NDP leader would back federal intervention in court challenge to Quebec’s Bill 21

Duo accused in random Osborne Village attacks no strangers to police

A man arrested following a violent, random attack on two men in Osborne Village late Sunday night was released from jail a week earlier after a dozen charges, including crimes of violence, were stayed against him, court records show.

A man in his 40s was sent to hospital in critical condition and another man in his 20s in stable condition following separate attacks shortly before midnight in the vicinity of River Avenue and Osborne Street.

Police have charged Reginald Owen, 26, and Meaghan Owen, 32, both from Little Grand Rapids, with assault with a weapon and aggravated assault. They both remain in custody.

Court records show Reginald Owen was sentenced Sept. 24 to 30 days time served after pleading guilty to simple possession of magic mushrooms. Owen remained in custody until the following day when he was set to apply for bail on charges including assault, sexual assault, choking to overcome resistance, pointing a firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon.

All sideshow, little substance

Well, there’s one thing that can be said about Winnipeg’s 2026 mayoral race that sets it apart from most previous campaigns for city council’s top position:

It isn’t boring.

In most civic elections, the power of incumbency and/or familiarity gives one mayoral candidate such a profound advantage that the outcome is all but a foregone conclusion and the lead-up to voting day becomes both uninteresting and largely irrelevant.

This year’s race, to the contrary, has been noteworthy for the unusual level of friction, controversy and mud-slinging that has been injected into the early part of the campaign.

Whistleblower pharmacist fined for misconduct after complaint

A Manitoba pharmacist who made complaints against a colleague that led to sanctions against him has now also been fined due to her own conduct.

Israeli election once again up for grabs

The next general election in Israel will be held on Oct. 27. Needless to say, like most elections in the country’s modern and fraught history since 1948, it is a critical contest between right and left, secular and orthodox, and left, moderate, right and extreme.

Also, given Israel’s complex proportional representative political system, which allocates a seat in its 120-seat Knesset (parliament) for winning only 3.25 per cent of the national vote, this election is nearly impossible to predict.

Even before 1948, Israelis’ ardent faith in democracy, their differing points of view and penchant for arguing led to the establishment of a multitude of political parties representing a smorgasbord of almost every conceivable position on the political spectrum.

Because no political party has ever won the 61 seats required to form a majority government, the major parties have frequently had to rely on fringe parties to hold power.