Ukrainian Guide to Winnipeg directory puts focus on area businesses, services run by Ukrainians

A new online directory brings together Ukrainian-owned businesses and service providers in Winnipeg.

The brainchild of Mila Shykota, a provincial government worker who immigrated to Winnipeg in 2022 after Russia invaded her native Ukraine, the directory features 138 businesses — a number she says she adds to every day.

“I came up with the idea a year ago, when I initiated a project at work celebrating our diversity, since our team is very multicultural,” Shykota said on Friday.

She invited co-workers to represent their own country in some way, be it cuisine, culture or heritage. She said when she was preparing her own presentation, she decided to collect data on all of the Ukrainian restaurants and souvenir boutiques in Winnipeg so her colleagues could experience her culture.

Retired nurse doesn’t mind doing laundry to help raise money for Children’s Hospital Foundation

Donna Askew has been doing other people’s laundry for more than 20 years, but she doesn’t mind. It’s all for a good cause.

It’s fair to say Askew has washed, dried, mended and hung up thousands of shirts, blouses, dresses, T-shirts and trousers during her tenure as volunteer laundress at the Nearly New Shop at 961 Portage Ave.

“You name it, I’ve washed it… underwear and socks and lots of bedding and tablecloths and runners… if you’ve washed it at home in your washer, I’ve washed it in mine,” she says, laughing.

The shop attracts more than 50 customers daily, many who have come to rely on it.

Burger King to bring AI-based voice coach to Canada later this year

When you stop at a Burger King later this year, staff may have an artificial intelligence-based coach in their ears.

Restaurant Brands International, the owner of the fast-food giant, revealed Thursday that it is bringing its new Patty tool to Canada in the second half of 2026.

Patty is a voice-based assistant which will be piped through the headsets Burger King staff wear, listening to their conversations and prodding them toward more attentive customer service and efficiency.

The tool will be able to remind employees how to make food orders and help them upsell customers.

Elmwood students’ clothing venture instils pride, breaks down stereotypes in blue-collar neighbourhood

Xander Woodley is spending his fourth period filling orders.

The Grade 12 Elmwood High School student pulls a blank sweatshirt from the supply closet and double-checks the customer’s purchase: one double-extra-large GPS Crewneck in navy.

He walks over to the heat press at the back of the graphics lab and flips through a stack of transfer sheets to find the correct design.

“It’s a map of our community of Elmwood; these are all of the streets, as well as the Red River and co-ordinates of where we are,” Woodley says, pointing to the line-art rendition of the northeast Winnipeg neighbourhood, the ward boundaries of which run from McLeod Avenue to the Canadian Pacific mainline and from the eastern bank of the Red River to Lagimodiere Boulevard.

Flexibility has become deal-breaker, not perk

There was a time when a flexible work arrangement was a bonus, something employees quietly hoped for once they’d survived probation.

A remote day here or there, the ability to adjust hours around a doctor’s appointment or the occasional work-from-home afternoon were all considered nice extras — perks that made a job feel a little more humane.

Fast forward to January 2026, and flexibility isn’t something workers merely appreciate. For many, it has become a core condition of employment — a deal-breaker if it’s removed or denied.

This shift is on full display this month as Ontario’s provincial government has begun implementing a policy that requires civil servants to return to the office full time. As of Jan. 5, nearly 60,000 public service employees who had been working remotely or in hybrid arrangements are being told to work in person five days a week.

Students tasked with designing shelter for homeless

Concerned about the state of empathy at her suburban high school, a St. Vital teacher has tasked teens with designing transitional homes for their unsheltered neighbours.

Collège Jeanne-Sauvé made headlines in September when a student was involved in an altercation with a man living in nearby Dakota Forest.

Winnipeg police and the Louis Riel School Division reported at the time the man came out of a tent and chased after a group of students, injuring one. Allegations the teenagers provoked the man by hurling insults and items at the man’s tent were also reported.

The Sept. 9 incident — as well as the gossip in its aftermath — led Kay Wojnarski to reach out to End Homelessness Winnipeg for advice.

Local entrepreneur's time-tracking app Construction Clock ticking along

As a self-described blue collar construction worker, David Peters says he felt like a charlatan when he first became a tech founder.

“At the beginning, when you have no tech experience and you’re trying to convince the world, your customers, your investors that you’re the one that’s going to pull this off, yeah — you definitely feel like you’re selling a dream that you don’t know if you can pull off,” Peters said.

In 2022, the Winnipeg entrepreneur launched Construction Clock, a time tracking app for the construction industry.

The thing that gave him confidence in spite of his imposter syndrome, he said, was the amount of money he invested in the business.

WRENCH’s Cycle of Giving provides bikes to children in need

The same thing that motivated Gerry Hagglund to participate in a bike building marathon 14 years ago brought him back to the event on Sunday.

“It just seemed like the right thing to do,” he said.

Hagglund was one of more than 100 volunteers who participated in the WRENCH’s 15th annual Cycle of Giving, which sees the organization take bicycles bound for the landfill, restore them and give them to children in need.

More than 350 bicycles were brought back to life during the 24-hour event, which started Saturday at noon.

Students aim to brighten season for struggling young Winnipeggers

A group of students from the University of Manitoba wants to help underprivileged Winnipeggers this month — and assist holiday shoppers along the way.

The 5 Days committee is raising money for Resource Assistance for Youth, an organization on Sherbrook Street that supports homeless young people up to the age of 29 through a variety of programs.

The committee is holding a gift wrapping fundraiser at CF Polo Park every Saturday until Christmas. Shoppers can bring their gifts to the second floor of the mall, close to where Hudson’s Bay used to be located, where volunteers will wrap them in exchange for a donation.

Volunteers are also running a coat check service at the booth.

Why doing good also makes us feel good, during the holidays and beyond

WASHINGTON (AP) — The holiday season is a time for giving thanks, giving gifts — and for many, a time for giving back.

Food banks, services that deliver meals to seniors and other U.S. charities typically see a surge in volunteering between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. But there are good reasons to volunteer at any time of the year.

Alfred Del Grosso volunteers weekly to work the lunch shift at Shepherd’s Table, a food bank in Silver Spring, Maryland. “I feel more connected to the broader community,” he said.

Most Thursdays, the retired chemist from Kensington, Maryland, also lends an unpaid hand to help clear fallen trees and brush from local trails with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. "It’s mostly volunteers who help maintain the trails," he said.

Lego-lovers work to build creative community, block by block

By his own admission, Jason Poturica was a bit of a handful as a youngster.

When he wasn’t being reprimanded by his school teachers for carrying on in class, he was often frustrating his parents by neglecting to do simple chores around the house, such as tidying his room.

Looking back, it’s clear he grew up with ADHD, the 47-year-old says, noting it wasn’t until he received his first set of Lego plastic construction blocks at the age of six that his behaviour began to improve.

“Lego became a very safe and calming place for me to explore my imagination and creative side,” Poturica says. “Thankfully, my dad caught on to that fairly early and the two of us would build together for hours on end. I don’t know if what I was making was any good, but it was always fun coming up with my own ideas and designs.”

Video, photography, content-creation course puts focus on quality

Jeff Gordon operates JAG Videos and Photography, a Winnipeg production company specializing in commercial and corporate videos and professional headshots.

Un programme qui ouvre la voie

À 5 ans, Éléonore découvre la natation synchronisée… dans sa langue maternelle. Grâce à la détermination de sa mère et à l’engagement de deux jeunes entraîneuses francophones, un tout nouveau programme voit le jour au club Aquatica. Une petite victoire pour la francophonie et pour l’inclusion dans le sport.

Âgée de cinq ans, la petite Éléonore se rend à la pratique de natation artistique tous les mardis après-midi. Grâce à la détermination de sa mère et de ses entraineuses, elle apprend sa discipline dans sa langue maternelle, le français.

“Elle adore danser, elle adore la musique et l’eau,” nous dit sa maman, Geneviève Roy-Wsiaki. “Ça fait des années que je me dis qu’elle adorerait la nage synchronisée.”

Le choix de l’activité s’est donc imposé naturellement. Mais avant qu’Éléonore puisse se lancer à l’eau, il fallait régler un détail.

Not enough for individuals to recognize own emotions, they must also recognize emotions of co-workers

Today’s workplaces are full of people who have learned how to talk about their feelings with more openness than ever before.

Schools have played an important role in this shift by helping children identify and process their emotions. Many adults have also benefited from therapy, coaching and wellness initiatives that encourage the same.

This increased emphasis on self-awareness has been an overwhelmingly positive development. People are more attuned to their stress levels, more willing to name their emotional states and more able to advocate for what they need. What has not evolved at the same pace is our ability to recognize the emotional experiences of others and understand how our actions affect the people around us.

This gap is showing up across generations and in workplaces of every size and sector.

Harvest Manitoba expands weekend snack program in province

Thousands more children will get nutritious snacks to eat on weekends thanks to Harvest Manitoba.

Starting strong: building habits for great career, reputation in work world

Starting your first job is exciting and a little intimidating.

You’ve probably worked hard to get here through school, interviews and all the waiting that comes with trying to get a foot in the door. Now that you’re in, the next step is learning how to make the most of it.

What you do in these early months and years will shape your habits, reputation and the way people see you at work. It’s not just about doing your job well. It’s about learning how to show up, communicate and build relationships that make work easier and more rewarding for everyone involved.

The first and most important habit to develop is reliability. Employers and co-workers value someone they can count on more than almost anything else. Being reliable isn’t glamorous, but it’s powerful. Show up on time, meet deadlines and do what you say you will. If you realize you’re going to miss a deadline, let your supervisor know early and suggest a plan to get back on track.

Le pouvoir des rencontres

Depuis plusieurs années, Djehil Togoi, élève de 11e année au Collège Louis-Riel, s’investit dans le programme CanU, un projet caractérisé par ses offres de mentorat et son accompagnement éducatif destiné à soutenir la jeunesse manitobaine.

Pour Togoi, aussi appelé DJ, cette expérience est à la fois une occasion de créer des liens et de se rapprocher d’une communauté.

“Mon expérience CanU a été très enrichissante, explique-t-il. Chaque jour est une nouvelle expérience et chaque expérience m’apporte de nouveaux apprentissages. Je suis vraiment reconnaissant d’avoir découvert ce programme.”

Le 13 novembre, CanU organise le Gala Imagine Stories, une initiative annuelle visant à lever des fonds et à mettre à l’honneur la parole des jeunes. Comme l’explique Roger Berrington, fondateur de l’organisation, “ce gala permet aux élèves de raconter leur histoire mais aussi de montrer leur courage, et ces moments-là marquent leur vie et celle de ceux qui les entourent”. Cette année, l’événement se tiendra au Musée canadien pour les droits de la personne, un choix symbolique qui reflète les valeurs de l’organisation CanU.

No dog? No problem: Local program offers offices pup for a day

Brandt and Paisley are raring to start their new jobs. But instead of hellos and handshakes, they’ll most likely be giving their co-workers tail wags and face licks. Not that anyone in the office will mind.

Winnipeg students develop critical aptitude essential for navigating media landscape

One day in the fall of 2024, two of Lily Godinez Goodman’s Grade 5 students came to her with a question: Why didn’t their Earl Grey School have a newspaper, they wondered — and if they started one, would she serve as editor-in-chief?

Former Liberal cabinet minister says young people are hesitant to enter politics

OTTAWA - Sergio Marchi says when he asks students in his university course on politics how many of them are interested in a career in public life, he's surprised if two or three of them raise a hand.

Marchi, who served as minister for international trade from 1997 to 1999 and later as ambassador to the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, told The Canadian Press he fears that more and more young people are giving politics a pass.

"You can't have the current young generation be exempted from public life," he said.

"Nothing wrong with old white men, but we can't have our politicians be just white old men. We need the energy and the idealism of the youngsters."

Ralliers decry Kinew’s pro-pipeline policy

Almost 300 people braved the rain Saturday afternoon to demand Premier Wab Kinew and the NDP government take action on climate change.

A crowd donning rain jackets and umbrellas gathered on Osborne Street in front of the Fort Rouge Leisure Centre next to Kinew’s constituency office with posters decrying proposed pipelines and Manitoba’s extreme wildfire season.

“Watching how the weather has changed due to climate change has been really concerning to me. I look outside every day and I think about it,” said Ashley Blackshaw, an environmental studies graduate who drove to Winnipeg from Starbuck to attend Saturday’s rally.

Blackshaw made a custom sign bearing lyrics from rock band Smashmouth’s hit “All Star” saying “The ice we’re skating is getting pretty thin.”

Going with the flow: Molten master plan quickly bears fruit for dessert enterprise

On Sept. 13 and 14, Melted, a four-month-old enterprise that dishes out strawberries smothered in warm melted chocolate and assorted toppings, set up shop at the Allery, on the second level of The Forks Market.

Small changes, big impact

Are you a climate champion or climate destroyer? Ecological quizzes and carbon-footprint calculators can help you find out.