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Police HQ report ‘outrageous’: Kinew

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read 6:18 PM CDT

Premier Wab Kinew says public inquiry findings that taxpayers were overcharged more than $40 million for the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters project and two city leaders broke the public trust are “outrageous.”

Inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang’s report, which was released Monday, concluded former mayor Sam Katz “violated the public trust” and council code of conduct, while the city’s former chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl suffered from a “complete lack of a moral compass.”

Smorang also found the city was overcharged $43.3 million for the project, with $42 million of that going to key contractor Caspian Projects.

“It’s outrageous that people who were elected betrayed the public here in the city. It’s outrageous that there were people in business who ripped you off, ripped me off — I was paying property taxes in Winnipeg at the time — and ripped all of us off to the tune of $43.3 million. That’s crazy,” said Kinew.

New

Local

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
The Innovation Drive plasma donation centre where one person made a donation in January and later died.

Grifols plasma collection centre reopens

Innovation Drive location back in business after inspection from Health Canada

Chris Kitching 5 minute read Updated: 5:12 PM CDT

Local

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Premier Wab Kinew announced Tuesday his government is aiming to strengthen protections for renters.

Policy change gives Manitoba renters a break from proposed hikes

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Preview

Policy change gives Manitoba renters a break from proposed hikes

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Updated: 5:33 PM CDT

Aidan Wilson said he was reduced to tears after getting a call from Premier Wab Kinew’s office.

He’d just learned tenants of a West Broadway apartment, including himself, would no longer pay a hundreds-of-dollars monthly rent increase as of Nov. 1.

“It’s been a lot to deal with, it’s a lot to push for, and it’s a lot to speak up. All of these emotions just kind of came flooding out,” Wilson said Tuesday at a news conference alongside Kinew.

The premier announced that renters will not have to pay the increases until the provincial Residential Tenancies Branch hears landlords’ arguments and issues its decisions.

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Updated: 5:33 PM CDT

Local

CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
Firefighters work along a firewall next to CFB Wainwright, south of the town Wainwright, Alta., on Monday.

Winnipeg soldiers help search and rescue efforts in Wainwright

Kelly-Anne Riess 4 minute read Preview

Winnipeg soldiers help search and rescue efforts in Wainwright

Kelly-Anne Riess 4 minute read Updated: 6:39 PM CDT

Eleven military search and rescue technicians from Winnipeg were deployed to Wainwright, Alta., following the fire that killed four soldiers and injured 39 others during a live-fire training exercise Saturday.

It was the largest mobilization of SAR techs, elite primary-care paramedics in the Royal Canadian Air Force, in recent memory, a military spokesperson told the Free Press.

Every SAR tech available from 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, located at 17 Wing Winnipeg — even those off duty — were sent to CFB Wainwright.

The technicians, who are trained to jump from aircraft into extreme environments, parachuted onto the scene from a CC-130H Hercules airplane to provide care for those injured in the fast-moving grass fire that had engulfed a training area.

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Updated: 6:39 PM CDT

Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks about the incident at CFB Wainwright as he rises in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Alberta’s Smith makes it clear separation now dead issue as long as she is premier

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Alberta’s Smith makes it clear separation now dead issue as long as she is premier

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 8:17 PM CDT

EDMONTON - Danielle Smith says Albertans have spoken in Monday's referendum and that as long as she is premier, separation is a dead issue.

Smith, in a TV address to the province, says there will be no more referendums on separation as long as she is in charge.

And she says separation will not be used as a tool to fight Ottawa, but instead any challenges will be waged through political avenues and the courts.

The mandate is clear, Smith said in a 14-minute speech.

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Updated: 8:17 PM CDT

Winnipeg Jets

Barron brothers clash for eighth NHL dogfight

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read Preview

Barron brothers clash for eighth NHL dogfight

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read 5:40 PM CDT

ST. LOUIS — This is what all of those endless games of mini sticks, countless hours on the outdoor rinks and extra reps in the gym were meant to bring about one day.

While the shine might not be quite as bright for Morgan and Justin Barron, the appreciation for the opportunity to go head-to-head in an NHL rink has yet to dull and it’s not something they’re about to take for granted.

Tuesday’s clash against the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues marked the eighth NHL meeting between the Barron brothers, who took divergent paths after growing up in Halifax.

“I’m always pulling for him and then all of a sudden, you’re fighting in the corner for a puck,” Morgan recalled after the morning skate on Tuesday. “It’s no different than in the summer or playing mini sticks in the basement and all of that stuff.

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5:40 PM CDT

Opinion

Separation is dead, now Canada must unite Tom Brodbeck Updated: 3:20 PM CDT
Surprising announcement opens door slightly for accountability in police HQ saga Dan Lett Updated: Yesterday at 5:31 PM CDT
Reviving democracy requires engagement John R. Wiens Updated: 7:07 AM CDT

Bomber Report

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo, holding during a KidSport football camp, is doing something he loves and understands it comes at a cost.

Playoff run for Bombers would mean longer stretch away for some

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Preview

Playoff run for Bombers would mean longer stretch away for some

Taylor Allen 6 minute read 7:23 PM CDT

Making it in professional football is a dream come true.

Imagine starting your workday by running out of a tunnel and onto a field while thousands of people cheer you on.

You don’t experience anything remotely close to that while chained to a desk from 9 to 5.

“Like this is my job? It’s crazy,” said Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo after Tuesday’s practice.

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7:23 PM CDT

Local

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Teacher commissioner Noni Classen said both teachers who were stripped of their licences sent messages to students during the day and late at night.

Inappropriate late-night texts to students costs teachers their jobs

Maggie Macintosh 6 minute read Preview

Inappropriate late-night texts to students costs teachers their jobs

Maggie Macintosh 6 minute read Updated: 5:41 PM CDT

Manitoba’s independent teacher commissioner has cancelled two certificates this month because of inappropriate late-night messaging with minors.

Robert Gregoire is no longer permitted to teach in the River East Transcona School Division or elsewhere in the province after he was found to have called a student “my beautiful” and “princess,” among other pet names he used in online communications over multiple years.

Brady Nurse, who became the subject of a workplace probe after RCMP contacted the Portage la Prairie School Division about his actions, was also recently stripped of his licence.

New consent resolution agreements — public documents outlining agreed-upon facts and consequences in disciplinary cases — reveal the men in both cases repeatedly engaged in boundary-crossing behaviour.

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Updated: 5:41 PM CDT

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Civic Election

(Matthew Frank / Free Press) Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein holds attack ads by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 during a press conference Tuesday.

Klein calls union’s attack ads ‘dirty politics,’ urges Gillingham to reject support

Matthew Frank 4 minute read Preview

Klein calls union’s attack ads ‘dirty politics,’ urges Gillingham to reject support

Matthew Frank 4 minute read Updated: 5:47 PM CDT

Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein said attack ads from Winnipeg’s largest union are an example of “dirty politics” and verge on United States-style campaigning.

The pamphlets, signed by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, show a United States flag draped behind Klein, with text stating he has sided with “the broader alt-right political movement” and defends the U.S.

“As Canadians we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. This is not the politics that we have experienced in the City of Winnipeg. This is not the type of politics we want to experience in Canada,” he said during a Tuesday news conference at his campaign headquarters.

He called on incumbent candidate Scott Gillingham to denounce the ads and reject the union’s campaign support.

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Updated: 5:47 PM CDT

Civic Election: Key Information

CITY OF WINNIPEG
St. Vital ward boundary map.

New blood in St. Vital

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Preview

New blood in St. Vital

Joyanne Pursaga 5 minute read Updated: 5:02 PM CDT

Candidates to fill the wide-open St. Vital city council seat are sharing their plans to ease traffic, tighten up development rules, protect trees and improve Winnipeg Transit.

Coun. Brian Mayes led the ward since 2011 but is not running for re-election, guaranteeing a new city councillor will be chosen.

Chris Sigurdson, a Louis Riel School Division trustee and criminal defence lawyer, is competing for the job with Mayes’ endorsement.

Sigurdson said his trustee work over the last 16 years provided a valuable education in local government that he could apply at city hall.

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Updated: 5:02 PM CDT

Civic Election

CITY OF WINNIPEG St. James ward boundary map.

Dobson up against two tech types in St. James council race

Malak Abas 6 minute read Preview

Dobson up against two tech types in St. James council race

Malak Abas 6 minute read 5:19 PM CDT

Two tech-savvy newcomers to civic politics are taking on Shawn Dobson, the incumbent city councillor in St. James.

Tyler Crichton, a senior project manager for a corporate IT company, and Kelly Ryback, a retired manager with Bell MTS, are hoping to oust Dobson, who is seeking a second term in the ward.

Dobson has a long resumé as a candidate; he ran unsuccessfully in the former St. Charles ward in 2002, 2006 and 2010 before winning that council seat in 2014. He lost his bid for a second term in 2018 in St. James to then-councillor and current Mayor Scott Gillingham in 2018.

When Gillingham jumped into the 2022 mayoral race, Dobson secured the St. James seat.

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5:19 PM CDT

Local

The family of a First Nations girl who was fatally shot by Winnipeg police six years ago is renewing calls for a public inquiry into police-related deaths of Indigenous police following the conclusion of an inquest into the girl's death. Eishia Hudson is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (Mandatory Credit)

‘More than just a headline:’ Winnipeg family seeks public inquiry into police death

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

‘More than just a headline:’ Winnipeg family seeks public inquiry into police death

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 5:16 PM CDT

WINNIPEG - First Nations leadership and the family of a First Nations girl fatally shot by Winnipeg police are renewing calls for a public inquiry into police-related deaths of Indigenous people.

Eishia Hudson was shot on April 8, 2020, after police responded to reports of a liquor store robbery and chased a stolen Jeep. Police have said the stolen vehicle "rammed" into a police cruiser and hit other cars during the pursuit before shots were fired.

An inquest into the 16-year-old's death, which concluded on Friday, heard an officer fired two shots at Eishia because he believed the lives of fellow officers were in danger.

William Hudson, Eishia's father, is pushing for the province to call a public inquiry to examine the broader issue of police-related deaths and how Manitoba investigates them.

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Updated: 5:16 PM CDT