William Prince is having a banner year

Labour board ruling halts Dynacare strike

The Manitoba Labour Board has cut short a strike by 350 lab workers employed by Dynacare who administer blood and urine tests for patients in Winnipeg, Brandon and surrounding communities.

The board ruled late Tuesday afternoon that the workers, who hit the picket line at 6 a.m., must return to work Wednesday.

Jason Linklater, president of their union, the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, slammed the board’s decision.

“The Manitoba Labour Board is doing exactly what the government asked them to do: they are taking away our members’ right to fight for fairness,” he said in a statement.

Today’s horoscope

MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping (except food and gas) and important decisions from 1:30 p.m. until 3:15 p.m. today. After that, the moon moves from Leo into Virgo.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

This is a solid day for you because you’re motivated to work and accomplish something. (This is half the battle. Motivation is everything.) Roll up your sleeves and dig in. Talk to co-workers and friends. Be of service if you can.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

DNA on beer can helps solve killing

Two years after 74-year-old James Monaghan was stabbed in his Sherburn Street home, DNA found on a beer can led police to his killer.

Shara Harper, 29, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and on Tuesday was sentenced to six years in prison.

A neighbour found Monaghan dead in his home on July 29, 2022. He had been stabbed twice in the chest and back.

The investigation into Monaghan’s killing had stalled until June 2024, when DNA found on an empty beer can in Monaghan’s home was confirmed to be a match for Harper.

Ottawa renews commitment, provides funding, for Lake Winnipeg watershed protection

The federal government has renewed its memorandum of understanding with the province to protect the Lake Winnipeg watershed and is contributing more than $2 million for several projects to protect the basin.

Ottawa and the province have agreed to extend the current MOU for an additional five-year term, to August 21, 2031. The understanding has been in place since 2010.

“Lake Winnipeg is not only an environmental treasure, it’s also an economic treasure. But we also know that Lake Winnipeg is under pressure. Too many nutrients, particularly phosphorus, are entering the lake, contributing to harmful algae blooms and affecting water quality and ecosystem health,” said Terry Duguid, MP for Winnipeg South.

Lake Winnipeg is one of the largest freshwater bodies in the world and its watershed spans parts of four provinces and four American states. It is vulnerable to high levels of nutrients caused by agricultural runoff, sewage and other contaminants that create large algae blooms and affect fisheries.

Councillors say Main Street Project scuttles other agency’s efforts to house homeless

A Winnipeg outreach agency that’s been largely shut out of government funding says it has found housing for more people in the last five months than Manitoba’s homeless strategy that began last year.

Flash, bang … oops: police raid leads to lawsuit

A couple suing the city allege Winnipeg Police Service officers trying to execute a search warrant at their condominium complex rappelled down the side of the building, broke in their glass patio door and fired off a stun grenade before realizing they were in the wrong unit.

Saeid Ghavami and Shahla Shojaei, a married couple who are academics and scientific researchers at the University of Manitoba, filed the lawsuit in Court of King’s Bench last month over the Jan. 31, 2025 incident.

The claim names the City of Winnipeg and several officers involved in the operation, whose identities are, at this point, unknown to the couple, and are referred to as “John Does.”

Officers were attempting to execute the warrant on the third floor of the eight-storey Pembina Highway building, the court filing says. The couple lives on the fourth floor.