Winnipeg Sun
BULLIED BY CITY HALL
There’s a putrid stench behind what River Heights business owner Laurel Penner and neighboring businesses have experienced in the past 2 years — including from a senior staffer inside mayor Scott Gillingham’s office and Transit officials. It’s the...
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OH, THE HYPOCRISY
The sheer audacity of the United States telling Canadians to keep their noses out of American politics would almost be funny if it weren’t so insulting. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra has issued a warning to Canadian politicians ahead of...
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CHIEFS DEMAND ACTION
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is calling on the provincial government to take stronger action against residential school denialism, arguing education alone is insufficient to address the harm caused by the deliberate rejection of survivors’...
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NO PEACE IN ST. BONIFACE
S t. Boniface residents have suffered an onslaught of crime throughout the civic election campaign, and I know first-hand, because a tenant of the building I live in was a victim. Our landlord recently determined that security cameras were needed...
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HOTTEST YEAR AHEAD?
An intensifying El Nino pattern set an all-time temperature high in a key Pacific zone in September and could help make this year the hottest globally on record, the director of the EU’S climate monitor said Monday. Global forecasters have been...
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Winnipeg Jets have plenty to be thankful for
They may be coming off their worst performance of the young season, but the Winnipeg Jets still have plenty to be thankful for. The club heads into the Thanksgiving weekend with a 3-1-1 record despite Friday night’s 5-1 loss to a young, skilled...
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FAT CATS ON THE PAYROLL
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Manitoba government to rein in public-sector compensation after new data shows the number of provincial government employees earning more than $100,000 has nearly tripled since 2020. The advocacy...
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WINNIPEG WALKS WITH ISRAEL
Today is the third anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023, when islamic terrorists crossed the border from Gaza and butchered nearly 1,200 people in Israel. It was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. More than 200 others were also taken as hostages....
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THE 40 CENT ILLUSION
On October 1st, the minimum wage increased in Manitoba and four other Canadian provinces. The lowest level of wage in our province is now $16.40, up 40 cents. In Ontario, the baseline is now $17.95. In P.E.I., it’s $17.30; in Nova Scotia, it’s an even...
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REMOVING BARRIERS TO JUSTICE
Survivors of intimate partner violence involving coercive control would no longer face a deadline to pursue civil claims under legislation introduced by the Manitoba government. The proposed amendments to the Limitations Act would allow survivors to...
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THE ART OF RESILIENCE
Long Plain First Nation artist Garry Meeches shared a message of resilience and skill, sharing both his intricate artwork and a tale of survival during National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30. Meeches was among community members and...
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DENSITY AT ANY COST
I n my last column I told about a file from residents in St. Vital, with detailed complaints about the daily effects of the construction of infill housing – some on corners, some mid-block — in the Glenwood neighborhood. “This is the issue that’s...
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HOME ALONE?
Winnipeg mayoral candidate Kevin Klein says vacant buildings would face strict deadlines for redevelopment or demolition under a plan he says would make neighbourhoods cleaner and safer. “A boarded house is cover,” Klein said. “It is a place to hide,...
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INFILL NIGHTMARE
In this election season, politicians are all in favor of more housing, especially infill housing. Last month, I was sent a file describing the dreadful impact of that unbridled, politically motivated program on residents in a St. Vital...
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INDEPENDENTS EYE ALLIANCE
Talk of Manitoba’s Independent MLAS joining forces to form a new party hit a snag Wednesday, when one of them said he wants no part of it. Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw raised the idea in an interview with the Sun Wednesday morning. Hours later, Dawson...
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KHAN QUITS PCS, SITS AS INDEPENDENT
Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan is resigning and leaving his party’s caucus, saying a group of MLAS refused to accept a confidence vote he won just three days ago. Khan announced Monday that his resignation as party leader and...
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THEIR NAMES ARE EVIDENCE
Ihave heard this phrase increasingly from people who deny or minimize the deaths of Indigenous children in Canada’s residential school system. Show me the bodies. Dig them up. Prove they are there. At first, this sounds almost reasonable. After all, we...
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WHEN HATE COMES HOME
Next week this time, I will be in Iceland, having just visited Greenland. I will be there as part of a group of Former Parliamentarians who, at our own expense, tour different parts of the world doing our part to spread Canadian goodwill. We generally...
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RCMP SEIZE SUSPECTED $850K COCAINE
A traffic stop near Portage la Prairie led to the seizure of 34 kilograms of suspected cocaine worth an estimated $850,000, according to RCMP. RCMP Traffic Services pulled over an SUV near Portage la Prairie at approximately 12:40 p.m. on Sept....
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A WRONG FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGED
TManitoba men who lived for decades not knowing they were switched at birth have received a settlement from the provincial government. Documents posted this week show Edward Ambrose and Richard Beauvais were each paid $250,000. In a statement from...
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BLOCKED AGAIN
The Manitoba Wildlife Federation says licensed hunters are once again being denied access to public Crown lands at a checkstop near Bloodvein First Nation. Chris Heald, Senior Policy Advisor with the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, said the organization...
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14,000 STILL WAITING
The demand for certain public services never goes away. Health care and education are the most obvious examples, but there are many others. Child care is one. In March of this year, the Auditor General of Manitoba, Tyson Shtykalo, issued a report...
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CARNEY PUSHES MAJOR PROJECTS BILL AS MPS RETURN
OTTAWA — The governing Liberals used their first day back from summer break to introduce a new bill to speed up the construction of infrastructure projects as trade tensions with the U.S. hang over the country. Buoyed by strong polling numbers and...
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THE PRIORITY ON TRADE
Whatever becoming an “associate member” of the European Union means, what it does is drive home the importance of Prime Minister Mark Carney reaching a deal with the U.S. on trade. Last year, the value of Canadian goods exported to the...
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CAMP GONE, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN
Last month I described the failed enforcement of the “Neighborhood Livability By-law” supposedly banning illegal homeless encampments near Winnipeg’s public facilities and amenities. In that column, City losing whacka-mole game as illegal encampments...
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KLEIN VOWS SAFER WIINNIPEG
Winnipeg mayoral candidate Kevin Klein is putting public safety at the centre of his campaign, promising a four-year plan that he says would work toward making Winnipeg Canada’s safest city. Klein released the first part of his campaign platform...
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TIME CHANGE AXED
Manitobans won’t be turning their clocks back this November. The Manitoba government announced Thursday it will move to permanent daylight saving time, ending the twice-a-year ritual of changing clocks. Premier Wab Kinew said the decision follows a...
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KINEW STILL HOLDS TOP SPOT
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew remains the most popular premier in the country, according to new polling data released Tuesday by the Angus Reid Institute. Kinew holds a 63 percent approval rating among Manitobans, the only premier in Canada with majority...
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WINNIPEG GETS AN F
Remember Parliament? Since the calendar flipped to our current year, 2026, 258 days have passed. In that time span, Canada’s Parliament has been in session for exactly 57 of those days. That means that for 201 days so far this year, your elected...
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MANITOBA INFLATION SOARS PAST NATIONAL RATE
WINNIPEG — Manitoba households are paying more than many others in the country, as the province’s inflation rate vaulted to 4.4 percent in August, well above the national figure of 3.0 percent, Statistics Canada reported Monday. The gap has been...
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CARNEY’S EU GAMBIT
Mark Carney’s goal this week when he travels to Europe is to make Canada an “associate member” of the European Union. It’s a title and status that doesn’t currently exist, but according to the Wall Street Journal it’s what Carney and EU leaders plan to...
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BANJO BOWL BEATDOWN
For some three months we’ve waited for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to provide the evidence they’re contenders in the competitive CFL West. In Saturday’s Banjo Bowl against second-place Saskatchewan, the defence made its case. Led by safety Redha...
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HOSTAGES AT HOME
The encampment beside Omand’s Creek near Polo Park (City losing whack-a mole game as illegal encampments flourish) have become a case study in how the City of Winnipeg abandons neighborhoods to fend for themselves and is putting the financial futures...
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TAXED TO THE LIMIT
Winnipeggers should not have to watch their property taxes, water bills and garbage fees climb year after year while being told there still isn’t enough money to maintain the basic services they already pay for. At some point, taxpayers are entitled to...
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LAB WORKERS DRAW A LINE!
WINNIPEG — Nearly 350 laboratory technicians and technologists at Dynacare walked off the job across Manitoba at 6 a.m. Tuesday, after contract talks with the company broke down last week, according to the union. The Manitoba Association of Health...
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A WARMER WINTER
A powerful El Niño now developing in the Pacific is expected to leave its mark on Manitoba this winter, tilting the odds toward milder temperatures in Winnipeg and a quieter stretch of extreme cold. U.S. and Canadian climate agencies say the pattern...
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DIRTY POLITICS
Mayor Scott Gillingham attacked him in a way almost unbecoming of a Lord mayor. Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine reached back to Klein’s former months-long employment with disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard, asking on social media: “Who...
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STRIKE LOOMS
The union representing more than 350 Dynacare laboratory workers is calling on the Manitoba government to release its current contract with the company as employees prepare for a possible strike Tuesday. The Manitoba Association of Health Care...
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CRIME DISASTER
Winnipeg has the worst safety reputation among 15 major Canadian cities surveyed in a new national poll, with a majority of respondents saying they consider the city unsafe. The Liaison Strategies survey found just 31 per cent of Canadians consider...
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WAITING FOR DISASTER
September started off with a bang – actually quite a few – for residents in West Broadway near Mostyn Park overnight from Monday into Tuesday. A fiery blaze was visible and multiple explosions – and then sirens from fire trucks — were heard from an...
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‘CHANGE THAT MAKES SENSE’
WINNIPEG — Walk down Portage Avenue after dark, and you will see what four years of drift at City Hall looks like. Open drug use on the sidewalk. People wandering into traffic. Police cars, fire trucks and ambulances cycling through encampments a few...
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POWER RESTORED
Power has largely been restored across southwestern Manitoba after severe storms moved through the region Sunday night, leaving widespread outages and debris in their wake. Manitoba Hydro confirmed Monday that crews worked through the night to repair...
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WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
I’ve walked the same blocks most of you have downtown, the West End, Point Douglas, Osborne and I’ve seen what everyone else sees. Open drug use in doorways. Needles on sidewalks. Business owners who’ve stopped expecting help and started expecting...
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MAN KICKS OFFICER DURING ARREST
MANITOBA: A 21-year-old Rapid City man is facing multiple charges after police say he broke a window at a home and later kicked an officer while being arrested. Spruce Plains RCMP say they were called to a disturbance at a Rapid City home at around...
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CBC WON’T SAY
Twenty-five years after nineteen hijackers murdered 2,977 people, including two dozen Canadians, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has decided the word “terrorism” is now optional. A memo circulated to CBC News staff this week, from senior director...
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HELLEBUYCK HEADS FOR EXIT
Winnipeg Jets franchise goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has officially made his trade request public. After months of reporting that the three-time Vezina Trophy winner wanted a change of scenery, the 33-year-old broke his silence Thursday, with his...
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STEPHEN HARPER WAS RIGHT
Property taxes are climbing again, downtown storefronts keep going dark, and rents keep rising in a city with more available land than almost any comparable Canadian centre. Donald Trump did not cause any of that. Former prime minister Stephen Harper...
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THREE STORIES ONE TRUTH
Trade talks between Canada and the United States collapsed late last week. Within hours, Washington imposed 50 percent tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods, and Ottawa announced matching retaliatory tariffs on steel, dairy, appliances,...
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“TRADE WAR” IMPACT
The tariff war hit home this weekend, and the bill is landing on Manitoba’s kitchen tables, not just its trade ledgers. Washington’s new 50 percent tariff on a wide swath of Canadian goods took effect August 22 after last-ditch talks collapsed, and...
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E-BIKE RULES REQUIRED
Despite what some might believe, government is not the solution to every problem. To the contrary, it is often the problem itself rather than the solution. Entire libraries could be filled with debates on the subject. However, there are times when a...
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PERMIT PANTOMIME
WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg homeowner’s video is going viral this week for all the wrong reasons. She had booked a pool inspection and stayed home all day waiting for the city to show up. No one rang the doorbell, and she had no missed calls or voicemail....
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CRIME, BAIL, REPEAT!
I hear from Winnipeggers who still glance over their shoulders walking to the car after dark. Parents still weigh the risk before letting teenagers take the bus alone. Small business owners still calculate whether another late shift is worth the chance...
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LANE CHANGE!
On August 14, 2026, the Ontario Court of Appeal delivered a unanimous 3-0 ruling that Premier Doug Ford’s government can proceed with removing protected bike lanes on major Toronto streets. The court found that a lower-court judge had “erred in law” by...
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BRACE FOR INCREASING BILL$
My family, like yours, keeps a close eye on what comes in and what goes out. When something unexpected hits- a car repair, a rate hike, a smaller paycheque- we adjust. We don’t pretend it isn’t happening. Manitoba’s government doesn’t operate that way,...
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TARGET INSIGHT
The Manitoba Wildlife Federation says it is seeking answers from the provincial government after learning that numerous parcels within several Interlake Wildlife Management Areas are being considered for transfer to Peguis First Nation through the...
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CARNEY’S POWER PITCH
Prime Minister Mark Carney pointed to a new $10-billion energy agreement between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador on Monday, just two days before a 50% U.S. tariff deadline is set to hit Canadian goods. Speaking to reporters at a news conference...
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ABDUCTION SUSPECT NABBED
A 37-year-old man reportedly abducted from Winnipeg has been found, and a 31-year-old Manitoba man has been arrested in Minnesota, U.S. authorities say. On Saturday, the North Dakota Highway Patrol says it was alerted to the possible abduction in...
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CANADA’S SHAME!
A Jewish family hides a Star of David before walking outside. Synagogues in Vaughan and Toronto are struck by gunfire. Jewish-owned bakeries are targeted. Organizations are arranging exploratory trips to Panama and Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Jewish Canadians...
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SAFE? THINK AGAIN!
I filed reports from numerous town halls and panels leading up to the opening of a “safe consumption site” for Winnipeg drug addicts. It was an election promise so important to the NDP that Premier Wab Kinew avoided every single opportunity to appear...
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MANITOBA IS ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
A mother and her eight-year-old daughter never made it home. Sara Unger, 35, and Alexa were killed near Altona in November 2024 when a semi failed to stop and slammed into their SUV, RCMP said. The driver, Navjeet Singh, fled the country and stayed on...
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GILLINGHAM DUCKS QUESTIONS
Winnipeg opened its first supervised consumption site this week at 366 Henry Avenue. What it didn’t open with was a straight answer from City Hall. Residents near the site have been asking basic questions since January: is there a permit, is there...
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FROM FRANCE TO WINNIPEG
Four graduate students from France are spending their summer in Winnipeg gaining research experience while contributing to pharmaceutical research at the University of Winnipeg. Alicia Portal, Amélie Jarousse, Charlyne Werlin and Ema Corby arrived in...
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CARNEY OFF AS TARIFFS LOOM
Prime Minister Mark Carney is spending this week in Italy on personal time, just over a week before a deadline that could see the United States impose 50 per cent tariffs on billions of dollars in Canadian exports. The Prime Minister’s Office told the...
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BY ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN Spotting the Perseid meteor shower
NEW YORK (AP) — The Perseid summer light show is back — and viewing conditions are especially promising for the Northern Hemisphere. The meteor shower’s peak Wednesday night into Thursday morning coincides with a total solar eclipse across Spain,...
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FAITH UNDER FIRE
Two people pulled up to the Rahma Islamic Centre on the night of Wednesday July 29th while people were gathered inside. According to the people at the mosque, the pair fired multiple shots from what turned out to likely be an airsoft gun at the...
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MAYOR’S REALITY CHECK
The vacant building that was once home to Earls on Main Street caught fire again this weekend. The same one that burned last October. A Winnipeg Sea Bears player ended up in hospital after being attacked downtown. A man was stabbed waiting for a bus...
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T&T TOUCHDOWN
T&T Supermarket is bringing its first Manitoba location to Winnipeg, announcing plans to open a 48,000-square-foot store at CF Polo Park in the spring of 2028. The new supermarket will be located on the lower level of the shopping centre at 1485...
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UNITE THE FIGHT, SAVE STREETS
Every Winnipeg family has seen it. More people sleeping on sidewalks. More public drug use. More businesses replacing broken windows. More parents wondering if the park down the street is still safe for their children. The hard truth is this. We are...
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PIPELINE PROMISE?
Mark Carney is making good on an election promise which has garnered little attention. He promised to reduce the size of the federal civil service and he is doing just that, or at least the people who work for him are doing it. To the delight of...
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LABOUR DEAL CLEARS FOR TAKEOFF
The father of a Portage la Prairie woman killed in a 2024 watercraft collision has filed a lawsuit in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench, alleging three men were negligent in the fatal crash. The lawsuit was filed on July 20 by David Harold Rodgers on...
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THE SECRET TOWER?
Public records on Gillingham’s new high-rise tower are deficient. Materials provided to the public are lacking. Information routinely submitted to the City for such projects is absent. Important information normally required for discretionary...
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A FAILING STRATEGY
Ask anyone defending Manitoba’s approach to the overdose crisis for one thing: how they’ll know it worked. Four years after Sunshine House’s mobile site began operating downtown, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service’s own numbers show a crisis getting...
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TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
Winnipeggers keep hearing about new units, new pilot programs, and new studies meant to fix the city’s public safety and mental health crisis. What they rarely get is a straight answer about how any of it actually works, who pays for it, and who shows...
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IS BATH TIME OVER?
The Ottawa Senators face a significant challenge in trying to keep Drake Batherson from reaching unrestricted free agency next summer. Batherson, who is entering the final season of a six-year deal worth $4.95 million US annually, is expected by...
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THE COST OF SILENCE
Ask a Winnipeg homeowner why their property taxes keep climbing, why potholes reappear faster than crews can patch them, or why downtown still feels hollowed out after dark, and most will shrug. They assume that’s just how city hall works. It doesn’t...
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PAPERING OVER THE PROBLEM
Osborne is one of our oldest, proudest neighbourhoods, and right now the people who live there are being failed. Parents walking their kids into daycare are stepping around needles on the sidewalk first. Business owners are boarding up windows faster...
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