Almond cookies melt in your mouth

U of W, former professor sued over alleged sex assault

A woman who studied and worked at the University of Winnipeg has filed a lawsuit against the post-secondary institution and her former professor — a convicted sex offender — who she alleges drugged and sexually assaulted her.

The woman, a former international student from the United Kingdom and teaching assistant at the university, claims her professor and “mentor,” Derek Spencer, put a date-rape drug in her drink and groped her following a Christmas party for professors and graduate students in 2019.

“The assailant secretly placed a date-rape drug in her drink without consent and sexually assaulted her while she was in an altered and vulnerable state,” reads the woman’s statement of claim, filed in the Court of King’s Bench earlier this month.

“She suffered grave psychological and physical harm as a result.”

Klein, Gillingham trade jabs over megaproject

Two of Winnipeg’s mayoral candidates wasted no time trading barbs over who bears responsibility for the skyrocketing cost of overhauling the North End sewage treatment plant, during a televised debate Wednesday.

Scott Gillingham and Kevin Klein pointed the finger at each other for the rising cost of the massive project, which had a cost estimate of $795 million in 2015 and had ballooned to $3.2 billion as of the latest estimate.

“We need to be able to understand how that amount tripled in that short a time,” Klein said at the event held at CBC’s downtown Winnipeg headquarters. He pointed out the first estimate was given when Gillingham was chairman of the city’s finance committee. He questioned what the incumbent did to garner funding for the project.

Gillingham shot back by noting Klein was Manitoba’s environment minister in 2023. He accused his opponent of failing to make a dent on the cost.

MPI gambles with low rate request

It sounds a bit like a gamble from a player in an industry that is almost pathologically averse to gambling.

Only two contenders for one seat in three city wards — Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood, Point Douglas, Daniel McIntyre

Unlike previous civic elections, there’s no free space on the bingo card this time around.

Every council candidate in the city’s 15 wards faces at least one challenger as Winnipeggers go to the polls on Oct. 28.

During the last vote in 2022, Couns. Markus Chambers and Devi Sharma ran unopposed in their respective St. Norbert-Seine River and Old Kildonan wards. In 2018, Coun. Janice Lukes was acclaimed in Waverley West.

While seven of the wards boast at least four candidates, three others — Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood, Point Douglas and Daniel McIntyre — have only two each.

Winnipeg business closure scare leads Hydro to reschedule planned outage

Manitoba Hydro has cancelled a planned River Heights neighbourhood outage after a miscommunication led to area businesses fearing unexpected closure.

Hydro had planned to shut down power along Lanark and Renfrew streets between Corydon Avenue and John Brebeuf Place on Friday.

Overhead electrical maintenance work can only be done with the power off, during the day, for safety reasons, Hydro spokesman Peter Chura said. It chose Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. because St. John Brebeuf School had an in-service day.

However, the affected area houses a strip of businesses including a Royal Bank of Canada, eateries, shops, services such as physiotherapy and a medical centre.

Exchange welcomes new gallery

Co-owned by Laura Porath and Mike Page, Lucent Gallery + Design Studio celebrates its grand opening, Thursday.