Good morning!
State of the unions: It was billed as a state-of-the-province speech, but it was more like a state-of-the-unions speech. Premier Brian Pallister shouldn’t expect to receive many Christmas cards from organized labour groups after what he said during a 35-minute speech to about 1,200 people on Thursday. Larry Kusch and Nick Martin report. READ MORE
Your forecast: Remember the snuggly long underwear you haven’t worn since last winter? Today would be a good day to pull it on. Today’s high will be -19 C, with a wind chill of -34. The deep freeze will continue through the weekend, with highs of -20 on Saturday and -18 on Sunday.
In case you missed it
ALEX DE VRIES-MAGNIFICOPort of Churchill
Manitoba sued: The province is being sued for $1.7 million by The Hudson Bay Port Company, which is owned by Omnitrax. The allegation is that Manitoba reneged on a promise by former premier Greg Selinger to cover losses of the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill in the 2015 season. Kristin Annable reports. READ MORE
Selling your humble castle: The average price of a home in Winnipeg increased to $288,500 from $281,022 in 2015, and is expected to increase by three per cent this year and another three per cent in 2017. Those predictions came Thursday in a forecast from Re/Max. Murray McNeill reports. READ MORE
Up next
Melissa Tait / Winnipeg Free PressSlash performed at the Burton Cummings Theatre on Saturday night with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators. The massively popular guitarist, of Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver fame, stopped in Winnipeg on his solo tour.
Guns N’ Roses tickets: Tickets for the upcoming Winnipeg concert by Guns N’ Roses go on sale to the general public through Ticketmaster at 9 a.m. today. Axl Rose, Slash and the other Gunners bring their raucous rock to Investors Group Field on Aug. 24.
CMHR for free: The Canadian Museum for Human Rights offers free admission from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, with many activities showcasing the capabilities of people who live with disabilities. Look for the renowned 100 Decibels troupe presenting a deaf mime performance at 12 p.m., and the Society of Manitobans with Disabilities’ All Abilities Dance Troupe dancing at 1 p.m.
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: The Olympian hockey star will pump up the excitement of over 300 female minor hockey players at Scotiabank Girls HockeyFest on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at MTS Iceplex, 3969 Portage Ave. The event is free and aimed at encouraging girls to dream big.
Around the water cooler
THE CANADIAN PRESS/JOHN WOODSWinnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele scores on New York Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta during THE second period on Thursday.
Two minutes for stupidity: There are many wonderfully exciting aspects of the Winnipeg Jets this season (we’re looking at you Patrik Laine), but an infuriatingly common fault is the Jets’ penchant for taking stupid penalties at the worst times. Thursday night, three minutes to go, the Jets tied 1-1, and Drew Stafford takes a two-minute penalty. It’s not like he did it to save a goal. He high-sticked someone! In the offensive zone! Of course, the New York Rangers scored the winner with 69 seconds left in the game while Stafford watched from the sin bin. Sigh. READ MORE
Lots of talk, where’s the action: Free Press columnist Dan Lett attended the premier’s state-of-the-province speech on Thursday. “The campaign ended a long time ago, and he will have nearly a year on the job when his second budget is tabled. That will be the moment he will have to stop talking about the failures of the past and start delivering the solutions he has for the future.” READ MORE
Trending now
Tribune Media TNSJohn Stamos, Andrea Barber, Candace Cameron Bure, Dave Coulier, Lori Loughlin, Bob Saget and Jodie Sweeton in “Fuller House.”
#FullerHouse: Netflix begins streaming its second season of the sequel to 1990s sitcom “Full House” today. No explanation as to why they didn’t continue the superlatives and call it “Fullest House” to match the quality of the humour.
On this date
On Dec. 9, 1954: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that schools in the city planned a new initiative to fight tooth decay, deemed to be worse among Winnipeg students than in any comparably sized city on the continent; part of the plan would include the appointment of a full-time director of dental services. In the United Kingdom, a freak electrical storm hit London. In the United States, Republican president Eisenhower declared he would lead the party along what he called the path of the “moderate progressives.” READ MORE
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