Pimicikamak’s $20-M in unpaid Hydro bills pales in comparison to what Hydro owes First Nation, chief says

To underline its anger over unresolved compensation from the 1977 Northern Flood Agreement, the Pimicikamak (Cross Lake) Cree Nation stopped paying its electricity bills from Manitoba Hydro about 10 years ago. Now, the remote First Nation owes more than $20 million in arrears on its residential accounts.

‘We’ve got your back’: province announces $1M for security upgrades at places of worship

The province has launched a new funding stream to help faith-based organizations strengthen security following a series of hate-fuelled incidents targeting synagogues and mosques in Winnipeg.

‘Abominable case’ of child abuse prompts ministerial reminder

Manitoba’s families minister has issued mandate letters to First Nation and general child-welfare authorities for the first time — spelling out their responsibility to keep kids safe — after an Indigenous foster child was assaulted last year in an “abominable case of abuse.”

City’s budget for next homeless outreach provider inadequate, agencies say

The City of Winnipeg is seeking its next homeless outreach provider but two key organizations fear the budget for the work falls far short of what’s needed.

The city set aside $387,275 for the 24-hour mobile outreach support contract, which could be split to offer $96,820 for outreach east of the Red River and $290,455 for outreach west of the river, a request for proposals notes.

“The money in there is grossly inadequate,” said Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links.

Willis estimates $96,820 for outreach east of the Red, which her organization has long provided, would fund 2.5 workers. She said that’s too few to provide round-the-clock service, noting her annual outreach budget is nearly $500,000.

Winnipeg tech startup links skateboard video streaming service, products — with eye on expansion

Entrepreneurialism and skateboarding each require perseverance. Just ask Dane Homenick and Adam Wrublowsky — they’re involved with both.

The lifelong skateboarders and longtime friends are the founders of Twenty Point Nine Inc., a tech startup headquartered in Winnipeg’s Exchange District.

Twenty Point Nine is building a white-label technology that looks like a video streaming service, but allows users to purchase items they see in a video as they’re watching it. The company’s flagship product is the Den, a content-streaming service that aims to be the Netflix for skateboarding.

The goal is to make purchasing items while watching video “an unobtrusive experience,” Homenick said.

Predator used Snapchat to lure children for sexual abuse; girls struggling now, court told

A Winnipeg man who used the social media app Snapchat to lure his young victims into having unprotected sex with him filmed some of the encounters.

Nathan Donovan Marinko appeared in court Monday morning for a sentencing hearing before provincial court Judge Lisa LaBossiere.

He pleaded guilty in November 2024 to two counts of luring and sexual interference, and one count each of possessing and making child sexual abuse images, stemming from two separate incidents in 2023.

Court heard Marinko, who was 22 or 23 at the time of the incidents, added two young girls on Snapchat. The app has a chat function and a feature enabling users to send photos to each other that disappear after they are opened.

Docs, dietitians urge schools, hospitals to take processed meat off menu

School and hospital cafeteria menus are under scrutiny as part of a new campaign to reduce the amount of processed meats Canadians are consuming.

Doctors and dietitians across the country are calling for stricter rules on what publicly funded institutions should be allowed to serve.

“We’re serving processed meat in our schools, our hospitals — our public institutions, which really should be models and examples of good health,” said Dr. Zahra Kassam, a radiation oncologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

“We’re not saying to everybody, ‘you can’t have processed meat, ever,’ but we’re saying that public institutions should model the Canada Food Guide.”

New gamma knife can handle big brain tumours

Health Sciences Centre has acquired the latest version of the gamma knife, a high-precision device used for minimally invasive brain surgery.

The Elekta Esprit, the seventh generation of the device, can treat larger tumours. It uses 192 focused beams of gamma radiation to treat lesions, tumours, vascular malformations and other brain conditions.

The new technology was unveiled at a news conference Monday. It was paid for by donations to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and by funding from the provincial government.

“This new technology means more Manitobans can receive advanced brain treatment within the public health system, without the trauma of open surgery. For patients and families, that can mean less pain, shorter recovery times and fewer disruptions to their lives” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in a news release from the foundation.

Carney courts investment at World Economic Forum in Switzerland

DAVOS - Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Switzerland on Monday to join the global power elite for the World Economic Forum in the ski resort town of Davos, where he's looking to drum up investment from other countries and corporations.

The forum puts Carney together with the movers and shakers he encountered during his past work as a central banker and United Nations envoy. The Conservatives have pledged to boycott the event entirely, saying the attendees are out of touch with the needs of Canadians.

"It is a clearly a significant meeting of what you might call globally influential elite, coming from a variety of backgrounds (and) those representing capital around the world," said University of British Columbia political scientist Stewart Prest.

"There can be a celebrity element as well, and leading policy-makers from around the world are present."