CBC pausing production on satirical Indigenous show

Fences to be installed at Whiteshell park site where brothers drowned

The Manitoba government will install fences and signs to restrict access to a popular natural attraction in Whiteshell Provincial Park, where two brothers drowned this month and others have died in recent years.

“My heart goes out to the family. We recognize the hardship and the tragedies that are taking place, and so we’re responding as quickly as we can to secure the site,” Environment Minister Mike Moyes said Tuesday, referring to Sturgeon Falls.

“People will still be able to view the falls. They’re still going to be able to enjoy the beauty of that area of Manitoba, but they’re going to be able to do it in a way that ensures that they’re going to remain safe.”

The falls are located between Nutimik and Numao lakes on the Winnipeg River system. Visitors can reach them by hiking a 1.9-kilometre trail that begins at the Nutimik Lake campground.

It may be frustrating, but it’s necessary

The Greek philosopher Socrates famously said the unexamined life is not worth living.

Critical analysis and self-reflection, he argued, are a necessary part of human life.

In a strange way, you can say that Canada’s electrical utility giants have that same basic Socratic necessity: a need for open-minded analysis and reflection.

Many of this country’s public utilities are virtual monopolies, and because of that, their ability to set rates and their long-term capital plans need review in order to protect their ratepayers. And that review comes from public utilities boards — and interveners who appear at public hearings, challenging the directions utilities want to take — across the country.

Letters, July 28

Thank you for sharing the news of Blizzard’s passing. I walked the path (near the bison enclosure) many early mornings and was always compelled to say “Salaamelykun” (“Peace be with you’) to him. He would often walk to the wire fence, and we would just look at each other.

‘Eight credible threats’ against Hydro employees: CEO

Manitoba Hydro president and CEO Allan Danroth took aim at critics and revealed he and staff members have been threatened while defending the Crown corporation’s plan for three new combustion turbines Monday.

Without identifying individuals, Danroth said “constant, uninformed criticism” of Hydro and misinformation has eroded public trust and contributed to hostilities and an unsafe workplace for employees.

“Manitoba Hydro is currently managing eight credible threats against our employees, five of them directed at me personally,” Danroth told a Public Utilities Board hearing in Winnipeg.

“More troubling is these threats are increasingly affecting our front-line workforce. In the last year, my employees have been threatened with weapons, including guns, while performing their duties, and in one recent incident a homeowner directed his dogs to attack one of our meter readers.”

Students continue to criticize handling of MITT’s closure

Students at a Manitoba trade college say their education has been hampered as a result of its impending closure and they blame government for a poor transition.

The provincial government announced in January it would close the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology because it was no longer financially viable following the federal government’s decision to cut the number of international students allowed to study in Canada.

Officials have said students would remain the top priority as 19 programs from MITT are set to be absorbed by Red River College Polytech.

Kieran Smith, an electrical applications student at MITT, said it feels like those in charge “don’t really care.”