Hate crimes jump in Winnipeg in 2025

The number of reported crimes that were classified as hate-motivated by the Winnipeg Police Service more than doubled in 2025, although the true number of incidents is thought to be higher.

City needs more fire-paramedic stations as population grows: outgoing WFPS boss

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief Christian Schmidt says the city will need to add fire paramedic stations to ensure rapid growth in new neighbourhoods doesn’t extend already lengthy emergency-response times.

Restaurant industry advocate says it was denied meeting with premier in lobbying for takeout meals to be included in Manitoba plan

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is being put on blast by a national organization aiming to get restaurants included in a proposed PST cut.

Restaurants Canada alleges it has repeatedly contacted the NDP government for a meeting with the premier.

It said it was told on Tuesday that Kinew was unable to meet due to “heavy scheduling demands,” but another minister would take his place. Restaurants Canada declined to share the email in question, citing a need to protect a junior government staffer’s identity.

“I’m shocked that a sector of our size … that (Kinew) is not meeting with us, that we were not consulted early on, that there wasn’t more thought put into this entire policy,” said Kelly Higginson, Restaurants Canada’s president. “This is not a neutral affordability measure.”

WFPS stretched to limit by city’s around-the-clock drug OD crisis, retiring chief says

The chief of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service says first responders attend more than one overdose call every hour, as the city’s drug toxicity crisis intensifies.

Premier vows to extend sitting unless budget bill passes by June 1

Premier Wab Kinew threatened to put politicians’ summer break on pause Wednesday in a fight over the government’s budget bill after MLAs sat through the night Tuesday and into late Wednesday afternoon.

If the bill doesn’t pass by the end of business Thursday, “we’re coming back in June,” Premier Wab Kinew told reporters.

The debate began Tuesday afternoon and by noon hour Wednesday, Progressive Conservative MLAs were still talking about the bill in the chamber, saying it doesn’t provide enough relief for Manitobans who are struggling with the cost of living.

“We need the government to go back to the drawing board and create a (budget) bill that is actually about improving affordability for Manitobans,” MLA Kathleen Cook told the chamber Wednesday morning.

Volleyball bench boss named to coaching staff for men’s national squad tourney

Chris Voth is getting bumped into the starting lineup.

The Winnipeg Wesmen men’s volleyball head coach was named to the Canadian senior men’s national team’s coaching staff for the upcoming Volleyball Nations League tournament this summer.

Voth spent five years on the staff of the senior men’s extended roster that trains in Gatineau, Que. That time was spent with Team Canada’s reserve crop, who were young professionals or up-and-coming university athletes.

Now, he’ll help the main roster as it begins its push for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Even after decades in standup, comedy legend Rita Rudner never stops writing new jokes

A Q & A with Rita Rudner, American comedy legend and queen of the one-liner

Daycare forced to close after air conditioner stripped of copper wiring

A child-care centre on Scurfield Boulevard was forced to close Wednesday after copper wiring from its rooftop air conditioning unit was stolen.

Advantage Child Care Academy made the discovery while conducting its annual inspection of the coolers on May 12.

“They went up to just do the annual general maintenance to get the units ready to go and we got a report saying; ‘you’ve been vandalized,’” said the centre’s owner, Ben Szuuts.

He said there were no concerns during a previous inspection on Feb. 10.

Proposed flavoured vape ban unfairly targets struggling stores, industry association argues

A possible ban on flavoured vape sales in some Manitoba stores would be another blow to an industry already struggling under out-of-control contraband tobacco crime, business groups say.

Proposed legislation brought forward Tuesday would ban urban businesses with no age restrictions from selling flavoured vapes, while rural convenience stores and other businesses would be allowed to sell them as long as they were kept out of view.

Age-restricted stores, including vape shops, would still be allowed to sell the flavoured variety. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Tuesday the vapes are marketed to kids and a gateway to tobacco use.

Banning a revenue stream for corner and convenience stores would unfairly target struggling businesses while ignoring the worst offenders, said Sara MacIntyre, the Western Canada vice-president for the Convenience Industry Council of Canada.

HSC investigates after skywalk window blown out

Health Sciences Centre workers are going over its heliport with a fine tooth comb after an object struck and broke a pane of glass in a nearby skywalk during helicopter operations Sunday.

Where the object came from, what it was, and how it was sent speeding fast enough to break the William Avenue skywalk window at about 5 p.m., is all being reviewed by HSC.

“HSC is still looking into the cause,” a Shared Health spokesperson said in a statement.

“We cannot confirm it was related to a helicopter being in operation in the area. There are hundreds of landings and takeoffs annually without incident,” the statement said.

Bear rescue takes RM to court over quarries

Manitoba’s only black bear rescue is asking the court to quash a pair of quarry approvals in the Rural Municipality of Rockwood, saying the operations will have devastating effects on its operation.

Manitoba Bear Rehabilitation Centre Inc. and its owners have asked the Court of King’s Bench to declare the RM approvals invalid. It also seeks an injunction to prevent extraction at the site, pending the court’s decision.

The application claims the limestone quarry approvals were unlawful and the municipality failed to conduct a fair, transparent, and procedurally adequate decision-making process.

In March, the RM held a public hearing for two quarry applications by Amrize Canada. Hundreds of letters opposing the operations were submitted to the RM and dozens of people attended the meeting to voice their concerns, Black Bear Rescue Manitoba co-owner Judy Stearns said at the time.

Nurses set to vote on grey-listing Seven Oaks

Nurses at Seven Oaks General Hospital in northwest Winnipeg are set to vote next month on whether to grey-list the facility to push for additional safety and security measures.

Manitoba Nurses Union members at Health Sciences Centre, St. Boniface Hospital and Thompson General Hospital have voted to grey-list those facilities.

“A lot of it has to do with safety in the facility. Even more of it has to do with… the inability to provide safe patient care,” union president Darlene Jackson said about Seven Oaks.

“Nurses are sick and tired of not being able to provide the care they know their patients require. As a result of that and wait times, it seems like nurses are taking the brunt of the violence that happens when it comes to people being angry because they aren’t being seen or things aren’t happening.”