Love of the rink blossomed differently for mother-daughter figure skaters

It’s said that home is where the heart is, and for Dana and Marrin McKee that has always been the rink.

The mother-daughter duo of figure skating coaches always find comfort lacing up in chilly arenas.

Dana McKee’s origin story was very similar to her daughter’s, having a strong motherly push onto the ice. Much like learning to swim or drive a car, Dana’s mother believed that skating was an important life skill that needed to be honed.

Growing up in Morris, McKee spent the majority of her youth in the CanSkate program — a developmental learn-to-skate stage teaching the basics of standing upright.

‘One-stop powwow shop’: Trail Creations opens doors to traditional, ceremonial clothing

Spoons hang on the wall — small, silver and, unlike most items in the shop, not for sale.

One from Saskatchewan, another from Florida. Each represents a place Jessica Lavallee and her family visited during a powwow circuit. The 32,000-kilometre trek led Jessica to 3096 Portage Ave.

She opened Trail Creations, a Winnipeg store selling materials to make traditional Indigenous garb, in the space last month.

“We want it to be a one-stop powwow shop,” Lavallee said.

Security company rolling out Indigenous ambassador program

A Winnipeg security firm has put an Indigenous community ambassador in a downtown Dollarama store, as companies and advocates seek new ways to build bridges and prevent trouble.

Impact Security owner Ron D’Errico said he is planning to expand the new program to additional retailers and communities, and hire up to 20 more ambassadors to work alongside his company’s security guards.

“Security companies need to be better. That’s just the nature of this industry,” he said. “We’re far gone from the days where we hire a guy to sit in a store or watch an empty building. We’re at an age now where people need to understand cultural sensitivity, roots of the problems, layers of why crimes happen and how to deal with challenges such as confrontation.”

D’Errico said the program is the first of its kind in Manitoba. It stems from a Feb. 28 incident where an Impact Security guard allegedly used brass knuckles while assaulting an Indigenous man at the Dollarama at 295 Portage Ave.

Amid backlash, museum cancels planned Met Gala exhibit on fashion designer John Galliano

NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Museum of Art is canceling its planned exhibit honoring British designer John Galliano — plans that had led to bitter backlash from the Jewish community and beyond because of the designer’s past antisemitic and racist statements.

“John Galliano: Horizons,” the high-profile spring Costume Institute exhibit that was to be launched by the annual Met Gala next May, will be replaced by another exhibit, the museum said Monday.

“Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition,” Max Hollein, director and CEO of the museum, announced in a statement.

The designer joined in the statement, saying: “After much reflection and discussion with The Met and all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time. I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it.”

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.

Village Green Bakery keeps focus on classic quality, kindness, fun in Victoria Beach

VICTORIA BEACH — They’re not carved into stone tablets — they’re reminders and not commandments, after all — but behind one of the display cases at Village Green Bakery is a laminated sheet of letter-size paper with a list of statements outlining how owner Jen Leslie wants staffers to approach their work.

Fittingly, there’s a baker’s dozen of them.

One is aimed specifically at a stoic teen who’s worked at the bakery since it opened in summer 2022 — “Smile, Brody,” it says — while the other 12 are meant for all 17 employees at the seasonal business, which is open annually from May long weekend until Thanksgiving.

“Smile and enjoy the ride,” is the first reminder, followed by, “The summer is short, so make it a good one,” “always take the high road” and “you are awesome.”

Making mentoring magic one child at a time

When Bree-Ann Jubinville first met the eight-year-old she was going to mentor, she had no idea how much the child would go on to alter the course of her life.

Foreign workers at Manitoba hotel are owed $138K in unpaid wages and fees, labour board rules

BRANDON — The Manitoba Labour Board has ordered the Western Star All Suites Hotel to pay nearly $138,000 in unpaid wages and administrative fees after it dismissed the appeals involving three foreign workers employed by the company.

In a decision dated Aug. 25, the board ordered 6692452 Manitoba Ltd. (doing business as Western Star All Suites Hotel), 1638185 Alberta Ltd. and company director P.X. to pay a total of $137,915.79 to the Employment Standards Branch for wages owed to foreign workers S.J., J.B. and G.R.

The decision was edited to protect the personal information of the employees, who worked at a hotel, reportedly in Melita, at different times and also lived there during their employment.

The board stated the employees were owed wages after hearing evidence about long working hours, irregular payments, inadequate employment records and working conditions.

Advocate assembles gift bundles for Trans Day of Remembrance

In a world rife with chaos and division, there’s never been a better time for kindness, joy… and a cookie.

Kalyn Falk is on a mission to provide all three.

Falk founded the Trans Day of Remembrance Care Package Project in 2020 as a way to mourn those lost and to ensure that trans and non-binary people in the community feel valued, seen and cared for.

Trans Day of Remembrance is observed every year on Nov. 20 to honour the memory of transgender, two-spirit and non-binary people who lost their lives to acts of anti-transgender violence and systemic oppression.

Assurer la continuité bilingue

À la suite de la nomination cet été de Glenn Joyal à la Cour suprême, l’Association des juristes d’expression française du Manitoba (AJEFM) a adressé une lettre à l’intention de Mark Carney.

Dans cette dernière, L’AJEFM demande au premier ministre du Canada de nommer un juge en chef bilingue pour remplacer Glenn Joyal qui occupait ce rôle à la Cour du Banc du Roi du Manitoba depuis 2011.

En préambule, l’association de juristes francophones souligne les contributions de Glenn Joyal pour faire progresser l’accès à la justice en français et insiste sur le fait que la prochaine nomination doit absolument s’inscrire dans la continuité du travail réalisé par Glenn Joyal, mais aussi celui de Marc Monnin, juge en chef de la Cour du Banc du Roi du Manitoba de 2003 à 2011.

Tarik Daoudi, directeur général de l’AJEFM met de l’avant la fierté d’avoir eu des Franco-Manitobains pour remplir ce rôle mais il indique également que cela va au-delà des sentiments.

Welcoming Creekside Tree Farm and Nursery

The local horticulture industry in Manitoba is a close-knit, supportive community, in which wholesale growers and retail garden centre owners know each other well. Many are long-standing, multi-generational family businesses.

If a local grower decides to expand greenhouse operations or a garden centre changes ownership, it’s big news that ripples throughout Manitoba’s entire horticulture industry, including the gardening community.

So, when a brand-new, independent wholesale nursery and garden retailer sets up business on 236 acres just 35 minutes north of Winnipeg, it merits considerable interest. A new startup in an industry with very few new players stands out.

Creekside Tree Farm & Nursery, a retail and wholesale nursery, is located at 165 Tom Prince Dr. in Petersfield, Man., just down the road from Chesley’s Resort and Campground. The owner, Mikkel Grabinski, is 28. He purchased the site for his nursery in 2019. The past few years, he has worked quietly around the clock to grow his operation by planting thousands of trees, build relationships with wholesale suppliers, and hire a workforce.

The silent stalker overtaking our sidewalks

I used to joke that I’d probably die in a McPhillips slip lane, run over by a car with a driver looking left for other traffic while turning right. Odds are pretty high on it being by an e-bike or e-scooter now.

Money struggle is real

You likely don’t need a survey to know Canada is a nation of stressed-out citizens.

We have plenty to worry about, and money is often among the leading stressors.

And yes, there are always surveys measuring our collective money-driven concerns, including the recent, inaugural Global Retirement Savers Study by T. Rowe Price.

The U.S.-based asset manager of more than $2 trillion globally found that more than four in 10 surveyed Canadians are financially stressed.

We can’t control the economy, we can control how we treat people

There is a lot happening in the world right now that can leave Canadians feeling unsettled.

Our nation’s relationship with the United States feels less predictable, trade relationships are changing and businesses are trying to understand what tariffs, economic uncertainty and political decisions could mean for them. Employees are also wondering what all of this might mean for their jobs, families and financial security.

The difficult part is most of us have very little control over these bigger issues. Most business owners cannot influence international trade policy, and employees certainly cannot. We can pay attention, plan where we can and make good decisions based on the information available to us, but ultimately there are many things happening around us that are outside our control.

That can be an uncomfortable place to be. It can also be a good reminder to focus our energy on the things we can influence, particularly how we treat the people around us.

U of M research role expands after $79-M federal injection

The University of Manitoba is playing in a new league.

A $79-million investment will bring five internationally recruited researchers to Manitoba to build “ambitious,” long-term research programs in areas of strategic national importance.

The five researchers will join the U of M thanks to the federal government’s $1.7-billion research talent initiative that’s designed to help Canadian universities compete globally for leading researchers.

The initiative’s flagship program, the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada, provides universities with the funding and resources to recruit world-class researchers, build research teams and pursue large-scale projects in fields considered important to Canada — from Arctic navigation and defence to sustainable mining, health equity and environmental law.

Trump’s tariff tantrum, geopolitical turmoil could be blessings in disguise for Manitoba’s diversified economy

It’s early July and Warren Luky’s second last day before he retires as president of United Steelworkers Local 6166. After a career at the bargaining table and in and around mineshafts, Luky speaks candidly as he fires up a barbecue at his Thompson home.

Luky, who represents 472 miners at Vale’s Thompson mining operation along with other northern labourers, is quite aware of the buzzwords currently attached to his trade and the region.

Phrases like “Arctic sovereignty,” “trade diversification,” “Indigenous-led” and “critical minerals” have caught on with politicians of all stripes over the past couple years as federal and provincial governments tout the need for greater Canadian sovereignty, with the push for major infrastructure projects declared a matter of national interest.

In light of the bitter collapse in trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. on Aug. 21 — a historic blow to cross-border relations — these phrases are bound to become more contagious.

Privacy watchdog takes Google to court in long-running ‘right to be forgotten’ case

OTTAWA - Canada's privacy commissioner is asking the Federal Court to order Google to de-list specific search results, after Google refused to comply with the watchdog’s recommendations.

Privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne's office said a year ago that Google wouldn't implement its recommendation to de-list specific articles in the search results for an individual's name.

The case, which has been ongoing since 2017, involves articles about a criminal charge that was dropped, which the individual said caused direct harm, including social stigma, lost job opportunities and physical assault.

The watchdog recommended Google de-list the articles for searches of that individual's name, though they would continue to be available online and appear in results for other search terms.

Entrepreneur Willow Wolfe conceived and crafted a better — and cruelty-free — paint brush

NAROL — Talk about a brush with fame.

Fifteen years ago, Willow Wolfe, the founder of Willow Wolfe Painting Courses and Art Supplies, read about American actor/artist Richard Grieco’s experimentations with a style of painting he’d coined as “abstract emotionalism.”

Wolfe, whose personally designed line of synthetic paint brushes and watercolour workbooks are sold at more than 450 retailers around the globe, mailed Grieco (21 Jump Street, Veronica Mars) a set of brushes she felt would suit his needs.

The two have since remained in touch and this spring Grieco contacted Wolfe again, to let her know about a semi-autobiographical movie called The Painter he was directing and starring in.

New Brunswick banning student phone use in public schools

FREDERICTON - New Brunswick is banning elementary students from using their phone or other mobile devices during the school day starting in September.

The province's Liberal government says the same restriction will apply to high school students starting in February.

A news release says social media sites will also be blocked on school devices and internet networks.

But officials say students will be allowed to use their personal laptops and tablets at school for educational purposes.

NDP trying to solve health-care problems from every angle — except the one likely to have the biggest impact

Winnipeg’s emergency-room wait times hit a record high in July, according to the latest data released Thursday by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

The 90th-percentile wait for all emergency rooms and urgent-care sites hit a staggering 13.02 hours last month, the longest wait ever recorded since the WRHA began publishing monthly data.

Thirteen hours is not a wait, it’s an endurance test. And it’s getting worse.

The 90th percentile is the point at which nine out of 10 patients experienced a shorter wait and one in 10 waited even longer.

At the city’s busiest fire and paramedic hall, first responders face a relentless workload

As a soft rain begins to fall between the concrete walls of “Hope Alley,” little feels further away than the place’s namesake.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews have been called to the narrow downtown passage, named by Al Wiebe, a formerly homeless man turned advocate. People regularly pass through here, moving between the shelters, drop-ins and resource centres clustered around Main Street between Logan and Higgins avenues.

Against a wall, as the sky switches into night mode, a man sits bleeding from his nose, seemingly unaware of how he ended up with blood running down his T-shirt.

His situation has already set Winnipeg’s emergency response network in motion.

Educating youth major priority for artist Peatr Thomas

It has to be among the biggest skateboard decks in the country, and it hangs in Peatr Thomas’s art studio on Donald Street in the Exchange District.

The four-metre deck’s artwork created by Thomas, depicts Cree skateboarder Joe Buffalo, spirit lines radiating from his airborne figure, as he becomes the first skater to jump over a massive gap (also four metres) in Montreal’s Peace Park.

“I like that idea and practice of falling and getting up again, over and over to achieve something,” says Thomas, 39.

It’s a lesson he applies to his art practice.