Factory Fresh

Ottawa earmarks additional $60M for national sport organizations

Another chunk of cash earmarked to increase participation in sport and develop homegrown athletic talent is being wired across the country.

On Thursday, the federal government announced an additional $60 million in financial backing for national sport organizations (NSOs).

Some extra wiggle room on mid fiscal-year budgets was not expected by Canada’s 63 NSOs, which were slated to receive a combined $112 million in core Sport Support Program (SSP) funding, and will now see north of $150 million in total.

“Sport has the power to shape lives and bring people together in a way few things can. Today’s announcement reflects a new era for sport in Canada, one where more kids have the opportunity to get out and play, and Team Canada athletes have the support they need to compete and win,” Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said in a statement.

Klein eyes tax breaks for developers in ‘under-serviced’ neighbourhoods

Kevin Klein promises to seek a federal tax break and a new city incentive to attract private construction of homes and stores in “economically distressed” neighbourhoods if he becomes Winnipeg’s next mayor.

In a Thursday letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Klein asks Ottawa to work with Winnipeg to develop “community opportunity zones.”

“Many of Winnipeg’s older neighbourhoods continue to struggle with high numbers of vacant and boarded-up properties. These buildings sit empty for years, becoming fire risks, sources of disorder, and barriers to neighbourhood recovery,” Klein wrote.

During a news conference, Klein said he wants the federal government to defer or eliminate taxes on capital gains for investors with qualifying projects in designated “distressed, under-serviced” neighbourhoods. He would work with Ottawa to identify the exact zones where those tax breaks apply, which would be available to Indigenous-led organizations and other groups.

U of W, former professor sued over alleged sex assault

A woman who studied and worked at the University of Winnipeg has filed a lawsuit against the post-secondary institution and her former professor — a convicted sex offender — who she alleges drugged and sexually assaulted her.

Outbreak should never have happened

The headline offered a vague sense that something had been accomplished, but it most certainly did not describe anything worth celebrating:

“Manitoba declares measles outbreak over.”

The news item in the Oct. 17 Free Press noted provincial public health officials had confirmed Manitoba’s last laboratory-confirmed case of measles was identified in August, and that the absence of any new cases since had allowed for the aforementioned declaration.

The end of the outbreak — which began in February 2025 and included a significant stretch this year during which Manitoba experienced more measles cases than any other province — is certainly worth noting. But it bears reminding that the real story here is that this province, and others across Canada, experienced a resurgence of this highly communicable but successfully eradicated disease in the first place.

E.K. resident able to get away after confrontation with knife-wielding thief who broke into his truck

Winnipeg Police Service property crime investigators are searching for a suspect potentially tied to several concerning incidents in East Kildonan in recent days.

Doug Vance, a homeowner on Dunrobin Avenue who lives with his wife and two sons, woke early Tuesday and noticed the lights were on in his truck, which was parked at the rear of his home.

He was soon face-to-face with a man armed with a large knife.

“Something, I figured, was up, so I went to go find my keys and lock the (truck) door… the light didn’t go out, so that meant the door was ajar,” said the 47-year-old.

Klein, Gillingham trade jabs over megaproject

Two of Winnipeg’s mayoral candidates wasted no time trading barbs over who bears responsibility for the skyrocketing cost of overhauling the North End sewage treatment plant, during a televised debate Wednesday.

Scott Gillingham and Kevin Klein pointed the finger at each other for the rising cost of the massive project, which had a cost estimate of $795 million in 2015 and had ballooned to $3.2 billion as of the latest estimate.

“We need to be able to understand how that amount tripled in that short a time,” Klein said at the event held at CBC’s downtown Winnipeg headquarters. He pointed out the first estimate was given when Gillingham was chairman of the city’s finance committee. He questioned what the incumbent did to garner funding for the project.

Gillingham shot back by noting Klein was Manitoba’s environment minister in 2023. He accused his opponent of failing to make a dent on the cost.