The Wrap: Trans-Canada crash investigation, federal byelection campaigns, and ungrading Glenlawn

Good evening. Here’s a look at what our newsroom has been working on today:

Dashcam video taken from a semi-truck involved in Thursday’s crash near Carberry shows a bus carrying 25 seniors on a casino excursion entered the Trans-Canada Highway while the semi had the right of way, RCMP said Friday. The 15 seniors who died in the crash haven’t yet been individually identified, RCMP said, but relatives have been told if their loved one was on the bus and is not in a hospital, they are dead.

On Monday, voters in two Winnipeg federal ridings head to the polls: Portage-Lisgar and Winnipeg South Centre. Carol Sanders looks at the rural race, where People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier hopes to earn a seat, while Danielle Da Silva reviews the key candidates in the city riding, a crowded 48-way race. (Yes, 48.)

Education reporter Maggie Macintosh heads to Glenlawn Collegiate, which officially stopped using percentage grades across its core beginner courses five years ago. Instead of numerical marks, teachers use terms such as “emerging,” “progressing,” “applying” and “mastering” to categorize a student’s understanding.

'Very difficult conversations'

Chris Kitching and Katie May :

Heartbreaking end to agonizing wait

RCMP confirm families’ fears, say trucker had right-of-way Read More

Erik Pindera:

‘This is impacting everyone’

No one in Dauphin spared from horror of highway crash Read More

Katrina Clarke:

Carberry rallies behind first responders who raced to rescue seniors

CARBERRY — Standing behind the till of a Carberry gas station Friday, Matthew Salyn points to a photo in the newspaper that shows first responders at the scene of a horrific crash. He knows nearly all... Read More

Tom Brodbeck:

Highway tragedy should be wake-up call for governments

It usually takes a catastrophic event like the one that occurred Thursday on the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry for governments to take steps to prevent death and serious injury. Governments ar... Read More

Free Press:

In pictures: Trans-Canada Highway crash in southwestern Manitoba

A seniors bus outing to a rural casino ended with 15 people dead and 10 seriously injured after a fiery crash on the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, Man., on June 15. The seniors, who were from... Read More

Get ready to savour Manitoba's freshest summer flavours

'If you like our ideas, vote for us'

Carol Sanders:

Pugnacious visitor leaves purple marks in deep blue-rooted riding

People’s Party of Canada’s leader find pockets of woke-fearing support in Portage-Lisgar ahead of Monday’s byelection Read More

Danielle Da Silva:

Winnipeg South Centre byelection a 48-horse race

Late cabinet minister Carr’s son among recognizable names on bloated ballot with 42 ‘independent’ election-reform activists’ names on it Read More

'We invented it, we can uninvent it'

Maggie Macintosh:

Ungraded: Avant-garde assessment

Glenlawn Collegiate forgoes traditional grades for core beginner courses on report cards Read More

'This one wants to speak'

We’re introducing two new voices on our pages this weekend: Comment editor Russell Wangersky and columnist Rebecca Chambers. Their first columns appear in the 49.8 section in Saturday’s print edition, or you can find them on our website now:

Rebecca Chambers:

Being heard above all the noise

What does it mean to have a voice and to be invited to speak? How do we decide who to make room for at the podium? Often, we concede to the loudest voice or the one who speaks with a certain authority, earned or not. The quieter voices need our ears too; they need us to hush the others and advocate for them. Read More

Russell Wangersky:

Driven by wonder and wanderlust

I’m new at the Free Press, trying to fill big shoes heading the paper’s opinion section. It is, at least, ground I know well, marshalling wayward opinion and writing editorials and columns. Read More