Governments in Canada preparing for Omicron COVID-19 variant

Chefs gather in St. Boniface to see whose version of jollof is best

Chef Alex Bockarie is bringing an age-old African culinary battle to Winnipeg.

On Saturday, five local chefs hailing from Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria will go head-to-head to determine who makes the best jollof — a rice dish simmered in a savoury tomato-based stew.

“Jollof rice originated from Senegal but it has spread throughout West Africa and every country has its own method of cooking it,” Bockarie says. “It’s a long-standing fight; even among the communities here in Winnipeg, everybody’s always saying that Sierra Leone’s (jollof) is the best, Ghana’s is the best, Nigeria’s is the best.

“It’s a friendly competition; friendly, but very serious too.”

Class delayed a day after mould found in Tyndall Park school

The first day of school has been postponed at École Stanley Knowles School after teachers discovered mould on chairs, rugs and other items when they were setting up their classrooms.

Families were alerted Thursday afternoon that an “HVAC malfunction” required extensive cleanup and, as a result, a one-day delay to the new year.

“I called it a couple weeks ago — it smelled really strong of mould,” said Amanda Bell, a mother who’s gone to the building regularly all summer to drop off and pick up her children from the on-site daycare.

Bell recalled she and her partner got a whiff of “wet mould” in a first-floor hallway near the library in mid-August and flagged it to an employee who told them they’d contact a custodian.

NDP defends involvement of U.S. company in Hydro project

A U.S. company that donated to Donald Trump’s 2025 presidential inauguration could build Manitoba Hydro’s proposed $3-billion natural gas turbines, which has drawn criticism from an environmental group amid the NDP government’s pushback to tariffs.

MPI restricts loan program to winter tires only

Manitoba Public Insurance is getting strict about its winter tire program after years in which customers used it to buy other types of tires.

As of Oct. 1, only tires that are “designed and marketed solely for winter driving conditions, including snow and ice,” will be eligible for financing through the public insurer.

Currently, all-weather, all-season, four-season and year-round tires are included in the program, which allows MPI clients to pay the cost in monthly installments. The program, established in 2014, offers financing for up to $2,000, plus interest.

In an email to retailers, MPI says the program is being changed so it “helps ensure customers receive the full winter-driving safety benefits associated with dedicated winter tires.”

QDoc patients in tight spot over billing dispute

Manitobans have been pulled into a dispute between QDoc — a Winnipeg-based virtual health-care platform — and the NDP government over fees billed to the province for patient care.

An Aug. 24 email from QDoc to its users prompted concern or calls for clarity from Manitobans who use the 24-7 platform to see a physician or nurse practitioner through encrypted video calls.

“When I first read it, like many others, I assumed they were going to be nixing the service altogether because that’s the way it was presented,” Tyndall resident Stephanie Pituley said.

“Upon further research, obviously that’s not the case, but I am still concerned to be honest. How many people did that research, I don’t know.”