Alberta alters rules, making it easier for nurses to get benefits for on-the-job PTSD

U of W, former professor sued over alleged sex assault

A woman who studied and worked at the University of Winnipeg has filed a lawsuit against the post-secondary institution and her former professor — a convicted sex offender — who she alleges drugged and sexually assaulted her.

The woman, a former international student from the United Kingdom and teaching assistant at the university, claims her professor and “mentor,” Derek Spencer, put a date-rape drug in her drink and groped her following a Christmas party for professors and graduate students in 2019.

“The assailant secretly placed a date-rape drug in her drink without consent and sexually assaulted her while she was in an altered and vulnerable state,” reads the woman’s statement of claim, filed in the Court of King’s Bench earlier this month.

“She suffered grave psychological and physical harm as a result.”

Letters, Oct. 21

I am a citizen of the Interlake who is deeply alarmed about the ongoing and deplorably unsafe condition of Highway 8, caused by the poor planning and implementation of the massive construction project that, ironically, is being done to increase public safety.

Empty desks: Advocates talk chronic school absenteeism

Concerned that school and government leaders are downplaying the state of student absenteeism, community organizers are strategizing to create urgency around who’s regularly missing class — and why — in Winnipeg.

The inaugural Youth at Risk in Winnipeg Symposium, held over the weekend at the Canadian Mennonite University, drew roughly 100 people to discuss barriers to attendance and brainstorm ways to remove them.

Nearly 20 years after he began calling attention to the issue, first as a volunteer with the Point Douglas Residents Committee, Sel Burrows gave an impassioned speech about the lack of political will to take meaningful action to help students from “dysfunctional homes.”

“I’ve dealt with nine cabinet ministers, Conservative and NDP, and five deputy ministers, and the issue has not gotten any better,” Burrows told teachers, reseachers and community support workers gathered Saturday on CMU’s Shaftesbury campus.

Clay Stevenson credits therapeutic side of hockey in learning to live with mother’s suicide

Hockey has always been more than just a game to Clay Stevenson. That was especially true after he suffered the biggest loss of his life: his mother, Holly, died by suicide seven years ago.

Maple leaf love: Albertans vote strongly to stay in Canada

EDMONTON - O Canada, Alberta is staying put.

In a historic referendum Monday, voters marked their ballots in overwhelming numbers to remain in the country that made Alberta a province 121 years ago.

In early returns, about 76 per cent of Albertans said yes to Confederation, while 24 per cent said they wanted the province to hold a second, binding referendum on leaving.

Both Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney lauded the result.

Multiple safety concerns in final report on fatal 2025 mid-air collision near Steinbach

A federal investigation into a mid-air collision that killed two student pilots near Steinbach last year identified concerns about radio calls, situational awareness and visual detection methods.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s final report, released Wednesday, said the two planes, belonging to Harv’s Air Service, became entangled and crashed while both pilots were on their final approach to Steinbach airport on the morning of July 8, 2025.

The victims were identified by their families as Savanna May Royes, 20, and Sreehari Sukesh, 23.

Investigators concluded the crash highlighted the limitations of the “see-and-avoid” principle (a basic method used by pilots for visual surveillance and collision avoidance), and why it is important for pilots to actively listen to radio calls from other planes to maintain situational awareness.