Top news
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESWesteel’s layoffs affect at least 120 out of about 140 workers. Many permanent workers who have been employed at Westeel for decades don’t know when they will be recalled or if that will happen at all.
Steel spill leads to layoffs: More than 100 workers at AGI Westeel in Winnipeg were laid off just before the holiday season, ostensibly because of a liquid steel spill incident in Hamilton. The agricultural manufacturer is headquartered here. Temur Durrani reports. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: Mainly sunny with a high of -19 C, wind chill as low as -32 this morning, wind decreasing to 20 km/h and a risk of frostbite.
What’s happening today
COVID-19 crisis: Manitoba health officials will announce the latest COVID-19 numbers this afternoon but won’t be issuing a daily bulletin on Christmas or Boxing Day. News conferences on the pandemic will resume Tuesday. Manitoba reported a total of 33 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday and Wednesday. READ MORE
Trade deal nearly done: Negotiators from the United Kingdom and the European Union are expected to announce they have finally reached a Brexit trade deal “later on today.” The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
Trump tests loyalty: Democrats will try to put U.S. President Donald Trump’s last-minute demand for bigger cheques for most Americans as part of a COVID-19 relief bill to a vote in the House of Representatives. Republicans are expected to block a vote, which would force members wary of such spending to embrace it or break with Trump. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
Extended parking ban ends: The City of Winnipeg’s extended snow route parking ban, which took effect at midnight Tuesday, has been lifted. Parking on all snow routes is now prohibited from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. instead of midnight to 7 a.m.
Macron ends isolation: French President Emmanuel Macron is ending a week of isolation after falling ill with COVID-19 last week. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
In case you missed it
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESBrian Pallister’s government is being criticized by the opposition for eyeing changes to act.
Province plans to repeal act: Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government is planning to repeal the Construction Industry Wages Act, which sets minimum-wage rates for skilled trades. Carol Sanders reports. READ MORE
Pandemic poll: Seventy-one per cent of Manitobans say the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health, a poll commissioned by the Free Press found. Julia-Simone Rutgers reports. READ MORE
Oxford House outbreak: Chief Richard Hart of Bunibonibee Cree Nation says a third elder in the community, also called Oxford House, died from the coronavirus Wednesday. The community has 86 active cases of COVID-19, and Hart said there are homes with as many as 15 residents where everyone tested positive. Dylan Robertson reports. READ MORE
In sports
Canada’s Jamie Drysdale (6) and Cole Perfetti (11) celebrate a goal against Russia during third period IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship pre-competition action in Edmonton on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
World juniors set to start: The world junior hockey championship begins in Edmonton on Christmas Day, and Canada plays its first game against Germany on Boxing Day. Canada beat Russia in a pre-tournament game Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors opened their NBA season with a loss Wednesday night. There’s no NFL game tonight, but there is one Friday night. When the game kicks off, this will become the first season in which the league has played on every day of the week. There are also three NFL games scheduled for Boxing Day. READ MORE
On this date
On Dec. 24, 1997: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that in the last few shopping hours left before Christmas, Canadians were expected to rack up around $1 billion in credit card debt; according to the Canadian Bankers’ Association, Canadian consumers were already holding $20.4 billion in unpaid credit card balances, or an average of $1,337 for each of the 16 million people who carried a balance. A 60-year-old man with impaired sight and hearing was shot dead by police in an altercation in which the convicted drug dealer, set to be sentenced in the coming month, may have been confused when officers came to his home with a search warrant and he attacked them.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Winnipeg Free Press READ MORE
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