Dozens of Uber, Lyft drivers switched to cheaper insurance coverage: MPI probe

Ride-service drivers have been defrauding Manitoba Public Insurance by improperly insuring their vehicles as for personal use.

The public insurer and the City of Winnipeg, which regulates ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, discovered the widespread fraud after MPI conducted a review in December last year.

“When a driver changes their coverage from ride-share insurance to a personal vehicle coverage and continues to operate as a ride-share driver, that is fraud, plain and simple,” said MPI chief executive officer Satvir Jatana at a news conference Thursday.

MPI’s review looked at a random sample of 408 ride-hailing vehicles and found 108 were operating without the proper vehicle-for-hire insurance coverage. In order to register with the city as a ride-service driver, a vehicle must have such insurance and proof must be provided to the ride-booking company.

Dog feces vandalism shuts down food pantry

A few shelves set up beneath a West End community notice board were meant to offer a place where neighbours could leave food for anyone who needed it.

Get to know your Jet: Mario Ferraro

A one-on-one conversation with a Winnipeg Jet about the stuff you don't always hear in the media scrum

Ito in the house: Writer, translator takes new post as library’s writer-in-residence

It didn’t take Sally Ito long to settle into her new role as the Winnipeg Public Library’s latest writer-in-residence.

Accused in Brandon sword attack pleads not guilty

BRANDON — A youth accused of severely injuring a student in a targeted sword attack at a Brandon high school detailed a “mass murder-suicide plan” months before the incident.

The plan mimicked a racially motivated school killing of three immigrants in Sweden.

The 17-year-old boy unexpectedly pleaded not guilty to nine charges on Tuesday during a scheduled pretrial hearing in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench.

The teen, who can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is charged with three counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault, two counts of assault with a weapon, wearing a disguise with intent and two counts of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose in relation to the June 10, 2025 attack at Ecole secondaire Neelin High School.

Release police HQ report: Klein

Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein is lobbying the province to release the final report from the public inquiry into the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters before the upcoming municipal election.

Klein wrote to the provincial government to request that the information be shared promptly and before Winnipeg voters go to the polls on Oct. 28.

A Thursday CBC report stated the document is finished, “has been sent to the printer” and submitted to the province but isn’t expected to be publicly released until after Winnipeg’s Oct. 28 municipal election.

“It’s all about accountability. The report is done. People have waited (many) years,” said Klein.

Manitoba pharmacists push for increased role in administration of vaccines

Manitoba’s public health officials are preparing for influenza season to peak earlier than usual amid concerns about declining uptake for flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

While the season started early in some provinces, including Ontario and B.C., Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, said it’s too soon to conclusively say if the same will happen here.

“But certainly seeing what’s around us and seeing an uptick (in cases) here, it’s making a concern it might be an early year,” he told the Free Press on Thursday.

Manitoba’s flu season usually peaks in late December, with the vaccination campaign continuing into the new year.

Nurses disciplined for botched IV infusion

Two nurses working at the Grace Hospital have been reprimanded and fined $2,500 each for an IV infusion gone bad and an attempted coverup.

The incident happened on November 23, 2023 when a nurse asked a colleague to set up an IV infusion on him in an unused operating room.

During the attempted IV start, the nurse lost consciousness. The nurse who attempted the IV drip and another who was in the room called for help and several staff responded.

The nurse regained consciousness and vomited, but recovered and continued to work his shift, a March 18 decision by the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba says.

Province restores library program at youth jail after ‘miscommunication’

Manitoba Corrections has reversed its decision to cancel a pop-up library program at the Manitoba Youth Centre.

The monthly program had been operating since 2024 in partnership with the province before Manitoba Corrections informed the Manitoba Library Association last month it would be shut down.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said Wednesday there was “some miscommunication” about the use of the space at the Manitoba Youth Centre.

“When it comes to kids, we want to make sure they have great opportunities, books to read, teachers to teach them, which make a real difference in the path forward,” he said at an unrelated news conference.