There’s likely no ‘just dinner’ with this old flame

Travellers in Winnipeg scramble to rebook flights as WestJet attendants reach tentative deal

WestJet flights were back in the skies Monday after a brief flight-attendant strike grounded planes across the country. But even as their cancelled flights were rebooked, many travellers spent the holiday scrambling to adapt to new, altered plans.

By 11:30 a.m. about 200 people were queued up in front of WestJet’s check-in booths at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. Many were there to check in for an afternoon flight to Toronto, which, along with most other WestJet flights for the day, was now listed on the departure board as proceeding as planned.

Others, unable to reach someone on WestJet’s apparently overburdened customer service hotline, were hoping to find a solution to altered travel plans that had delayed their travel by days, or in some cases rerouted them through other cities.

Dan Schenkeveld was among them. The Kamloops resident spent most of the past month on a deep wilderness canoe trip in Nunavut. When he got back in cellular service range, he learned that a WestJet flight attendant strike was looming: “We’re aware of the issues around unpaid work, and we’re compassionate to that,” he said.

Brighter days ahead after Camp Arnes

Keishna Abenstein remembers what it was like to be a teenager who was stuck in her shell.

She also recalls how much going to summer camp at Camp Arnes helped her spread her wings.

Abenstein has watched her middle child, Teagen, go through a similar roller-coaster as a teenager. Teagen, described as a social butterfly in his childhood, has become a bit more reserved in his adolescence after many of his closest elementary school friends went to a different middle school, forcing him to make new friends as he began the next chapter of his education.

Abenstein saw an opportunity for a similar experience at Camp Arnes that could impact her son the same way it did for her.

What’s open, what’s closed, what’s up in Winnipeg on Terry Fox Day

The first Monday in August marks Terry Fox Day in Manitoba, honouring the legendary Canadian who was born in Winnipeg in 1958. 

Hydro CEO needs to reckon with winds of change

Methinks Hydro CEO Allan Danroth protests too much.

At a recent hearing in front of the Public Utilities Board, Danroth suggested Hydro’s plan to build a $3-billion natural-gas-powered generating plant near Brandon was being subjected to unfair criticism. The gas turbines are meant to bolster Hydro’s grid in the event that drought lowers output from hydro-generating stations.

After hearing submissions from interveners concerned about the gas-turbine plan, Danroth lashed out at the “constant, uninformed criticism” that has not only shaken trust in Hydro but also triggered threatening responses from the public.

Danroth said Hydro is monitoring “eight credible threats” against employees, five of which targeted the CEO himself. Although Danroth cited some specific incidents — employees being threatened with guns, and one where a homeowner set his dogs on a meter reader — he refused to elaborate on the circumstances.

Pimicikamak lockdown lifted after fatal shooting

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said an arrest has been made and the community-wide lockdown has now been lifted after a shooting Friday that left one person dead.

RCMP were called by local First Nations Safety Officers about a seriously injured person at around 9:30 p.m. Friday on Main Road in Pimicikamak Cree Nation. Officers found two men at the scene. A 42-year-old man with a gunshot wound died at the scene. The other person was not injured.

The community went into immediate lockdown as the RCMP sought the suspect. An advisory posted by Monias Saturday had asked residents to stay inside their homes, lock doors and windows, keep children inside and not to open their doors to anyone they did not know.

In a statement on social media Sunday afternoon, Monias said the RCMP had arrested one person.

240 WestJet flight attendants picket in Winnipeg

Winnipeg’s WestJet flight attendants took to the picket line outside of Richardson International Airport on the first day of nationwide strikes Sunday, while inside, frustrated flyers scrambled to re-route cancelled long-weekend flights.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Ontario arm and the airline announced the strike would commence after the strike deadline was passed without a deal early Sunday morning. WestJet attendants have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2025.

Hours later, the 240 WestJet flight attendants based in Winnipeg had walked off the job and were marching outside of the airport terminal, some carrying signs with slogans including “Tired with WestJet? So are We!” and “Unpaid Work Won’t Fly.”

Key issues causing the stalemate are wages and pay for work on the ground: the union says flight attendants are not being paid for some of that work, while the company says they pay for the work through a “credit hour” system rather than an hourly rate.