Quebec ski hill operators’ spirits aren’t dampened by rainy and warm weather

Who has been invited to the table?

Last Friday, I spoke at Booth University College’s inaugural Honour and Hope Harvest Dinner in support of Shelter U. I had been asked to speak about the power of art in the community, a subject I have spent much of my professional life thinking about — as a museum director, writer and teacher, and now through my consulting work with Civic Muse.

What continues to interest me is not simply what museums, universities and other public institutions do, but whether their work actually matters — whether they make a difference in the lives of the people and communities around them.

Preparing for the evening brought me back to an even more fundamental question: Who has been invited in?

One of my museum mentors used to remind me that institutions often begin the conversation about public engagement too late. Before engagement comes the welcome, and before the welcome comes the invitation. We can create extraordinary buildings, exhibitions and programs and say that everyone is welcome. But unless people believe that these places are also meant for them, many will never cross the threshold.

Winnipeg’s challenge: preparing for weather extremes

A new United Nations report warns the world will exceed the 1.5 C Paris limit by 2030.

Bombers coach happy to be back at work after backbreaking loss to Argos

It’s the first practice day after a backbreaking loss.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are in a challenging predicament with four games remaining — starting Saturday on the road against the Montreal Alouettes (11-3) — that leaves their playoff aspirations far from solidified.

And yet, head coach Mike O’Shea makes his way behind the podium, looks out at a room of reporters and is grinning ear to ear.

Why so happy?

Truck carrying mail, milk and alcohol to isolated N.B. island held at U.S. border

CAMPOBELLO ISLAND - A truck carrying supplies for an isolated New Brunswick island linked to the rest of Canada by U.S. roads was turned back at the international border Tuesday, says the local member of Parliament. 

New Brunswick South MP John Williamson said U.S. border officials stopped the truck bound for Campobello Island, N.B., because it was carrying milk and alcohol. Importing those items into the United States is prohibited under new rules that went into effect Tuesday as part of the ongoing trade war.

The only land link to the picturesque island, best known as the summer retreat of former U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is a bridge to the town of Lubec, Maine. From there it's an 80-kilometres drive to the next border crossing at Calais, Maine, where the truck was stopped.

Williamson said the truck typically travels to the island every weekday, carrying mail and goods for the island's less than 1,000 residents under a special Canada Border Services Agency licence. The truck is sealed with a customs tag guarantying it will not stop on the way to the island.

In a smart-device world, some families keep phone jacked into the wall

When the phone rings in Kristin Shiach and Jordan Sobkowicz’s Riverview home, their three daughters race to see who can be the first to answer.

“It depends who is closest,” says 13-year-old Emily. “If I’m sitting in my room, I can get to it quickest.”

“That’s because it’s always in your room,” Anna, 10, replies. “You never put it back!”

“Usually, when the phone rings,” explains Sobkowicz, “someone yells really loudly —”

Manitoba PCs choose Narth as interim leader; ‘deeply hurt’ Khan blasts former caucus colleagues

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative caucus chose MLA Konrad Narth as interim party leader Tuesday to replace Obby Khan, who quit a day earlier after he said he was stabbed in the back by a small group of caucus members plotting in secret to oust him.