Keep serious family chat private

Development turning long-vacant gas station in Selkirk into commercial hub

A plot of land that has sat vacant in Selkirk for 30 years is being redeveloped to host new businesses in the heart of the city.

The former gas station site on Main Street — between Rosser and Pacific avenues — will be turned into a commercial hub that will be home to six local businesses, and will be a big stepping stone for economic growth in Selkirk, Mayor Larry Johannson said Thursday.

“For decades this site has been a reminder of what once was. Today, it represents what is possible when investors see the potential of our community and choose to be a part of its future,” he said in a news release announcing the project and Thursday’s groundbreaking.

“This development reflects confidence in Selkirk, our economy and the direction we are heading.”

Aunt’s hidden, mysterious life unlocks a moving meditation on humanity and family

Valérie Perrin is not a household name on this side of the pond, but in France her novels have garnered multiple awards. In Tata, Perrin’s fourth novel but the second translated to English, a simple but intriguing premise unfolds into a complex, multi-faceted story, one that seemingly incorporates the lessons of not only her three prior novels but also her several produced screenplays.

Scene 1: Paris, an upscale apartment in the autumn of 2010. Agnes, a celebrated film director, is publicly lauded but privately still reeling from her divorce three years ago. The phone rings. On the other end is a provincial police officer from Gueugnon, who regretfully informs her that her aunt, Colette Septembre, was found dead in her home that morning.

But Agnes reacts with confusion, not grief — Aunt Colette died three years ago.

It’s a great set-up for a thriller, although this isn’t one.

PCs say Hutterite colonies singled out by Bill 21

SOURIS — Members of Hutterite colonies in the province took aim at the NDP government’s proposed changes to drinking water legislation during a public meeting Thursday in Souris.

The meeting was hosted by Progressive Conservative MLA Colleen Robbins (Spruce Woods) to hear from rural residents about their concerns over Bill 21, which the government says will improve oversight on wells and other water systems in the province.

“There’s not enough clarity, but I feel that the overreach that this bill will bring is not clearly defined, and it could have a lot of negative consequences,” attendee Gilbert Hofer, a member of Green Acres colony near Wawanesa, said after the meeting, which drew about 20 people.

The legislation would allow public health officers to designate the type of water source based on its intended use, water quality and use duration rather than solely the number of connections it has.

Could renewed interest in strategically critical rare earth elements finally make sub-sector profitable?

Rare earth elements are among the most critical of mined resources for modern economies.

They’re essential in manufacturing specialized magnets used in a host of technologies from wind turbines and electric vehicles to hard drives, smartphones, television screens, and fibre optics. Most notably, however, rare earth minerals are increasingly vital to the defence industry.

These 17 elements — closely related chemically and usually found all together in mineral deposits — have indeed been growing in geopolitical importance as the United States, Canada and other Western nations recognize their dependence on production from China.

It is the world’s largest producer and processor of rare earths, including the most in-demand elements neodymium and praseodymium used to manufacture very light and powerful magnets for an array of technologies, including the most advanced weapons of modern warfare.

A message to Mark: Don’t. Back. Down.

When is a leak really a trial balloon? While Mark Carney currently enjoys huge favourability in Canada, there are nine federal byelections pending. If he stumbles on his pledge of “Elbows up’ against the U.S., votes could go against the Liberals.

Big-business bromance lacks bite

If a work of fiction is titled after its main characters, it would be expected that the characters, or the relationship between them, is somewhat interesting, unique or profound.

Sadly, that is not the case with Alexander Starritt’s Drayton and Mackenzie.

Taking place mostly between the housing market crash that kicked off in 2007 and the COVID pandemic — but ultimately covering the entire lives of the titular duo — the novel follows James Drayton and Roland Mackenzie as they create and run renewable energy business off the coast of Scotland.

James and Roland first meet at Oxford, where they are both on the rowing team. Neither is that excited about the sport, nor do they make much of an impact on each other. But they meet again years later, when James is working for McKinsey, a real-life multinational consulting firm, and Roland has returned from an unintended year-long excursion to India. Inexplicably, they start a business together.