Camping season starts
The camping season starts today even though Mother Nature isn't co-operating.
Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said Thursday most provincial grounds will open for business -- many with site upgrades.
Water services may not be fully available in a number of locations, due to cold temperatures.
The forecast calls for cool spring weather continuing into the weekend, with a high Saturday of only 12 C. Sunday will be slightly cooler with a high of 10 C.
Struthers also said as of April 23, more than 18,240 campsite reservations had been made, an increase of 14 per cent over last year.
Campers are asked to check with Manitoba Conservation at 945-6784, 1-800-214-6497 (toll-free) or the local district office for current service conditions.
2.1M trees for Whiteshell
The province will plant 2.1 million trees in Whiteshell Provincial Park in response to last year's wind storm damage, which devastated an area about half the size of Winnipeg.
Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said the planting, starting with 60,000 white spruce seedlings later this month, will take about four years. Seedlings will also be made available to cottagers.
Cleanup from the storm continues and with a few exceptions, trails and campsites in the park will re-open this spring.
The province also warns the fire risk is higher this year because of the amount of deadfall.
Cleanup efforts will continue into the winter of 2008 and 2009 and park visitors are asked to be mindful of large commercial trucks hauling timber out of the park.
Tax exemption
The Manitoba government will exempt the City of Winnipeg's new five-per-cent hotel tax from the provincial sales tax, Finance Minister Greg Selinger said Thursday.
Selinger said an amendment under the Retail Sales Tax Act will be introduced shortly.
He said the exemption will ensure the province doesn't get any additional revenue because of the new municipal hotel sales tax.
The provincial sales tax also does not apply to the city's taxes on natural gas and electricity.
The city's new hotel tax, renamed the Accommodation Tax, was approved in late April.
It takes effect June 1. In the recent civic budget, the city estimated it would collect $1.75 million through the tax this year alone.
-- Staff
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