Dafoe Book Prize contenders announced

Leadership turnover at Hydro not a concern: Kinew

Premier Wab Kinew addressed the recent departure of Manitoba Hydro CEO Allan Danroth for the first time Wednesday, saying he’s not worried about turnover at the top of the province’s Crown jewel.

“I wish Mr. Danroth well,” Kinew said when asked about the resignation of the CEO hired just two years ago.

“I guess this is my first time addressing his departure, so I do want to thank him for his time with the Crown utility,” the premier said at an unrelated event. Danroth, who quit for personal reasons, replaced Jay Grewal, who was fired after the NDP formed government.

Kinew was asked if he has concerns about having a steady hand at the wheel of the province’s power company.

South Winnipeg neighbourhood will be first to go geothermal

A new neighbourhood in south Winnipeg will be Manitoba’s first to use a shared, large-scale geothermal system to heat and cool hundreds of homes over coming decades.

The province is giving up to $4 million to the developers of Southwood Circle, just north of the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus, for a district geothermal system as part of the NDP’s goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“It means a whole neighbourhood can tap into geothermal, which means low-carbon heating and cooling for at least 1,000 homes,” Premier Wab Kinew said at a news conference Wednesday.

Geothermal systems, equipped with pumps and pipes, use underground temperatures to heat and cool one or more buildings. Proponents point to long-term energy and cost savings compared with conventional heating and cooling systems.

Manitoba gains doctors for third straight year, but loses at pandemic-level rate: report

Manitoba is adding doctors at a record clip — but it’s also losing them at a rate not seen since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, a physicians advocacy organization cautioned Wednesday.

Grieving families, local leaders want review of Interlake intersection after teens die in crash

A two-vehicle crash that killed four teenage friends in the Interlake Sunday night prompted outpourings of grief in several communities and calls for safety improvements at the intersection, which was also the site of a death in July.

Recent high school graduates Maya Borsa and Chloe Vermette, both 18, were identified by their families as victims of the collision at Highway 8 and Provincial Road 229, just west of Winnipeg Beach.

“(Chloe) was a very bubbly, loving personality. Always giving, always caring. Her friends meant the world to her,” said her mother, Veronique Vermette, who struggled to comprehend the tragedy when she went to the scene Monday. “We sat in the rain for hours, and it blew my mind that four lives were taken.”

The teens’ parents are waiting for RCMP to provide more information about the cause of the crash. Chloe, who graduated from Windsor Park Collegiate in Winnipeg in July, was driving one of the vehicles, her mother said.

Dafoe Book Prize contenders announced

A book detailing the bumpy path to reconciliation between the town of Rossburn and the Waywayseecappo First Nation is among the five-book short list for the $12,000 John W. Dafoe Book Prize.

Premier tells grieving parents site of fatal collision under review

Premier Wab Kinew promised to pursue safety improvements at an Interlake intersection when he spoke to parents of some of the four teens who died in a crash at the site on the Labour Day weekend.

The collision at Highway 8 and Provincial Road 229, just west of Winnipeg Beach, prompted a review by Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure, which is standard after a fatal crash, while some of the victims’ families and community leaders publicly called for changes.

“When you see the loss of these beautiful young lives, any parent, any Manitoban feels a sense of loss. On behalf of the whole province, I send my condolences to these families,” Kinew said in Winnipeg Wednesday.

“I did so directly earlier today, and I heard some of the parents’ suggestions for how we could make this safer for everybody. I committed to them that we’re going to take those actions — both stuff we can do relatively quickly and some longer-term fixes, as well.”