Workplace deaths rise slightly in Nova Scotia, says workers’ compensation board

Premier touts Port of Churchill opportunities at Canadian investment summit

Premier Wab Kinew announced Monday that major capital investments in the Port of Churchill Plus project will receive an exemption from Manitoba’s seven per cent retail sales tax.

Kinew made the announcement at the start of the two-day Canada investment summit in Toronto. The premier made the pitch to a room of 250 Canadian and global investors representing more than US$13 trillion in assets.

“We are here in Toronto to tell global investors that the Port of Churchill is open and ready to expand,” Kinew told the Canadian Global Growth Forum, a provincial government news release said.

“These new capital incentives make it easier for investors to get in on the ground floor of the largest project featured at the Canada investment summit. The grain and critical minerals we are already shipping out of the port are reaching Europe faster than the Port of Vancouver. With the right investments we can ship commodities year-round, strengthening trade between reliable partners and creating good jobs,” the premier, who was not made available for an interview, said in the release.

Mayoral candidate denounced for online comments

A Winnipeg mayoral candidate is facing criticism after he posted derogatory comments about immigrants and used the word “gay” as an insult online.

Menstruation, consent move up in sex-ed lesson plan

Manitoba’s newest curriculum introduces the menstrual cycle earlier and repeatedly calls for explicit lessons on how students can give, seek, and decline to provide their consent.

The education department has released its sweeping proposal to overhaul how exercise, nutrition and sexuality are taught between kindergarten and Grade 12.

Grade 5 has long served as a key turning point for “the talk,” said J Fiedler, a sexual and reproductive health educator who provided input on the new curriculum.

“There’s no ‘the talk’ anymore. Now, there’s continuations of multiple ‘talks,’ which can hopefully reduce stress for students and stigma that people experience talking about sexuality.”

Staying away to keep the heat on

It’s a tough sell these days for U.S. tourism groups seeking to attract Canadian visitors as tension, tariffs and traded verbal barbs continue to rise between the two countries.

Feds chip in $27M for Winnipeg sewage project

The federal government is offering Winnipeg $27 million to help reduce combined sewer overflows, its first financial contribution to the major environmental project.

The City of Winnipeg is provincially mandated to complete a $1.15-billion master plan by 2045 that reduces such sewage spills. The municipal government has so far paid for that work alone, however, as provincial and federal funding focused on the city’s separate $3.1-billion upgrade of the north end sewage treatment plant.

“It’s wonderful to see the federal government (do this) … It’s going to make a difference on the (combined sewer overflow) projects. We’ve got a lot of them to do in the city … With the rain events we saw this year, the importance of accelerating combined sewer projects across the city is more (pressing) than ever,” said Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan), chairman of finance.

Older combined sewers still serve about one third of Winnipeg, collecting both precipitation and wastewater in a single pipe. Heavy rain or snow can cause the pipes to overflow, which releases billions of litres of diluted sewage into Winnipeg rivers each year.