Provencher Park eyed for new aquatic centre

Provencher Park may be the next site for a new aquatic centre.

Chefs gather in St. Boniface to see whose version of jollof is best

Chef Alex Bockarie is bringing an age-old African culinary battle to Winnipeg.

On Saturday, five local chefs hailing from Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria will go head-to-head to determine who makes the best jollof — a rice dish simmered in a savoury tomato-based stew.

“Jollof rice originated from Senegal but it has spread throughout West Africa and every country has its own method of cooking it,” Bockarie says. “It’s a long-standing fight; even among the communities here in Winnipeg, everybody’s always saying that Sierra Leone’s (jollof) is the best, Ghana’s is the best, Nigeria’s is the best.

“It’s a friendly competition; friendly, but very serious too.”

Love of the rink blossomed differently for mother-daughter figure skaters

It’s said that home is where the heart is, and for Dana and Marrin McKee that has always been the rink.

The mother-daughter duo of figure skating coaches always find comfort lacing up in chilly arenas.

Dana McKee’s origin story was very similar to her daughter’s, having a strong motherly push onto the ice. Much like learning to swim or drive a car, Dana’s mother believed that skating was an important life skill that needed to be honed.

Growing up in Morris, McKee spent the majority of her youth in the CanSkate program — a developmental learn-to-skate stage teaching the basics of standing upright.

Province accused of meddling in Dynacare contract dispute as strike deadline looms

The union for hundreds of Dynacare lab employees in Manitoba has accused the provincial government of interfering in contract talks ahead of next week’s strike deadline.

The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, which bargains on behalf of 350 lab workers at two dozen Dynacare outlets in Winnipeg, Brandon, and surrounding communities, said Tuesday that the labour board has been asked to review the need for an essential services agreement.

Dynacare and the union agreed in March that Dynacare services are not deemed essential under provincial law, and do not need to continue if a strike is held, MAHCP president Jason Linklater said Tuesday. The union, whose collective agreement with the private company expired March 31, said the NDP government was informed the two sides had agreed no essential services agreement was needed.

After contract negotiations broke down, and a strike deadline of 6 a.m. Sept. 8 was set, physicians and health-care advocates warned that patient care will suffer if the strike goes ahead because Dynacare provides nearly all medical lab services in Manitoba.

Officers, not technology, stop huge drug drop into Stony prison

Stony Mountain Institution officers intercepted $1.8 million worth of drugs and other banned items Sunday in one of the largest reported seizures in recent years at Manitoba’s only federal prison.

Jake Suelzle, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers’ prairie region, said employees spotted a drone while it delivered packages containing contraband.

“What marks this one a little bit unique is the (Correctional Service of Canada) just invested a significant amount of money into a drone detector, and this drone detector sure showed its worth when it didn’t detect at all,” he said Tuesday. “No alarm was raised when this package was dropped.”

In a news release that offered limited details, the correctional service said the items, including THC concentrate, were found in packages thanks to the “vigilance” of employees.

‘One-stop powwow shop’: Trail Creations opens doors to traditional, ceremonial clothing

Spoons hang on the wall — small, silver and, unlike most items in the shop, not for sale.

One from Saskatchewan, another from Florida. Each represents a place Jessica Lavallee and her family visited during a powwow circuit. The 32,000-kilometre trek led Jessica to 3096 Portage Ave.

She opened Trail Creations, a Winnipeg store selling materials to make traditional Indigenous garb, in the space last month.

“We want it to be a one-stop powwow shop,” Lavallee said.

Red River Polytechnic looks to expand after MITT takeover

Red River College Polytechnic is celebrating an enrolment bump and eyeing new high school partnerships as part of its merger with a longtime competitor.

For the first time, nearly 400 students attended their first day of RRC Polytech in Winnipeg’s south end on Tuesday.

The new campus is outfitted with two school logos — a new red one and a blue design belonging to the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology.

“It feels great to be a part of history,” said Dom McLaren, an 18-year-old who is enrolled in RRC Polytech’s network and systems administration program. “I’m definitely going to enjoy my time.”

Provincially regulated workplaces required to provide free menstrual products

New regulations came into force Tuesday requiring all provincially regulated workplaces in Manitoba to provide free menstrual products to employees.

The amendments to the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation were published March 9 but didn’t take effect until Sept. 1 to give employers six months to purchase supplies, and where needed, dispensers and disposal containers.

Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino said Tuesday that rather than push back, employers have asked for more information.

“The only concern I heard was that people don’t know about it and that we need to spread the word in a better way. That was the only issue,” Marcelino said in an interview.

Carney says U.S. wants to wipe out Canadian industries or make them subsidiaries

OTTAWA - U.S. negotiators were pushing in trade talks last month for concessions from Canada that would have caused key sectors like the automotive industry to either become U.S. subsidiaries or be "wiped out" entirely, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday.

Until late last month, Canada and the U.S. were negotiating a deal to address trade irritants on both sides of the border. Just ahead of a U.S.-imposed deadline of Aug. 22, Carney suspended those talks and summoned his negotiating team home.

"The attitude of the United States in these discussions, and subsequently, has been one that core Canadian industries either would be subsidiaries effectively of the United States industries, or would put in place terms where those industries would be gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out," Carney said in a scrum with reporters outside his office building.

"Of course, we're not going to accept those terms."