Cruise ship novel stays afloat on uneven keel

Now-independent ex-Tory leader skips legislature’s first question period in four months

Crime rates, the cost of living and the state of health care were on the agenda Tuesday when the legislature’s fall sitting began a day after Obby Khan’s abrupt resignation from the Tory caucus.

Cruise ship novel stays afloat on uneven keel

Hot off the heels of his debut novel, 2020’s After Elias, Vancouver’s Eddy Boudel Tan’s follow-up novel is an uneven seafaring adventure set on a gorgeous luxury liner.

The Rebellious Tide centers on Sebastien Goh, a young and hot-tempered man living with his mother in Quebec. Sebastien’s mother Ruby came by boat to Canada from Singapore with his father Kostas Kourakis, who quickly abandoned the young pregnant woman in the unfamiliar country. Sebastien has heard short snippets about the man but has never actually known him, nor has his father made any attempt to connect with Sebastien or reconnect with Ruby.

After his mother’s death, Sebastien resolves to track down his father and confront him. Kostas is quite easy to find; a quick search through social media reveals that he has a wife, two other children and is the captain of the luxury liner the Glacier, which sails all over Europe. Though he keeps his connection to the captain a secret, Sebastien gets a job onboard as a photographer and quickly befriends other members of the crew, soon learning that life onboard the Glacier is not as idyllic as it at first seems.

The staff and crew of the ship are separated into heavily stratified classes — the cleaning and maintenance crew are at the very bottom, with wait staff and those who interact with the rich guests enjoying more privilege, and then the ship’s militaristic crew being the very top of the social order. After stopping an officer from assaulting a member of the staff, Sebastien’s new friend Dominic is fired and evicted from the ship. This injustice leads Sebastien into sparking a full-on revolt against the ship’s ruling officers and pitting him directly against his father, who has nothing but contempt for the rebellious underlings who dare reach beyond their station.

Hydro reports $446-M loss in 2025-26, points to fourth drought year in past five

Manitoba Hydro posted a $446-million loss in 2025-26, as drought conditions slashed hydroelectric generation, forcing the Crown corporation to buy more power while leaving it with less electricity to sell outside the province.

The loss was $666 million worse than the $220-million profit Hydro had budgeted. The utility posted a $63-million loss the previous year, according to the utility’s annual report released Tuesday.

Hydro said the 2025-26 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, marked its fourth low-water year in the past five years, among the worst stretches of water-flow conditions in its recorded history.

Hydroelectric generation fell 23 per cent to 24 billion kilowatt-hours from 31 billion the previous year, leaving Hydro a net importer of electricity.

In a smart-device world, some families keep phone jacked into the wall

When the phone rings in Kristin Shiach and Jordan Sobkowicz’s Riverview home, their three daughters race to see who can be the first to answer.

“It depends who is closest,” says 13-year-old Emily. “If I’m sitting in my room, I can get to it quickest.”

“That’s because it’s always in your room,” Anna, 10, replies. “You never put it back!”

“Usually, when the phone rings,” explains Sobkowicz, “someone yells really loudly —”

Billions of dollars spent on health, but scattershot financial reporting leaves decision-makers, Manitobans in the dark, auditor general says

Manitoba’s auditor general says significant gaps in health-sector financial reporting make it difficult to understand how billions of dollars in public funds are spent.

Auditor General Tyson Shtykalo is calling for clearer, more transparent reporting in his latest report, titled Observations on Health Sector Financial Reporting and Accountability in Manitoba.

“Manitoba spends nearly $10 billion annually on health care, but current financial reporting does not provide a clear picture of how that money is spent, what services cost, or the financial pressures facing the system,” Shtykalo said in a news release.

While some financial information is available, the reports do not provide a “complete, consistent, or easily understood” picture of how health-care funds are spent, the report said.

What’s open, what’s closed, what’s up in Winnipeg on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Sept. 30, 2026

The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, or Orange Shirt Day, as it's known in Manitoba, happens Sept. 30 with many commemorative community events scheduled.