Proactive planning for a future with more seniors

They’re supposed to be “the golden years.” But for many Manitobans in the ever-expanding 65-plus age bracket, life is anything but a warm and gentle journey toward a tranquil, glowing sunset.

Trump’s call for help met with silence

Thanks, but no. That’s the overwhelming response to U.S. President Donald Trump who, over the weekend, started telling other countries that they have to get involved in the war that the United States and Israel started with Iran.

Should Manitoba finally ditch the clock changes?

Twice a year, Manitobans go through the same ritual: stumble out of bed groggy after the clocks change and ask themselves why we still do this.

Government data shows extent of truancy issue

You start to deal with a problem by admitting that you actually have one, not by burying it because you’re concerned about how it might look.

Winnipeg Transit security project should continue

When it comes to Winnipeg Transit and the broader concerns about downtown safety, the past week saw some signs of progress — but there are many more signs that we have a long way to go.

On the positive side of the ledger, a 15-week pilot project involving more-intensive police presence and specially trained community safety officers on Winnipeg Transit buses was deemed to be a success. Winnipeg police reported that from September through to the end of December 2025, there was an 18 per cent drop in violent crime, a 15 per cent reduction in property crime on buses and bus shelters, and an overall drop of 15 per cent in criminal incidents over the same period in 2024.

The success involved a lot of hard work. Police logged 143 hours actually riding on buses, and another 101 hours doing foot patrols at bus stops and other transit hubs. An additional 36 hours were dedicated to marked cruiser patrols that focused on transit locations. This led to the arrest of 12 subjects and 98 fare-evasion enforcements.

WPS was quick to point out that as encouraging as these results are, it’s just a pilot project. “We’re not having a victory lap on this right now,” said WPS Supt. Brian Miln. “There’s still all kinds of work that needs to be done in this area.”

Failing to understand cause and effect

U.S. President Donald Trump launched his second term with the claim that the United States would get rich by levying tariffs on virtually every nation in the world, and that those other nations would pay the tariffs. But that’s not how tariffs work: the fact is that the cost of tariffs would simply be added onto the prices that Americans pay for goods.

Concrete actions to find new trading partners

The most difficult trick in politics is navigating the dauntingly broad metaphorical gap between talking the talk and walking the walk.

Evidence of startling overbilling at police HQ inquiry

It’s very much mid-stream at the inquiry into the construction of the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters. And because it’s mid-stream, there may be explanations down the road for some of the evidence being presented right now.

A first, important step for a national grid

There’s a long-standing complaint about the Canadian economy that we have been satisfied with being the hewers of wood and the haulers of water. In other words, that one of the major drivers of our economy has been to harvest raw materials and ship those materials to other countries for valued-added processing — products that we then often buy back, at higher prices.

Risk is business poison, and Trump is risky

With every passing day, it seems more and more like the president of the United States doesn’t understand the business costs of risk and instability.

Carney’s position on Iran changes by the day

Manitoba Tory MP and defence critic James Bezan was correct this week when he accused Prime Minister Mark Carney of being “all over the map” with our position on the U.S-Israel war in the Middle East.

In the House of Commons this week, Bezan lamented the fact that Canada had gone from supportive, to regretful and concerned, to weighing the possibility of actively supporting the attacks against Iran, all in the space of a few days. Bezan encouraged Carney to debate Canada’s role in this conflict in the House of Commons.

“It should be up to Parliament itself to say yea or nay on whether or not we’re ever going to be deploying our troops into a conflict,” Bezan told reporters on Thursday in Ottawa. “Let’s have the conversation where it should be, in public so there’s transparency, in the House of Commons.”

Bezan’s allegation is fair and accurate. Since the Americans and Israelis launched their furious attack on Iran on Feb. 28, it has been difficult to pin down Canada’s true position on U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Operation Epic Fury.”

When the diplomat isn’t diplomatic

U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra’s not like many of his well-regarded predecessors: unlike diplomats who have seen themselves as a bridge between two countries, Hoekstra sees his role as including lecturing Canada for its positions on trade and pooh-poohing Canada’s failure to kowtow to Trumpian demands.

Talking the talk — now it’s time for the walk

“What’s going to be different?” That key question was left hanging in the air after last week’s announcement of a new multi-agency task force to combat drug trafficking in this province.

Striking the right budget balance

Manitobans understand that governing is about choices. They also understand that some of the biggest choices a government makes are the hardest ones, especially when it comes to money.

The sidelines: perhaps the safest place to be

The military power of the United States — and of Israel — is brought to bear on Iran, and the Canadian response is well, muted. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.