Pulled ’60 Minutes’ segment surfaces on web with Canadian broadcaster’s branding

Airport traffic surges despite fewer U.S. flights

The Winnipeg airport has recorded an uptick in traffic this summer, despite the loss of notable U.S. flights.

Federal government to build $267-M emergency research lab in Winnipeg

The federal government says it will build a $267-million medical countermeasures laboratory in Winnipeg with the goal of preparing Canada for future pandemics or outbreaks.

Expected to open in 2033, the national site will help the country develop vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic tools, Winnipeg Liberal MP Terry Duguid said.

“This is a big deal for our city and for our province, a big deal for life sciences in Canada,” he told reporters Wednesday. “This facility is going to help protect the nation and help protect the world.”

Ottawa said the site — to be located next to the National Microbiology Laboratory’s Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health on Arlington Street, just north of William Avenue — draws on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bell sheds 19 more Manitoba employees

At least 19 Manitoba jobs were lost recently during Bell Canada’s ongoing restructuring.

Parent company BCE Inc. confirmed in June it’d axe nearly 700 jobs through organizational changes. Those changes began last year.

A dozen Manitoba staff were laid off on July 30, according to Team-IFPTE Local 161, the union representing the workers.

Another seven union members left voluntarily though a departure program, the union reported Tuesday.

Sea Bears look for historic first franchise playoff win

It’s been a trying week for the Winnipeg Sea Bears.

It started Sunday, when the team endured a disastrous travel schedule out West before laying an egg in its regular-season finale against the Vancouver Bandits with the top seed in the Western Conference on the line.

By that night, things went from bad to worse when Teddy Allen found himself in an altercation with security staff at a downtown Winnipeg nightclub that sent the star guard to hospital. Allen sustained significant injuries that could require surgery.

On Tuesday, the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s leading scorer and MVP front-runner was ruled out for the Sea Bears Western Conference semifinal tilt against the Saskatoon Mamba at Canada Life Centre on Thursday (7:30 p.m.).

U of M researchers studying ‘digital legacy planning’ before death

A team of researchers at the University of Manitoba wants adults to take the cloud they leave behind into special consideration when they envision heaven and their afterlife.

Toronto’s alternative crisis response model deemed a success

A Toronto emergency response program that helped inspire Winnipeg’s proposed alternative crisis response model has already expanded city-wide, just four years after launching as a pilot project.

The Toronto Community Crisis Service, launched in 2022, has become the city’s fourth emergency service, providing a 24-7, community-based response to people experiencing mental health crises. The service has handled nearly 50,000 calls through 911 and 211, dispatched mobile crisis teams to more than 41,000 incidents, made more than 11,600 referrals to health and social services and resolved the majority of eligible 911 calls without police involvement.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham last week proposed creating a similar “fourth crisis response pathway” that would allow 911 calls that aren’t violent or criminal in nature to be transferred to community-based crisis teams.

Under the proposal, which has support from both the Winnipeg Police Service and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, a centralized crisis dispatch and co-ordination hub would receive triaged calls and match them with citywide response teams, staffed in part through existing community organizations, including the Downtown Community Safety Partnership and The Link’s mobile crisis teams. The goal is to divert appropriate calls away from the WPS and WFPS.