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It’s done here, too

The GLITTER program in Portland was held up last week as a glowing example of progressive, community-minded litter removal that Winnipeg and its downtown agencies should aspire to replicate.

Well, the grass may seem greener, and the encampments a little cleaner, but ask around and you may learn that Winnipeg already has community-led programs doing this work and doing it well.

I can’t fault anyone for raising the merits of a made-in-Portland program for the sake of discussion. After all, it is a timeless Winnipeg pastime to ask why our city lags behind others on any number of trends, programs, or amenities. But the suggestion that “some version” of GLITTER should be considered here falls short when it fails to acknowledge the parallel efforts already delivering results here.

BRANDON — A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in 2024.

“Sexual abuse of a child is inherently a grave violation of the child’s bodily integrity, dignity, and security, and in this case, the consequences were compounded by the victim’s pregnancy and the need to undergo a termination,” Brandon provincial court Judge Patrick Sullivan said on Tuesday.

The accused had pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual interference and two counts of breaching a court order banning him from contacting anyone under 18.

A publication ban prohibits the publication of information that could identify the 14-year-old, who is from a western Manitoba First Nation, and two other minors with whom he communicated.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My former girlfriend moved to Toronto at the start of April and then in mid-August married some idiot she met there — all in just under four months! It was a ridiculous move if you ask me.

I wished them luck in a sarcastic congratulatory email. She caught the dig, and wrote back, “What’s your problem? You never asked me to marry you when I was in Manitoba!”

I guess she has a point, but I’m not one to rush into things. That’s how my parents did it as well— they probably got married way too soon and didn’t get along very well afterwards, which ended up in divorce.

Also, a wedding is a big expense these days — too much for me, unless I was to take out a bank loan. The sad thing is I still love this woman and really miss her. I’d marry her if she ever came free again, no matter what it cost!