Good morning!
Your forecast: Don’t be completely shocked to see some Winnipeg Jets fans wearing shorts to the MTS Centre tonight and Sunday afternoon. Environment Canada is calling for a high of 9 C today, although by the time the puck drops at 7 p.m. at MTS Centre between the Jets and Calgary Flames the mercury will drop to about 6 C. Only the brave will go with bare legs. Sunday’s a different story as the mid-afternoon high is projected to be 16 C, just as the Jets take on the St. Louis Blues at 2 p.m. Sandwiched in between is a mild, sunny Saturday, with a high of 11 C expected.
In case you missed it
The Associated PressKen Taylor, Canadian Ambassador to Iran, laughs as he answers questions during a meeting with journalists outside the Canadian Embassy in Paris in this Jan. 31, 1980 file photo.
Hostage-crisis hero dies: Ken Taylor, the former Canadian ambassador to Iran who concealed a group of Americans at his home during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, died Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 81. Taylor facilitated their escape by arranging plane tickets and persuading the Ottawa government to issue fake passports. His role in the crisis was highlighted in the 2012 Academy Award-winning film ‘Argo.’ U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement, “Ambassador Taylor’s courageous actions exemplify the enduring nature of the special relationship between the United States and Canada.” READ MORE
Swear jar in Winnipeg Centre: Big personalities are clashing in Winnipeg’s downtown riding. With problems like a low voter turnout rate and poverty, Winnipeg Centre is turning out to be an interesting race this year. Incumbent NDP MP Pat Martin now has a swear jar in his campaign office, to reign in some of his more colourful language. Meanwhile, Liberal candidate Robert Falcon Ouellette has attacked Martin with saucy press releases suggesting Martin does not live in Winnipeg. READ MORE
Two docs should decide: The organization that licenses Manitoba’s doctors says at least two physicians should participate in any decision to help a patient to die. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba recently released a draft position statement on physician-assisted dying, and will require that at least two doctors participate in the process. The group is not taking a stand for or against physician-assisted dying, but agrees it must comply with last winter’s Supreme Court decision making it legal as of Feb. 6 for doctors to help “a competent adult person” terminate his or her life. READ MORE
Up next
CPLiberal Leader Justin Trudeau addresses students and staff while touring Mohawk College, in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, October 14, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Trudeau returning to Winnipeg: Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau will make a third and final appearance in Winnipeg on Saturday. He’s slated to speak at a rally at the St. James Civic Centre at 6:30 p.m. His appearance there comes about 36 hours before the polls open on election day on Oct. 19. The Liberals are energized by polls showing significant improvement in support in Winnipeg, where they won only one seat in 2011, but could walk away with four or five next week.
David Suzuki: The influential broadcaster is in Winnipeg this morning to receive an Honorary Doctor of Science at the Fall Convocation of the University of Winnipeg. Suzuki has been angrily lambasting politicians in the current federal election campaign, so observers wonder whether his remarks at the U of W this morning will include pounding the podium and calling out hypocritical politicians. Free Press education reporter Nick Martin is there to report on the ceremony.
Equality in Canada: Guest speaker Shireen Ahmed, a writer, athlete, activist and advocate who focuses on Muslim women and sports, will speak this morning at a breakfast event at the RBC Convention Centre. Ahmed, a resident of Mississauga, Ont., is participating in Manitoba W.I.S.E. Inc.’s (Working in Support of Equality) 25th Equality Breakfast. The topic of the day is “Veiled Threat? Women, Multiculturalism and Equality in Canada – The Promise of the Charter.”
Around the water cooler
Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press filesPremier Greg Selinger didn’t endorse former provincial cabinet minister Erin Selby — who is running in the federal riding of Saint Boniface-Saint Vital under the NDP banner — but he will be “voting for my party.”
Selby gets Selinger’s support: Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger says he will definitely vote for NDP candidate Erin Selby in Monday’s federal election. That’s no great shocker. The provincial boss is expected to stick with his party as he votes in his riding of Saint Boniface-Saint Vital. But it’s interesting that Selby was one of five former Selinger cabinet ministers who to spark last fall’s caucus revolt, which led to a party leadership review that Selinger barely survived. READ MORE
Standing by his woman: The American husband of convicted scammer Shelly Chartier of Easterville, Man., continues to support his wife as she begins an 18-month sentence in a Manitoba jail cell. Rob Marku told the Free Press in an exclusive interview Thursday his love and devotion is unwavering, and he’ll be there for Chartier when she is released. Just how that will happen, however, remains unclear. Marku is barred from Canada after a drug conviction south of the border, although he is making a formal application to return to Canada. Chartier pleaded guilty in August to seven counts of fraud and other offences for impersonating people — including a professional athlete — online. READ MORE
Trending now
A Filipino ‘supercouple’: Perhaps due to the Winnipeg being home to a large Filipino diapora, a fictional couple (or “love team”) from a popular noontime variety show in the Philippines was trending in Winnipeg yesterday. “AlDub” are a fictional couple who sometimes appear on the show, played by actor Alden Richards and actress/Dubsmash queen Maine Mendoza. They appear on a segment of the show called “Kalyeserye” that parodies soap operas. AlDub have been wildly popular and have been responsible for breaking several Twitter records with hashtags relating to them, like the most number of tweets in the history of Twitter in less than 24 hours (25.6 million). READ MORE
Oscar Wood: There’s a video going viral that shows a Toronto boy named Oscar Wood, dressed as Blue Jays slugger José Bautista, standing in the Rogers Centre outfield bleachers, swinging an imaginary bat at exact same time Bautista crushes a pivotal home run Wednesday against the Texas Rangers. READ MORE
On this date
On Oct. 16, 1975: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that a major study found the city and the surrounding areas had enough hospital beds to meet needs until the 1980s. Organized labour groups met to discuss pending federal legislation aimed at controlling wages and prices and the penalties for non-compliance, even as a postal strike seemed all but inevitable and a threatened airline pilots strike fast approaching. U.S. State Secretary Henry Kissinger met with Prim Minister Pierre Trudeau in Ottawa. Winnipeg’s two cable TV companies would close their operations is the North Dakota stations they carried proceeded with threats to jam their signals into Canada.
|
