Free Press Head Start for March 3

Good morning.

More talks aimed at ending the fighting after Russia invaded Ukraine are expected to happen today in Belarus, although it appears the chances of a ceasefire are slim.

Organizers of the Winter Paralympics have reversed a previous decision and expelled athletes from Russia and Belarus because of the war.

China called a report it asked Russia to delay invading Ukraine until after the Beijing Winter Olympics “fake news.”

Nearly two-thirds of Canadians believe the invasion of Ukraine could develop into a world war, a poll found.

A Russian member of Winnipeg-based farm machinery manufacturer Buhler Industries who “has been a vocal supporter” of the invasion has resigned, and a Canadian has replaced another Russian who remains on the board as chairman.

The attack on Ukraine dominated debate as Manitoba’s legislative session resumed Wednesday.

A plane carrying Russian nationals on its way to the High Arctic was grounded in Yellowknife, the Northwest Territories’ infrastructure minister said Wednesday.

— Adam Treusch, assignment editor

What’s happening today

The statue representing justice looks out from the Supreme Court of Canada over the Parliamentary precinct in Ottawa, Thursday March 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

MMF lawsuit: The Supreme Court of Canada will announce whether it will grant leave to hear a Manitoba case. A provincial judge dismissed an appeal by the Manitoba Metis Federation last year after a lower court ruled the provincial government was within its rights to cancel a 2017 deal between the MMF and Manitoba Hydro. READ MORE

Ex-cop case: The Supreme Court will also announce whether it will hear another Manitoba appeal. Crown attorneys are seeking to overturn a decision in which a former RCMP officer avoided jail time for his actions during a chase that ended with a man being fatally shot. The Manitoba Court of Appeal stayed an order that the former Mountie spend any time behind bars. READ MORE

Weather

Your forecast: Sunny or mainly sunny all day, with a high of -13 C, wind chill as low as -36 this morning, and wind at 10 km/h from the southwest and later the south.

In case you missed it

A student on the University of Manitoba’s campus on Monday. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Students left scrambling: Some post-secondary students are seeking alternative sources of income because of delays at Manitoba Student Aid. Maggie Macintosh reports. READ MORE

‘Ongoing crisis’: Manitoba asking Ottawa to extend the deployment of Red Cross nurses is at odds with the province lifting COVID-19 restrictions, critics say. Carol Sanders reports. READ MORE

On this date

On March 3, 1950: The Winnipeg Free Press reported the U.K.’s shaky Labour government under prime minister Clement Attlee was weakened by a raging controversy over whether his war minister, John Strachey, still possessed communist sympathies. U.S. president Harry Truman was to ask Congress for the authority to take over soft coal mines and operate them temporarily as a public service during the ongoing workers’ strike. Emergency measures went into effect in Ontario over the coal shortage.

Today’s front page

Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Winnipeg Free Press READ MORE

Head Start