Good morning!
Aglukark to be feted: This morning in Thompson, Susan Aglukark, Canada’s best-known indigenous singer-songwriter from the North, will receive a Governor General’s award for lifetime achievement. She will be the first Inuk winner of the Governor General Performing Arts Award when she’s presented with it at a suicide prevention conference where she is scheduled to speak to more than 330 young people. During her brilliant career, Aglukark, 49, has performed for the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, former Canadian prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Brian Mulroney, and former governor general Adrienne Clarkson. She has won three Junos, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal, the Order of Canada, and honorary degrees in both law and fine arts from three different universities.
Your forecast: The clouds were spitting raindrops this morning for a few minutes, and then stopped. That’s pretty much a “30 per cent chance of showers” in a nutshell. It comes, it goes or it doesn’t come at all. We’ll be under a slight threat of rain for most of the day, while the temperature rises to 17 C by mid- afternoon. Tonight, there’s a 60 per cent chance of showers and an overnight low of 7 C. Environment Canada is all but guaranteeing rain Friday and Saturday, though.
In case you missed it
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSLeader Brian Pallister says the Tories’ priorities include moves they say will lower taxes, improve services and strenghten the economy.
Pallister, Tories in home stretch: If the polls are accurate, Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister is set to become Manitoba’s 22nd premier after the provincial election this coming Tuesday. But the Tory leader isn’t taking anything for granted, and he’s making sure to visit even the most hardcore NDP ridings during the campaign in an effort to gain support, writes Free Press reporter Bartley Kives. READ MORE
Police tracking a killer: Winnipeg police are making strides in an effort to solve the 2012 homicide of 23-year-old Simone Sanders. Sgt. Wes Rommel of the Winnipeg Police Service homicide unit said Wednesday investigators have developed a DNA profile of a male suspect – but at this time they don’t know the identity of that person. Sanderson’s body was discovered in a vacant lot at Main Street and Burrows Avenue on Sept. 2, 2012, although police believe she died about a week before. READ MORE
If you build it, hogs will come: Provincial hog producers are once again beginning to build new hog barns after the Manitoba government agreed to lift a moratorium on new-barn construction. Delegates attending the Manitoba Pork Council’s annual meeting Wednesday were told as many as 100 new barns could be erected over the next five years, some new and some replacements. READ MORE
Up next
Final debate: Conservative Leader Brian Pallister, NDP Leader Greg Selinger and Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari have their last chance to score the knockout punch and secure votes at the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce provincial leadership debate today. The Free Press will livestream the event from the RBC Convention Centre beginning at 12:15 p.m. Manitobans head to the polls on April 19.
Assisted death: More than a year after the Supreme Court struck down Canada’s ban on assisted suicide, the federal government will introduce a new law today in Ottawa to make clear the conditions in which seriously ill or dying Canadians may seek medical help to end their lives.
Around the water cooler
A24 FILMSArtificial intelligence, such as the brains within the android Ava of the movie Ex Machina, is a made-in-Canada technology.
Ghost in the machine: Canada’s economy is affected as commodities continue to suffer due to cyclical weakness, but innovation in artificial intelligence — something Canada excels at but isn’t known for, outside of tech circles — could pave the way to new economic strength. READ MORE
NHL playoffs begin: St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott earned his first career playoff shutout in a 1-0 overtime triumph over the defending Stanley Cup champions on Wednesday. Elliott made 35 saves off the Chicago Blackhawks and forward David Backes scored at 9:04 of overtime as the Blues took Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series. Two other playoff series kicked off Wednesday night. Patric Hornqvist netted a hat-trick as the Pittsburgh Penguins knocked off the New York Rangers 5-2, while Nikita Kucherov scored twice as the Tampa Bay Lightning edged the Detroit Red Wings by a 3-2 count. READ MORE
Trending now
#RejectedSnowWhiteDwarves: If you thought Grumpy was hard to deal with, what about Phlegmy, Dodgy, Trumpy, Shivvy and Stabby?
#StonerSciFi: These science-fiction mashups may be half-baked, but they still… what? Dude, check these out: The Strawberry Alarm ClockWork Orange, StarTrek IV: The Voyage Homegrown, Planet of the Vapes, and Totally Can’t Recall.
On this date
On April 14, 1962: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union was heating up, as Soviet Premier Kruschev vowed to match U.S. nuclear weapons testing blast for blast under water, underground, in the atmosphere, and even in space. It was revealed that twice in the previous two months, Manitoba Premier Duff Roblin had been asked to step down and take a position in federal cabinet, but he declined both times, intending to go to the polls in Manitoba in the next provincial election.
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