The Social Page: Duff’s dinner

Fringe reviews #2: No cheat codes required

Dangerous Curves, Elon Muskrat, Evolution of a Broken Heart, Fool's Gambit, Hair Brained, Happy Valley, Lies of a Promiscuous Woman, Mr. Loopy Pants, Pete Seeger Tribute, Tymisha Harris

PCs cleared of election violation for ‘intimacy coach’ invoice

Manitoba’s elections commissioner has cleared the Progressive Conservatives of wrongdoing after a $3,800 expense for a car rental appeared on an invoice from a company offering “intimacy coach” services.

The findings from the commissioner bring an end to a complaint raised by the NDP in October 2024, when it was alleged the PCs violated the Election Financing Act by forging financial documents related to the previous year’s election campaign.

“I am satisfied that the expense was indeed for a car rental, as the invoice described,” Bill Bowles wrote in a letter addressed to both parties Wednesday.

Concerns over the invoice to Lucid Vitality were first raised by a former PC staffer, whose internal emails with party officials were published in the Winnipeg Sun.

What happened to public service?

So, what exactly does the term “public service” mean? Well, I’m not talking about the winsome waitress named Kelly, who introduces herself as your server for the night. Nor am I talking about Gurinder from the garage, who services your car.

Manitoba Miracle forward signs five-year contract with club

Cole Perfetti is betting on himself. And the Winnipeg Jets are counting on him to take the next step in his development.

In what has been an interesting off-season to date, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff knocked another important item off his to-do list as the Jets agreed to terms with Perfetti on a five-year contract that carries an average annual value of US$6 million.

Perhaps the most important part of this transaction was that it allowed the two sides to avoid going to arbitration next Monday, which would have been bad for business for both parties.

Although it’s easy to say that it’s just business, a one-year term in arbitration, no matter the amount, would have left neither side satisfied and it would have meant Perfetti was just one year away from the opportunity to explore unrestricted free agency.

Nine years for man who kidnapped delivery driver

A delivery driver was kidnapped after the break-up of a business partnership involving “grey-market vapes” that were sold at Winnipeg convenience stores, a Manitoba judge has been told.

The Winnipeg Police Service said last week that investigators recently arrested a third suspect in the Oct. 11, 2024 incident, in which three men are accused of kidnapping the 22-year-old driver and holding him at gunpoint for hours as they stole merchandise from a storage facility.

One of the men arrested, 43-year-old Jonathon Ranger, pleaded guilty earlier this year to forcible confinement and two offences related to the stolen gun that was found when he was arrested in December 2024.

In June, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, minus time served, based on a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence as part of a plea bargain.

Sheriff who died in train collision ‘loved everybody’

Brett Matheson-Maytwayashing was a loving father, hard-working sheriff and proud First Nations man who helped lead traditional ceremonies for a decade before he died in a collision with a train near Portage la Prairie.

Matheson-Maytwayashing, 27, died in the Tuesday morning crash, which occurred on a rural road west of Portage while he and another member of the sheriff’s service were on their way to attend court in Amaranth, his mother, Alissa Matheson-Maytwayashing, told the Free Press.

It was Matheson-Maytwayashing’s first day back at work after taking time off to participate in a sun dance ceremony in northern Saskatchewan last week, his mother said.

“Brett didn’t judge anybody, he would give people chances,” she said, her voice breaking. “He didn’t care what colour you were, he didn’t care your nationality — Brett just loved everybody.”