Province relents by extending deadline on city’s $3-B sewer plant to 2032

The Manitoba government will grant the city’s request to move the deadline for the three-phase, nearly $3.1-billion North End sewage treatment plant upgrade to 2032 from 2030.

Gas pains: soaring prices due to Mideast conflict could lead to energy turning point in Canada

Veteran actor Billy Bob Thornton may seem like an unlikely source of wisdom about the world’s relentless dependence on oil. Then again, it would be hard to find a better, more poignant description of the global addiction than a diatribe he delivered in a recent episode of Landman, a melodrama set in the Texas oil industry.

Thornton’s character, Tommy Norris, a crisis manager for a large oil company, is walking through a wind turbine farm that generates electricity to power remote oil rigs. Norris notes that over a wind turbine’s 20-year lifespan, the “clean” energy it produces won’t offset the carbon emitted in the manufacturing of its components or its installation. The same economics, Norris says, can be applied to solar panels and batteries for electric vehicles.

Then, the punchline.

“Our whole lives depend on (oil). And hell, it’s in everything — that road we came in on, the wheels on every car ever made, including yours. It’s in tennis rackets and lipstick and refrigerators and antihistamines. Pretty much anything plastic: your cellphone case, artificial heart valves, any kind of clothing that’s not made with animal or plant fibers. Soap, f—king hand lotion, garbage bags, fishing boats. You name it, every f—king thing. And you know what the kicker is?

The Forecheck: ‘Super excited to bring it home’

It’s been a long time coming, but Winnipeg will finally get its first look at live women’s pro hockey.

“I’m so excited to play in Winnipeg,” said Ottawa Charge defender and Ste. Anne product Jocelyne Larcoque last Friday in a virtual presser.

“We did (played in Winnipeg) in 2018 with the national team, and this is the first time as a professional athlete in the league that a lot of my friends and family are gonna be able to watch me play live.”

Fellow Manitoban, Winnipegger and Montreal Victoire defender Kati Tabin agreed.

For vintage sewing-machine aficionado, it’s all about seeing them stitch again

Dave Johnson, a semi-retired snowplow operator who also worked as a homebuilder, collects, repairs and uses vintage sewing machines.

Free Press journalists recognized among country’s best

The Free Press has been nominated for five National Newspaper Awards.

The newspaper’s coverage of the mass stabbing in Hollow Water First Nation that killed one and injured seven was nominated in the breaking news category, led by reporters Scott Billeck, Nicole Buffie and Chris Kitching, as well as photographers Mikaela MacKenzie and Mike Deal. A Mountie was also injured when the 26-year-old suspect crashed his vehicle into an RCMP cruiser north of Powerview-Pine Falls in the September incident.

Investigative reporter Marsha McLeod was nominated in two categories. She was nominated in the explanatory category for her work on the origins of the second-generation cutoff in Canada’s Indian Act. She was also nominated in the long feature category for her investigation into the RCMP’s fatal shooting of 18-year-old Conor Rae and the probe by the province’s police oversight agency.

Ben Waldman is nominated in the arts and entertainment category for his feature on comic book superhero Captain Canuck, the creation of a Winnipeg illustrator/writer 50 years ago, finding new audiences and relevance today.

Minister promises $14M more for corrections after union complains about overcrowding

Manitoba’s justice minister has promised more resources after the union for corrections officers said Friday inmate overcrowding and chronic short staffing is putting lives at risk.

“Help’s on the way, our government has focused on hiring up as many new corrections officers as we can and we want to continue to build on that work,” Matt Wiebe told reporters.

Wiebe revealed the province will spend an additional $14 million on corrections in the 2026-27 budget, which is to be unveiled next week.

On Friday, the union released the results of a survey of corrections officers and other jail staff that suggests there’s widespread discontent and concern about inmate overcrowding and short staffing.

Finance minister’s budget preview focuses on little feet

Manitoba’s finance minister — who had bags of children’s shoes in tow — announced Friday that families and affordability measures would feature prominently in Tuesday’s budget.

Adrien Sala went to Linwood Child Centre, his children’s former daycare, to announce that 2,000 childcare spaces would open within the province.

Tuesday’s budget will also include a 2.9 per cent increase to wages paid to early childhood educators as of September.

“We’re looking to make sure that we invest in you guys, our next generation,” Sala said, steps from children at Linwood.

‘A life-or-death program’: non-profit’s successful at-risk youth training awaits Ottawa funding decision

An inner-city non-profit that helps at-risk youth in Winnipeg has warned it will be forced to end an employment and training program March 31 unless government funding comes through.

A year of federal funding is set to run out for Resource Assistance for Youth’s Level Up! program, which has educated and secured work experience for more than 350 young people since 2020.

“We’re in that moment where no level of government has said, ‘We want to continue to support this going forward,’” said Kate Sjoberg, RaY’s executive director.

The paid training program involves six weeks of in-class learning and 12 weeks of work experience with a local employer. Participants also receive housing and mental-health and other supports.

‘Wake up people’: mom says proposed drunk-driving law falls short

The mother of a designated driver who was killed by an impaired driver says proposed legislation to prohibit school bus and semi drivers from having booze in their system doesn’t go far enough.

“Wake up people, it should be zero for everybody,” said Karen Reimer, whose daughter Jordyn Reimer, 24, was killed in 2022 after being hit by a pickup travelling at 108 kilometres an hour on a residential street in Transcona.

Under Bill 31 (The Highway Traffic Amendment Act), drivers of class 1 to 4 vehicles — including semi-truck and bus operators — would not be allowed to have any alcohol in their blood.

Reimer told a legislative committee Wednesday laws aren’t moving the needle when it comes to impaired driving deaths and injuries. The province had 13 impaired driving fatalities in 2025, the same number that it had a decade ago. Last year, there were 62 serious injuries, an increase from 60 in 2015, as reported by Manitoba Public Insurance.

Karlee Burgess brings the power and the party to Kerri Einarson’s curling team

CALGARY - Her teammates say she's either the life of the party or fast asleep.

Karlee Burgess has been a workhorse on the broom given the volume of draws she's dragged into the rings at the women's world curling championship in Calgary.

Canada's lead also brought enthusiastic rookie energy to her world championship debut, which her teammates have fed upon.

"She sweeps hard and keeps us laughing out there," said Canada's second Shannon Birchard.