Hackers posted extensive data involving Pembina Trails students, staff on dark web: probe

Personal details of current and former students at 12 schools, employees’ bank account numbers and images of cheques were put on the dark web following the hack against a Winnipeg school division.

City grants Uniqlo construction permit at St. Vital Centre

Japanese retail clothing giant has been green-lit to start construction on a large store in St. Vital Centre.

High anxiety at weed shops: survey reveals safety concerns on the job

A Winnipeg cannabis shop supervisor says there was a gunpoint robbery in her shop earlier this year — one example of the growing threats of violence that have a Manitoba union urging the province to tighten industry legislation.

Hannah McClements, who wasn’t in the store at the time of the robbery, said Wednesday that the holdup not only affected staff working at her store, but also a customer who was also held at gunpoint.

“It was around 11 p.m., and two men came into the store, held three of my workers at gunpoint and wanted money and cannabis,” McClements said.

“We feel a secured entrance similar to liquor stores would help a lot because then we have control over who comes in and can fully see their face to their driver’s licence. That would be one of the biggest stepping points, and one of the most helpful measures to take for our safety.”

Quebec says it will cut the equivalent of 5,000 civil service positions by March 2027

QUÉBEC - The Quebec government is planning to eliminate the equivalent of 5,000 full-time positions in the civil service by March 2027.

Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau also says that by the end of January government employees will work in the office three days a week instead of two.

She says the measures are aimed at increasing government efficiency.

The province estimates it has already eliminated more than 2,000 full-time equivalent positions this fiscal year, as part of its goal to reach 5,000.

Winnipeg mayor pushing for fourth emergency service to respond to mental health calls

WINNIPEG - The mayor of Manitoba's capital city is pushing forward to create a fourth emergency response service that would respond to mental health crises. 

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham has long called for a dedicated service that would answer wellness calls and would dispatch trained, trauma-informed responders so that police could focus on violent and property crime, as well as other public-safety issues. 

Gillingham is bringing forward a motion to the city's executive policy committee requesting that his office work with a consulting firm led by a doctor who previously held senior roles with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and the province to develop the Winnipeg Community Crisis Response Service. 

“Winnipeg needs a more appropriate response to mental health emergencies, and a fourth service will make our city safer while giving people the care they need,” Gillingham said Wednesday in a statement. 

Training rule boosts MPI road-test pass rate

The overall pass rate for road tests taken by new drivers increased by seven per cent, one year after Manitoba Public Insurance introduced enhanced training for people who had repeatedly failed the practical exam.

The Crown corporation announced the rise in pass rates Wednesday and attributed it to the introduction of the training support requirement last November. Under the policy, drivers who fail the road test three times must complete five hours of training with an accredited instructor before they can schedule another exam.

The change was introduced in response to the high fail rate and extended wait times for people needing to book road tests, MPI spokesperson Tara Seel said.

“We determined that we needed to address the people who were taking this test four (or more) times and still not passing. That was the problem,” Seel said.

Knife-wielding woman shot by Mountie four times on Trans-Canada Highway found not criminally responsible

A court has ruled a knife-wielding woman — who was shot by a Mountie four times as she ran towards him after climbing onto the roof of a truck on the Trans-Canada Highway — was not criminally responsible.

A Brandon judge agreed to a joint submission by the Crown and defence last week to find Jacqueline Armes not criminally responsible.

Court heard Armes, 54, has bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. She remains in custody and is scheduled to appear before the Mental Health Review Board on Jan. 5.

“I am satisfied there are some complex psychiatric issues here, based on what I read in the forensic report,” provincial court Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said Thursday.