Federal Court awards OCN $27M, 62 years after construction of hydro dam

The Federal Court has ordered Ottawa pay Opaskwayak Cree Nation $27 million over damages suffered due to the construction of the Grand Rapids hydro dam in the 1960s.

In a decision dated Sept. 3, Federal Court Justice Sébastien Grammond says the federal government had a fiduciary duty to protect the community from the impacts of the dam.

“When the Crown exercises a discretionary power over an Indigenous interest, it has a fiduciary duty and it must exercise the discretion in the best interests of the Indigenous group,” the ruling said. “Canada breached its fiduciary duty to OCN because it approved the (project) without ensuring that the impacts of the Grand Rapids dam on OCN’s traditional way of life were mitigated or compensated.”

The First Nation took the federal government to court in February over impacts on the community after the dam, located about 145 kilometres southeast of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, was installed on the Saskatchewan River in 1964. The case was heard over 14 days in a judge-alone trial in Winnipeg.

Alert-system operator asks CRTC to consider ‘device-based geofencing’ to avoid unnecessary weather warnings

The Weather Network’s parent company wants Canada to consider changes to how it warns the public about dangerous weather after Manitobans received a landslide of emergency alerts in the midst of a massive June thunderstorm.

City wants short-term rental unit property owners to report all emergency-service responses

New rules could require the owners of short-term rental units, such as Airbnbs and VRBOs, to tell the city every time an emergency responder is called to their properties.

Suspension on the horizon for Hellebuyck as pre-season set to start

In this high stakes game of chicken, Kevin Cheveldayoff, Connor Hellebuyck or any of the potential suitors for the Winnipeg Jets franchise netminder appear ready to blink.

Astronaut’s solo photo exhibition is for the birds

Roberta Bondar’s solo exhibition Patterns and Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive is on now at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery at Canadian Mennonite University until Oct. 10.

Health system would suffer during extended Dynacare strike, board told

A prolonged strike at Dynacare labs would lead to unsustainable pressure on the public health-care system alongside testing and treatment delays for some patients, the Manitoba Labour Board was told Tuesday.

Dr. AbdulRazaq Sokoro, chief operating officer of diagnostic services at Shared Health, outlined the potential effect on blood, urine and other tests if the provincial authority has to implement a strike contingency plan that would give priority to patients deemed more vulnerable.

“We know from evidence and we know from medical fact that any patient that has complaints will get a worsening of their disease if they’re unattended to,” Sokoro said during a labour board hearing to determine whether unionized employees of Dynacare — a private, American-owned company — provide an essential service.

“We also know that in order for physicians to attend to complaints, they need to be able to diagnose the patient’s disease.

Police cracking down on gangs, organized crime in bars and lounges

Patrons can expect to see more police officers in and around bars and lounges in the coming months as the Winnipeg Police Service plans to crack down on gangs and organized crime.

EU head tells Carney she wants Canada as bloc’s first ‘associate member’

STRASBOURG, FRANCE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday she wants Canada to become the first "associate member" of the European Union, though Canadian officials downplayed the significance of the term.

Prime Minister Mark Carney listened in the front row as von der Leyen laid out key pillars for stronger co-operation between Europe and Canada in her state of the union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

She said the two countries must "urgently reimagine" their partnership and move beyond a free-trade agreement to bring the relationship to the "highest level possible."

"I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU," von der Leyen said, drawing a standing ovation from most members in the chamber.

Manitoba mineral production set to triple, premier says

Premier Wab Kinew said Tuesday Manitoba plans to triple mineral production in the next five years “to unlock a new era of wealth creation and growth.”

“We’re going to make sure that opportunity is spread throughout the province,” he told a news conference at the Canada investment summit in Toronto.

The province is working with industry and Indigenous governments to send a message to investors that “we’re going to do mining right in Manitoba,” the premier said.

For too long, Manitoba has lagged behind neighbouring provinces, Kinew said.

Seven years sought for serial harasser

Alexander Beaton finished serving a two-year jail sentence for criminally harassing six women and didn’t last two days in the community before he was back at it, sending unwanted obscene messages and videos to a dozen women.

Now prosecutors are seeking a seven-year prison sentence for the 30-year-old Winnipeg man, whose latest string of victims includes a police officer who investigated his earlier crimes.

“He essentially continued (offending) unabated,” Crown attorney Brett Rach told provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald at a sentencing hearing Friday. “It caused more than a nuisance to these victims — it caused them to fear for their safety.”

Beaton pleaded guilty to 14 charges of criminal harassment, sending indecent communications and breaching court orders for a campaign of harassment waged between 2015 and 2025.