Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
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Courts hold Meta to account; why won’t government?
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A government budget and a court case are both exercises in decision-making.
In designing a fiscal plan, cabinet makes choices about where to spend and where to cut based on its objectives and values. In court, the determinations involve weighing the evidence to render a verdict of who is wrong and what is right.
The budgeting decisions Premier Wab Kinew’s government made last week included a focus on mental health, as the NDP boasted its “compassionate and co-ordinated investments in mental health, harm reduction and addictions treatment, combined with our efforts to end chronic homelessness, will decrease the strain on our health-care system and help to lower ER waits.”
The Manitoba government has highlighted its funding commitments to support mental health in its 2026 budget, unveiled last week. (Mike Deal / Free Press files)
While that budget was being unveiled, a jury was making its own decision in a bellwether case involving big tech that focused on mental health.
A jury in New Mexico found Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child exploitation on its Facebook and Instagram platforms. A day later, a court in Los Angeles deemed Meta had designed its platform to hook young users without concern for their well-being.
Given Manitoba’s budgetary commitment to mental health, can you imagine a world in which the province would turn to Meta to promote its spending plans?
And yet that is exactly what is happening with your tax dollars in several advertising campaigns now underway to help sell the provincial budget to Manitobans.
I suppose the explanation from government might be that it needs to advertise on Meta’s platforms as that’s the only way some people will learn about the budget.
But that reality is one Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg created when he blocked news on his platforms in Canada. Oh, the irony!
Again, budgets and court cases are about making decisions. Two juries decided it was time to hold Meta to account for optimizing its profits to the detriment of teen mental health; a cabinet decided to spend even more on its Meta account.
In doing so, the budgetary deficit in Manitoba is about more than a shortfall in revenue. It’s also measured by the imbalance of a spending line that grants impunity to those getting ever richer at the expense of mental health.
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Paul Samyn, Editor
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COMING UP
For the past three years, a group of dachshunds have met at Earl Grey Community Centre for their weekly indoor play group. They formed out of necessity: these wienies aren’t really made for Winnipeg winters, and there aren’t a lot of places in the city for small dogs to play with other small dogs.
The group has expanded — more than 20 dogs were at this week’s play group and the Wienie & Friends Facebook group has more than 400 members — because it’s also become an important third place for the dogs’ humans, too.
Jen Zoratti hangs out with pups in Saturday’s Arts & Life section.
The countdown is on for the Winnipeg Jets’ playoff push with only eight games remaining on the team’s regular-season docket.
Ken Wiebe is on the ground for the club’s penultimate road trip, covering all the hard-hitting action as puck drops in Dallas on Thursday and Columbus on Saturday.
This is no fish tale. Seriously, it’s about hot dogs and cold comfort.
Rudy Wall has been serving up smokies and other goodies on Lake Winnipeg for the last couple of winters to the ice-fishing community.
Feature writer David Sanderson profiles Wall and his somewhat out-of-the-way food cart business that oddly makes perfect sense.
ONE GREAT PHOTO
Small fly: Atticus (left) and Micah enjoy pedal-powered planes Monday at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. The museum is running spring break activities for kids all week. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
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