The Pas, Manitoba

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Town of The Pas, Manitoba
Motto: Gateway to the North
Coordinates: 53°49′30″N, 101°15′14″W
Country Canada
Province Manitoba
Region Norman Region
Incorporated (town) 1912
Government
 - Mayor Herb Jaques
Area
 - Land 47.83 km² (18.5 sq mi)
Elevation 271 m (889 ft)
Population (2006)
 - Urban 5,589
 - Urban Density 116.9/km² (302.8/sq mi)


The Pas is a town in Manitoba, Canada, located in the Norman Region, some 630 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, near the border of Saskatchewan.

Known as the "Gateway to the North," The Pas is a multi-industry northern Manitoba town serving a district population of over 15,000 (including the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN), a Swampy Cree Reservation). The main components of the region's economy are agriculture, forestry, commercial fishing, tourism, transportation, and services (especially health and education). The main employer is a paper and lumber mill called Tolko Industries. The Pas contains one of the two main campuses of the University College of the North.

Contents

[edit] History

The area's original inhabitants were the Cree, who are thought to have migrated from the southeastern prairies 5,000 years ago. "The Pas" is a derivative of the Cree word "pasquia" meaning "wooded narrows". It may also originate from the French words "le pas" - "the step".

The first European was Henry Kelsey, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company who travelled through the area on his way to the Canadian prairies sometime between 1690 - 1692.

The Town of The Pas was incorporated in 1912. The area today is composed of three distinct communities: The Town of The Pas, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, and the Rural Municipality of Kelsey.

[edit] Government and politics

The Pas is governed by a mayor and six councillors who are elected by residents. The mayor is Herb Jaques. The region is represented in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (as part of The Pas riding) by New Democratic MLA Oscar Lathlin and in the Canadian House of Commons (as part of the Churchill riding) by Liberal MP Tina Keeper.

[edit] Sports

The Pas and the Opaskwayak Cree Nation share an ice hockey team called the OCN Blizzard, who compete in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Pas is also home to the Huskies minor hockey league, and the MBCI Spartans who compete in Zone 11 of the MHSAA.

[edit] Education

The Pas' public school system is the Kelsey School Division, which consists of two elementary schools (Kelsey Elementary and Mary Duncan Elementary), two middle schools (Opasquia Middle School and Scott Bateman Middle School) and one high school (Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute)

The town hosts one of the two main campuses of the University College of the North.

[edit] Local media

[edit] Radio

[edit] Television

CBWIT first went on the air in June, 1962 as CBWBT-1. The station broadcast kine recordings sent to the transmitter from CBWT. On March 1, 1969 the province-wide microwave system replaced the kine recordings and The Pas has enjoyed live television since then.[1]

[edit] Newspapers

  • Opasquia Times

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Microwave Hook-Up Gives North Live TV", Winnipeg Free Press, April 29, 1969, p. 28.

[edit] External links

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