Good morning!
Plant shutdown: Tolko Industries Ltd. is closing its operations in The Pas on Dec. 2, throwing more than 300 people out of work. It’s the second major blow to the town of 5,500 people in the past several weeks. The Pas, located about 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, is also the operational headquarters of the Hudson Bay Railway, which runs from The Pas to Churchill. Omnitrax Canada, the owner of the railway and the Port of Churchill, has dramatically reduced its operations. READ MORE
Your forecast: It will be sunny then begin to cloud over with a risk of a thunderstorm this morning. High 30 C. This evening, there’s a 60 per cent chance of thunderstorms. The low will be 16. On Wednesday, expect a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 23.
In case you missed it
ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILESMinister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour MaryAnn Mihychuk answers a question during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 18, 2016.
Responsibilities trimmed: Employment, Workforce and Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk has had her duties reduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In one of several tweaks to his cabinet in recent days, Trudeau has taken away the responsibility for employment insurance from the Winnipeg-based minister. Mihychuk called the move a relief because of the number of projects she is juggling. But sources say Mihychuk has made several missteps in the last 10 months. READ MORE
Inquest demanded: Only an inquest has the teeth to force change that could make Manitoba beaches safer, the Lifesaving Society of Manitoba says, after two young men drowned in provincial parks this weekend. The Pallister government announced a province-wide review of beach safety after two young children drowned at Grand Beach in early August. That’s not enough, Lifesaving Society of Manitoba executive director Carl Shier argued Monday. READ MORE
Dampened hopes: What once seemed like a bumper crop in Manitoba has been downgraded to “average” after farm fields received too much rain in July. READ MORE
Up next
Nelson Antoine / The Associated Press FilesCanada’s Desiree Scott, centre, and her teammates celebrate after winning the bronze medal in the women’s Olympic football tournament in Sao Paulo.
Olympians returning: Local Olympians Desiree Scott (women’s soccer) and Justin Duff (men’s volleyball) are arriving in Winnipeg from Rio this morning.
Speaking out: Several practitioners of Falun Gong from Toronto are visiting Canadian cities and towns to raise awareness of forced organ harvesting to members of their spiritual practice in China. The group will hold a news conference in front of Winnipeg’s city hall today.
Around the water cooler
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSWinnipeg Police Service Constable Rejeanne Caron, Downtown Safety Coodinator, left, talks to Mountain Equipment Co-op manager Ken Berg, right, about bike locks.
Lock your bike: Winnipeg police are saying one bicycle lock is not enough after a rash of bike thefts in the city. There were 478 bicycles stolen in Winnipeg between May 1 and Aug. 10, compared with 268 in the same period last year. READ MORE
Broad review sought: A wider review of residential-school compensation claims is needed in the wake of a Manitoba court decision that found some survivors’ claims were denied because they couldn’t prove their abusers’ motives, the Assembly of First Nations says. AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde is calling on the federal government to make it easier to re-open claims for those who were denied compensation after suffering sexual abuse at Canada’s residential schools. READ MORE
May stays: Elizabeth May will remain Green Party leader despite a controversy over the Middle East that divided members and prompted her to consider stepping down. The party will revisit a convention resolution to support a movement to boycott Israel, along with any other recent policy decisions that lacked genuine consensus, May told a news conference in Ottawa. READ MORE
Trending now
Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILESEnvironment Minister Catherine McKenna
Catherine McKenna: The federal environment minister’s name is trending after it was revealed her department spent $10,681 to a French photojournalist to take photos of McKenna and her staff at a climate change conference in Paris in 2015.
#ICantBeUrFriendBecause: “It’s GIF. JIF IS A peanut butter and jraphics are not a thing.” Or: “You’re so vain. You probably think this tweet is about you.” Or, perhaps: “You still use Their, They’re and There incorrectly.”
On this date
On Aug. 23, 1943: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Allied leaders had made plans for decisive actions in the Pacific and European theatres of war. Crowds in Quebec City cheered British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as he and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King visited the city. Winnipeg Grenadiers were to take part in the occupation of Kiska Island in the Aleutians. The Canadian prices board announced that rationing of jams, jellies and marmalades would go into effect on Sept. 2. READ MORE
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