Murderous scheme wickedly unravelled

Dynacare labs quickly reach capacity ahead of strike

Patients were being turned away from several Dynacare locations Saturday morning as people packed the labs in hopes of getting their blood collection done before workers strike.

By 10:30 a.m. the lobby at the Dynacare at 1581 Regent Ave. was standing-room only and walk-up patients were being turned away as the wait time for those lucky enough to get in creeped past two hours.

One woman got in right before workers cut off walk-ins at 10 a.m. after travelling to two other locations.

“I was driving by at 7:15 this morning and there was already a line-up to the road, so I was like ‘nope, not going there’ so I went to the one on Sterling Lyon (Parkway) and it was closed, and then I went to the one at St. Vital Mall and there had a line zig-zagging all the way through the corridors so I gave up and came back,” said Joanna, who declined to give her last name.

Smith’s pretzel logic confuses

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had both sides of her mouth working overtime on Aug. 30, when she spoke at an event in Calgary to commemorate Alberta Day, the annual celebration of the province’s entry into Confederation in 1905 (officially Sept. 1, it was celebrated on the weekend).

Smith’s comments — and the things she did not say — revealed a lot about the political tightrope the premier is trying to walk over the challenges currently faced by her province. At the top of that list of challenges is a persistent campaign to separate Alberta from the aforementioned Confederation. A campaign that Smith appears to both support and oppose, depending on which day of the week it is.

Her Alberta Day remarks were an excellent case in point.

Smith has decided that on Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on a series of non-binding propositions in a province referendum. One of those questions will ask Albertans whether they want to hold a referendum on separation, thus making this fall’s vote a “referendum on whether to hold a referendum,” as some observers have dubbed it.

Canada’s first drive-thru-only McDonald’s opens in Winnipeg

One Grimace and dozens of smiles were on display Wednesday as McDonald’s staff and supporters celebrated the grand opening of the fast-food chain’s first drive-thru-only restaurant in Canada.

‘Quite a journey’: dozens move into transitional housing downtown

Dozens of residents have moved into transitional housing units in a former university building in downtown Winnipeg.

Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said 42 residents have moved into suites on the third and fourth floors of a seven-storey building previously owned by Providence University College and Theological Seminary. There will be space for as many as 118 people who were in encampments or otherwise homeless.

The remaining units under renovation are expected to be ready and occupied in the coming weeks, Smith said.

“This has been two years in the making,” the minister said at a media event with residents, staff, neighbours and supporters. The building cost the province $24.4 million to purchase and renovate.

NDP minister needs lesson in political civility

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine’s decision to intercede in Winnipeg’s mayoral election may be surprising to some political observers. To others, however, it is entirely on brand.

On Tuesday, Fontaine posted a video on social media in which she expressed concern that former city councillor and Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Kevin Klein was entering the race to challenge incumbent Mayor Scott Gillingham.

The caption on the video was blunt: “I mean, really, who chooses to work for Count Dracula?”

“Kevin Klein once worked for Peter Nygard. Peter Nygard is Canada’s equivalent to (American sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein — had his own little island, did unspeakable, disgusting things to women and girls … anyways, I just thought that Winnipeggers would want to know that Kevin Klein, at one point, worked for Peter Nygard,” she says in the video.

Murderous scheme wickedly unravelled

Lucas Forester is an absolute scoundrel.