Your forecast
Cloudy with 60 per cent chance of showers. Wind from the east at 30 km/h. High 14 C, UV index 2 or low.
What’s happening today
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is finally set to present the federal budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, showcasing how the government plans to win back support from disgruntled Canadians worried about the cost of living.
The Liberal government has already unveiled significant planks of the budget over the last few weeks during a campaign-style pre-budget tour aimed at drumming up attention for their agenda. The Canadian Press reports.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland (Patrick Doyle / The Canadian Press files)
Hot on the heels of receiving a distinguished alumni award from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg’s poet laureate Chimewemwe Undi is launching her debut poetry collection.
Undi, who won the John Hirsch emerging writer Award from the Manitoba Book Awards in 2022 (and is also a lawyer), launches her collection Scientific Marvel tonight at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location, where she’ll be joined in conversation with Charlene Diehl, director of the Winnipeg International Writers Festival. Read Ariel Gordon’s one-on-one conversation with Undi here.
Chimwemwe Undi (Imalka Nilmalgoda photo)
Today’s must-read
The apparent suicide of a Winnipeg firefighter — who is being remembered as a dedicated and loving husband and father — has prompted calls for more mental health supports in Manitoba.
Firefighters from across the province are rallying around the family of Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service member Preston Heinbigner, who died April 9.
“In times like this, when one member is hurting, we are all hurting,” said Tom Bilous, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, which represents more than 1,000 active firefighters employed by the city. “This is a time to be there for this member and their family.” Chris Kitching has the story.
Paramedic Service member Preston Heinbigner, his wife Shayda and their son Oslo. (GOFUNDME)
On the bright side
That coffee you slurped this morning? It’s 600,000 years old.
Using genes from coffee plants around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world’s most popular type of coffee, known to scientists as Coffea arabica and to coffee lovers simply as “arabica.”
The researchers, hoping to learn more about the plants to better protect them from pests and climate change, found that the species emerged around 600,000 years ago through natural crossbreeding of two other coffee species. The Associated Press reports.
Arabica coffee beans in Ciudad Vieja, Guatemala. (Moises Castillo / The Associated Press files)
On this date
On April 16, 1948: The Winnipeg Free Press reported an Arab military spokesman said 5,000 Arab troops had entered Palestine from Trans-Jordan to join in the campaign against Jewish forces, in what became known as the 1948 Palestine War. In Manitoba, Lawrence Deacon, 36, convicted of the murder of taxi driver Johann Johnson, was hanged at Headingley Jail. Read the rest of this day’s paper here. Search our archives for more here.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Free Press.
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