The Social Page: Grand Régal

Physical activity ‘for every single child’

All high school students will be required to show up for in-person phys-ed classes to graduate as part of a new curriculum announced by the Manitoba government Thursday.

Phys-ed and health are compulsory classes from grades 1 to 12, but students can currently sign up for flexible or self-directed options at the end of their high school careers.

Changes to the curriculum — which apply to all grades, but Grade 11 and 12 students, in particular — will make in-person phys-ed classes mandatory across Manitoba, starting in the 2028-29 school year. The policy is called “Every Body, Every Day.”

“When we talk about health in Manitoba, this is a category where, unfortunately, we’ve been the leader in too many negative areas,” Premier Wab Kinew said at a news conference at Victor Mager School in St. Vital.

Bombers give would-be boo birds their marching orders

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are being criticized by some fans online for booking the University of North Dakota’s marching band for Friday’s game against Montreal.

‘Buy Canadian’ takes on new meaning

The “Buy Canadian” push has re-emerged as the federal government rolls out tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of imports from the United States.

Premier Wab Kinew led the Manitoba charge Tuesday, hours after the federal government announced the retaliatory levies that will take effect Sept. 8.

“Whether you look at it as an affordability initiative, or you look at it as a way to support our economy here, buying local always makes sense,” Kinew said at an unrelated press conference. “It makes even more sense right now.”

Mark Carney’s government has responded to new 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the United States on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian products. Trade talks between the countries broke down late Friday.

Landline, internet service restored, Bell MTS says after nine-day outage in parts of downtown

Bell MTS service has been fully restored in downtown Winnipeg after a damaged telecommunications cable left some customers without landline and internet service for more than a week.

A Bell MTS spokesperson said repairs were completed Thursday morning in the affected area.

“We thank customers for their patience during this complex repair and thank the crews who worked around the clock to fix the cables as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said in an email.

The outage began Aug. 18 when a Manitoba Hydro construction crew drilled through multiple underground ducts, causing significant damage to several cables and affecting a small number of buildings, mainly around Fort Street, Garry Street and York Avenue.

Motion seeks to remove longtime head of Southern Chiefs’ Organization due to ‘behaviour’ concerns

For the second time in a year, the leadership of Southern Chiefs’ Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels is being called into question.

A motion obtained by the Free Press calls “immediately” for a special summit of the 33 SCO chiefs to consider removing Daniels, who’s been at the helm since 2017.

The Aug. 17 motion, put forward by Lake Manitoba First Nation Chief Cornell McLean and Bloodvein First Nation Chief Lisa Young, cites concerns about “governance, leadership, accountability, transparency, organizational decision-making and confidence of member Nations in the current leadership of the organization.”

McLean would not provide specific examples Wednesday but said the “behaviour” of Daniels is a concern.