Teck Resources shuts down part of zinc plant in Trail, B.C., due to ‘localized’ fire

Chief medical officer quits, cites work environment ‘challenges’

Manitoba’s provincial chief medical officer is resigning from his position at Shared Health, citing the role’s demands and work environment challenges in an email viewed by the Free Press.

Dr. José François, who’s held the executive position since April 2024, sent an email to provincial medical specialty leads that said his final day will be Jan. 17, 2027, after he submitted his resignation Wednesday. Several other senior leaders have departed the provincial health authority in recent months.

“Serving in this role has been a privilege,” François, a longtime family physician from Ste. Anne, wrote in the email.

He said his “greatest pleasure” was working alongside and supporting an “exceptional group” of provincial medical specialty leads and chief medical officers.

Police HQ report ‘outrageous’: Kinew

Premier Wab Kinew says public inquiry findings that taxpayers were overcharged more than $40 million for the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters project and two city leaders broke the public trust are “outrageous.”

Inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang’s report, which was released Monday, concluded former mayor Sam Katz “violated the public trust” and council code of conduct, while the city’s former chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl suffered from a “complete lack of a moral compass.”

Smorang also found the city was overcharged $43.3 million for the project, with $42 million of that going to key contractor Caspian Projects.

“It’s outrageous that people who were elected betrayed the public here in the city. It’s outrageous that there were people in business who ripped you off, ripped me off — I was paying property taxes in Winnipeg at the time — and ripped all of us off to the tune of $43.3 million. That’s crazy,” said Kinew.

Limited visibility, radio communication among safety issues cited in mid-air collision

An investigative report into a mid-air plane crash that killed two student pilots in southeastern Manitoba cited concerns about radio communication, situational awareness and visual detection methods.

Two small planes collided twice and crashed into a field after one aircraft ended up flying above the other while both approached a runway at Steinbach South Airport the morning of July 8, 2025, a Transportation Safety Board report said Wednesday. The planes belonged to the Harv’s Air Service flight school.

“Once they’re on final (approach), the ability to see each other would have been very limited,” said Eric Vermette, a TSB regional manager in Winnipeg.

Klein eyes tax breaks for developers in ‘under-serviced’ neighbourhoods

Kevin Klein promises to seek a federal tax break and a new city incentive to attract private construction of homes and stores in “economically distressed” neighbourhoods if he becomes Winnipeg’s next mayor.

In a Thursday letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Klein asks Ottawa to work with Winnipeg to develop “community opportunity zones.”

“Many of Winnipeg’s older neighbourhoods continue to struggle with high numbers of vacant and boarded-up properties. These buildings sit empty for years, becoming fire risks, sources of disorder, and barriers to neighbourhood recovery,” Klein wrote.

During a news conference, Klein said he wants the federal government to defer or eliminate taxes on capital gains for investors with qualifying projects in designated “distressed, under-serviced” neighbourhoods. He would work with Ottawa to identify the exact zones where those tax breaks apply, which would be available to Indigenous-led organizations and other groups.

Rich get richer as NDP policy shifts leave opponents in dust

Last week, Finance Minister Adrien Sala made two announcements that showed why the NDP will remain the party to beat in the next provincial election.