z Huang (2025), “Accommodating Emerging Giants in the Global Economy,” NBER Working Paper 34530.
Krugman, P R (1990), The Age of Diminished Expectations, Washington Post Company.
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Softening market drives property values down in 2026, says BC Assessment
Property values are down across the Lower Mainland compared with last year, according to new BC Assessment figures released Jan. 2.
In 2026, the average single family home in Vancouver is worth five per cent less than it was a year ago — down from $2.205 million from $2.092 million.
Decreases were seen across almost all municipalities in the region. The biggest drop was seen on the University Endowment Lands, down eight per cent.
“The softening housing market is being reflected in 2026 property assessments,” said assessor Bryan Murao.
“Many homeowners throughout the Lower Mainland can expect some decreases in assessed value, with most changes ranging between -10 per cent to zero per cent.”
Overall, total assessments in the Lower Mainland fell from about $2.01 trillion in 2025 to $1.92 trillion this year.
Areas outside of the Lower Mainland did not see the same drop.
“Vancouver Island and the Southern Interior are generally flatter in value, with changes ranging between minus five per cent to plus five percent, while the North and the Kootenays are varying more broadly in the minus five per cent to plus 15 per cent range,” Murao said.
The assessments are the estimate of a property’s market value as of July 1, 2025, and its physical condition as of Oct. 31, 2025.
“This common valuation date ensures there is an equitable property assessment base for property taxation,” the authority said.
BC Assessment says decreases in property values do not automatically mean a corresponding drop in property taxes.
“As noted on your assessment notice, how your assessment changes relative to the average change in your community is what may affect your property taxes,” Murao said.
This means if your value change is lower than the average change for your particular property type, your taxes will likely decrease. If the value change higher than average, your taxes will likely increase — even if your property value has gone down year-over-year.
Top-valued residential properties
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson’s property once again topped the list of the highest-valued properties in B.C. Located at 3085 Point Grey Road in Vancouver, the house is valued at $73.46 million. This is down more than 10 per cent compared to last year’s value of $82.66 million.
Six of the top 10 highest-valued properties are located in Vancouver’s prestigious Point Grey neighbourhood. Aside from Wilson’s property, the top 500 properties range from $69.88 million down to $11.71 million.
Homeowners can check their property assessments at bcassessment.ca.
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Dividend Stocks, CPF Investing, and Long-Term Wealth Strategies
The Smart Investor Smart Reads Pic 8 As investors prepare for the year ahead, the focus is shifting back to fundamentals. This week’s Smart Reads looks at overlooked dividend opportunities, how government initiatives may shape retail investor returns, and what it really takes to build worry-free passive income.
We also explore long-term compounding through dividend reinvestment, balancing CPF savings with stock investing, and how new investors can take their first step into Singapore’s market.
Rounding things off are healthcare growth stories across Asia and small-cap stocks to watch as 2026 begins.
Here are this week’s top articles:
The Most Overlooked Dividend Stock on the SGX Right Now
This under-the-radar stock could be offering income investors more than the market realises.Can the Government’s Equity Stimulus Really Boost Dividends for Retail Investors?
We examine whether policy support can translate into real dividend gains for everyday investors.Retire Without Worry: 3 Stocks for Steady Passive Income
These stocks focus on consistency and reliability for long-term income planning.Asia’s New Growth Frontier: 3 Stocks Tapping into the Healthcare Boom
Healthcare demand across Asia is rising, creating new opportunities for growth investors.The Power of Reinvesting Dividends: How Wealth Compounds Over Time
Reinvested dividends quietly drive long-term returns more than most investors expect.Secret Formula to Balance CPF Savings and Stock Investing for the Long Term
A balanced approach can help investors grow wealth without sacrificing security.How to Choose Your First Stock in Singapore
A practical guide to help new investors get started with confidence.3 Small-Cap Stocks to Watch for January 2026
These smaller companies could start the new year with momentum worth watching.Market momentum is building, but discerning dividend investors know the difference between temporary rallies and durable opportunities. Join our free webinar, The Big Singapore Stock Market Rebound (2026’s Dividend Opportunity), for a data-driven look at where sustainable dividend growth could emerge in 2026. Click here to secure your complimentary seat.
How a simple 5-minute newsletter can shield your portfolio: When markets get noisy, Smart Reads helps you stay clear-headed with a calm, curated update like the week’s top investing stories, key market shifts, and practical insights for protecting your portfolio. Sent once a week so you can focus on protecting and growing your investments without stressing over every headline. Click here to sign up for FREE.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram for the latest investing news and analyses!
The post Smart Reads of the Week: Dividend Stocks, CPF Investing, and Long-Term Wealth Strategies appeared first on The Smart Investor.
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Multiple Vehicle Crash On SH31 Blocks Traffic
VICTOR, Idaho – Idaho State Police (ISP) is investigating a vehicle collision which occurred on Saturday, January 3, 2026, at 11:09 A.M., on SH31 at mile marker 15.5, in Teton County.
A Nissan Titan was traveling south on SH31. The driver, a 31-year-old man from Peru, driving too fast for the winter conditions, attempted to pass another vehicle. A chain reaction crash occurred involving six other vehicles:
A Ford Bronco, driven by a 25-year-old woman from Victor, ID
A GMC Acadia, driven by a 39-year-old man from Quincy, WA
A Chevrolet Silverado, driven by a 51-year-old man from Driggs, ID
A Dodge Ram, driven by a 50-year-old woman from Wilson, WY
A Ford F150, driven by a 28-year-old man from Idaho Falls, ID
A Toyota van, driven by a 34-year-old man from Syracuse, UT
All drivers were wearing their seatbelts and were not transported.
Traffic on SH31 was blocked in both directions for approximately two and a half hours, allowing emergency responders to assist those involved and clear the scene.
This incident remains under investigation by the Idaho State Police.
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3451/3761
Posted in District 6 – Eastern Idaho
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How UK plush toy Jellycat conquered China
Stella Huang bought her first Jellycat plush toy when she lost her job during the pandemic.
A school friend was a fan of the British-designed toys and told her all about them. But she only fell in love with the brand when she saw a gingerbread house plushie on the Chinese social media app RedNote.
Christmas is not widely celebrated in China and is more of a commercial event than anything more traditional. “The festival doesn’t mean a lot to me… But I always like the sight of gingerbread houses,” she says. It was then that she asked her friend in their hometown Guangzhou to buy it for her.
That was in 2021, just as Jellycat was about to make it big in China and around the world.
“Everyone felt jittery, and no-one knew what would happen,” says Stella, who has developed a habit of petting and squeezing her plushies since Covid. She had to spend a lot of time at her home, in Beijing, which had some of the strictest lockdowns in China, if not the world.
Now 32, Stella has a new job, as a sales manager in the tourism industry, but is still buying Jellycats. Her collection has grown to 120 toys, costing a total of about 36,000 yuan ($5,145; £3,815).
“At my age, there are many things you can’t share with others… and the troubles we face are a lot more complicated than before,” she says with a sigh. “The plushies help me regulate my emotions.”
Originally aimed at children, the squishy toys have become a global hit, especially in China where a disenchanted youth has been turning to them for comfort.
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How UK plush toy Jellycat conquered China
RedNote / @I am a pie (826101674)Grace Tsoi,BBC World Service, Hong Kongand
Gemini Cheng,BBC News Chinese, Hong Kong
Stella Huang bought her first Jellycat plush toy when she lost her job during the pandemic.
A school friend was a fan of the British-designed toys and told her all about them. But she only fell in love with the brand when she saw a gingerbread house plushie on the Chinese social media app RedNote.
Christmas is not widely celebrated in China and is more of a commercial event than anything more traditional. “The festival doesn’t mean a lot to me… But I always like the sight of gingerbread houses,” she says. It was then that she asked her friend in their hometown Guangzhou to buy it for her.
That was in 2021, just as Jellycat was about to make it big in China and around the world.
“Everyone felt jittery, and no-one knew what would happen,” says Stella, who has developed a habit of petting and squeezing her plushies since Covid. She had to spend a lot of time at her home, in Beijing, which had some of the strictest lockdowns in China, if not the world.
Now 32, Stella has a new job, as a sales manager in the tourism industry, but is still buying Jellycats. Her collection has grown to 120 toys, costing a total of about 36,000 yuan ($5,145; £3,815).
“At my age, there are many things you can’t share with others… and the troubles we face are a lot more complicated than before,” she says with a sigh. “The plushies help me regulate my emotions.”
Originally aimed at children, the squishy toys have become a global hit, especially in China where a disenchanted youth has been turning to them for comfort.
The kidults
Stella’s Gingerbread house plushie is an “Amuseable”, a line of toys with tiny faces modelled on inanimate objects from toilet rolls to boiled eggs. The plushies are the “breakout products” which “appeal to a wide Gen-Z and millennial audience” around the world, says Kasia Davies of global analysis firm Statista.
The popularity of these toys “may have something to do with wanting to feel companiable”, Isabel Galleymore of the University of Birmingham, in the UK, says.
It is difficult to say for sure whether Jellycat started the now-iconic Amuseable line, which was launched in 2018, to tap into the young adult market. But toy manufacturers need to find a new market given the falling birth rate in much of the world, Ms Davies adds.
And as early as in 2015, Jellycat entered the Chinese market.
Having done the “groundwork”, the toy maker was able to capture “the tone of the pandemic” – when people sought comfort amid heightened uncertainty – and built on its success in China, says Kathryn Read, a business consultant with 15 years’ experience in China.
Jellycat’s popularity was further propelled by its pop-up experiences. The in-store events offer a menu of limited-edition “food”. Many fans film themselves being served and post the clips on social media.
Localisation has also been a core strategy for the Jellycat experience. Fans could buy stuffed toy versions of items like fish, chips and mushy peas at a temporary shop at the department store Selfridges in London.
Meanwhile, teapot and teacup plushies were among the items sold at special outlets in Beijing and Shanghai last year.
In 2024, the UK-based firm’s revenue rose by two-thirds to £333m ($459m), according to its most recent Companies House accounts. In the same period, it sold about $117m worth of toys to Chinese consumers on major e-commerce platforms, according to estimates by Beijing-based Moojing Market Intelligence.
The company’s growing popularity mirrors a wider boom in China’s collectable-toy market among young adults seeking emotional comfort and connection.
Overall sales of collectable toys in China are expected to top 110bn yuan this year, according to a 2024 report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the China Animation Association.
The runaway success of Labubu, the elf-like dolls created by Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, highlights the country’s growing appetite for collectable toys, especially among young people.
This “kidult” trend is not unique to China, as young adults around the world question “outdated understandings of adulthood”, says Prof Erica Kanesaka, a cultural expert at Emory University in the US.
Global toy sales fell in 2024 – albeit by less than 1% – but collectable toy sales rose by almost 5%, to a record high, according to market research company Circana.
CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty ImagesJellycat had pop-up stores in Shanghai and Beijing 
JellycatIn September, Jellycat partnered with A-list actress Yang Mi during a pop-up event in Shanghai Amuseables, especially the aubergine, which Chinese fans call “the boss”, have also spawned memes, with many sharing frustrations about adult life.
“Aubergine boss” is a hashtag on RedNote, where fans draw different expressions on the plushie. In these memes, the aubergine appears in various moods from drinking to fake-smiling.
For example, Wendy Hui from Hong Kong modified her aubergine Amuseable by drawing dark circles around its eyes and putting a pair of glasses on it. She then posted a picture of it on Threads with the caption: “The mental state of workers on Monday.”
“I kept working at home even when I was supposed to be off,” the 30-something marketing professional says. “I just wanted to express how exhausted I was.”
Jellycat has become an unexpected, light-hearted outlet for young Chinese people to air their grievances about a slowing economy, where hard work doesn’t guarantee comparable rewards. Despite heavy censorship, the internet has remained an important, if not the only, space for such conversations.
The brand also often launches limited-edition products and retires designs. The strategy, which many in China call “hunger marketing”, has also helped make Jellycat toys a favourite on social media in the country.
Collecting can feel like a treasure hunt, with fans combing department stores and independent shops for Jellycats when they travel overseas. Some resort to “daigou”, overseas-based shopping agents. And rare Jellycats, a status symbol among some fans, change hands for more than $1,400.
But most are cheap pick-me-ups amid a sluggish economy plagued by a property crisis and high local government debt. China’s youth unemployment rate has eased a little after hitting a record high in August, but official figures show it is still above 17%.
“You have to consider for a long time before buying a luxury bag,” 34-year-old medical sales representative Jessie Chen says. “But you don’t need to do that for a Jellycat.
“Jellycat also sells bags, which cost just a few hundred yuan [tens of US dollars]. They are practical and can hold a lot of things, so you might change the way you think about luxury goods.”
‘Quitting the pit’
But China may have already reached peak Jellycat, with fans noticing less discussion about the toys on social media.
Ms Hui has turned to “blind boxes” of toys like Teletubbies – where customers only find out what they have bought when they open the package – as a more thrilling, and cheaper, alternative. She has even considered “quitting the pit” – Chinese slang for retiring a hobby.
“It is so difficult to buy them,” Stella says. “Our daily life is not easy already and why should we make things harder for ourselves?”
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Thousands evacuated from Pimicikamak Cree Nation after homes, water treatment plant damaged in power outage
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The chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation says hundreds of homes have been “severely compromised” in the aftermath of a days-long power outage that damaged a water treatment plant and plumbing systems, and about 4,000 people have been evacuated from the northern Manitoba First Nation.
Residents in Pimicikamak, about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg, started reporting burst pipes, leaks and sewer backups after power restoration began on Thursday. All power was back on as of Friday afternoon, Manitoba Hydro said.
The power to the First Nation, which has an on-reserve population of around 7,000, went out last Sunday night after a power line that crosses the Nelson River snapped, and pipes froze in the extreme cold, as temperatures dropped well below the –20 C mark.
About 200 homes have been damaged by leaking pipes, Chief David Monias said during a news conference on Saturday. Those homes are no longer safe to live in, he said.
Monias said more homes may have been damaged as pipes quickly thawed, but the First Nation needs additional help to inspect dwellings and community infrastructure for cracks and leaks.
“Just because you don’t see a visible leak doesn’t mean that there’s no damage. There could be cracks in there that are waiting to burst the pipes.”
Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias, seen here during a Wednesday news conference, has put out a call for help from plumbers, engineers, carpenters and electricians across the Prairie provinces. (Darin Morash/CBC) Repairs will likely cost at least $44 million, Monias said, and he is currently working on a recovery plan for the community.
On Friday, he put out a call for help from licensed plumbers across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. He previously requested help from the Canadian Armed Forces as well.
“We need engineers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters — we don’t have enough in the community,” he said.
Pimicikamak band Coun. Shirley Robinson said the outage has caused “tremendous damage to our Nation.”
A water treatment plant on the north side of the community has seen major leaks, and help is needed to fix the aging infrastructure, she said.
“Our water treatment plant is ready to collapse.”
Some residents are being evacuated to protect their health and safety, said Robinson. At least 140 people were expected to be evacuated on Saturday.
Monias said about 4,000 people have already been evacuated from the First Nation.
Jack Ross said his family was evacuated after his mother, who has asthma, was struggling to breathe when her inhaler froze due to the extreme cold during the power outage. (Travis Golby/CBC) Jack Ross and his family were among the first to be evacuated to Winnipeg. He said his mother, who has asthma, was struggling to breathe after her inhaler froze due to the extreme cold during the power outage.
It was “very frosty” inside the multi-generational home, he said.
“The babies were crying on and off because they were cold.”
Ross said he’s worried his family will have to stay in a hotel for a long time due to ongoing plumbing issues.
“Being away from home is frustrating,” he said.
MaryJane Scott, who arrived in Winnipeg on Thursday morning before the power came back on in Pimicikamak, said she thinks evacuees could be stuck in the city for a while.
“I’m worried about going back because of the pipes,” she said. “It’s going to take time to fix the pipes.”
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