Free Press columnist named Canada’s best

Niigaan Sinclair is the top columnist in the country.

The Free Press Indigenous issues writer was named Canada’s best columnist at the 77th annual National Newspaper Awards Friday night in Toronto.

The Free Press writer was awarded the Mary Ann Shadd Award for columns at the 77th annual National Newspaper Awards Friday night in Toronto.

“I’m honoured to receive this award but this recognition is as much about the Free Press’ dedication to providing space for Indigenous voices and our community’s demand and interest for them,” Sinclair said during the ceremony.

City considers framework to give preference to local firms in wake of Sals situation

A call to prioritize local businesses in city contract evaluations is moving forward at city hall, following a controversial decision to replace Salisbury House with a U.S.-based company at two city-owned golf courses.

Show your local independent bookstore some love

For avid readers and independent booksellers, Saturday might feel a bit like Christmas.

Province to exempt convenience, ‘mom-and-pop’ stores from charging PST

Slurpees will be PST-free starting July 1, after Premier Wab Kinew announced an expanded grocery tax exemption that will now include convenience stores and small mom-and-pop shops.

Kinew made the announcement during a scrum following an unrelated event in Lockport on Friday, a shift that comes after backlash from small business owners left out of the measure included in last month’s provincial budget.

“We’re working on a more expansive definition,” Kinew said. “This will capture most of what we would think of mom-and-pops, and we will have that budget bill in May, where you will see the details.”

The premier acknowledged the challenge of drawing a clear line between convenience stores and smaller independent retailers. “As far as I can tell… you can’t,” he said.

Ottawa tabs $19.5M for defence-sector firms

Beards and hijabs are sometimes hard to fit in standard military protective equipment.

Rob Ranson and his team at Win-Shield Devices have been creating tactical masks for personnel with these considerations. Interest is growing, Ranson said.

Including from the federal government: Ottawa announced $3.5 million for Win-Shield Devices, a Winnipeg-based firm, on Friday.

It was part of a $19.5 million package for local companies. Magellan Aerospace and StandardAero are receiving $8 million each to expand operations, with output directed to military and civilians.

Man accused of violently assaulting ex used reasonable force, judge rules

A judge has acquitted a Winnipeg man accused of violently assaulting his former girlfriend, accepting his evidence that he used reasonable force to remove her from his pickup truck after she refused his repeated demands to leave.

The alleged victim claimed the man, a former sheriff’s officer, threatened to kill her while punching and choking her, but she chose to remain in the vehicle.

“I do not believe her version of events (and) find that she augmented her evidence,” provincial court Judge Rachel Rusen said in a written decision issued earlier this week.

“(Her) evidence is that she deliberately chose to remain in the truck with (the accused) after being punched, choked twice and threatened with death and more violence,” Rusen said. “I do not find her evidence credible when her own evidence is that he asked her multiple times to get out of the truck.”

Around the PWHL: Record-setting highlights and what to watch on Super Saturday

Everybody take a moment to catch their breath. What a week in the PWHL.

Peguis chief cautiously optimistic after river crests

Peguis First Nation may avoid flooding this spring, but its chief says the community must remain vigilant.

On Friday afternoon, the province’s hydrologic forecast centre confirmed the Fisher River, which runs through the community, has crested.

In a social media message the night before, Chief Stan Bird implored residents to stay on alert.

“(The river) could begin to recede over the next couple of days. The key word is ‘may,’” Bird said.

Woman pleads for tips on who killed her brother, 15 years after his death

The grieving sister of a man killed in Thompson 15 years ago is pleading for anyone who has information to call RCMP — or for those who did it to turn themselves in.

“I just would like to have some closure,” Maven Hall said Friday, in an emotional interview on the anniversary of the death of her older brother, Jason Nunn.

Nunn, 25, spent the night out with friends at Element Restaurant and Lounge, a now-closed business on Commercial Place in the northern Manitoba city, and was last seen at about 2:30 a.m. on April 24, 2011.

He had waited for a cab to arrive for Hall’s close friend, to see her off safely in the cold night, before leaving, Hall said.

Winnipeg man charged with uttering death threats to PM facing new charges

A Winnipeg man — already accused of threatening Prime Minister Mark Carney and inciting hate toward Muslim and Jewish communities — is now facing additional charges.

The RCMP federal policing division announced three new charges against Jason Paul Rindall in a news release Friday, including another allegation that he threatened to kill Carney, engaged in the promotion of hatred and advocated for genocide.

Rindall, 55, was arrested Feb. 13 after Manitoba RCMP launched an investigation into threatening messages published on the social media platform X. Rindall was initially charged with three counts of threats to cause death or bodily harm.

Court records show Rindall has two prior assault charges dating back to 2008 and 2012.