Syrian guitar quartet invited to perform at U of W

Dog feces vandalism shuts down food pantry

A few shelves set up beneath a West End community notice board were meant to offer a place where neighbours could leave food for anyone who needed it.

PCs renew calls for CFS inquiry

The Progressive Conservatives renewed calls to put Manitoba’s child and welfare system under the microscope Thursday, tabling a motion that urged the province to appoint a commissioner to lead a public inquiry.

Families critic Jodie Byram’s opposition day motion, which was ultimately defeated by the NDP majority, reiterated demands for an inquiry into the systemic failures of Child and Family Services, more than 20 years after the death of Phoenix Sinclair first prompted demands for answers.

“We have seen far too many children die under the care of CFS, and we need to determine where the gaps are in the system in order to make the system a safer place for children,” Byram told reporters before the motion was defeated in the legislature.

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said in an interview that her department, CFS agencies and authorities are “doing good work” and won’t call an inquiry.

Ladies and gentlemen of voting age, please turn your attention to the centre ring…

If there’s one thing that we in the news business wish for any election, it’s that the campaign is competitive and voters have multiple, viable options when it comes time to cast their ballots.

That is certainly what I wished for in this year’s Winnipeg mayoral election: a ballot with two or more competent candidates — including incumbent Scott Gillingham — that offered contrasting visions for the future of the city.

Unfortunately, this time we didn’t get competent or viable. Instead, we got a clown show stuffed with candidates for mayor who have demonstrated a stunning capacity for self-inflicted wounds.

It all started when mayoral candidates Kevin Klein and Mike Vogiatzakis both alleged they had been asked by each other’s campaign to step down to give the remaining candidate a better shot at defeating Gillingham.

Jets goaltender quickly taking on folk hero status with hot start

Stuart Skinner is giving the hometown crowd plenty to cheer about.

The Winnipeg Jets new No. 1 netminder came up with another brilliant performance, making 32 saves — including several of the highlight-reel variety — to propel his team to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre.

With each save he makes and each win he records, Skinner is doing what he can to help turn the page on the Connor Hellebuyck era.

“I would say that they are big shoes to fill 100 per cent, but I’m not looking into the scenario of filling his shoes,” said Skinner, who lowered his goals-against average to 2.62 and raised his save percentage to .920 through three starts. “My job’s the same job as any other goalie in this league. So it’s a little bit of a difficult question for me to truly answer.”