Manitoba’s Faouzia takes Unsigned Only grand prize

Opaskwayak restorative justice court to give offenders opportunity to ‘heal’

The Manitoba government, provincial court and Opaskwayak Cree Nation are signing a memorandum of understanding today to establish a community-led court focused on Indigenous restorative justice principles.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe is in the northern First Nation, which neighbours The Pas, to attend this week’s Opaskwayak Indigenous Days summer festival, ahead of the signing of the nation-to-nation agreement after a pipe ceremony today.

“This is really a pivotal marker on the path to reconciliation for our justice system and an incredible opportunity to begin the process of reconciling the two systems of justice, that being the traditional Indigenous justice system with our colonial system,” Wiebe told the Free Press on Wednesday.

“I’m just excited to be here to have the opportunity to formally mark the collaboration, but really to listen and to hear from community about the best ways, the best path forward.”

Manitoba’s Faouzia takes Unsigned Only grand prize

More than 6,000 entries from 100 countries vied for the top spot at the sixth edition of the United States-based Unsigned Only Music Competition, but it was 17-year-old Carman singer-songwriter Faouzia Ouihya who took home the 2017 grand prize.

Faouzia — she performs by only her first name on stage — impressed the judges with powerful vocals and “pop sensibilities” on her track Knock On My Door — originally released in 2015 — to make he the first teenager to ever win the overall grand prize and just the second Canadian to do so since the competition began in 2012, a news release stated.

The prize is US$20,000, as well as one-on-one mentoring opportunities from a group of music-industry executives from Atlantic, Razor & Tie, Sony Music Nashville and Island.

Faouzia also took first place in the teen category, which came with a prize of a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music’s five-week summer performance program in Boston.

‘No CUSMA, no booze-ma’: Kinew

With the next round of tariffs set to hit Canadian goods next week, and a new report suggesting Manitobans could be severely impacted if the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade breaks down, Premier Wab Kinew pledged Wednesday to keep working with the U.S. ambassador — and keep American booze off Manitoba shelves, for now.

A new chapter: Renamed Winnipeg Book Festival takes to The Forks this fall

Winnipeg’s long-running annual literary festival returns this fall, once again featuring a slate of authors, local and beyond, ready to engage with readers.

New this year is pretty much everything else, including a new name, executive director and team of staff — as well as a shift to a tight, condensed timeline and a move to hold all events under one roof.

The festival formerly known as Thin Air/Livres en fête is now the Winnipeg Book Festival; the event takes place Oct. 1-4 at The Forks Market, with most events offering free admission.

It’s a lot of changes for the stalwart literary festival, which was run for more than two decades by Charlene Diehl, who stepped away in late 2025.