Travellers from ‘Peg excited to fly to Mexico despite recent violence

Federal government has advised travellers to Mexico to be cautious after flights resumed following the eruption of violence on the weekend.

Construction begins on Indigenous healing space a decade in the making

After more than a decade of fighting for reconciliation, a Métis doctor has led the charge to create a new cultural space for Indigenous kids seeking care at Children’s Hospital.

Police liaison on HQ project tells inquiry he had concerns about costs, took them to superiors

A police liaison on the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters project said he feared he was being kept in the dark on some financial details, especially as cost overruns emerged.

Randy Benoit, who served as the liaison on the project for 2 1/2 years, said he grew quite frustrated as he repeatedly heard about overruns from key contractor Caspian Projects, though he had little knowledge of the original budget.

“There’s something else going on around me that’s being kept from me, and I’m suspicious of that,” Benoit said Tuesday at the public inquiry into the project.

The comment came in response to a November 2011 email displayed at the hearing in which someone else referred to Benoit as being angry about the project.

Police warn about AI use in sophisticated scam calls

Police warned Manitobans about the rising use of artificial intelligence to clone voices for use in phone scams, while launching a campaign Tuesday to protect seniors from fraud.

The six-month “Just Hang Up” campaign will alert seniors, their children and their caregivers about grandparent or emergency scams that have become prevalent and increasingly sophisticated.

“These scams are designed to be high pressure. They prey on the ones we love the most — our grandparents, the ones we know who are going to help us in the time of need,” Winnipeg Police Service Insp. Jennifer McKinnon said at a news conference.

Manitobans aged 60 and older reported losing almost $350,000 to grandparent or emergency scams in 2024, as reported by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The actual total is likely much higher because scams are vastly underreported.

Windsor Park Collegiate cancels in-person classes Wednesday because of ‘concerning threat’

Citing “a concerning threat made against the school,” Windsor Park Collegiate is cancelling in-person classes Wednesday.

Christian Michalik, superintendent of the Louis Riel School Division, informed families about the decision in a Monday-evening email.

Michalik has shared few details about the threat, aside from the fact that it references Wednesday. He indicated the division has been working closely with the Winnipeg Police Service in recent days.

“This work has included extensive efforts to identify the origin of the threat, including far-reaching interviews with students. Regrettably, despite these efforts, the individual or individuals responsible have not yet been identified,” Michalik said.

Witness testifies she was beaten, threatened after killings in drug den

A woman who was present the night five people were gunned down inside a Langside Street crack house, testified she was tied to a chair and beaten by the alleged killer’s father and sister, who threatened to harm her family if she identified the accused as the shooter.

The disclosure by Xena Hall came near the end of two-plus hours of often combative testimony Tuesday in the trial of Jamie Felix.

Felix, 35, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of second-degree murder in the Nov. 26, 2023 shootings of Crystal Beardy, 34; her sister Stephanie Beardy, 33; Melelek Lesikel, 29; Dylan Lavallee, 41; and Shawn Marko, 56.

At the time, Hall, 28, was the girlfriend of Felix’s now-deceased father, Randolph “Chummy” Fagnan, who Hall told court had sold drugs out of the crack house.

CUPE 500 dumps on proposed garbage-pickup contracts

The union that represents City of Winnipeg workers has taken issue with the companies chosen by the public service to pick up garbage and recycling.

An administration report to be considered by the water, waste and environment committee next week recommends Municipal Waste Management Ltd., which was founded in Souris, and has its corporate office in Brandon, be awarded an annual $19.7-million contract to pick up waste and recyclables in Area One from Feb. 1, 2027 to Jan. 31, 2032. Currently, Miller Waste Systems, based in Ontario, provides the service.

The report recommends GFL Environmental should be paid $17.4 million annually to handle waste and recyclables in Area Two for the same time period. GFL already provides service in this area.

Area One is the west side of the city while Area Two includes neighbourhoods east of the Red River and large sections of Fort Rouge, Fort Garry, Fort Richmond, Waverley West and St. Norbert.

New elementary school, playground repairs atop Seven Oaks budget priority list

The Seven Oaks School Division has identified renovating playgrounds and opening a new elementary school as budget priorities for next year.

Senior administration released its $210-million blueprint for 2026-27 on Monday.

Secretary-treasurer Jennifer West said a 5.2 per cent increase in projected expenses is “almost entirely” related to staffing.

“We are aiming to maintain and improve our staffing ratios, maintain small class sizes and continue all of (our) existing programming,” West told a public meeting at the Seven Oaks Performing Arts Centre.

Winnipeg doctor hit with interim suspension

A Winnipeg doctor who was sanctioned for professional misconduct in 2024 has been put on an interim suspension.

Dr. Daljit Singh Gill, who practises internal medicine, was issued the interim suspension by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba on Friday.

The reasons for the temporary suspension are unclear and no terms or conditions are attached to the interim suspension.

“Since the suspension is interim, we cannot disclose anything further at this time,” said Wendy Elias-Gagnon, a spokeswoman for the college.

Ex-teacher, retired priest named in separate lawsuits involving historical sex crime accusations

A former teacher and a retired priest, who both were previously brought before Manitoba criminal courts on sex crime charges, have been accused in separate lawsuits over historical sexual abuse allegations.

Retired Catholic priest Arthur Masse and former teacher Kenneth MacKinnon Mealey have been accused of sex assaults in lawsuits recently filed in the Court of King’s Bench by a Vancouver law firm that specializes in alleged sex abuse cases, Prezler Law.

Masse was acquitted in 2023 of a charge of indecent assault, which was alleged to have occurred on a schoolgirl more than 50 years ago at Fort Alexander Residential School. He was 93 at the time of his acquittal.

It’s unclear whether he’s still alive. The lawsuit names the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Winnipeg, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate — a religious order of which Masse was a member — and its administrative non-profit, OMI Lacombe, as defendants, but not Masse himself.

Carney pledges sanctions, $2 billion for Ukraine four years after full-scale invasion

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney promised another $2 billion in military aid and more sanctions on Moscow Tuesday as Ukraine marked four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

"Four years on, Russia is failing militarily, strategically and economically, and we are in it for the long term," Carney told reporters before the weekly cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill.

"Russia is failing. The sooner they come to the table and actually participate in peace negotiations, the better it will be."

Carney said the new sanctions will target 100 vessels in the "shadow fleet" which are involved in attempts to evade sanctions on Russian oil sales.