What’s happening today
Chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin (left) and Premier Brian Pallister (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)
Restrictions set to expire: The provincial government is expected to make an announcement about COVID-19 restrictions that are set to expire at midnight. Deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal wouldn’t speculate Thursday about whether the current critical-level orders will be extended or relaxed. Carol Sanders reports. READ MORE
Inoculations for inmates: Some inmates in federal prisons are expected to begin getting the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine today. It’s not clear when “older, medically vulnerable” prisoners at Stony Mountain Institution — Manitoba’s only federal correctional facility — will be inoculated. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: Cloudy with a 30 per cent chance of flurries this morning and a risk of freezing drizzle until this evening, a high of -1 C, wind chill as low as -8 this morning and wind from the south at 10 km/h.
Capitol siege
CPU.S. Capitol Police officers keep watch as rioters try to break through a barrier Wednesday. (Julio Cortez / The Associated Press files)
Police officer dies: An officer with the U.S. Capitol Police has died from injuries he suffered when pro-Trump rioters stormed the building Wednesday, the service announced Thursday night. Brian D. Sicknick was injured “while physically engaging with protesters,” police said. He is the fifth person to die in connection with the insurrection. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
Early exits: Education secretary Betsy DeVos is the second member of U.S. President Donald Trump’s cabinet to quit over the riot at the Capitol, and more high-level resignations are expected. READ MORE
Ceremony under scrutiny: Security forces are taking extra precautions as Washington prepares for president-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration later this month. READ MORE
Iran plane crash
THE ASSOCIATED PRESSA police officer stands guard amid debris from a Ukrainian passenger jet that was shot down in Iran on Jan. 8, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi / The Associated Press files)
Anger, anguish on anniversary: People across Canada are set to mark the anniversary of the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet at outdoor rallies in various cities — including Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal — today. At least one virtual event to remember Manitoba victims of the crash is taking place this evening. All 176 people on the flight, including 138 with ties to Canada, were killed when it was hit by missiles fired by the Iranian army. It crashed shortly after 6:15 a.m. local time on Jan. 8, 2020. READ MORE
Ties with Tehran: Here is a timeline of the relationship between Canada and Iran, before and after the crash. READ MORE
In case you missed it
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESThe Manitoba government will not repeal the Construction Industry Wages Act, which sets the minimum hourly and overtime wage rates, and the standard hours of work per day, week or month in the heavy construction, and the industrial, commercial, institutional construction industry sectors.
Rates to remain as-is: The provincial government will not repeal the Construction Industry Wages Act, industry leaders announced after speaking with Finance Minister Scott Fielding on Thursday. The act sets out minimum hourly and overtime wage rates. Carol Sanders reports. READ MORE
Sentenced for sex crimes: A man was sentenced Thursday to 22 years in prison for sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s young daughter — abuse the victim’s mother also took part in — and persuading a man to send him a picture of his baby daughter being abused. Dean Pritchard reports. READ MORE
On this date
On Jan. 8, 1998: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Canadian Professional Golf Tour dropped the Manitoba Open from its 1998 schedule, a move that came as a surprise to the Manitoba event’s organizers; the tour’s commissioner was short on specifics, saying only there were philosophical differences between the two organizations. Public anger grew in the wake of the killing of a Foodfare employee during a robbery at the store where he worked. The federal government issued an apology for more than a century of mistreatment of Indigenous peoples, including abuses at residential schools, in response to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
Today’s front page
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