Police-to-population ratio increases for first time since 2013

The ratio of Winnipeg Police Service officers to the city’s population has increased for the first time in more than a decade.

In 2025, the so-called “cop-to-pop” ratio reached 166.8 officers per 100,000 people, up from 164.8 the previous year.

While that falls behind a national average of 180.3 per 100,000, it was the first local increase since 2013.

Overall, the service added 35 more officers since 2024, to reach a complement of 1,425.

Peace, justice and bringing this country together

From the War of 1812 to today, no one has stood up for this country and worked for unity in this place more than Indigenous Peoples.

City taking steps to reduce speeding in 30 km/h school zones

A pair of 30-kilometre-per-hour school zones known as speeding hot spots are getting safety upgrades this summer amid a citywide probe into posted speed limits.

Winnipeg school officials were recently briefed on hot spots for collisions and photo-radar tickets issued near elementary buildings between the months of September and June, when the maximum limit drops.

“There’s no cookie-cutter kind of solution, unfortunately,” said Denae Dorge, the city’s road safety outreach co-ordinator.

“You need to have lots of different tools in your toolbox and also, work with the families that attend your school.”

LHC helps underserved clients navigate the justice system

Norman Yusim came out of retirement to get right back to work. He didn’t plan it that way, but when the perfect opportunity landed in his lap, it was impossible to turn down.

The 70-year-old lawyer with a passion for helping people is back at it at the Legal Help Centre (LHC), empowering underserved individuals to navigate legal problems, offering guidance and connections to resources.

“LHC provides such an important service to those in need with legal issues, providing access to justice to those who simply cannot afford to hire lawyers, by helping them seek out resources, providing advice and assistance to the Court of King’s Bench in Winnipeg,” said Yusim. “LHC, in my view, provides an invaluable service.”

Prior to beginning his employment at LHC in September 2025, Yusim volunteered there as a mentor to the law students who worked directly with clients to assist them with legal matters (family law, immigration law, estate law, criminal law, small claims matters and civil litigation matters, among others).

New essay collection explores menace of far-right movements in Canada

“Democracy is at stake and Canada is not immune to its demise,” states Miriam Edelson, editor of this timely anthology, warning that right-wing extremism, energized by memes and trolls permeating digital spaces, is heralding social and political change and affecting how current generations view the slow, often cumbersome democratic process.

Edelson’s well-researched observations are supported by 18 different contributors comprised of an array of like-minded academics, researchers and concerned activists who collectively alert readers to the extremist messaging that is altering some long-standing expectations of responsible governance.

Edelson’s social activism was honed by personal experiences while living in Toronto and working with the Canadian labour movement, spawning a literary legacy of personal essays and commentaries published by the Toronto Star, Globe & Mail and Literary Review. Her earlier book, My Journey with Jake: A Memoir of Parenting and Disability (2000) remains a poignant reminder that society functions best when individuals share a common purpose of looking out for one another.

In a concise foreword to Confronting the Resurgent Right, University of Manitoba professor and award- winning Free Press columnist Niigaan Sinclair similarly reminds readers that “far right movements built on hate,” like those earlier thrust upon Indigenous people and still targeting Jews, Muslims and other identifiable groups, inexorably lead to “racism, violence, and genocide.”

Human rights panel accuses Canada of genocide against Indigenous population

MONTREAL - An international panel of human rights experts has accused Canada of committing genocide against its Indigenous population after a week of hearings in Montreal.

The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal was mandated to look at missing and disappeared children and unmarked graves at Canada’s residential school sites, as well as the forced sterilization of Indigenous women, through the lens of international law.

The panel of seven judges said Canada historically adopted a series of policies that they deemed were crimes against humanity with genocidal intent, including the residential schools, which were in operation for over 150 years. The last residential school closed in 1996.

Survivors at the hearings held onto each other and wiped away tears as three tribunal members read out the decision.

Sentencing of man who killed Ukrainian newcomer delayed for psych report

The sentencing hearing for a Winnipeg man convicted in the unprovoked stabbing death of a Ukrainian newcomer has been delayed so a judge can hear whether his cognitive deficits justify a federal prison sentence or time in a provincial jail.

Ethan Gladu was found guilty last February of manslaughter in the December 2023 killing of Ivan Rubanik, a 46-year-old father of two.

Court was told Friday that Gladu has been held in a specialized jail unit in advance of his sentencing after corrections officers identified him as “vulnerable.”

Defence lawyer Tara Waker asked Court of King’s Bench Justice Ken Champagne to adjourn sentencing to allow time for Gladu to undergo a psychiatric assessment next month and for a report to be prepared for court.

Ruling against Aboriginal title on private land is allowed to stand by high court

A New Brunswick ruling that Aboriginal title cannot be declared over private land has been allowed to stand by the Supreme Court of Canada, giving British Columbia an avenue to win its appeal in the landmark Cowichan Tribes case, B.C.'s attorney general said Thursday.

Niki Sharma said the high court's refusal to hear an appeal by the Wolastoqey First Nation in the case involving Aboriginal title in New Brunswick gives B.C. a "clear path" for an appeal in the Cowichan case, which has cast doubt on the primacy of private property rights.

"When it's the same legal issues that we are dealing with here, I think that bodes well for our arguments, and the appeals that we are seeking in B.C.," she said.

The mayor of Richmond, B.C., meanwhile said private property owners in the Cowichan Tribes title area should "breathe a little easier" in light of the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling.

Chinese online retailer Temu hit with $232 million fine over unsafe toys and electronics

LONDON (AP) — Temu was hit with a 200 million euro ($232 million) fine Thursday after a European Union investigation found the Chinese online retailer failed to protect consumers from illegal products like toxic or hazardous toys and unsafe electronics.

The 27-nation EU's fine follows preliminary findings last year that Temu was exposing consumers to a high risk of products sold on its platform like baby toys and small electronics that didn't comply with EU consumer safety rules.

The bloc's executive arm issued the penalty under the Digital Services Act, or DSA, a wide-ranging rulebook that requires online platforms to do more to keep internet users safe from harmful content or dodgy goods, under the threat of hefty fines.

It's the second time Brussels has issued a fine under three-year-old DSA, following a $120 million penalty last year for Elon Musk's social media site X.

France’s parliament votes to repeal slavery-era Black Code, with tears and history in the chamber

PARIS (AP) — For nearly two centuries after France abolished slavery, the colonial-era law that classified humans as property has remained quietly on the books. On Thursday, the lower house of parliament voted to wipe it from French law.

The National Assembly voted 254-0 — a rare show of unanimity — to adopt a bill repealing Code Noir, or Black Code, the 1685 decree King Louis XIV signed to govern slaves across France’s colonies.

The law turned human beings into chattel, allowing them to be worked, beaten, sold, raped and murdered.

And the realization that France never formally did away with it left many aghast. Debate in the chamber turned raw on Thursday.

Hate crimes jump in Winnipeg in 2025

The number of reported crimes that were classified as hate-motivated by the Winnipeg Police Service more than doubled in 2025, although the true number of incidents is thought to be higher.

Vacant property owners overwhelmingly ignoring city fines imposed after fires

The city’s effort to crack down on vacant property fires by charging owners has fallen short, with new data showing it has recovered just a fraction of the more than $3.5 million imposed in fines since 2023.

Attorney General Sharma says B.C. supports company’s request to reopen Cowichan case

VICTORIA - British Columbia's attorney general says it is rare to reopen a court case as significant as the landmark Cowichan Tribes title decision, but the government supports an effort to do so by the largest private property owner in the title area.

Niki Sharma says Montrose Properties will be able to bring forward details about how it has been affected by the ruling that Aboriginal title is a "senior interest" compared to fee-simple title.

Montrose owns about 120 hectares in the overall title area of 300 hectares granted by the judge, but the court didn't hear from private landowners during the initial case, so the company is asking a B.C. Supreme Court judge in Victoria to reopen the case.

The same judge hearing Montrose's arguments through to Wednesday ruled in August that the Cowichan First Nation has Aboriginal title over the land, that the granting of private titles by government unjustifiably infringed on the nation's title, and that Crown and city titles on the site are defective and invalid.

Manitoba bill would reduce availability of flavoured vapes; one group wants more

WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government plans to greatly reduce the number of locations where flavoured vaping products can be sold, but one group says the idea does not go far enough and lags behind efforts in many other provinces.

A bill introduced in the legislature Tuesday would forbid the sale of such products in businesses in urban areas that allow people under 18 to enter. The measure would not apply in rural areas.

The NDP government said the aim is to help reduce the risk that minors might see the products, be enticed by the flavouring, and get hooked.

"We know that (flavoured vapes) is a gateway for kids in particular (to) choosing more significant — like tobacco, cigarettes — substances later on," Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said.

Inclusion groups sign open letter calling on Ottawa to halt MAID for mental illness

OTTAWA - Ninety disability advocacy and mental health organizations have signed an open letter urging the federal Liberals to permanently exclude people with mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying.

Inclusion Canada is leading the effort, which includes Disability Without Poverty, the Schizophrenia Society of Canada and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Under current law, people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness will become eligible to apply for MAID assessments beginning in March 2027.

The letter, which is addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Justice Minister Sean Fraser, says that would be "a significant and misguided expansion."

Manitoba doctors support provincial government’s proposed social media ban

WINNIPEG - The negative effects social media has on children and youth's mental and physical health is outweighing other health concerns like substance use and injuries prompting some Manitoba doctors to support a ban on these sites, a new report has found.

Doctors Manitoba, the organization representing roughly 5,000 physicians and students in the province, surveyed its members and found that social media and excessive screen time pose significant risks to the mental health, sleep and robust development in children and youth.

Of the 242 physicians who completed the survey, 90 per cent supported a ban on social media sites and artificial intelligence chatbots for children.

"The findings are quite clear. Doctors believe social media, screen time and chat bots are among the top risks to children's health and well-being, ranking higher than even smoking, drinking, injuries and sedentary lifestyles," Dr. Alon Altman, president of Doctors Manitoba, told reporters on Monday.

For the patient, where does the buck stop?

The word “fiduciary” did not begin in medicine. It began in law.

For centuries, lawyers have refined a doctrine that is now woven through corporate governance, trust administration, securities regulation and pension oversight.

A fiduciary acts solely in the interest of the beneficiary. The duty is loyalty, prudence and full disclosure.

Implicit in all of these is the duty of competence and the requirement that the beneficiary’s interest comes before the fiduciary’s own. Where the duty is breached, courts intervene.

Experts explain how Indigenous rights are a major hurdle for Alberta secession

EDMONTON - Political scientists say Indigenous treaty rights represent a significant legal hurdle for separatists in Alberta, and have brought the debate on secession in Canada into unchartered territory.

"This is a new dynamic ... It's creating a lot of uncertainty," said Andrew McDougall, a lawyer and professor in the University of Toronto's political science department, in an interview Saturday.

"There needs to be consultation with Indigenous peoples, the extent to which is unclear," said Andre Lecours, a University of Ottawa professor.

Premier Danielle Smith announced in a televised address on Thursday that an Oct. 19 referendum question will ask Albertans if they want to remain in Canada or start the process to hold a binding referendum on separation.

Could anything but profit steer AI? The OpenAI trial offered clues but no verdict

The trial pitting Elon Musk against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made clear the two billionaires agreed on one thing: building artificial intelligence would require significant resources — and enormous amounts of money.

It may seem obvious now, as an AI-obsessed stock market helps finance a global construction boom of chipmaking factories and energy-hogging data centers to keep chatbots running, but testimony and evidence showed how people with outsized control of the AI industry were privately debating its costs nearly a decade ago.

“Even raising several hundred million won’t be enough,” Musk said in a 2018 email to Altman and other OpenAI co-founders about what he increasingly saw as a futile attempt to compete with Google. “This needs billions per year immediately or forget it.”

The soaring costs factored into the trajectory of OpenAI, which began in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the common good and is now a capitalistic enterprise valued at $852 billion. As San Francisco-based OpenAI and other AI companies move toward historically large Wall Street debuts, the trial also raised questions about whether anything but commercial interests can steer AI’s future.

Banning YouTube removes tools from schools

It’s been a long time since the norm for audio-visual presentations in classrooms took the form of a slide projector, or a TV cart with a VHS player and a small cathode-ray tube set.

But Manitoba’s premier is asking himself something lately: are the modern equivalents good for schools?

Premier Wab Kinew said during a recent CBC interview that he does not think YouTube, the popular video-streaming site, should be used in classrooms. He made the comment during a discussion on his broader effort to keep kids aged 15 and younger from accessing YouTube and other social media apps.

The comments have caused some consternation among educators who, while recognizing YouTube in general is not a great source of information for young people, believe it nevertheless offers access to a solid repository of educational video content provided by reputable sources.

Judge to determine if dismissal of man’s filing against police was unreasonable

A man who alleges two Winnipeg police officers illegally searched his room in a group home hopes a judge will agree it was unreasonable for his complaint against them to be dismissed.

Michael Filbert, 69, who has cognitive and physical disabilities, appeared before a provincial court judge Thursday to argue in favour of a judicial review. His complaint to the Law Enforcement Review Agency was dismissed in September.

He alleges the officers conducted a search without a warrant and threatened him with an electroshock weapon in 2025.

Deb Roach, a friend of Filbert’s, spoke to the Free Press on his behalf because he has hearing loss and difficulty speaking.

CRTC triples streamers’ financial contributions to Canadian content

OTTAWA - Large TV streaming services like Netflix must contribute 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content, the federal broadcast regulator said Thursday.

That’s three times the five-per-cent initial contribution requirement the CRTC set out in 2024, which is being challenged in court by major streamers, including Apple and Amazon.

Contribution requirements for traditional broadcasters, which currently pay between 30 and 45 per cent, will be lowered to 25 per cent.

"The total contributions are expected to stabilize the funding at more than $2 billion in support of Canadian and Indigenous content, such as French-language content and news," the regulator said in a press release.

UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations expressed “grave concern” on Thursday about a new law issued by Afghanistan’s Taliban government on separation in marriage which includes provisions on child marriage, saying the code further entrenches discrimination against women and girls.

The government rejected the accusations, saying the decree follows Islamic law and insisting the country has already banned the forced marriage of girls.

Afghanistan’s justice ministry published Decree No. 18 “on judicial separation of spouses” last week, which sets out rules for separation of a married couple.

Among its most controversial provisions, it says that the silence of a girl reaching puberty can be interpreted as consent to marriage. It also includes a section on the separation of girls who reach puberty and are married, which “implies that child marriage is permitted,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement.