Your forecast
Cloudy, and foggy with near zero visibility at times early this morning; a fog advisory is in effect. Wind becoming northeast at 20 km/h, gusting to 40 this morning. High 2 C.
Patrick and Suzanne LeMadec had their two cars ticketed and towed from in front of their apartment. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press)
And after a blizzard of complaints about the City of Winnipeg ticketing and towing vehicles parked on snow routes — despite there being virtually no snow — a change could be in the forecast.
Coun. Janice Lukes, who as chair of the public works committee oversees the city’s plowing operations, said she will ask the administration whether towing operations can be suspended if snow clearing isn’t required. Kevin Rollason has more here.
What’s happening today
Winnipeggers can expect the City of Winnipeg’s preliminary multi-year budget to focus on housing, less spending on roads and a 3.5 per cent property tax hike.
Mayor Scott Gillingham said those items will be notable within the draft 2024 to 2027 fiscal blueprint, which is set to be released this afternoon.
While the mayor issued two recent news releases that warned cost pressures would force “difficult decisions” within the financial plan, he didn’t rule out new spending. Joyanne Pursaga reports.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)
Today’s must-read
Organizations on the front lines of Winnipeg’s drug crisis have developed a proposal that asks the provincial government to create an Indigenous-led safe consumption site downtown, as opioid use reaches record heights.
They want the government to appoint the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre to lead the project.
A proposal by the wellness centre, in collaboration with Sunshine House, Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc., the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network, Main Street Project and Substance Consulting, asks that the province put up money to get the site up and running, including the hiring of a project co-ordinator, find land for it, and ensure the space is Indigenous-led and culturally sensitive. Malak Abas reports.
(Trevor Hagan / Free Press files)
On the bright side
A pod of killer whales that was trapped in drift ice off Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido, prompting concern from environmental groups, has apparently safely escaped, officials said Wednesday.
The killer whales, also known as orcas, were initially spotted by a local fisherman who reported them to officials in the nearby town of Rausu on the northeastern coast of Hokkaido on Tuesday morning. The Associated Press reports.
A pod of killer whales bobbing up and down in a small gap surrounded by drift ice in Rausu, Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Feb. 6. (NTV-NNN via The Associated Press)
On this date
On Feb. 7, 1958: The Winnipeg Free Press reported a blackout threatened Fort Garry after Winnipeg Electric Co. workers discovered 8,000 feet of power lines in an area north of Windsor Park had been shot repeatedly with .22 calibre bullets, apparently by marksmen, and would have to be torn down and replaced. British explorer Vivian Fuchs, leader of the Commonwealth trans-Antarctic expedition, arrived at Depot 700 on his trek across the polar continent. 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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