Married flirt toys with emotions

Councillor facing sex charges running for re-election

A Winnipeg city councillor who faces sexual assault charges says he is running for re-election.

A day before Tuesday’s deadline, Russ Wyatt registered to run in the Transcona ward where he has served five terms and to which he was first elected in 2002.

“After much reflection, I have decided to stand for re-election in the Winnipeg municipal election,” Wyatt said in a statement Monday.

“Time and time again, I have stood up to the powers that be, and they would love to get rid of me. But I see the mess this city is in today, with the disastrous new bus routes, ever rising water bills, developer largesse, and poverty in our streets,” he said.

Kinew, NDP rise to new heights in Free Press-Abacus Data poll; support for Khan, Tories falls further

Buoyed by a bump outside Winnipeg, support for Premier Wab Kinew’s NDP climbed to its highest level yet, while the Tories lost some ground.

Bombers safety proof practice makes perfect

Redha Kramdi didn’t think he belonged in the CFL.

When he was a rookie in 2021, he vividly remembers watching tape of two of the best running backs in the league at the time — Ka’Deem Carey and William Stanback — and doubting whether he belonged on the same field as them.

“I told myself I’d never play in the CFL. The gap between U Sports and professional football is pretty huge,” said Kramdi, who was chosen in the second round, 16th overall, in the 2021 CFL Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers out of the University of Montreal.

“I was watching them and was like, ‘This is too fast for me. People are too strong, too physically gifted. And the communication is on a level I’ll never attain in my life.’”

Labour leaders, councillors urge Wyatt to reconsider re-election bid

City councillors and labour leaders called on incumbent Transcona councillor Russ Wyatt to reconsider his decision to seek re-election while facing sexual assault charges.

A day after the longtime councillor announced he would be running again, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 and the Winnipeg Labour Council, joined by Couns. Cindy Gilroy and Evan Duncan, told reporters Wyatt would not be able to serve Transcona while fighting multiple sexual assault charges in court and should step aside.

The community of Transcona, traditionally known for its working-class roots, has “been through enough drama,” the president of the city’s largest union said.

“I am not declaring him guilty of anything, the courts will decide that, and his lawyer says that he is innocent. I’m stating a plain fact about capacity. Every hour spent on legal defence is an hour not spent on Transcona,” CUPE 500 president Patrick Troughton said at city hall Tuesday afternoon.

Kinew ‘open to everything’ after Bell’s 911 failures

Premier Wab Kinew signalled Tuesday he’s open to all potential options, including switching 911 providers, if feasible, after a series of outages in Manitoba.

Kinew, who’s spoken to Bell Canada CEO Mirko Bibic and Prime Minister Mark Carney about Manitoba’s 911 service, said the government and the telecom continue to have a “back and forth.”

“At this stage, we’re open to everything,” Kinew said of potential steps to ensure the service is reliable. “The No. 1, I think, baseline is that when you dial 911, you’re going to get through to the help you need, whether that’s an ambulance or fire truck or police.”

Kinew said he’s looking forward to receiving Bell’s draft report to learn the cause of the most recent outage, which occurred Thursday and affected five other provinces where the telecom provides 911 service.