The Wrap: City budget warning, home sweet home, Jets head west and a new romance novel from Wilma Derksen

Inflation, rising labour costs and the residual effects of the pandemic will make things tough for Winnipeg city councillors hammering out the upcoming 2024-2027 multi-year budget, Mayor Scott Gillingham said today.

Gillingham said he won’t increase taxes beyond the 3.5 per cent annual hike he campaigned on in the last municipal election, noting Winnipeg residents are also facing substantial increases in the cost of living.

But… “because of the competing priorities and the difficult decisions we have to make, we just want to be clear with Winnipeggers this is going to be a difficult process,” he said.

 

Bill Pchajek became homeless after suffering health issues and losing his job as a truck driver. Last month he built a shack using tarps and salvaged pallets near Omand’s Creek on Empress Street.

Less than a week after erecting the structure, support workers from St. Boniface Street Links secured housing for him.

Reporter Tyler Searle visited Pchajek to see how he’s settling in.

The Winnipeg Jets arrived in the Mile High City this afternoon to start a weeklong road trip.

Up first are the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, followed by three straight contests in California against the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings.

Hockey writer Mike McIntyre looks at four burning questions on the team’s immediate horizon.

Wilma Derksen, whose daughter Candace was murdered in 1984, is finally following through on her lifelong dream of becoming a romance novelist.

She released her first book last month and is currently working on another addition to the series, which she describes as a historical Mennonite romance.