Award-winning chef to close Máquè

Policy change gives Manitoba renters a break from proposed hikes

Aidan Wilson said he was reduced to tears after getting a call from Premier Wab Kinew’s office.

He’d just learned tenants of a West Broadway apartment, including himself, would no longer pay a hundreds-of-dollars monthly rent increase as of Nov. 1.

“It’s been a lot to deal with, it’s a lot to push for, and it’s a lot to speak up. All of these emotions just kind of came flooding out,” Wilson said Tuesday at a news conference alongside Kinew.

The premier announced that renters will not have to pay the increases until the provincial Residential Tenancies Branch hears landlords’ arguments and issues its decisions.

Arson probe launched in 3 separate fires at homes under construction

Winnipeg police have launched an arson investigation into three separate fires at homes under construction.

The latest blaze caused significant damage at two houses in St. Vital early Wednesday morning.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic crews were sent to the 200 block of Regal Avenue shortly before 4 a.m. Heavy smoke and flames were coming from the homes and were threatening nearby buildings.

Additional firefighters were dispatched to the scene and some residents of neighbouring homes were evacuated.

Candidates snipe over safety during radio debate

Public safety took centre stage during a sometimes fiery mayoral debate Wednesday morning, as three candidates sparred over their plans to make Winnipeg safer.

The CJOB debate included candidates Scott Gillingham, Kevin Klein and Mike Vogiatzakis, who were selected as the top contenders in the race based on polling data.

Moderator Richard Cloutier asked how each would make the city safer, noting concerns about a delayed response to property crimes, such as break-ins.

Klein noted he has promised a public safety task force and to hire more police, if he’s elected.

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.

New blood in St. Vital

Candidates to fill the wide-open St. Vital city council seat are sharing their plans to ease traffic, tighten up development rules, protect trees and improve Winnipeg Transit.

Coun. Brian Mayes led the ward since 2011 but is not running for re-election, guaranteeing a new city councillor will be chosen.

Chris Sigurdson, a Louis Riel School Division trustee and criminal defence lawyer, is competing for the job with Mayes’ endorsement.

Sigurdson said his trustee work over the last 16 years provided a valuable education in local government that he could apply at city hall.

Letters, Oct. 21

I am a citizen of the Interlake who is deeply alarmed about the ongoing and deplorably unsafe condition of Highway 8, caused by the poor planning and implementation of the massive construction project that, ironically, is being done to increase public safety.