Owning the fashion podium

Port of Churchill expansion could chase belugas away, U of M researcher says

As plans to expand the Port of Churchill into a four-season trade corridor gathers momentum, a University of Manitoba researcher has published a report on what ship traffic could mean for the beluga whales that gather in the Churchill River estuary each summer.

Veronica Coppolaro said more vessels in the waterways bring a risk that belugas will stop using the estuary for migration, which would impact the ecological landscape, tourism and communities that rely on the animals for food and cultural purposes.

“There are studies showing that (noises) change the way they swim, they change the way (the whales) are vocalizing, they change their main activity, and so this (expansion) can have consequences at different levels,” she said.

The Churchill river estuary is a marine habitat where the Churchill River empties into Hudson Bay. During the summer months belugas gather in the area to feed and give birth.

Drug recovery centre opens office in ‘heart of the city’

Richard Halverson found his freedom from addiction through Adult & Teen Challenge and, six years later, he hopes a new Winnipeg location will bring hope to the city.

Tory health critic ‘disappointed’ after being rebuffed by health officials

The health critic for the Progressive Conservative party says her ability to get information about the accelerated reopening of Dauphin’s emergency department was stymied by Prairie Mountain Health officials because they refused to meet with her.

“I wanted to meet with PMH staff to discuss the status of the facility and the challenges they’re facing and getting services back online,” Kathleen Cook said Friday.

“I was very disappointed that Prairie Mountain Health declined me that opportunity.”

Cook said she asked for a meeting a few days after the Sept. 7 reopening of a temporary ER at the hospital, that was severely damaged by flooding.

Downtown no place to be after dark, huge majority of Winnipeggers say in survey

Most Winnipeggers are afraid to walk alone downtown and believe the city needs more police officers, a new survey finds.

Winnipeg Police Service released its 2026 citizen survey Friday.

Downtown safety appears to remain a major concern, with just 44 per cent saying they feel very or reasonably safe walking alone in the area during the day. The number plummets to eight per cent overall at night, down from nine per cent in 2024, the last time the survey was conducted.

This year, 14 per cent of men felt very or reasonably safe walking alone downtown at night, compared to just three per cent of women.

Feds chip in $27M for Winnipeg sewage project

The federal government is offering Winnipeg $27 million to help reduce combined sewer overflows, its first financial contribution to the major environmental project.

The City of Winnipeg is provincially mandated to complete a $1.15-billion master plan by 2045 that reduces such sewage spills. The municipal government has so far paid for that work alone, however, as provincial and federal funding focused on the city’s separate $3.1-billion upgrade of the north end sewage treatment plant.

“It’s wonderful to see the federal government (do this) … It’s going to make a difference on the (combined sewer overflow) projects. We’ve got a lot of them to do in the city … With the rain events we saw this year, the importance of accelerating combined sewer projects across the city is more (pressing) than ever,” said Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan), chairman of finance.

Older combined sewers still serve about one third of Winnipeg, collecting both precipitation and wastewater in a single pipe. Heavy rain or snow can cause the pipes to overflow, which releases billions of litres of diluted sewage into Winnipeg rivers each year.