The social page

Ottawa to announce details of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. Tuesday

OTTAWA - The federal government is set to unveil details of Canada's retaliatory tariffs against the United States on Tuesday.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon are also expected to share details of supports for workers affected by tariffs.

Solomon is also the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Communities on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border have been affected by the ongoing trade war. 

Bombers late-game defensive errors boil down to technique

It feels silly to criticize the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ defence on their latest showing.

To go on the road, force three turnovers, and hold the No. 1-ranked team in the West Division to 22 points is an impressive feat that should be heaped with praise.

But in the final minute of the game, the unit needed to tackle better.

With the score tied 19-19, the Edmonton Elks faced a second and three from their own 46-yard line when running back Justin Rankin squeezed through three defenders for a 16-yard gain.

Senior’s family frustrated by Manitoba Housing’s response to apartment’s bedbug infestation

The family of a senior who left his Manitoba Housing apartment after two years of bedbug infestations is accusing the provincial body of being ineffectual and irresponsible in its treatment of the persistent pests.

The senior had lived at the Columbus Courts building at 253 Edgeland Blvd., since 2011, but when he began getting severe skin rashes all over his body about two years ago, his son began to worry.

They found out the 14-storey building was being sprayed for bedbugs after an infestation had impacted several units. After multiple rounds of pesticide treatments, the problem has not subsided, the son told the Free Press.

“They come in, they spray pesticides and then they leave. And it’s been completely ineffectual,” he said. “My dad keeps seeing the bedbugs even the day after the treatments and continuously, they’ve just gotten worse and worse.”

‘Menu of options’: Manitoba to follow Ottawa on tariff impact supports

The Manitoba government is considering a “menu of options” for tariff-hit businesses as some companies watch sales fall off a cliff.

Business Minister Jamie Moses convened with the province’s U.S. Trade Council on Monday — two days after 50 per cent tariffs rolled out on US$20-billion worth of Canadian exports to the United States.

Tax deferrals and loans are on the “menu of options” the province is considering, Moses said before the meeting. More details should come later this week, he added.

He’s waiting for a federal announcement: the feds are expected to share details Tuesday about supports for tariff-impacted companies.

Blue Bombers volunteer seriously injured in collision with e-scooter

A longtime Winnipeg Blue Bombers volunteer was rushed to hospital and now faces months of recovery after being hit by an e-scooter while directing football fans after a home game last month.

‘How do I go on?’ Double homicide victim’s mother speaks at killers’ sentencing

A Portage la Prairie woman who returned home to find her adult son and his girlfriend shot dead told a court she struggles to go on in the wake of the drug world killing.

“All I want to do is sleep and not wake up, but I do and I want to give up,” Mary Bone said at a sentencing hearing earlier this month for killers Preston Whitford and Jeremy Whincup. “How do I go on?”

Bone’s son James Borden, 42, and his girlfriend Emily Smoke, 37, were killed Dec. 1, 2024, after the two accused forced their way into Bone’s home to collect a drug debt from Borden, court was told.

Whitford, who wielded the gun that shot the two victims, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years. Whincup, Whitford’s uncle, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.