Family food fight a recipe for discord

Expect more of a grind than a shootout as Bombers face Elks on the road

EDMONTON — Which version of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are going to show up this week?

To punch their ticket to the playoffs, they better hope it’s the one that plays three-phase football for a full four quarters on Friday night at Commonwealth Stadium.

That’s likely what it’ll take to outlast the first-place Edmonton Elks (12-4) — who are also extra motivated considering they can clinch their first West Division regular-season title since 2015 with a victory.

The Bombers (8-8) can also secure a post-season berth this weekend if the Calgary Stampeders (8-9) fall to the B.C. Lions (10-6) on Saturday, but they’re not looking for a handout.

MPI still lacking brain injury expert

Manitoba Public Insurance has failed to hire an independent brain injury expert to probe how personal injury claims are handled, nearly two years after it was recommended.

Convicted harasser accused of targeting old, new victims, including judge

Agnieszka Ciochon-Newton, who was sentenced to six years in prison for mercilessly harassing two people she believed had wronged her, as well as other crimes, wasted no time when her sentence ended to launch fresh attacks on victims new and old, including the judge who convicted her, court documents allege.

The 58-year-old former nurse was arrested last month after Winnipeg police “became aware that (Ciochon-Newton) was engaging in aggressive and harassing behaviours again, starting almost immediately upon the expiry of her parole conditions” on May 13, Det. Sgt Kylie Case wrote in search warrant documents obtained by the Free Press.

Ciochon-Newton is charged with seven counts of criminal harassment, two counts of uttering threats and one count each of fraud, breaking and entering, attempting to obstruct justice, intimidation of a justice official, mischief and defamatory libel. She remains in custody.

Search warrant documents say provincial court Judge Keith Eyrikson learned in late August that Ciochon-Newton had emailed CBC Manitoba days earlier and threatened him.

Federal funding extension falls short: Ministers

Provincial and territorial health ministers say a one-year extension of a 10-year $1.2 billion annual funding agreement announced by the federal health minister late Wednesday isn’t good enough.

“We are still facing an enormous fiscal cliff,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, who is hosting the ministers in Winnipeg, said at a press conference Thursday at The Leaf in Assiniboine Park.

The one-year extension of funding for mental health, substance use and home and community care that was set to expire March 31, 2027 was announced by federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel, who meets with her provincial and territorial counterparts Friday.

“We welcome that first step, however, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, a lot of engagement that needs to happen (Friday),”Asagwara said.

Alberta’s immigrants feeling xenophobic chill from some questions in Monday’s referendum

EDMONTON — When Gurnam Singh Dodd came to Canada in 1976, he landed first in southern Ontario, where his brother lived. At the time, the province was mired in the era of stagflation, and it was difficult to find work; but he had some friends living in Edmonton, and asked for their advice.

“Come to Alberta,” they told him. It was a land of opportunity. The economy was booming, bolstered by soaring oil and gas prices; Dodd could surely find multiple jobs within days. With that, the young Sikh newcomer packed up and headed west, looking to put down roots on the edge of the Canadian Prairies.

Nearly 50 years later, that proved to be a wise decision. Dodd worked hard to succeed in his new home, moving up from his first minimum-wage jobs to a successful career with Edmonton Transit, and then as a driver’s licence examiner. He raised a thriving family, gave back to his community and became, in all ways, a very proud Albertan.

Around the turn of the millennium, eager to do his part in the province’s public life, he joined what was then Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party, under the leadership of premier Ralph Klein. (Klein’s father, Dodd says proudly, was a friend, and helped get him into politics.)

A decision with potential for ‘distraction’ and ‘disrespect’ in Transcona

Transcona voters acknowledge they have a tough decision to make at the ballot box on election day.

The east Winnipeg working-class ward is replete with lawn signs and posters, but most of the people the Free Press spoke with said they were still undecided.

While Winnipeg is, historically, more likely to elect an incumbent, longtime councillor Russ Wyatt is seeking a sixth term while facing five criminal charges, including sexual assault and administering a noxious substance, after incidents alleged to have occurred in 2023 and 2025.

Residents are not without options. In addition to Wyatt, former councillor Shawn Nason — who occupied the city council seat from 2018-22 — is running for council (Wyatt chose not to run in the 2018 election after taking several months off to undergo addictions treatment), and there are three new faces on the ballot: Lora Meseman, Chris Giesbrecht and Nathine Dagdick.