COVID-19 crisis
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during his daily news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, on Monday, May 4, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Federal funds: The Liberal government is expected to announce today cost-sharing agreements with some provinces to top up the wages of essential workers, The Canadian Press reports. READ MORE
Commish seeks cash: Canadian Football League commissioner Randy Ambrosie is scheduled to testify in a House of Commons finance committee meeting today after the league asked for as much as $150 million in aid. The Canadian Press reports. READ MORE
Tin cans for quarantine: PCL Construction is building an isolation unit from a shipping container that can be used by overwhelmed hospitals, Martin Cash reports. READ MORE
Afternoon update: Health officials will give their regular update on Manitoba’s COVID-19 situation at 1 p.m. On Wednesday, the provincial government offered little information about the impact of its public-sector spending cuts. Larry Kusch reports. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: Sunny with a high of 8 C, wind from the north at 20 km/h increasing to 30 km/h in the late afternoon, and wind chill as low as -9 this morning.
In case you missed it
The Associated PressSmoke rises from LG Polymers plant, the site of a chemical gas leakage, in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday. Synthetic chemical styrene leaked from the industrial plant, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee.
Eleven dead in India: At least 11 people are dead and about 1,000 suffered breathing difficulties and other health problems after a gas leak at a chemical plant in southern India. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
‘Unacceptable and offensive’: Degrading comments about women by Winnipegger and NHL player Brendan Leipsic in private online group messages are being investigated by the Washington Capitals. Leipsic apologized on Twitter Wednesday night after removing his Instagram account. Mike McIntyre and Jason Bell report. READ MORE
On this date
On May 7, 1950: The Winnipeg Free Press reported, in a special flood edition, that 8,500 Manitobans, comprising 4,000 city dwellers and 4,500 rural residents, were now homeless due to the rising waters; 985 homes were evacuated in the Winnipeg area. The struggle was far from over in the worst flood since 1861, with water levels at 27.2 feet above datum, and a new crest on the Red River approaching from the south. The city organized a specific flood-fighting committee, led by city engineer W.D. Hurst. Hurst said the priorities must be keeping the bridges open between Winnipeg and St. Boniface, protecting hospitals and public utilities, maintaining dikes that were still holding, and undertaking pumping operations where it might be possible to reduce water levels. Meanwhile, flood waters in Grand Forks, N.D. had reached a new peak, engulfing the city for a second time.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Winnipeg Free Press READ MORE
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