Insolvencies jumped 11.5% annually in June, Canada’s bankruptcy monitor shows

OTTAWA - Insolvencies in Canada are floating around levels not seen since the global financial crisis more than 15 years ago, new data shows.

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcies released updated figures on Monday showing 13,254 insolvencies were filed in June, up 5.7 per cent compared with May and 11.5 per cent from a year ago.

Consumers — who make up the bulk of insolvency filings — led the annual increase, though business filings were also on the rise year-over-year.

"While the data has been quite volatile over the past year, even on a seasonally-adjusted basis, insolvencies have been stabilizing at levels not seen since the Global Financial Crisis in 2009," said Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist at Servus Credit Union, in a note to clients this week.

A mission to make hearing care easier to access

Armando Di Lello was four years old when he was diagnosed with hearing loss in both ears and received his first hearing aids. He doesn’t remember that moment, but he recalls moments that followed.

“Going through elementary, middle school, high school — it was definitely something that was not a positive experience for me,” he said.

Di Lello’s hearing aids were big, bulky and noisy, and he chose not to wear them much of the time.

“I didn’t perceive the benefit as a kid,” he said. “No kid wants to appear different.”

Fun drop-in last chance to mentor grads of inner-city school with excellent track record

Summer break may be in full swing, but Gonzaga Middle School invited graduates back to the building for water balloon fights and academic, employment and support services this week.

Roughly 30 alumni, including teenagers and twentysomethings, stopped by the grades 6-8 school in North Point Douglas on Tuesday afternoon. They were greeted with slime-making kits, ice cream sundaes and staff ready to answer questions.

The initiative — the final grad drop-in organized this summer — is a new extension of the mentorship and holistic programming baked into the funded independent school’s mandate.

“We have 22- and 23-year-olds coming back and checking in and asking for help on their university papers,” principal Rex Ferguson-Baird said.

Governments pledge ‘storefront success’ with downtown grants

The city and province will provide $1.4 million to help spruce up downtown storefronts along and around Graham Avenue, a proposal met with mixed reviews by some businesses.

The “Storefront Success” program, launched Tuesday, aims to boost the appeal of one downtown area, with the two governments each covering half the cost.

“This undoubtedly helps businesses in this region. Having the ability to access some funding to help with the storefronts makes their businesses more attractive and more welcoming,” said Manitoba Business Minister Jamie Moses.

Eligible small- and medium-sized businesses located in the area bordered by Portage Avenue to the north, Hargrave and Donald streets to the east (excluding Canada Life Centre), St. Mary Avenue to the south and Vaughan Street to the west can now apply for grants of up to $200,000 each.

A Winnipeg home with a mountain view? You won’t find a real one, but AI-generated visual suggests otherwise

Manitoba’s mountain range peeked out behind a Scotia Street home.

At least, it did in a photo attached to a real estate listing for 232 Scotia St. in Winnipeg’s (flat) Seven Oaks neighbourhood.

Another picture — now removed — showed a cartoon cityscape viewable from the bungalow’s front porch.

Both photos had tags in their bottom left corners: “AI-generated content.”

A new chapter: Renamed Winnipeg Book Festival takes to The Forks this fall

Winnipeg’s long-running annual literary festival returns this fall, once again featuring a slate of authors, local and beyond, ready to engage with readers.

New this year is pretty much everything else, including a new name, executive director and team of staff — as well as a shift to a tight, condensed timeline and a move to hold all events under one roof.

The festival formerly known as Thin Air/Livres en fête is now the Winnipeg Book Festival; the event takes place Oct. 1-4 at The Forks Market, with most events offering free admission.

It’s a lot of changes for the stalwart literary festival, which was run for more than two decades by Charlene Diehl, who stepped away in late 2025.

Alberta seeks proposals for gambling addiction services as part of iGaming launch

EDMONTON - Alberta's government is seeking proposals for new services and supports for gambling addiction as part of the recent launch of its regulated online gaming market.

The province, in a request for expressions of interest published on Monday, says it's looking to fund services that will be in addition to what's available through Recovery Alberta, such as a 21-day bed-based treatment program, and existing hotlines.

The Mental Health and Addiction Ministry said in a statement the new programs will be paid for through revenue the government is set to bring in from Alberta's regulated iGaming system, which officially launched last month.

"Nobody should have to struggle with addiction alone, including gambling-related addiction," the ministry said.

Manitoba-made technology earns faith of investors across Canada

Blue light flashed as a robotic arm welded the metal in front of it.

Unlike other robots of its kind, this one uses artificial intelligence. It’s supposed to see and adjust its movements if a part it’s working on doesn’t match the standard piece.

It’s Manitoba-made technology that investors across Canada are betting on. TetraGen Robotics, the technology’s creator, announced it had raised $1.8 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round.

It announced the funding Monday afternoon. Jim Richardson, from the family behind Richardson International, is among the investors listed online.

It’s been a winding journey to the pros for PWHL’s first Manitoban bench boss

Christine Bumstead has never been one to spend much time wondering what might be on the horizon.

The Winnipegger has made a habit of focusing on the task at hand, leading to a wide variety of experiences behind the bench, culminating with her promotion to head coach of the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent in early June.

“I truthfully never look at things in (terms) of what is next or shooting for the next thing. I’ve never been someone with a five-year plan or anything,” Bumstead said during a recent telephone interview.

“I kind of laugh, five years ago I was in a classroom in Morden, Manitoba, teaching. So a lot can happen in five years that you can never really expect.”

From Uniqlo to Zara, clothing brands try to win over Gen Z with a needle and thread

NEW YORK (AP) — Encouraging customers to mend worn clothes instead of buying new ones might seem like a self-defeating sales strategy. But in-store repairs and sewing workshops are becoming essential retail services for clothing brands as they try to appeal to young consumers who want to save money and the planet.

While luxury fashion houses and select specialty retailers like Patagonia have offered product repairs for decades, the concept has caught on. Jeans giant Levi Strauss & Co., casual wear chain Uniqlo and budget retailer Primark are some of the apparel companies hoping to win over Generation Z shoppers with a needle and thread.

Levi's created a handstitching course for high school students after determining that many Gen Zers lacked the sewing skills to match their interest in thrift store shopping and sustainability. Employees spend 90 minutes instructing teenagers on four tasks: sewing on a button, hemming, patching a hole and fixing a tear.

The Wear Longer program, which the San Francisco-based company is expanding across the U.S., builds on the repair and customization services Levi's offers at hundreds of stores worldwide.

Does Wealthsimple want to add sports, politics to its new prediction markets product?

TORONTO - Wealthsimple’s newest product has given armchair economists and Canadians convinced they can predict Mother Nature a chance to put their skills to the test, but some say the business is likely after an even bigger audience.

The Toronto-based financial services company started offering prediction markets last month. The product lets customers make wagers of $1 or less on the outcome of economic, financial or climate matters like what will happen at the Bank of Canada's next interest rate announcement or how many major Atlantic hurricanes there will be this year.

But the first few weeks have some thinking Wealthsimple might have even bigger ambitions.

When Charles Martineau, an associate professor of finance at the University of Toronto, and Marius Zoican, the Canada Research Chair in financial technology, each logged onto Wealthsimple's Predict app, they found it displaying stakes in who will become the next James Bond, what the score will be at future football games and who will win the 2028 U.S. presidential election.

Vibrant Norwood apartment garden a labour of love to honour green thumb’s late partner

St. Vital resident Rob Duncan can’t pinpoint when he first noticed an award-winning garden blanketing the grounds of a two-storey St. Mary’s Road apartment block, near Coniston Street.

Perhaps he was on his way home from work and caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye. Or maybe he was running errands in the Norwood Flats area and paused to admire the array of annuals, perennials and potted plants that extends from the block’s doorway to the front curb.

What Duncan does know for certain is that after spying the urban oasis, twice fêted in Take Pride Winnipeg’s annual Winnipeg in Bloom competition, he couldn’t unsee it.

“First of all, the pink building really stands out,” Duncan says, referring to the brightly painted California Apartments complex at 268 St. Mary’s Rd. “But then you have the pergola, the rock garden, the flowers and trees… a sea of colour on a very busy street.”

Watching while we work

For many employees, the idea that their employer might be tracking how long they spend at their keyboard, how often they move their mouse, or whether they are actively working throughout the day feels unsettling. For many employers, however, workplace surveillance is increasingly viewed as another management tool, particularly as hybrid and remote work become more common. The recent news that TD plans to monitor certain employees’ activity during the workday has reignited a conversation that has been quietly growing for several years: where is the line between legitimate oversight and excessive monitoring?

The reality is that workplace surveillance is nothing new. Employers have long monitored attendance, reviewed security camera footage, tracked company vehicles using GPS, audited expense reports, and reviewed internet usage on company-owned devices. What has changed is the sophistication of the technology. Today’s software can record login times, monitor application usage, track keystrokes, capture screenshots, analyze email activity, and even generate reports ranking employees based on their perceived productivity.

This naturally raises an important question. Does increased surveillance actually make people work harder?

The answer is not nearly as straightforward as many organizations hope.

À Granby, le Manitoba francophone au micro

Bercée par la musique depuis l’enfance, Mercédès Beaudry sera la seule représentante du Manitoba à Jamais Trop Tôt, le volet jeunesse du Festival international de la chanson de Granby (FICG), au Québec. Le 16 août, l’auteure compositrice-interprète de 17 ans montera sur la scène du Palace de Granby aux côtés de 19 autres artistes de la relève francophone venus des quatre coins du Canada.

Mère, père, frère et même ses chats : à peine sélectionnée, Mercédès Beaudry s’est empressée de leur annoncer la bonne nouvelle. La jeune artiste se trouvait avec un ami quand le téléphone s’est mis à sonner : “Pour la première fois dans ma vie, je dois prendre un appel,” s’amuse-t-elle. C’est avec un grand enthousiasme qu’elle a accueilli cette sélection.

Après le dévoilement public de la cohorte, la nouvelle de sa participation s’est vite répandue dans son entourage. “Il y a des personnes qui m’ont textée et qui ne savent pas forcément en quoi consiste Jamais Trop Tôt, alors je dois expliquer ça à tout le monde.”

Au programme du FICG, qui se déroulera du 13 au 23 août, Jamais Trop Tôt n’est pas une compétition, mais un projet musical pancanadien avec un spectacle à la clé. Vingt interprètes de la relève francophone venus des quatre coins du Canada, dont près de la moitié du Québec, passeront cinq jours à l’Université Bishop’s, du 11 au 15 août, pour suivre une formation vocale et scénique. Ils se produiront ensuite en spectacle le 16 août à 19 h 30 au Palace de Granby.

Farm to table is better, friendlier, tastier

Every year without fail, when the ground starts to thaw and temperatures begin to rise, Manitobans start calling Scott Schriemer.

“I’ll have people already phone me in the beginning of May asking if the local strawberries are ready yet,” says the proprietor of Vic’s Market (1049 Pembina Hwy.).

“Generally speaking, most people know strawberries don’t start until the end of June, but they get to a point where they have a real craving for something that’s been produced here, that’s fresh and that’s new.”

There are plenty of positives for those with access to locally grown, seasonal produce, especially when it comes to how something tastes.

Some US adults are using AI for financial guidance but few trust it, Gallup poll finds

NEW YORK (AP) — Some U.S. adults are using artificial intelligence for financial guidance, but it’s far from the most trusted source of advice, according to a new Gallup survey conducted in partnership with Edward Jones, a financial services firm.

About 1 in 5 Americans who have sought financial advice in the past year turned to AI, the survey found. But among U.S. adults overall, only about 3 in 10 have “a great deal” or “some” confidence in its expertise for managing money, according to the survey, including just 3% who trust AI “a great deal.”

The poll, which was conducted in the spring and looked at the views of adults who are at least 21, found a disconnect between the resources Americans trust for financial advice and the ones they actually rely on. About 8 in 10 U.S. adults have at least “some” confidence in financial advisers. But only about one-third of U.S. adults who sought financial advice turned to a professional financial adviser, with far more, 73%, saying they relied on their own internet research.

As the use of AI increases, financial experts say consumers should be cautious about fully trusting these tools. Using AI as a tool at the start of a learning journey and then combining this knowledge with other trusted sources can be the best way to engage with new and traditional financial guidance tools, said Taha Choukhmane, associate professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

Why celebrities from Zendaya to Kylie Jenner are wearing Fecal Matter

The brand name behind recent showstopping fashion moments isn’t quite as delicate as their romantic and otherworldly looks. When asked what an ethereal Zendaya was wearing for the “Odyssey” premiere in New York, her stylist Law Roach responded: “Fecal Matter.”

Zendaya’s angelic strapless gown with feathered white wings was the work of Matières Fécales — yes, in English, Fecal Matter — the Paris-based, high-end fashion house founded in Montreal over a decade ago that’s, seemingly suddenly, everywhere.

Why Matières Fécales is called ... that

The design duo behind Matières Fécales, Steven Raj Bhaskaran and Hannah Rose Dalton, have aimed to subvert beauty with their own alien-like personal style, including dramatic white makeup, shaved heads and eyebrows, and skin boots made to look like realistic feet.

Winnipeg artist RYAN AD's ambitions growing as work reaches Paris

RYAN AD is Jamaican-Grenadian, lives in Winnipeg and receives iPhone notifications in French.

One of these notifications recently gave the photographer (who goes by his artist name) good news: a prestigious Parisian art gallery was interested in featuring two of his photographs in one of its exhibitions. One was captured in Manitoba, the other in Jamaica.

“I felt a constant sense of community in Jamaica. You’ll walk down the road and people will talk to you,” he says. “Here you have to be buying something to exist in most places.”

One photo, entitled Born Underwater, is a gentle depiction of Lake Winnipeg, reminiscent of Wanda Koop for its symmetry and pastel-like softness. The other, Myself When Young, shows a man leaning on an old car with its hood popped, a glimpse into Jamaica’s culture of repair and resourcefulness.

Water-bus service relaunches with bigger boat

After staying docked last summer, the water-bus service stationed at The Forks is once again ferrying people up and down the Red and Assiniboine rivers.

U of M researchers studying ‘digital legacy planning’ before death

A team of researchers at the University of Manitoba wants adults to take the cloud they leave behind into special consideration when they envision heaven and their afterlife.

Homegrown grub: Resto turns to the Leaf for freshest ingredients

The term “eat local” has taken on a whole new meaning at Gather Craft Kitchen and Bar, where the journey from plot to plate is measured in footsteps rather than miles.

Head chef Mike Licharson has expanded the restaurant’s focus on local sourcing by incorporating fruit and vegetables grown in The Leaf’s biomes and outdoor kitchen garden into his menu.

Bananas from the tropical biomes star in his banana-bread French toast and accompanying banana compote. Leeks, braised slowly and paired with Manitoba-grown beluga lentils, and Swiss chard — which takes the place of grape leaves in Licharson’s play on classic meze dolmades, a nod to the chef’s Greek-Ukrainian-Irish heritage — are both grown in the outdoor kitchen garden.

The park’s produce complements the restaurant’s other locally sourced ingredients, Licharson says.