McCain Foods suspends shipments to Russia, ends production facility project

Recognizing the value of phys-ed for kids

The message from Premier Wab Kinew and Education Minister Tracy Schmidt last week about the importance of exercise for young people was timely and important — but it is not new.

Some 2,000 thousand years ago, Plato reportedly said, “In order to succeed in life, a person has two means: education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together.”

That was the message being reinforced last week by our provincial leaders.

The decision to focus on looking after our bodies as part of a healthy lifestyle, has seldom been consistently followed in education or in our daily lives. The reintroduction of daily physical education into our schools will only be meaningful if everyone, including our children, their families and schools and health-care professionals take up the challenge of making physical health a priority.

Winnipeg teacher disciplined for ‘liking’ student’s post

A Winnipeg teacher has been reprimanded for accidentally clicking ‘like’ on a student’s year-old social media post during a late-night scroll.

A recent investigation by Manitoba’s independent teacher commissioner found Jordan Nelson, a hockey coach in the Pembina Trails School Division, engaged in professional misconduct by viewing online profiles of students who were following a team account he was managing on behalf of his school.

“Using information associated with the school’s hockey team account to access and review a student’s social media account, without any legitimate educational or workplace purpose, was inappropriate and inconsistent with the professional boundaries expected of a teacher,” commissioner Noni Classen wrote.

A five-page report, better known as a consent resolution agreement, details agreed-upon facts about an October 2025 incident and subsequent disciplinary action.

Letters, Aug. 31

Connor Hellebuyck, as we know, backstopped the U.S.A. to Olympic gold. Shortly after winning, he was invited to the Oval Office and accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom from his country, a medal that has been awarded to numerous famous athletes — Babe Ruth, Billie Jean King, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, to name a few.

At last, some good news on homelessness

There is no shortage of reasons to be frustrated about homelessness in Winnipeg. But the latest numbers provide something that has been increasingly difficult to find — evidence that at least some things are getting better.

A city tally presented to councillors Friday shows 245 people were living in 72 encampments across Winnipeg in July. Last September, the city counted about 700 people living in 100 encampments.

That is a remarkable drop.

It does not mean Winnipeg has solved homelessness. It does not mean every person displaced from an encampment has found a home. And it certainly does not mean there is no longer a problem in the city’s streets and public spaces.

Former abuser of alcohol, drugs who graduated from recovery program now helping others

The second time Ray Ducharme overdosed, he was in a Winnipeg hotel room, waiting for a spot in Adult and Teen Challenge Central Canada’s live-in recovery program.

It was Oct. 30, 2024 — not long after his first overdose had landed him in a Red Deer, Alta., hospital for eight days. Ducharme had gone west, trying to outrun the baggage he carried in Winnipeg, before eventually returning home at the behest of an ATCCC employee who assured him there would be a bed available in seven to 10 days.

Then came the second OD.

Three days later, in early November, Ducharme woke up in a Winnipeg hospital with his family around him. Doctors weren’t sure he’d survive.