Brandon Folk Society's Friends in High Places

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BRANDON -- Has Brandon East NDP MLA Drew Caldwell abused his position as an MLA and his relationship with Premier Greg Selinger in order to obtain more than $1 million in provincial funding for a corporation founded by Caldwell and managed by his wife?

That is a question many Brandonites are asking as new details emerge relating to efforts by the Brandon Folk Music and Art Society to obtain almost $4 million of taxpayer support in order to convert the former Strand Theatre in downtown Brandon into a 450-seat performing arts centre.

In March of last year, the non-profit corporation submitted a 200-page funding application to the federal Department of Canadian Heritage, …