What you need to know
JASON HALSTEAD / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESPeter Nygard, founder and chairman of Nygard International, is the subject of a class-action lawsuit alleging he lured women, many of them minors, to his Bahamian estate so he could sexually assault them — part of a decades-long sex-trafficking scheme.
‘Deviant acts’ alleged: A class-action lawsuit filed in New York by 10 women alleges Winnipeg fashion mogul Peter Nygard lured girls and young women to his Bahamian estate so he could rape them. Three of the women were only 14 at the time, the lawsuit alleges. Nygard’s local lawyer, Jay Prober, said the claims are “completely false” and a “scam.” Kevin Rollason reports. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: A mix of sun and cloud with a 30 per cent chance of flurries this afternoon, a daytime low of -19 C and high of -10 C, strong winds peaking at 50 km/h from the south and gusting to 70, wind chill as low as -33 this morning and a risk of frostbite.
What’s happening today
A smoking campfire is all that remains the day after protesters erected a blockade along the CN rail at Diamond, MB, yesterday. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)
Pipeline protests: Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau is set to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts and national Indigenous organizations about the ongoing anti-pipeline blockades that have shut down rail lines, The Canadian Press reports. Meanwhile, Ryan Thorpe has a story on a blockade west of Winnipeg that was abandoned Thursday. READ MORE
Hé ho: The 51st annual Festival du Voyageur begins in St. Boniface this evening and continues until Feb. 23. Ben Waldman has a story on Thursday’s kickoff event. READ MORE
In sports
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSWinnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice at Jets practice at Bell MTS Place on Thursday. The Jets have renewed Maurice’s contract for another three seasons.
Early ice time: The Jets host the San Jose Sharks at 6 p.m. tonight in their first game since head coach Paul Maurice signed a contract extension. Jason Bell reports. READ MORE
One and done: Six-time national champion Jennifer Jones and Tracy Fleury of East St. Paul will face off in an all-Manitoba wild-card game to claim the final berth in the 2020 national Scotties. The main draw of the women’s national curling championship begins Saturday in Moose Jaw, with Kerri Einarson’s Gimli team representing Manitoba. Jason Bell reports. READ MORE
In case you missed it
Destine Spiller is shown in a handout photo. A Manitoba woman arrested over online comments that threatened violence against Indigenous people has asked for forgiveness and says she has learned valuable lessons.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Opaskwayak Cree Nation MANDATORY CREDIT
‘Valuable life lesson’: A woman read an apology to First Nations elders and leaders at a mediation circle in The Pas on Thursday. Destine Spiller was arrested in 2018 for Facebook comments threatening violence against Indigenous people. READ MORE
Game a big draw: The pot for a Chase the Ace game in Whitemouth has grown to more than $230,000, and hundreds of people are expected to head to the town about 100 kilometres east of Winnipeg for Saturday’s draw. Danielle Da Silva reports. READ MORE
On this date
On Feb. 14, 1997: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Winnipeg police arrested 14 suspected gang members and were searching for 12 more to wrap up a seven-month operation they called a “qualified success.” A Winnipeg man who previously received a double-lung transplant, but whose body later rejected them and was now dependent on an oxygen machine, was set to marry his fiancée at Assiniboine Park Conservatory. READ MORE
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Winnipeg Free Press READ MORE
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