Good morning!
Sorry, wrong number: It appears Manitoba Telecom Services hasn’t been paying its fair share of city taxes. The company has been enjoying a huge tax break for decades — all because its distribution system has been assessed at a fixed rate, no matter how large the company has grown — costing Winnipeg millions of dollars in potential revenue. And it appears there is no political will to close the loophole by altering the City of Winnipeg Charter. Free Press reporter Kristin Annable has the exclusive story.
Your forecast: The odds are simply not in our favour, Winnipeggers. Environment Canada is calling for a 60 per cent chance of showers today, while there’s a 70 per cent chance of showers Saturday. Daytime temperatures will hover around the 20 C mark for the next three days. We’ll likely see a mix of sun and clouds Sunday, with just a 30 per cent chance of rain. More sunshine is expected Monday and Tuesday, although the daytime highs are just 14 C.
In case you missed it
PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSAmar Aziz poses in front of his 99cent Pizza, one of two outlets he owns on Selkirk Avenue. The normally busy avenue is now completely closed due to construction and Amar and other business owners are suffering.
Construction nightmare: Merchants along Selkirk Avenue say they’re taking a beating because of street construction along the usually busy strip in the heart of the North End. The current closure of Selkirk between Salter and McGregor streets is only the start. The city also plans to block off a stretch of Selkirk between McGregor and Arlington Street later this summer. “They’re killing us,” says pizza place owner Amar Aziz. READ MORE
Transplant success story: A 61-year-old Winnipeg man who has survived 40 years with a transplanted kidney helped the local chapter of the Kidney Foundation of Canada spread the good word of the benefits of signing up to be an organ donor. Adrien Perras and the kidney he received on May 26, 1976 have certainly beaten the odds. Statistics show the average lifespan of a transplanted kidney is 25 years and only one per cent of transplanted kidneys last more than 40 years. READ MORE
New Moose bench boss: The Manitoba Moose haven’t spilled the beans, but word leaked out last night that the America Hockey League’s next head coach will be Pascal Vincent, who spent the last five seasons with the Winnipeg Jets as an assistant coach. The Moose will make things official today at a press conference at 10 a.m. at the MTS Centre. The Moose fired coach Keith McCambridge at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season. READ MORE
Up next
DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSLiberal representative for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, Rebecca Chartrand, speaks during the opening of the 2016 Liberal Biennial Convention at RBC Convention Centre Thursday.
Truckin’ along: Visitors to the city this week will have plenty of dining choices today at the ‘Best of Fest Downtown.’ Delegates attending things like Centrallia, the Liberal Biennial Convention and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Annual Tradeshow will be greeted by 10 food trucks, 15 farmers market vendors, music and visual art on giant screens from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. along Carlton Street, between Broadway and York Avenue, and the parking lot behind the Workers Compensation Board (333 Broadway).
Filled with Pride: Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman joins Pride Winnipeg today to raise the Rainbow Flag at City Hall marking the kickoff of the Pride Winnipeg Festival. People start to gather at noon, with the proceedings starting at 12:15 pm. The ceremony is an important tradition and helps elevate the awareness of the LGBTTQ community. It also marks the beginning of the Pride Winnipeg Festival, a 10-day civic celebration of culture, history, education and pride.
Bombers in training: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ rookie camp wraps up today, with the final session set for 10:15 a.m. at Investors Group Field. Saturday is an off day for the CFL club, but main Bombers training camp kicks off on Sunday at 10 a.m., and football fans are encouraged to attend. The revamped team practises all next and is gearing up for its first preseason contest, slated for Wednesday, June 8 when the Montreal Alouettes visit Winnipeg.
Around the water cooler
Harper bids farewell: Former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper addressed the Conservative Party of Canada convention in Vancouver on Thursday before stepping away from politics, saying the party is in good shape and must remain united and strong in the years leading up to the next election. Today, the first full day of the Tories’ convention will feature intensive debate on issues ranging from whether to drop the current policy opposing same-sex marriage to retooling the way the party itself is run. READ MORE
Penguins to battle Sharks: If this were one of those nature documentaries, we’d put all our money down on the big fish with the razor-sharp teeth. But this is the Stanley Cup final and we give the Penguins a real shot at taming the Sharks. Pittsburgh punched its ticket to the final with a 2-1 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final. The Penguins host the Western Conference champion San Jose Sharks in Game 1 of the best-of-seven NHL championship series on Monday night. READ MORE
Trending now
Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press FilesStephen Harper is not the only reason the Tories lost the 2015 election.
#ThankYouStephenHarper: As the former prime minister, expected to step down as MP addresses Tory faithful at the Conservatives’ national convention, many are using the hashtag to send him off. Not always kindly, though: “…for muzzling govt and science in Canada for ten years, dark days of govt are passing,” “…for getting our young people out to vote — against you and in droves,” and “…for saying that murdered and missing women weren’t on your radar, but the Franklin Expedition was.” A few are positive: “…for setting Western farmers free from the bonds of the CWB. Western farmers are capitalists not criminals.” And one, at least, expresses specific relief: “… from municipal employees across the country who were sick and tired of removing ‘Harper’ from stop signs.”
On this date
On May 27, 2002: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that as part of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s cabinet shuffle, Winnipeg MP Ray Pagtakhan took on new duties as secretary of state for science, research and development, while remaining minister for veterans affairs. A Manitoba nudist resort caught up in a child pornography scandal banned cameras and tightened its membership rules to include criminal background checks.
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