Russian tale of divorce a bleak, captivating drama

Alouettes not short on reasons why they want to beat Bombers

MONTREAL — Clinching top spot in the East isn’t the only reason why Tyson Philpot is itching to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“Obviously, my brother (Jalen) plays for the (Calgary) Stampeders, so I’d love to help push the Stampeders above them and help him get in the playoffs,” said the star receiver for the Montreal Alouettes after Friday’s walkthrough.

While the Als are sitting comfortably at 11-3, the Bombers (7-7) are trying to fend off Calgary (7-8) while also keeping pace with B.C. and Saskatchewan, who both entered the week at 8-6.

But there’s another reason that applies to everyone on the Als: they want revenge for the embarrassing 44-28 loss they suffered in Winnipeg in Week 13.

Clock ticks down on destruction of records documenting residential school abuses

In less than a year, a private company is set to destroy the largest cache of records detailing the widespread abuse of Indigenous children at residential schools in Canada.

The destruction, which was ordered by an Ontario court in 2014 and later upheld by the Supreme Court, is set to take place on Sept. 19, 2027.

This countdown is igniting emotional conversations that seek to balance the immense historical value of the records alongside the confidentiality survivors were promised as part of the process of providing detailed testimony about abuses they’d suffered.

The records were created as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, a class-action settlement stemming from survivors who began suing the federal government in the late 1990s over the harm they’d been subjected to at residential schools.

A day on the campaign trail: Winnipeg's mayor, seeking a second term, does double duty

In the weeks leading up to the civic election, Scott Gillingham has been performing a juggling act: he’s running to be Winnipeg’s 45th mayor, while still serving as its 44th.

“If someone asks me about the campaign, I’m going to answer them. But I think for most people, I’m the mayor of Winnipeg, even if I’m showing up as a candidate,” Gillingham, 58, says. “I try to do all I can to maintain that distinction.”

The Free Press joined Gillingham on a recent rainy September Saturday on the campaign trail, where he served in both roles during an event-laden day. City council’s final meeting before the Oct. 28 election was days earlier.

In Winnipeg, it’s rare for an incumbent to be defeated. But Gillingham knows his win in 2022 wasn’t exactly a landslide — he won with 27.5 per cent of the vote — and he’s been thinking about his second term ever since.

Retired guidance counsellor defends explicit 2025 sex-ed presentation to high school football team in disciplinary hearing

Gus Watanabe, a former employee of Oak Park High School in Winnipeg, was the subject of a public disciplinary hearing on Thursday.

Bombers near must-win territory as Als look to punch post-season ticket

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers slayed the beast from the East once already this season — but can they do it again?

The Blue and Gold (7-7) will try to pull off another upset when they take on the Montreal Alouettes (11-3) on Saturday (6 p.m.) at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.

The two teams last met in Winnipeg on Aug. 28 when the Bombers pulled off an unexpected 44-28 victory.

The stakes are much higher this time around. The Als can clinch the East Division with a win, while the Bombers are clinging to the West’s crossover playoff spot by a thread, with the Calgary Stampeders (7-8) hot on their heels.

Russian tale of divorce a bleak, captivating drama

The premise offers up pathos on a Little Match Girl scale.

Lonely, isolated 12-year-old Alyosha (Matvey Novikov) has come to a horrifying realization that, in the demise of his Muscovite parents' marriage, his mother Zhenya (Maryana Spivak) and his father, Boris (Aleksey Rozin) are engaged in the worst kind of custody battle.

Neither parent wants him.

It's not his fault. Both parents seem to view him as a symptom of the disease that infected their marriage. Both are intent moving on to new partners, and if that means exiling him to a boarding school/army future, so be it.