Good morning!
For families with children, Halloween in Manitoba often comes down to one question: will the weather be nice enough that the kids don’t have to hide their costumes beneath parkas or raincoats? The good news on the weather front is that children should be able to display their costumes outdoors on Saturday without worrying about freezing or getting wet. The forecast for Saturday is cloudy but clear, with a high of 12 C and a low of 2 C. Today’s weather is expected to be mainly cloudy, with a high of 9 C, and a possibility of showers tonight. Sunday is also expected to be cloudy, with a high of 10 C and a 60 per cent chance of showers.
In case you missed it
Hudson’s Bay Co. ArchiveA Sayisi Dene family in 1894. The Dene inhabited Manitoba’s far north for nearly 3,000 years and were relocated from their traditional land in 1956.
Shameful anniversary: It’s another in a litany of historic wrongs in this country — the forced relocation of hundreds of Dene people from their traditional hunting grounds to shantytowns near Churchill. There, violence, rape, alcoholism and malnutrition nearly erased the Sayisi Dene in the span of 17 years. Now, after decades of lobbying, the Sayisi Dene of northern Manitoba will soon vote on a $33.6-million compensation package that comes with a national apology. Chief Ernie Bussidor revealed the details of the settlement deal for the first time Thursday, though the Dene have been pondering them internally for months. Many, including Bussidor, are hoping Justin Trudeau as prime minister will visit Tadoule Lake to deliver the apology, perhaps in August to mark the 60th anniversary of the relocation. READ MORE
Rape suspect freed: For the third time in a month, a sexual assault jury trial has ended with the accused rapist walking free. Tyler Dreger was found not guilty on Wednesday of allegations he sexually assaulted a 20-year-old Lundar woman in 2013. Dreger had denied wrongdoing, and jurors clearly found the Crown had failed to meet the standard of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that is required under the Criminal Code. The alleged victim had testified earlier in the week, describing how she was “frozen” with fear after waking up to find Dreger sexually assaulting her after they had met at a social and he had insisted on walking her home. READ MORE
Selby back: A former Manitoba health minister who challenged Premier Greg Selinger and ran unsuccessfully in the federal election has a new job. Erin Selby will start next week as a negotiator for one of the province’s largest unions — local 832 of the United Food and Commercial Workers. Selby was one of five ministers who questioned Selinger’s leadership last year and stepped down from cabinet. Selby resigned her legislature seat in September to run for the federal NDP in St. Boniface-St. Vital, where she finished third.
Up next
Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free PressManitoba Premier Greg Selinger at the construction site of the new UWinnipeg Commons apartment complex.
Dinner with premier: It’s not easy being Greg Selinger. Several of his top ministers have announced they will not run again since an attempted coup narrowly failed, Manitoba’s credit rating has been downgraded, and surveys show the premier is about as personally popular as Evander Kane, the former Winnipeg Jet who dissed Jets management this week. All that said, the premier is a survivor and the party will be listening closely tonight for hints of his political future. The 17th Annual Premier’s Dinner is at Canad Inns, Polo Park. The cost is $150 a plate, $100 for people on a fixed income.
Friends of Shoal Lake: Winnipeg city councillors, business leaders and members of the broad-based coalition Friends of Shoal Lake 40 have a private tour of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation today. The community was geographically isolated by land development to let Winnipeg use Shoal Lake for water. Today’s group wants to make sure governments stick to their promises to pay for construction of a road which will bring Shoal Lake 40’s 100-year isolation to an end, and make possible the building of a water treatment plant to end their 18-year boil-water advisory. Different levels of government have pledged funds to begin construction of Shoal Lake 40’s Freedom Road upon completion of its detailed design in January.
War Pigs: Your neighbours and friends think you’re responsible and mature, but we know better. Back in the day, you used to punch the air to rock anthems like “War Pigs” and “Iron Man.” Tomorrow at 10 a.m., tickets go on sale for a Black Sabbath concert at MTS Centre on Jan. 27 with a lineup that includes Ozzy Osborne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler. They say it’s their farewell tour. Yeah, right. Don’t throw away your Black Sabbath T-shirt quite yet. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
John Woods / The Canadian PressChicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford (50) keeps his eye on the puck as Winnipeg Jets’ Bryan Little (18) comes in for the rebound during third period of NHL action in Winnipeg on Thursday.
Let the Stanley Cup parade begin: The Winnipeg Jets came back from behind to defeat the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Thursday night at the MTS Centre. Chicago’s Patrick Kane opened the scoring just 1:26 into the game but about seven minutes later, Blake Wheeler tied things up for the Jets. Captain Andrew Ladd scored what stood as the game-winning goal — and the Jets’ first lead of the game — on the power play marker at 5:09 of the second period. Mark Scheifele scored the insurance marker midway through the third period. With the win, the Jets improve to 6-3-1 on the season, while the Hawks have a 6-4 record and saw their four-game winning streak end. Jets netminder Michael Hutchinson turned aside 44 shots for his fourth win in as many games this season. READ MORE
Mint jobs gone: The Royal Canadian Mint laid off more than a tenth of its Winnipeg workforce after coin production at the Lagimodière Boulevard facility plummeted in recent years. In all, 39 people were laid off Tuesday from the Mint’s facility on Lagimodière at Fermor Avenue, leaving 296 employees. Another 16 people lost their jobs at the Crown corporation’s Ottawa facility, leaving 931 employed there. Twenty-three of the Winnipeg jobs were unionized manufacturing positions. There were also losses in finance, research and development and engineering. READ MORE
Trending now
The Zoo, R.I.P.: People tend to remember whether they enjoyed a night out at the Zoo, the Osborne Village bar that closes this weekend after 35 years of hosting endless mutations of hard-rock bands. Raucous and rough around the edges, the Zoo at its best was a cool cacophony of screaming electric guitars, pounding drums and shrieking vocalists. As Erin LeBar reported recently in the Free Press, it’s apt that the bar will close on Halloween with a show by local nu-metal band Dreadnaut, which has done its Night of the Living Dread event at the Zoo on Oct. 31 for the past 10 years. READ MORE
Fall back: Daylight saving time ends in the province at 2 a.m. Sunday, which means we can set our clocks back one hour when we retire Saturday evening.
On the sidelines: Good news about the Blue Bombers. They won’t lose this weekend, guaranteed. That’s because they have a bye and won’t play.
On this date
On Oct. 30, 1969: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Army and the Emergency Measures Organization were now involved in the search for James Tailleau, a missing 15-year-old from St. Boniface. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected arguments from schools in the South and ordered them to “desegregate at once.” Prime Minister Trudeau warned labour and management groups he might consider new tax and tariff policies to fight inflation. The younger, further-left wing of the NDP prepared for a showdown with the older, more moderate members of the party at the national convention in Winnipeg. Manitoba’s education minister said if tuition fees were abolished at the University of Manitoba, similar action would probably follow at other post-secondary institutions in the province. The U of M was investigating student fees and their relationship to the university’s finances.
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