Farber, Dumontier nominated for Sobey Art Award

Foreign workers at Manitoba hotel are owed $138K in unpaid wages and fees, labour board rules

BRANDON — The Manitoba Labour Board has ordered the Western Star All Suites Hotel to pay nearly $138,000 in unpaid wages and administrative fees after it dismissed the appeals involving three foreign workers employed by the company.

In a decision dated Aug. 25, the board ordered 6692452 Manitoba Ltd. (doing business as Western Star All Suites Hotel), 1638185 Alberta Ltd. and company director P.X. to pay a total of $137,915.79 to the Employment Standards Branch for wages owed to foreign workers S.J., J.B. and G.R.

The decision was edited to protect the personal information of the employees, who worked at a hotel, reportedly in Melita, at different times and also lived there during their employment.

The board stated the employees were owed wages after hearing evidence about long working hours, irregular payments, inadequate employment records and working conditions.

Love of the rink blossomed differently for mother-daughter figure skaters

It’s said that home is where the heart is, and for Dana and Marrin McKee that has always been the rink.

The mother-daughter duo of figure skating coaches always find comfort lacing up in chilly arenas.

Dana McKee’s origin story was very similar to her daughter’s, having a strong motherly push onto the ice. Much like learning to swim or drive a car, Dana’s mother believed that skating was an important life skill that needed to be honed.

Growing up in Morris, McKee spent the majority of her youth in the CanSkate program — a developmental learn-to-skate stage teaching the basics of standing upright.

Mayoral rematch between Gillingham, Klein gets ugly on Day 1

Former city councillor and provincial cabinet minister Kevin Klein says he will soon enter the race to become Winnipeg’s next mayor — prompting an immediate war of words with incumbent Scott Gillingham.

Gillingham quickly responded to the announcement by calling Klein “toxic” and a “fixer” for Peter Nygard.

Klein said Tuesday he had decided not to enter the mayoral race weeks ago due to an unspecified health scare that required surgery. After recovering, he decided to run.

“The future of the city means a lot to me. I believe that we have so much untapped potential that I felt I should do something about it,” said Klein, noting he felt compelled to run because key city issues, such as perceptions of public safety in the downtown, have grown worse over the past four years.

Letters, Aug. 31

Connor Hellebuyck, as we know, backstopped the U.S.A. to Olympic gold. Shortly after winning, he was invited to the Oval Office and accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom from his country, a medal that has been awarded to numerous famous athletes — Babe Ruth, Billie Jean King, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, to name a few.

Dynacare strike could lead to lab test logjam

DOCTORS and health-care advocates are raising concerns about patient care if a Sept. 8 strike goes ahead at the private company that provides nearly all medical lab services in Manitoba.

There is no essential services agreement in place with Dynacare, so if its lab techs are off the job, patients who need blood tests and urinalysis will be directed to hospitals and public clinics for those services.

“There’s only so many of those workers and I’m sure that the public folks are bracing for big crunch of additional patients if the strike really goes ahead,” Noah Schulz of the Manitoba Health Coalition said Monday.

Dynacare serves 1.2 million Manitoba patients a year at 23 community lab locations.

Red River Polytechnic looks to expand after MITT takeover

Red River College Polytechnic is celebrating an enrolment bump and eyeing new high school partnerships as part of its merger with a longtime competitor.

For the first time, nearly 400 students attended their first day of RRC Polytech in Winnipeg’s south end on Tuesday.

The new campus is outfitted with two school logos — a new red one and a blue design belonging to the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology.

“It feels great to be a part of history,” said Dom McLaren, an 18-year-old who is enrolled in RRC Polytech’s network and systems administration program. “I’m definitely going to enjoy my time.”