Winnipeg Free Press – Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada

Now-independent ex-Tory leader skips legislature’s first question period in four months

Chris Kitching 4 minute read 6:03 PM CDT

Crime rates, the cost of living and the state of health care were on the agenda Tuesday when the legislature’s fall sitting began a day after Obby Khan’s abrupt resignation from the Tory caucus.

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Manitoba PCs choose Narth as interim leader; Khan blasts former caucus colleagues

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Preview

Manitoba PCs choose Narth as interim leader; Khan blasts former caucus colleagues

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Updated: 1:59 PM CDT

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives have chosen Konrad Narth as their interim party leader after the sudden resignation of Obby Khan.

Narth, who represents La Vérendrye in the province’s southeast, was chosen in a closed-door caucus meeting Tuesday morning.

Khan announced late Monday afternoon that he was quitting caucus and will sit in the legislature as an independent MLA.

“We’re not fractured,” Narth said shortly after being selected and just hours before the legislature resumed sitting after a summer break of nearly four months.

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Updated: 1:59 PM CDT

Eliminating short-term sick notes ‘big step forward’: Doctors Manitoba

Matthew Frank 4 minute read Preview

Eliminating short-term sick notes ‘big step forward’: Doctors Manitoba

Matthew Frank 4 minute read Updated: 6:32 PM CDT

Manitoba doctors will no longer be required to issue sick notes for short-term employee absences due to illness or injury, starting Thursday.

The new provincial legislation, which officially passed in June, will only allow employers to request the medical documents when an employee has been absent for more than a week or if they’ve called in sick 10 or more times in a calendar year.

Dr. Nichelle Desilets, Doctors Manitoba board chair, said the legislation will free up time for physicians to concentrate on medical appointments and called the new rules among the strongest in Canada.

“What may be a small change in the labour code can be a big step forward on improving access to medical care for all Manitobans and using our health care resources wisely,” she said during a news conference Tuesday.

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Updated: 6:32 PM CDT

Local

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Stony Mountain prison on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. For Erik story. Winnipeg Free Press 2023.

Completely separating inmates unrealistic, inquest judge says in report on three Stony Mountain slayings

Erik Pindera 5 minute read Preview

Completely separating inmates unrealistic, inquest judge says in report on three Stony Mountain slayings

Erik Pindera 5 minute read 1:43 PM CDT

Nothing short of keeping inmates separated at all times could have prevented three unrelated prisoner-on-prisoner killings several years ago in Stony Mountain Institution’s maximum-security unit, an inquest judge has found.

Provincial court Judge Lindy Choy made the finding after overseeing an inquest earlier this year into the slayings of Adrian Fillion, 42, Michael Monney, 27, and Nolan Thomas, 26, all of which occurred at the hands of fellow maximum-security inmates in the federal prison just north of Winnipeg. The killings occurred when cells were unlocked, allowing inmates to briefly move around to other areas in the cell block.

“The overall impression I was left with from the (Stony Mountain Institution) witnesses was that management of inmates in a custodial facility is a very complex undertaking. There are clearly multiple levels of oversight involved in any decisions that are made and it is all done in a very structured manner,” Choy wrote in her report on the inquest, which was made public Tuesday.

“While maintaining complete physical distance between inmates at all times would have prevented the homicides from occurring, we know that from a social and psychological perspective, this is not generally realistic nor acceptable.”

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1:43 PM CDT

Local

Obsessed stalker who shot, killed young woman at bus stop in 1993 dies behind bars at age 74

Erik Pindera 3 minute read Preview

Obsessed stalker who shot, killed young woman at bus stop in 1993 dies behind bars at age 74

Erik Pindera 3 minute read 5:53 PM CDT

A Winnipeg man who stalked a woman for several years before shooting her dead in the street in 1993 has died in Stony Mountain prison.

On Monday, 74-year-old Ronald Edd Bell died of apparent natural causes at the federal prison just north of Winnipeg, the Correctional Service of Canada said.

Bell had been in prison since May 30, 1994, when he was given a life sentence with no chance of parole for 18 years for killing Terry-Lyn Babb, 25, on Jan. 21, 1993.

Bell walked up behind an unsuspecting Babb, who was waiting at a bus stop at Sherbrook Street and Wolseley Avenue, and shot her in the head with a pistol in front of horrified witnesses, says the Free Press report of his sentencing hearing.

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5:53 PM CDT

Local

Brandon Sun
Manitoba’s Auditor General Tyson Shtykalo.

Billions of dollars spent on health, but scattershot financial reporting leaves decision-makers, Manitobans in the dark, auditor general says

Nicole Buffie 3 minute read Preview

Billions of dollars spent on health, but scattershot financial reporting leaves decision-makers, Manitobans in the dark, auditor general says

Nicole Buffie 3 minute read 5:20 PM CDT

Manitoba’s auditor general says significant gaps in health-sector financial reporting make it difficult to understand how billions of dollars in public funds are spent.

Auditor General Tyson Shtykalo is calling for clearer, more transparent reporting in his latest report, titled Observations on Health Sector Financial Reporting and Accountability in Manitoba.

“Manitoba spends nearly $10 billion annually on health care, but current financial reporting does not provide a clear picture of how that money is spent, what services cost, or the financial pressures facing the system,” Shtykalo said in a news release.

While some financial information is available, the reports do not provide a “complete, consistent, or easily understood” picture of how health-care funds are spent, the report said.

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5:20 PM CDT

Opinion

Hero fought to remember children lost at residential school Niigaan Sinclair 6:25 PM CDT
What does the PC stand for in party’s name? Seems to be Pretty Confused Tom Brodbeck Updated: 6:11 PM CDT
Legislation needed on vacant buildings Editorial Updated: 10:09 AM CDT

Business

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
“It’s going to really require us to think about how we can diversify to try to capture some of that growth, because other countries are doing it. “If we don’t, we’re going to fall behind,” said Craig Johnston, Farm Credit Canada’s chief economist,

Expert urges food, drink makers to look to foreign markets

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Preview

Expert urges food, drink makers to look to foreign markets

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read 5:04 PM CDT

Canada’s slowing population growth could restrict business expansion, a top economist for Farm Credit Canada warned Manitoba manufacturers.

Craig Johnston, the federal Crown corporation’s chief economist, addressed Prairie businesses at Farm Credit Canada’s Food and Beverage Summit Tuesday.

“There could be some modest growth in Canadian consumption of food and beverage,” Johnston said, relaying population numbers inside a Victoria Inn Hotel conference room.

Still, per-person spending on food is “stagnant, if not somewhat rising,” Johnson later told reporters.

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5:04 PM CDT

Life & Style

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Emily (13, left) and Julie (eight) Sobkowicz with their family landline phone on Sept. 25. The family has used the landline to encourage the kids’ communication skills and stave off the encroachment of digital devices.

In a smart-device world, some families keep phone jacked into the wall

Sheldon Birnie 8 minute read Preview

In a smart-device world, some families keep phone jacked into the wall

Sheldon Birnie 8 minute read 4:20 PM CDT

When the phone rings in Kristin Shiach and Jordan Sobkowicz’s Riverview home, their three daughters race to see who can be the first to answer.

“It depends who is closest,” says 13-year-old Emily. “If I’m sitting in my room, I can get to it quickest.”

“That’s because it’s always in your room,” Anna, 10, replies. “You never put it back!”

“Usually, when the phone rings,” explains Sobkowicz, “someone yells really loudly —”

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4:20 PM CDT

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Local

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Thanks to drought conditions slashing its hydroelectric generation, Manitoba Hydro had to buy electricity and had less power to sell outside the province forcing the Crown corporation to post a $446-million loss in 2025-26.

Hydro reports $446-M loss in 2025-26, points to fourth drought year in past five

Scott Billeck 3 minute read Preview

Hydro reports $446-M loss in 2025-26, points to fourth drought year in past five

Scott Billeck 3 minute read 6:38 PM CDT

Manitoba Hydro posted a $446-million loss in 2025-26, as drought conditions slashed hydroelectric generation, forcing the Crown corporation to buy more power while leaving it with less electricity to sell outside the province.

The loss was $666 million worse than the $220-million profit Hydro had budgeted. The utility posted a $63-million loss the previous year, according to the utility’s annual report released Tuesday.

Hydro said the 2025-26 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, marked its fourth low-water year in the past five years, among the worst stretches of water-flow conditions in its recorded history.

Hydroelectric generation fell 23 per cent to 24 billion kilowatt-hours from 31 billion the previous year, leaving Hydro a net importer of electricity.

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6:38 PM CDT

Local

Orange Shirt Day project fits students to a tee

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview

Orange Shirt Day project fits students to a tee

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:57 PM CDT

On the eve of Orange Shirt Day, hundreds of black T-shirts will be handed out to teenagers at Elmwood High School — and there wasn’t a mixup in the clothing procurement process.

The student-run business behind the initiative wanted to make a statement about “truth and reconciliation” being a year-round activity, said Daniel Concepcion, a Grade 12 student.

Daniel said given that black is a staple in the wardrobe of teenagers, he hopes these shirts won’t sit on hangers for 364 days of the year.

“Every child matters, every part of the day, every day,” the 17-year-old said.

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Yesterday at 6:57 PM CDT

Business

President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Carney says he has no plans to apply further trade pressure as U.S. midterms approach

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Carney says he has no plans to apply further trade pressure as U.S. midterms approach

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: 6:19 PM CDT

WASHINGTON - Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday he has no plans to apply new trade pressure on the U.S. as Americans prepare for crucial midterm elections that could end Republican control of Congress.

Speaking with reporters at a news conference in Vancouver on Tuesday, Carney said Canada has no intention of escalating the trade war, although he noted he never rules anything out.

"Our timing isn't dictated by any specific aspect of the U.S. calendar," Carney said.

"The reality is the cost of living is very high in the United States and there's things Canada can do to help lower that cost of living."

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Updated: 6:19 PM CDT

Civic Election

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein says Winnipeggers are paying far too much for their water and sewer rates and promises to freeze the fee for two years if elected

Klein vows to freeze water, sewer rate for next two years

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Preview

Klein vows to freeze water, sewer rate for next two years

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read 6:09 PM CDT

Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein is promising to cancel a water and sewer rate hike proposed for next year and freeze the fee for two years.

Klein said Winnipeggers are simply paying far too much for the utility.

“I think we have to freeze them right now because we’ve seen (a substantial increase) in the last four years. We are facing some of the most difficult financial times for families right now,” he said.

He would also ask the provincial Public Utilities Board to set Winnipeg’s future water and sewer rates, a power currently held by city council.

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6:09 PM CDT