Province pushes Ottawa for ‘swift’ response to request for military help from First Nation

The Manitoba government has asked that the military be sent to Pimicikamak Cree Nation to help repair water and sewage systems that were damaged during a days-long power outage.

Alleged construction issues at city water plant cost $47M to fix

Repairs to address alleged construction deficiencies at Winnipeg’s drinking water treatment plant, which opened in December 2009, are expected to continue until at least the mid-2030s and cost millions of dollars more than the city first expected.

Two of six key repair projects have yet to be completed. Work is still underway to determine the best option to secure sodium hypochlorite (which disinfects water), while a project to improve the surface of concrete tanks will take years to complete, a new city report notes.

“I’m really concerned. It’s been a long time. The plant was finished in 2009,” said Coun. Ross Eadie, city council’s water and waste chairman.

The city’s water and waste department now expects to spend about $38 million to rehabilitate concrete tanks, with construction on a first phase of that work slated to start at the end of 2026 and take about 4.5 years to complete, the report notes. Phase 2 and a final third phase of concrete repairs are not expected to begin until after that initial step is completed.

St. James resident fumes over icy, bumpy streets after parking bans ignored

Kristen Walterson woke up early on Dec. 21 to move her car before crews started clearing streets in her St. James neighbourhood.

The residential parking ban was in effect between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and she didn’t want to get ticketed.

A few hours later, she peeked out her living room window only to see multiple cars hadn’t been moved and the plows had left snow piles around the parked vehicles.

“And so then when (drivers) go to move their vehicle, it makes little tire marks through it, and the snow is all over the place, and now you’ve got these ruts, and then it freezes that way,” Walterson said.

Jail doors open at McCreary RCMP detachment turned vacation rental

If you’ve ever wanted to spend a night in a jail cell — without the typical prerequisite criminal activity — a western Manitoba rental might have what you’re looking for.

Winnipegger Stone honoured to get Olympic call

Mark Stone feared he might have missed his one and only chance at the Olympics.

The Winnipegger was on the radar for Beijing in 2022, only to see the NHL withdraw from the Games due to the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Adding literal injury to insult, ongoing back issues became too much to bear, forcing him under the knife a few months later and casting uncertainty over his future.

“When I went down before my second surgery, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to play again. You know, it creeps into the back of your mind. The first surgery didn’t work,” Stone said Tuesday prior to his Vegas Golden Knights facing the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.

Turns out the second time was the charm — both for his medical procedure and his dream of playing on the sport’s biggest stage. Stone was named last week to Canada’s Olympic squad, which will head to Italy early next month.

Province slashes number of private nursing agencies filling vacant shifts at public facilities

The Manitoba government has made good on a pledge to curb reliance on private nursing agencies, announcing it has cut ties with dozens of companies that fill staffing gaps within the provincial health system.

As of Jan. 15, the province will permit only four private agencies to satisfy vacant nursing shifts at public health facilities, Shared Health confirmed Tuesday.

Supporters of the move say it will spare the province from spending tens of millions on privatized health care, while critics fear it will drive nurses out of Manitoba — making it even more difficult to fill vacant shifts.

“This is an important step that could have been taken, and should have been taken, years ago,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said. “We know that the system that delivers the highest quality and most consistent care is the public system.”

Canada co-signs pact to help secure Ukraine after an eventual peace deal

PARIS - Canada and Ukraine's other allies in the "coalition of the willing" signed a statement Tuesday pledging to help secure Ukraine from further Russian invasions if there is a viable peace deal.

Prime Minister Mark Carney wrapped up a brief trip to Paris for these talks by promising Canada's support for Ukraine alongside the more than 30 countries in the coalition — though it remains unclear whether Canada would deploy troops to Ukraine.

The proposed security agreement would see a multinational force sent to aid Ukraine after a ceasefire takes hold, and offers a promise to support the war-torn country if Russia invades again.

While that effort would be led by Europe, the agreement says the force would also involve "non-European members of the coalition, and the proposed support of the U.S."

Carney meets with Danish PM as U.S. ramps up talk of taking over Greenland

PARIS - Prime Minister Mark Carney stood with Denmark on Tuesday, insisting the future of the Danish territory of Greenland will be decided "solely by the people" of Denmark and Greenland following fresh comments by U.S. President Donald Trump about annexing the territory.

Carney said Canada will always support Denmark's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which includes the autonomous island of Greenland.

"There's basic principles here which (are) self-determination of nations, sovereignty, territorial integrity. And then there (are) approaches that we have as partners to what we're trying to accomplish," Carney said during a press conference at the Canadian Embassy in Paris on Tuesday.

"As NATO, we can provide security for all of NATO, Greenland included."

Woman imprisoned for catastrophic neglect that left son on ‘cusp of death’

A Winnipeg woman who ignored repeated pleas to seek medical attention for her eight-year-old son before he was finally seized by child-welfare authorities, emaciated and near death, has been sentenced to 5-½ years in prison.

“The neglect suffered by (the boy) has resulted in profound physical and developmental damage (and) left him at the time of his apprehension on the cusp of death,” said provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald.

“Her failure to (protect her son) is an unforgivable moral and legal failure and a fundamental breach of trust.”

The 38-year-old woman and her 37-year-old husband, who are parents to five children, have each pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm. The male offender is still awaiting sentencing in a separate proceeding.

‘Our language is alive’: U of W launches Anishinaabemowin degree program

Banaise-Kwe Henry is battling homesickness so she can return to the southern shores of Lake Huron to help raise her nephew and his peers in Anishinaabemowin.

“Nigaan-inaabidan,” is the phrase that comes to mind for the 19-year-old when asked to describe her mission in Manitoba.

“It means, ‘to think ahead — forward thinking,’” said Henry, a member of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, located in Ontario, about 2,000 kilometres east of Winnipeg.

“Anishinaabe people, in general, we talk a lot about seven generations forward and seven generations back and so, when I think about my language learning, I take time to reflect.”

Disgraced former WPS officer pleads guilty to drug-trafficking charge

A disgraced former city police constable still awaiting sentencing for a string of corruption offences has now pleaded guilty to selling drugs to friends and other officers, often while on duty.

Elston Bostock pleaded guilty Monday to one count of trafficking drugs — including cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and illicit marijuana — between January 2016 and November 2024.

“There is no evidence of a profit motive for the drug trafficking; it is akin to social trafficking to friends and colleagues,” Crown attorney Janna Hyman told court, reading from an agreed statement of facts. “The amounts trafficked are personal use amounts for the buyers.”

Evidence of the drug trafficking was uncovered after investigators seized Bostock’s cellphone as part of an ongoing probe into his alleged criminal activities.