MPs amend bill criminalizing sexual deepfakes to include ‘nearly nude’ images

OTTAWA - A House of Commons committee has amended a proposed bill that would criminalize sexual deepfakes to ensure it covers "nearly nude" images.

The change to Bill C-16 comes after experts warned the original version of the bill likely would not cover many of the images created by Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot which proliferated on his X platform at the beginning of this year.

The original version of the bill would have criminalized the non-consensual sharing of images which show the subject nude, exposing their sexual organs or engaged in explicit sexual activity. The images created by Grok — such as edits of photos of women to depict them wearing see-through bikinis — may not meet that standard.

MPs on the justice committee voted in favour of amendments put forward by Conservative MP Andrew Lawton to change the wording of the legislation to address images in which the subject is nude or "nearly nude."

The barista is human but an AI agent runs this experimental Swedish cafe

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The coffee might be poured by a human hand, but behind the counter something far less traditional is calling the shots at an experimental cafe in Stockholm.

San Francisco-based startup Andon Labs has put an artificial intelligence agent nicknamed “Mona” in charge at the eponymous Andon Café in the Swedish capital. While human baristas still brew the coffee and serve the orders, the AI agent — powered by Google’s Gemini — oversees almost every other aspect of the business, from hiring staff to managing inventory.

It is not clear how long the experiment will last, but the AI agent appears to be struggling to turn a profit in Stockholm’s competitive coffee trade. The cafe has made more than $5,700 in sales since it opened in mid-April, but less than $5,000 remains from its original budget of $21,000-plus. Much of the cash was spent on one-time setup costs, and the hope is that it eventually levels out and makes money.

Many cafe patrons have found it amusing to visit a business that's run by AI. Customers can pick up a telephone inside the cafe and ask the agent questions.

Health advice is all over social media. Here’s how to vet claims

Health and wellness advice is available in abundance on social media — from trendy to informative to straight-up disinformation — and you're far from alone in seeing it.

A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults — and around half of those under 50 — get health information from social media or podcasts.

Researchers also looked at the social media profiles of 6,828 health and wellness influencers with at least 100,000 followers. Only about 4 in 10 list a background as a health professional. About one-third called themselves coaches, about 3 in 10 described themselves as entrepreneurs and about 1 in 10 cited their own life experience, like being a parent.

Despite the wide range of expertise, about half of people who get health and wellness information from influencers said the influencers help them better understand their own health, while about one-third said it hasn't made much difference. About 1 in 10 said it made them more confused.

New craft exhibition gives artists licence to lighten up

Textile artist and Manitoba Craft Council program co-ordinator Katrina Craig had a simple brief for the artists taking part in her curatorial debut, Serious Play, at C2 Centre for Craft: each person was asked to investigate the radical potential of play when making pieces for the show.

The four local interdisciplinary artists — Charlotte Sigurdson, Candace Neumann, Maureen Winnicki Lyons and Miriam Delos Santos — took her playful instructions seriously.

“Culturally, we think of play as frivolous or irrelevant. It’s a low priority,” Craig, 35, says. “But I think of play as an essential part of creating new things and of problem-solving. I’ve found that when I lean into that not-so-serious side of myself, good things tend to come about.”

The theme is especially pertinent in the field of craft, which can often be more intensely focused on rigorous skill-building and technical mastery. Sometimes playfulness can fall to the wayside in the pursuit of excellence

Governments blasted for inaction as HIV rates rise

An HIV/AIDS advocate who has spent the past 35 years raising awareness about the disease is calling for a national inquiry into what he calls a lack of proactive action by provincial and federal governments to prevent infections.

Albert McLeod, a two-spirit elder from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, says HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis — commonly known as PrEP — has been approved by Health Canada since 2016. Despite that, infection rates have continued to climb.

“It’s just this sort of very conservative attitude to our health,” McLeod said Friday, challenging anyone to find a poster in Winnipeg promoting HIV awareness or PrEP on street corners or at bus stops.

“And now it’s suddenly an emergency in 2026, when we’ve had 10 years to be proactive and let people know about the availability of this medication? Instead, we have people who are HIV positive who could be negative.”

Hep A outbreak in province’s North makes its way to Winnipeg, officials scrambling to vaccinate people at high risk

Manitoba public health officials say an outbreak of hepatitis A that began in the province’s North last year has led to an increasing number of cases in Winnipeg in recent weeks.

The outbreak, declared in April 2025, was at first affecting communities in northern Manitoba, including several remote First Nations, but has evolved in recent months and spread to other places in the province, provincial health officials said Friday.

The outbreak has spread to Winnipeg, particularly the homeless community, and people with connections to other places where the virus was already spreading.

As of April 26, 601 cases of hepatitis A virus associated with the outbreak have been identified in Manitoba, 131 of which are in Winnipeg.

Developers selling some land slated for delayed ‘complete community’ near Polo Park

Plans for 84-acre development north of the major shopping mall included apartment towers, retail space and parks

Agape Table expansion underscores surging food demand

Food banks and non-profit organizations across Manitoba are expanding their spaces to meet record demand for food.

Agape Table showed off its new 10,500-square foot home at 350 Furby St. Thursday, where it has planted permanent roots for the first time in its 45-year history.

It is located next to the Wave Church, where it had been operating out of the basement for eight years.

The executive director of the food-distribution charity said a bigger space has been needed for years.

Record-setting volunteer army invades downtown to clean up trash

An annual event to clear away downtown trash attracted more than 1,200 volunteers Thursday and also sparked a new program that will offer additional cleanups.

The single-day Downtown Winnipeg BIZ spring cleanup attracted about 1,265 participants, setting a record. About 900 volunteers participated last year.

The agency cut off registration early this year to ensure there weren’t more volunteers than available supplies.

Due to the surge in interest, the BIZ is now offering to help set up smaller community cleanups over the next few months to keep the work going.

Three Winnipeg restaurants among Canada’s best

Three Winnipeg restaurants have made it into the annual Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list.

Mandel Hitzer’s Deer + Almond and Emily Butcher’s Nola, both which appeared last year, retained their spots but dropped down in placing.

Hitzer’s restaurant at 85 Princess St. held the rear of the top 50, down 16 places from last year’s 34 ranking.

Nola (300 Taché Ave.) came in at 88, after making its debut on last years’ list at 86.

New space cleared for prayer at city’s airport

If you like to get grounded before you’re airborne, the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport has a place for you.

The airport now has a designated space where people of any faith can take a few minutes of quiet solitude to pray while they’re waiting for their flight.

It’s a small, carpeted area enclosed by movable panels against one of the glass walls of the arrivals and departures wing between Gates 9 and 10.

The prayer space is behind security, accessible only to passengers who are travelling.

Manitoba declares public health emergency over HIV rising rates

The Manitoba government declared HIV spread a public health emergency Thursday as case counts continue to escalate.

Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, made the declaration at a news conference, noting cases have steadily increased over the past six years.

“In 2024, we reported a rate of 19.5 cases per 100,000 (people), which is roughly 3½ times that of Canada’s rate of 5.5,” Roussin said.

Manitoba had 328 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus in 2025, a sharp increase from the 90 tracked in 2019.

U of M fundraising $30K for dedicated breastfeeding space

The University of Manitoba is fundraising $30,000 for a lactation pod in an effort to address gaps in academia which have led to a “leaky pipeline.”

Parents irked after school ditches Mother’s Day

Winnipeg families are decrying an elementary school’s decision to rebrand an annual tradition — making macaroni necklaces and other crafts for Mother’s Day — in the name of inclusion.

Grade 1 and 2 teachers at Sage Creek School informed parents this week that their children will bring home “family gifts” later this spring.

Instead of making items specifically for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, student-made creations will be distributed on May 15, the International Day of Families.

“Where is the line? What is next? At what point are you being more exclusive than inclusive?” said Ashley Dolphin, a mother of two, including a Grade 1 student at the kindergarten-to-Grade 8 school.

City missing opportunity to help the homeless, save significant amount of money

By all accounts, Winnipeg could face a tsunami of homelessness this summer. And, by many of those same accounts, Winnipeg is woefully unprepared.

Last month, End Homelessness Winnipeg released a new audit of the number of people living on Winnipeg streets and found that it had risen exponentially over the last year. The best, current estimate is that more than 8,200 Winnipeggers were living without adequate housing, and over half that number meeting the definition of chronic homelessness.

Agencies that support the homeless population have warned the city and province that warmer weather usually expands the number of people living rough on the streets. They have pleaded for more immediate help to deal with this impending crisis.

Government is responding, albeit rather unevenly.

Discount stores drive Loblaw’s Q1 profit and sales, raises quarterly dividend

An emphasis on discount stores continues to pay off for Loblaw Cos. Ltd. as shoppers search for affordable groceries amid intensifying economic headwinds.

"The ongoing outperformance of our hard-discount banners — Maxi and No Frills — was a key driver of (the) success, reinforcing their vital role in helping Canadians manage affordability," chief executive Per Bank told financial analysts on Wednesday after the retailer reported its first-quarter results.

The earnings report noted that the discount grocery banners outperformed for the owner of Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart, while its drugstore business saw growth in prescription drugs, particularly in sales of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic.

Loblaw also raised its quarterly dividend by 10 per cent to 15.5 cents per common share.

Inclusive, integrated musical theatre company in Winnipeg first of its kind in Canada

With its first public performance — a revue of numbers from family favourites such as Toy Story and Frozen — a new performing arts organization in Winnipeg is aiming at a more accessible, accepting and diverse vision of musical theatre production.

Co-founded by theatre educators Brenda Gorlick, Lois Brothers and Laura Kolisnyk, AIM 4 All brings together performers with and without disabilities to train, practise and perform in full-scale musical productions: AIM stands for “all-inclusive musicals.”

This weekend, 28 Manitobans will take the stage in five stagings of Disney’s Dare to Dream Jr. at the University of Winnipeg’s Asper Centre for Theatre.

With plenty of supportive family and community members excited to see the result of months of preparation, the organizers are pleased to say each show is sold out.

Winnipeg: the crumbling city

At least Christine Keilback had a sense of humour about it. The 58-year-old fell into a buried, uncapped catchbasin on Lipton Street and ended up having to be pulled from the shoulder-deep hole by firefighters.

Met gala guests deliver works of art on the human form

New York (AP) — Whether dressed in a jewel-encrusted skeletal form, sculpted breast plates or anatomy-evoking trompe l’oeil, Met Gala guests physically evoked the theme “fashion is art” Monday evening as they masterfully pulled from a kaleidoscope of references to embody living works of art.

“Everyone who attended the Met Gala this year really leaned into fashion is art, using your body as a canvas, and that really came across in some of the best-dressed looks of the night,” said Kevin Huynh, fashion director of InStyle.

Fashionable A-listers gave into the theme and had fun with it. First-time Met Gala attendees included actors Chase Infiniti and Hudson Williams, as well as Olympian Alysa Liu, all of whom commanded the carpet in dramatic ensembles. Infiniti, for example, donned an enchanting Thom Browne sequined gown using trompe l’oeil to depict the female form.

Meanwhile, Met Gala mega stars and repeat attendees rose to the occasion: Vogue red-carpet correspondent Emma Chamberlain playfully dressed in a dramatic long-sleeved gown that appeared dipped in a rainbow of color from indigo to the brightest yellow-gold. And after 10 years of skipping the Gala, Beyoncé arrived to reclaim her throne, wearing a glittering crown and radiant Olivier Rousteing silver gown designed in the shape of a skeleton.

Stars on Ice skaters embrace high fashion with designer dresses

If anyone knows how to make a statement, it’s Canadian Olympian Deanna Stellato-Dudek.

Not only did the 42-year-old make history in February as the oldest female figure skater to compete at the Olympic Games in almost a century, Oscar de la Renta dressed her for the occasion — in Milan, Italy, one of the great fashion capitals of the world.

“I think a partnership between haute couture and figure skating is a match made in heaven,” says Stellato-Dudek, who won three Canadian titles and the 2024 world championship with pairs partner Maxime Deschamps.

Her collaboration with the New York fashion house marked the luxury brand’s first foray into figure skating costume design.

Longtime chefs honoured for nutritious, delicious school cuisine for only $4 a plate

A duo of longtime chefs in the Lord Selkirk School Division have won Manitoba’s inaugural prize for “excellence in school nutrition.”

Josh Hogan and Paul Augst have won over picky eaters and a panel of judges with their rotating school lunch menu.

“We really like to focus on fresh herbs like basil, oregano and parsley. It’s an easy way to bring new flavours to the kids that’s not overwhelming,” Hogan said.

The nutrition program co-ordinator, alongside Augst, a chef with more than 30 years of experience, are being celebrated for finding a way to feed 400 children lunch, three times a week, for no more than $4 per plate.