Flood watch up due to possible ice jam on B.C. Interior waterways

Stellar year for Manitoba artists at WCMAs

Manitoba acts earned top honours at this past weekend’s Western Canadian Music Awards in Victoria, including pop artist of the year for Begonia, a francophone artist of the year award for Jocelyn Baribeau, video director of the year for Taylor Brown and two awards for the Brandon-raised Fontine, who took home prizes for rock artist and Indigenous artist of the year.

It was double time for the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, which for the second consecutive year was named Western Canada’s jazz artist of the year.

The recognition comes on the strength of the WJO’s most recent recording, Forgotten Stories Suite, a project by local woodwind specialist Sean Irvine that blends spoken word, instrumental soundscapes and sung vocals to amplify stories of queer experience.

“As I started becoming a composer, I was thinking about what I had to say,” says Irvine, a musician with a doctorate of jazz performance from the University of Toronto and a master’s in performance and literature from Brandon University.

Amazon in the weeds over damage to tall grass reserve

Patricia Dutchak was devastated when she first saw the wide swaths of crushed grass and upturned soil at Winnipeg’s Rotary Prairie Nature Park, a municipal heritage site.

“This is a very rare ecosystem, a remnant of tall grass prairie, there’s barely any left in the world, and to come here and see all this damage was heartbreaking,” Dutchak, chair of the Transcona Rotary Club’s parks committee, says.

The club is responsible for maintaining the protected green space, which was significantly damaged this summer when a fence between the park and the neighbouring Amazon distribution centre was relocated.

The 20-acre nature preserve is situated on a narrow tract of land on Regent Avenue West in the commercial heart of Transcona. The park received its municipal heritage designation in 1992 and is, today, surrounded by high-traffic streets, industrial warehouses and car dealerships.

Flood watch up due to possible ice jam on B.C. Interior waterways

VICTORIA - British Columbia's River Forecast Centre has posted a flood watch on three Interior waterways because of the chance of a midseason ice jam.

The centre says temperatures in the first two weeks of February have been between 10 C and 17 C below normal in the Merritt area.

Warming is expected, and the centre says rain of five to 15 millimetres is forecast for valley bottoms, with rain or snow at higher elevations. 

The flood watch has been posted for the Nicola and Coldwater rivers and Spius Creek because extreme low and high temperatures followed by rain has historically led to midseason ice jams in those waterways. 

Taste of home: Winnipeg transplant shares Singaporean flavours at pop-ups

Anyone who lives far away from the place they consider home will tell you that while you can adapt to life in a new country, a new work culture and a completely unfamiliar climate, there’s one thing that will remain stubbornly non-negotiable: the appetite.

For Malvin Soh, 49, like so many whose lives straddle two worlds, food is a gateway to childhood memories, culture and heritage.

Originally from Singapore, Soh and his family moved to Canada in 2014 and settled in Winnipeg.

The urban designer began cooking familiar favourites to combat his own cravings when studying and working in Australia, where he lived for nearly 10 years.

Whistleblower pharmacist fined for misconduct after complaint

A Manitoba pharmacist who made complaints against a colleague that led to sanctions against him has now also been fined due to her own conduct.

Manitoba Federation of Labour calls for independent review of Workers Compensation Board

A major labour association is calling for an independent Workers Compensation Board review as Manitoba leads the country in workplace injury rates.

Last year, 2.5 employees in every 100 reported a workplace injury serious enough to take time off, WCB tracking shows. The number is higher than any other province — just as it has been for the past three years, according to the Manitoba Federation of Labour.

(In 2025, the next highest time loss injury rate was in British Columbia: 2.04 people for every 100.)

“Our prevention work in Manitoba is failing Manitobans,” said Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour. “We need an independent review to help shine a light on, ‘What is happening on the prevention front of WCB?’”