This not just in: treaty rights carry legal force and are protected in the Constitution

More than a century after the numbered treaties were signed across Western Canada, the courts delivered a blunt reminder last week that those agreements are not ancient historical footnotes.

They still carry legal force and governments cannot ignore them.

Two major court rulings — one in Manitoba and one in Alberta — reinforced a reality many Canadians still do not fully understand: treaties between First Nations and the Crown remain constitutionally protected agreements that continue to shape Canadian law, public policy and governments’ obligations today.

The decisions also underscored something else: Canadians would benefit greatly from learning more about treaties, why they were negotiated as Canada expanded westward and why courts continue to uphold Indigenous and treaty rights.

REIT idea

Real estate is often on Manitobans’ minds. It’s close to home, literally.

Yes, thinking critically really is that deep

Lately, I’ve encountered a pernicious four-word comment that pops up every time anyone tries to challenge something online: “It’s not that deep.”

Employees choosing stability again; what can smaller employers do?

For the past several years, employers have been operating in what felt like a constant state of movement.

Balancing act of farm risk-management programs

It’s a long-standing and generally accepted principle of Canadian agricultural policy that farmers need taxpayers’ help countering the unpredictable and wildly fluctuating risks of their operating environment.

Farmers have some measure of control over production choices. Their management can increase yields and reduce reliance on expensive production aids such as fertilizer or pesticides. They can also build an allowance for the unexpected into their game plan, such as seeking off-farm income.

But that can only go so far.

Farmers can’t plan for weather, climate, twists and turns in crop prices, the effect of external forces such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tantrums or becoming collateral damage in Canadian diplomatic spats with China.

Moose Hide Campaign against gender-based violence starts national conversations

This week marked the 15th annual Indigenous-led Moose Hide Campaign aimed at stopping gender-based violence.

While the campaign is recognized by official observances in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, this was the first time the movement went national, including a launch in front of a large crowd in Toronto and an online audience of 150,000.

Full disclosure: I was one of the speakers.

Regardless of my participation, the campaign has become one of the most important Indigenous-led movements in Canada – as well-known as Orange Shirt Day.

Summer drinks, sweater weather

Having lived my whole life in this province and having written about wine/drinks for over 20 years, you’d think I’d know better than to base the theme of a column on Manitoba’s expected weather.

Province has to untie Winnipeg’s hands in fight against vacant, boarded-up properties

Mayor Scott Gillingham deserves credit for at least trying to tackle one of Winnipeg’s most stubborn urban problems: derelict, boarded-up houses that sit vacant for years, rot into neighbourhood eyesores and too often become fire traps.

Same-old strategy on poverty no strategy at all

The situation is not good, and it’s not normal, not even for neighbourhoods that already live with heightened crime rates, poverty and addiction.

Progressive candidate sorely missing from mayoral race

With Mayor Scott Gillingham officially launching his re-election campaign, one of the more intriguing questions surrounding Winnipeg’s 2026 civic election has less to do with the incumbent himself and more to do with who is missing from the race.

Specifically, where is the political left?

Where is organized labour?

Where is the high-profile progressive candidate prepared to challenge Gillingham on transit, homelessness, urban planning and the future direction of Winnipeg?

Is simply serving as premier enough to earn Order of Manitoba honour?

Former premier Brian Pallister will be among the prominent Manitobans who this year will be inducted into the Order of Manitoba. Not to be overly provocative, but does Pallister deserve the honour?

The order is intended to celebrate prominent citizens who “demonstrated excellence and achieved outstanding, sustained contributions to the social, cultural, or economic well-being of Manitoba and its residents.”

You can see many, if not most, of those qualities in the other 11 citizens who are being inducted along with Pallister: Former Canadian Football League star running back Andrew Harris; opera singer Tracy Dahl; singer, songwriter and producer Chantal Kreviazuk; and Olympic hockey medallist Jocelyne Larocque. Other inductees may not be as well known, but are prominent in their fields: Dr. Joss Reimer, now the chief public health officer of Canada; Indigenous leader Diane Roussin; elder Bille Schibler; Mondetta Clothing CEO Ash Modha; Applied Electromagnetics Laboratory founder Dr. Lotfollah Shafai; restaurateur and philanthropist Doug Stephen; and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Peter MacDonald.

It is pointless to spend too much time debating the integrity of the process that identifies inductees. There is an application form that must be supported by references. Applicants are then vetted by an advisory committee that makes recommendations to the current premier, who then makes them official.

Legislature language ban doesn’t make sense, doesn’t solve problem

Speaker Tom Lindsey’s recent ruling prohibiting MLAs from using certain words was undoubtedly well-intentioned. But there’s a growing problem with applying decades-old parliamentary rules to modern political realities.

Health, social crises worsen despite NDP’s undeniable efforts to address them

Is it just a matter of doing more, or have we reached the point where the provincial government has to change its approach?

Rural employers competing harder than ever for talent

Across Manitoba and much of Canada, rural employers are facing a hiring challenge that goes well beyond having open positions.

New book examines how leading stock pickers only right half the time, still get exceptional returns

The world’s best, most successful investors are not market wizards. They’re maestros, argues a former top fund manager turned successful financial writer.

To Lee Freeman-Shor, wizards are traders, speculating on price movements, and the successful ones are indeed skilled, making money by trading frequently based on pricing data.

Maestros, in contrast, are often more focused on a company’s fundamentals. They invest based on the quality of the business and the prospects for future growth and profitability.

A few years ago, Freeman-Shor — a former, award-winning money manager with a master’s degree in psychology and neuroscience — authored The Art of Execution: How the World’s Best Investors Get it Wrong and Still Make Millions.