Province invests $17M in Magellan Aerospace to create additional jobs, training

The NDP government is continuing its aggressive support of Manitoba’s aerospace industry, announcing Thursday a significant investment in Magellan Aerospace.

The province is providing Magellan with an $8 million grant and a $9 million loan (to be repaid over 12 years). The investment expects to lead to the creation of more than 60 positions at Magellan. (Its current workforce is about 650.)

The financial assistance will leverage additional capital investment from the company. It is a global player in the aerospace industry, with head offices in the Greater Toronto Area. In addition to its Winnipeg plant, Magellan has three manufacturing operations in Ontario, six in the U.S, six in Europe and two in India.

The Winnipeg plant has been around for close to 100 years. In addition to being a centre of excellence for the company when it comes to machining aero-engine parts, it is also Magellan’s space centre, having manufactured five satellites currently orbiting the Earth.

Slow fashion houses embrace made-to-order to reduce waste

TORONTO - On occasion, fashion designer and clothier Katelyn Woodburn is accused of running a scam.

When a customer makes a purchase without reading the "about" section on her website or following her on social media, they might send an email a week or two later saying something like: "Where's my order? It hasn't even shipped yet? What's going on?" Woodburn recounted from her Vancouver studio.

"Which is a totally reasonable response," she added. Consumers are conditioned to expect instant gratification when it comes to clothes shopping, but that's not really how Woodburn does things.

"I'll say, 'Oh, your shirt is being cut out. We're going to sew it tomorrow.' I tell them the whole process of what's happening. And 100 per cent of the time, I get a response going, 'Oh my gosh, I didn't even realize. This is so cool, no rush at all.'"

‘Cette terre n’a fait aucun mal’

Le 3 mai, une caravane d’étudiants en architecture paysagiste de l’Université du Manitoba a été accueillie devant le bâtiment d’autogouvernement de la Nation Dakota de Sioux Valley. Ils ont présenté à un comité du conseil de bande leurs plans pour l’aménagement d’un centre de guérison sur les lieux de l’École industrielle indienne de Brandon.

L’École industrielle indienne de Brandon était un pensionnat autochtone où, de 1895 à 1972, des enfants autochtones étaient éduqués par divers ordres religieux selon la politique d’assimilation du gouvernement canadien. Le chef de la Nation Dakota de Sioux Valley, Vincent Tacan, indique qu’il y a grand nombre de survivants de l’ancien pensionnat dans sa Nation.

“Nous avons besoin de guérir. Nous sentons les effets intergénérationnels des pensionnats autochtones. Essayer d’aller de l’avant avant de guérir serait inutile.”

Le Sud-ouest du Manitoba n’a aucun centre de guérison avec un environnement approprié aux cultures autochtones. Le chef Tacan note que les membres de sa Nation en besoin de traitement doivent se rendre à Regina, ou encore en Alberta.

Winnipeg-based organization injects federal funds into innovative, women-powered business in Bolivia

With practised grace, Antonia Olpo slides down the bank of the long, shallow pond and plunges fully clothed into the muddy water. On the grass above, other women and their male helpers unfurl the net, stretching it across the pond from edge to edge, and let it sink below the surface.

Winnipegger’s artwork chosen for Walmart’s national Orange Shirt offering

As she walked into the Unicity Walmart department store, Indigenous artist Brooklyn Rudolph-Nicholas felt her excitement levels rising.

She headed towards the racks of instantly recognizable orange T-shirts, smiling as she glimpsed the familiar image on the front.

It was a pinch-me moment: her work was emblazoned on Walmart Canada’s National Day for Truth & Reconciliation orange shirts stocked in stores across the country.

The granddaughter of two residential school survivors, Rudolph-Nicholas made her T-shirt art in honour of her late grandparents.

Bail reform as an approach to crime reduction

For the last several months, a conversation about modifying our bail system in unspecified ways, with the express goal of increasing public safety, has taken hold. Usually, a specific case of an accused person allegedly committing a new offence while on bail is at the centre of the argument.

Canadians have enjoyed the rights guaranteed to them by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms since 1982. Included in the charter are rights related to freedom of expression, freedom of movement and several legal rights. The legal rights that are engaged in the conversation about bail reform are the right to be presumed innocent and the right to reasonable bail. These rights are intertwined.

Typically, we do not punish individuals who have not been found guilty of a crime. Accused people should have their day in court prior to having their freedom taken away. Release pending trial is the rule, detention is the exception.

Detention is warranted when detention is necessary on one or more of three grounds: to ensure the accused attends court, where the detention is necessary for the safety of the public, and/or where the detention is necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice.

Reimagining the garden

Next week, close to 100 horticultural professionals from botanical gardens and conservatories across Canada and the U.S. will be in Winnipeg for the American Public Gardens Association’s 2025 Horticulture, Greenhouse, & Facilities Symposium, which will be hosted by Assiniboine Park Conservancy at The Leaf.

Bus riders, drivers welcome police safety initiative; two arrests made on day plan rolled out

The announcement of a new police strategy — placing both uniformed and plainclothes officers on Winnipeg Transit — was welcome news for riders Friday.

The Winnipeg Police Service announced the initiative’s first arrests were made on Wednesday, when the plan was unveiled.

“I love it,” said one elderly woman who was waiting for her bus at Unicity. “I love it for the bus drivers as well, because they take the brunt of it.”

She said she had already noticed more police nearby, pointing out that she saw multiple cruisers pull into the parking lot while she ate breakfast at a nearby Burger King.

Police officers to patrol on buses, around stops as violent crime rises

Winnipeggers can expect to see more police officers on and around buses, as police launch a new initiative to combat a surge in violent crime.

A few Transit tweaks help, but aren’t a solution

Winnipeg Transit has made some adjustments to its overhauled route system, the first since the original summer rollout that has left many riders frustrated.

Day of free services, entertainment offers heartwarming helping hand to city’s homeless

After three years of homelessness and endless hours walking Winnipeg’s streets, Vineet got a rare chance to put his feet up Friday.

The 49-year-old immigrant from India was one of hundreds of people without homes who received free, hands-on care from volunteers at the Gizhe Waa Ti‑Sii‑Win Service Delivery Expo.

A nurse was checking, cleaning and treating blisters, calluses and toenail issues — small irritants that can quickly become big problems if they get infected, a worry for people exposed to the elements who don’t have regular access to medical care.

“This is something good for me… we walk all day,” said Vineet, who offered only his first name.

Neighbours complain of crime, drugs, trash near supportive housing units

Residents and business owners say they’re concerned supportive housing complexes for the homeless are bringing further crime and drug use to their neighbourhoods.

Main Street Project, which operates a pair of supportive housing buildings in the West End, has initiated an “action plan” after receiving repeated complaints about drug use, reckless behaviour and litter near the buildings.

Two housing units at 777 Sargent Ave. and 583 Furby St., which are run by Main Street Project under the province’s Your Way Home strategy, are guided by plans that aim to “promote safety for residents, staff and neighbours.”

Executive director Jamil Mahmood said he received complaints from Coun. Cindy Gilroy and several residents and businesses that prompted the acceleration of the strategy.

Grey Cup week could feature game-changing economic score for Churchill, political triumph for Kinew

It is an incredible economic and political gift that could keep giving to Manitoba’s NDP government for years, if not decades, to come.

This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney released a list of five major projects that his government would fast-track to give Canada more economic independence from the United States. No Manitoba projects made that first short list, but something called “Churchill Plus” was identified as being under consideration for approval in the second round.

Churchill Plus includes improvements to the Port of Churchill in Manitoba’s North, including the provision of an icebreaker ship and possibly an all-weather road, to allow greater access to the port and provide improved transportation links for northern and Indigenous communities.

There is no way to exaggerate the economic and political dividends that could flow from Churchill Plus.

Kinew stands by cabinet minister dogged by controversy

Premier Wab Kinew says he won’t remove a cabinet minister over a social-media post she shared that slammed American right-wing activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination on a university campus Wednesday.

Nahanni Fontaine, who recently had to apologize over her criticism that an ASL interpreter had shared a stage with her and blocked her view of the audience, will remain families minister, the premier said Friday.

“It would be too easy to show her the door,” Kinew said, adding he doesn’t believe in cancel culture. “People need to be brought along and shown… we need to be showing empathy and compassion to people even when we don’t agree with them.”

Kinew said he spoke to Fontaine earlier in the day and asked her to apologize after she shared another person’s post on Instagram one day earlier that said: “Charlie Kirk was a racist, xenophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic, sexist, white nationalist mouthpiece who made millions of dollars inciting hatred in this country.”

Bewildered and ‘in horror,’ Toronto man fights fake news that he shot U.S. influencer Charlie Kirk

TORONTO - Michael Mallinson had never met Charlie Kirk, nor had he ever heard the name of the American right-wing commentator who was shot dead in broad daylight at a Utah college event on Wednesday.

But the retired Torontonian has done some research about him after his death.

"I gather that he appeals to young conservatives. I'm an old socialist. I guess that's the best way I could put it," Mallinson said in a phone interview.

They would never have come across each other, but a piece of viral online misinformation has tied Mallinson to Kirk's story. Now the former banker, 77, is fighting to make the truth understood: he is decidedly not the person who put a bullet in the controversial commentator's neck.

Federal government says emails, phone numbers accessed in cyberattack

OTTAWA - The federal government says individuals' email addresses and phone numbers associated with Canada Revenue Agency, Employment and Social Development Canada and Canada Border Services Agency accounts were accessed in a cyberattack.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat says the government was alerted to the cyber incident on Aug. 17 by 2Keys Corporation, the provider of a multi-factor authentication application used for the accounts.

The government says 2Keys Corporation discovered the incident, promptly informed the government and launched an investigation, which is being conducted with external cybersecurity experts.

Treasury Board says a routine software update caused a "vulnerability" that allowed a malicious actor to access phone numbers associated with CRA and ESDC accounts, and email addresses associated with CBSA accounts, linked to people who used the authentication service between Aug. 3 and Aug. 15.

Building trust key as companies pivot to chatbots for customer service: experts

TORONTO - Mohammed Halabi has spent countless hours negotiating with customer service agents over the past 20 years.

Halabi is the director of MyBillsAreHigh.com, a company that finds savings on telecom and internet costs for both businesses and individuals. That means seeking out the best deals to fit clients' circumstances, plus taking the lead when problems arise requiring the attention of their provider.

These days, there's just one problem. He can't seem to get anyone on the phone.

"I've never seen customer service this bad," said Halabi.

Collective encourages BIPOC networking

It’s a warm weekday morning and Saintuary Café is filled with strangers chatting about their work and passion projects over lattes and croissants.

This has become a regular scene for the co-working café club hosted by the Value Able, a growing grassroots community designed to help BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) creatives in Winnipeg meet and collaborate.

The idea started percolating when founders Star Tactay and Daezerae Gil met at a networking event in February.

Tactay — a marketing professional and software development student from the Philippines — had recently moved to the city from Texas and was looking to meet other people of colour working in creative fields. Gil, a Winnipeg-born photographer, realized she was looking for the same thing.

Attorneys general warn OpenAI and other tech companies to improve chatbot safety

The attorneys general of California and Delaware on Friday warned OpenAI they have “serious concerns” about the safety of its flagship chatbot, ChatGPT, especially for children and teens.

The two state officials, who have unique powers to regulate nonprofits such as OpenAI, sent the letter to the company after a meeting with its legal team earlier this week in Wilmington, Delaware.

California AG Rob Bonta and Delaware AG Kathleen Jennings have spent months reviewing OpenAI's plans to restructure its business, with an eye on “ensuring rigorous and robust oversight of OpenAI’s safety mission.”

But they said they were concerned by “deeply troubling reports of dangerous interactions between" chatbots and their users, including the "heartbreaking death by suicide of one young Californian after he had prolonged interactions with an OpenAI chatbot, as well as a similarly disturbing murder-suicide in Connecticut. Whatever safeguards were in place did not work.”

The RCMP and TikTok

A trend on TikTok has Canadians “challenging” RCMP officers to fake foot pursuits.