What’s happening today
Fashion mogul Peter Nygard is shown during a bail hearing in Winnipeg on Jan. 19, 2021, in this courtroom sketch. Lawyers for Nygard are back in court today arguing for his release as the Canadian fashion mogul faces charges of sex trafficking and racketeering in the United States. Nygard, who is 79, was arrested last month in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act and faces nine counts in the southern District of New York. His lawyers are expected to present a new bail plan after the judge presiding over the bail hearing criticized the previous one. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tadens Mpwene – POOL
Decision day for Nygard: Peter Nygard’s bail application is back in court this morning, and the judge is expected to announce her decision today. The U.S. is seeking to extradite the former fashion mogul for allegedly sexually abusing dozens of women and girls. READ MORE
Set to release stats: Statistics Canada will release its job numbers for January, when much of the country was under a pandemic lockdown. Economists have warned the restrictions and business closures would lead to job losses. The Canadian Press reports. READ MORE
Political proposal: Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling for the elimination of for-profit personal care homes. Several studies have found for-profit care homes were likelier to see more extensive COVID-19 outbreaks and more deaths. Singh will hold a news conference today. The Canadian Press reports. READ MORE
PM on pandemic: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will give an update on the COVID-19 crisis outside his Rideau Cottage home later this morning.
New COVID-19 numbers: Manitoba health officials are scheduled to announce the latest COVID-19 numbers at a news conference this afternoon. The province announced two deaths and 110 new cases of the disease, including 26 in Winnipeg, on Thursday. Carol Sanders reports. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: Mainly cloudy with a 30 per cent chance of light snow all day, a high of -15 C, wind chill as low as -29 and peak winds from the northwest at 30 km/h gusting to 50.
In case you missed it
CPWinnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck celebrates a win against the Calgary Flames on Thursday. (John Woods / The Canadian Press)
Second straight win: Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck set a franchise record with his 153rd career win as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Calgary Flames in the third of four consecutive games between the teams. “It’s a testament to all the guys that I’ve played with,” he said after. The Jets face the Flames in Calgary on Tuesday. Mike McIntyre reports. READ MORE
Screening samples: The province has no stated plan to increase screening for COVID-19 variants. Only about five per cent of positive COVID-19 samples are being screened for mutations. Dylan Robertson reports. READ MORE
Delivery of doses: Manitoba has no idea when the federal government will deliver the bulk of the Moderna doses it promised this winter, a COVID-19 vaccine task force member told the Free Press. Dylan Robertson reports. READ MORE
A matter of faith: Brenda Suderman reports on the province’s proposal to allow religious services with up to 10 per cent capacity, to a maximum of 50 people. READ MORE
Sentenced for stabbing: An Indigenous woman was sentenced Thursday for her role in a racially charged attack in which a Black man was stabbed in downtown Brandon. READ MORE
On this date
On Feb. 5, 1990: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Lynn Lake residents were treated to a $5,000 visit by motivational speaker Bill Gibson, courtesy of the federal government; the single-industry mining town’s 1,300 residents had been shaken three months earlier by the closure of its one working mine and the loss of 220 jobs. In Moscow, 250,000 protesters gathered outside the walls of the Kremlin to protest the Soviet Union’s system of one-party rule, in one of the biggest demonstrations since the Bolshevik revolution 70 years earlier. Placards warned Soviet leaders to “remember Romania,” where the Ceasesecu regime had been toppled by a popular uprising weeks before.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Winnipeg Free Press READ MORE
|
