What you need to know
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Impact fee invalid: The City of Winnipeg will have to pay back $32 million after a judge ruled funds accumulated via its controversial impact fee, which is a civic growth fee charged to developers and homebuilders on construction in some new neighbourhoods, is an “invalid indirect tax.” Coun. Brian Mayes said: “Obviously, a lot of good could be done with that money.” Joyanne Pursaga reports. READ MORE
Sky is not falling: Canada’s deficit has soared to $343 billion, 10 times its size from a year ago, but the federal government’s fiscal update released Wednesday shows hope for a slow but manageable economic recovery. Dylan Robertson reports. READ MORE
Weather
Your weather: Today’s forecast calls for a mix of sun and cloud with a 30 per cent chance of showers late in the afternoon and risk of a thunderstorm. The wind will become west at 30 km/h, gusting to 50 in the morning. The high will be 28, with a Humidex of 31.
In case you missed it
Susan Ash lives in Royalwood close to the Fountain View Park, which has a large bowl-like fountain in the pond. She believes shutting it off has allowed algae to bloom. She said the algae smells terrible and raises concerns about property values. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)
Urban ponds like ‘swamps’: Residents complained at city hall on Wednesday about excessive algae that’s mucking up neighbourhood ponds. The city decided to turn off aeration fountains in the ponds for the next four years in its recent multi-year budget, which was expected to save $80,000 each year. “Residents are starting to refer to it as the swamp,” said one resident. Joyanne Pursaga reports. READ MORE
The festival that wasn’t: Today would have been, should have been, the opening day of the Winnipeg Folk Festival if it wasn’t for a nasty act called COVID-19. As Alan Small writes: “The magic is gone this year, sweet anticipation replaced by a bitter pill that folk fest fans knew they’d have to swallow once the festival’s board of directors decided to cancel the 2020 festival.” READ MORE
RRC suspends programs: Citing the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on operations, Red River College is suspending six programs: introduction to electrical engineering technology certificate, introduction to aircraft maintenance engineer pre-employment program; advanced care paramedic diploma; library technology diploma; and both the diploma and certificate in cabinetry and woodworking technology. Christine Watson, vice-president academic, called it a “difficult decision.” Maggie MacIntosh reports. READ MORE
Boys are back in town: Sports columnist Mike McIntyre is excited that, starting Monday, summer training camps are set to open in 24 National Hockey League cities, including Winnipeg. “Hello hockey, my old friend. Oh, how I’ve missed you.” READ MORE
Affordable housing unaffordable: City hall has said it will propose a new affordable housing program but, as columnist Tom Brodbeck sees it, the city doesn’t have the money: “Affordable housing initiatives should be left to the province and the federal government, they have the tax base to fund them.” READ MORE
On this date
On July 9, 1955: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Manitoba Pool Elevators report described “spectacular” crop growth in areas not hit by flooding. In Ottawa, CCF leader M.J. Coldwell told Parliament that Maniobans were paying too much for sugar owing to “what appeared to be collusive understandings” among sugar refiners as to the price of sugar in Manitoba and Winnipeg. The chief of police in Grand Marais denied that teenage “wild parties” were getting out of hand, despite what cottage owners in the district said. The late scientist Albert Einstein was a co-signer along with eight other eminent scientists to a letter urging world leaders to work to end war, lest humanity be destroyed by nuclear weapons.
Today’s front page
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