Rate Adjustment Notices

1. In 2022, WCG’s patronage dividend allocation was $3,600,000 for the fiscal year; this included a cash distribution of $500,000 to eligible members. “The loyal patronage of our members makes it possible to give these dividend payments. The support of our products and services continues to increase members’ equity in the Cooperative and make distributions possible, “said Eagle (Bud) Keys, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. 

2. Enhancing our network and member experience is a top priority. WCG has made significant investments in our network capacity this year to respond to higher bandwidth demands on our network and proactively plan for the future. In conjunction with increased network capacity, we boosted our residential Internet package speeds to help accommodate the number of connected devices in a household. Our member survey displayed a surge of connected devices in the home, almost doubling to a new average of 20, which was previously 11. We continued to roll out our My Westman Wi-Fi app features for our residential members enabling better home network control with intuitive navigation and key customizable features, including security and network management. 

3. We continued our journey to fibre-connect underserved communities in Manitoba so that they can benefit from faster Internet speeds, as well as additional options for TV and landline phone services. This year we fibre connected 11 communities, including Somerset, St. Leon, Swan Lake, Pilot Mound, Crystal City, Clearwater, Holland, Cypress River, Benito, Kenville, Durban, and Sandy Lake lakefront. Later in 2022, our advanced communication services will be available in Birch River, Bowsman, Mafeking, and Onanole. We will be providing our services to over 60 communities in Manitoba, with nearly 40 of these gaining access to High-Speed Internet through WCG within the past five years.

4. As of September 2022, we moved to an entirely high-definition lineup for our video content and will roll out 4K signals for select sports channels. We recently added The News Forum and Cowboy Channel to our content lineup. We will continue to seek out additional channels we can add to our packages, further enhancing our member’s TV viewing experience. 

6. Post-secondary education programs play an important role in the Manitoba economy and support employment in the communities we serve. We announced our $150,000 donation to ACC’s newest learning space, the Centre for Creative Media, which will be paid over the next ten years. Our donation includes $50,000 in student financial awards and $100,000 towards the new facility. Part of the new facility was named on our behalf – the Westman Communications Group Shared Edit and Screening Lounge.