What’s happening today
Mikaela Mackenzie / Winnipeg Free Press filesPremier Brian Pallister (right) with Finance Minister Scott Fielding in September. Both will speak on the province’s financial situation today. (Mikaela Mackenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)
Manitoba’s mid-year finances: Premier Brian Pallister and Finance Minister Scott Fielding are holding a news conference this morning on a mid-year financial report for the province.
French president tests positive: French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, it was announced this morning. Macron attended a European Union summit last week, where he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He also met with the prime minister of Portugal on Wednesday. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
Vaccinations continue: Melissa Martin has a feature on a 75-year-old intensive care unit nurse who will be among the health-care workers getting the COVID-19 vaccine today. The first such vaccinations in Manitoba were done Wednesday. READ MORE
COVID-19 crisis: The provincial government will announce the latest COVID-19 numbers early this afternoon. The province reported 15 deaths Wednesday, while the number of new cases was in the 200s for the fourth consecutive day. Malak Abas reports. READ MORE
Closing arguments in case: The defence is set to give its closing arguments at the trial of Alek Minassian, who killed 10 people by driving a van on a Toronto sidewalk. The defence is arguing Minassian is not criminally responsible for the attack. The Canadian Press reports. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: Cloudy with a 30 per cent chance of light snow and risk of freezing drizzle this morning, then a mix of sun and cloud with a high of -2 C, wind chill as low as -10 and peak winds from the south at 30 km/h gusting to 50 in the late afternoon.
In case you missed it
A red (COVID-19 positive) intensive care unit at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020.
Winnipeg Free Press 2020
Look inside life at HSC: The Free Press was allowed inside Health Sciences Centre as it treats patients amid the second wave of COVID-19. Aaron Turner, a clinical resource nurse, was recruited to care for some of the sickest COVID-19 patients. “I set them up with an iPad so they could say their goodbyes,” he said. “It’s not something we’ve had to do before. It becomes part of business, I suppose, but you can never get used to it.” Kevin Rollason reports. READ MORE
Beyond scrutiny: In his latest column, Dan Lett weighs in on how the secretary to the Treasury Board is now a “senior leader in our COVID response,” as the premier put it. READ MORE
On this date
On Dec. 17, 1947: The Winnipeg Free Press reported prime minister Mackenzie King celebrated his 73rd birthday with a customary working day. Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip awaited the outcome of a parliamentary debate about their allowance. Christmas gifts from the United States would reach Winnipeg homes, despite the new import regulations prohibiting certain items above $25 in value. Four people were burned to death after an overheated stove destroyed a two-storey log farmhouse in Ontario.
Today’s front page
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