Government wants public input on use of AI

The province says it’s taking the lead when it comes to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, but is it moving in the right direction?

Anthropic says its AI models hacked 3 organizations during testing

Anthropic said its artificial intelligence models hacked into three other organizations during testing, just days after ChatGPT maker OpenAI raised concerns over AI controls after it disclosed its rogue models hacked another company.

Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI company behind Claude, posted on its website Thursday that it discovered the three incidents after reviewing more than 141,000 evaluation runs.

It had launched a “large-scale” cybersecurity review which specifically looked for evidence whether its AI models were able to access the internet from within testing environments that should have been sealed off, in response to the OpenAI incident, Anthropic said.

Anthropic said the models involved in the incidents were Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Mythos 5 and an internal research test model. The earliest incidents date to April, the AI company said.

Major oil companies reap massive profits as US and Iran fighting drives energy prices higher

NEW YORK (AP) — American oil and gas giants raked in massive spring profits while fighting between Iran and the U.S. impeded petroleum shipments and consumers around the world paid more for fuel and confronted shortages.

The conflict, now in its sixth month, halted most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that previously served as a delivery route for a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas. With global supplies constrained, prices for Brent crude, the international standard, soared from about $70 to above $100 a barrel for much of March, April and May, and at one point reached $126.

The money that oil companies accrued between the beginning of April and the end of June could receive extra scrutiny this year. Gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices climbed sharply during that period, increasing costs for drivers and airline passengers. Supplies ran low in some countries, leading to sporadic fuel rationing in Australia and government office closures in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.53 billion, boosted by record diesel production. The oil giant, based in Spring, Texas, brought in $116.02 billion in revenue, up 42%.

Manitoba law meant to aid survivors of child sexual abuse imagery has never been put to the test

A Manitoba law meant to provide financial support to survivors of child sexual abuse that was recorded and distributed online has never once been used in its 15 years of existence, the Free Press has learned.

Minister says changes to Nutrition North program set to roll out in the fall

OTTAWA - Northern Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand says changes to the Nutrition North program are coming this fall, but they won't be limited to subsidies to reduce the cost of food in the North.

Instead, Chartrand said, the federal government is looking at all options to help reduce food insecurity in the region, including strengthening local supply chains and supporting harvesters.

Nutrition North provides money to retailers to help bring down the high cost of groceries in 124 communities. Some retailers have been accused of not applying the full subsidy to the items they sell.

The federal government says it has been reviewing the program to strengthen the food economy, restructure governance and reform subsidies.

Get a little culture: Folklorama celebrates 55 years

You never have to wait more than a week in Winnipeg during summer for the next major festival.

And you never have to venture very far during Folklorama, which begins Sunday, before running into another church, community centre or curling club humming with music, food and cultural dress.

In sheer scale, it’s the most transformative festival Winnipeg has.

Featuring 45 pavilions this year, its 55th, Folklorama launched Wednesday at a news conference at The Forks. (The official kickoff is Sunday at Assiniboine Park’s Lyric Theatre and Field at 4 p.m., the only chance to see all the Pavilion Ambassadors in one spot.) The event also featured a citizen ceremony for several dozen new Canadians, presided over by Canada’s first Métis citizenship judge, Suzanne Carrière.

City’s crisis-response proposal makes too much sense for province to ignore

For years, Winnipeg has asked police officers to do a job they were never trained to do.

Somewhere along the way, police became the city’s default response to virtually every crisis, not just those involving crime. Mental-health emergencies, addiction episodes, wellness checks and people in emotional distress increasingly landed on the desks of police dispatchers because there simply wasn’t another option available around the clock.

That has placed an enormous burden on police resources while often failing to provide vulnerable people with the help they actually need.

The city’s proposal to create a “fourth crisis response pathway” is a long-overdue recognition that public safety doesn’t always require a badge and a gun. Sometimes it requires a social worker, a mental-health professional or someone with specialized crisis-intervention training.

Ancient mummy DNA provides scientific evidence that colonization brought smallpox to the Americas

NEW YORK (AP) — Ancient mummy DNA recovered in Chile has yielded the firmest evidence yet that European colonization brought smallpox to the Americas.

Smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases in human history before it was eradicated in 1980, largely thanks to vaccination. For centuries, the virus had killed about one-third of the people it infected and left most survivors with deep and sometimes disfiguring scars.

Outbreaks struck Asia and Europe and eventually spread to the Americas, where colonial writings, administrative records and missionary reports documented how it killed millions and devastated Indigenous populations who had never been exposed to the virus.

Now there's scientific evidence for the spread: An analysis of Chilean mummies provides the strongest genetic link yet to the virus as it existed outside of the Americas, and provides a better picture of how it reached remote populations through colonization, said geneticist Shigeki Nakagome with Trinity College Dublin.

Poll suggests some Liberal supporters concerned about climate policy are leaning NDP

OTTAWA - A new online poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests that one in six 2025 Liberal voters now say they would support the NDP.

The pollster found that half of these voters cite climate change as the issue that concerns them most. The poll also found that these voters are three times more likely to be concerned about inequality, with 34 per cent of red-orange switchers listing it as a priority compared to 10 per cent who are staying in the Liberal tent.

Angus Reid reports that 21 per cent of respondents nationally say that climate change is a top concern, an increase from the 14 per cent recorded just four months ago. The pollster said that wildfire season is a "stark reminder" of the threat climate change poses in a write up of its findings.

NDP Leader Avi Lewis told The Canadian Press Tuesday that he's been hearing from Liberals in Montreal are now looking to support his party.

Ottawa opening exports office as part of strategy to diversify trade

OTTAWA - The federal government is opening a new strategic exports office as part of its plan to diversify trade.

The office, announced in Budget 2025, will be housed under Global Affairs Canada and will be tasked with removing trade irritants, lifting market access barriers and addressing infrastructure gaps.

The government says the office will help Canada secure international business opportunities in sectors that include aerospace, defence, infrastructure and energy.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told a press conference Thursday the office will help Canada's "best companies win the biggest contracts in the toughest markets around the world."

New Indigenous languages commissioner says her job is to support incoming leadership

OTTAWA - The interim head of the Indigenous languages commission, which is now facing a federal audit, says her job is to support new leadership to ensure a fresh start for the institution.

Candice St-Aubin, who left her job as a senior federal public servant to take on the interim commissioner's role, said on social media it's deeply meaningful work that "asks much of the mind, heart and spirit."

"I do not approach this work as temporary. The responsibility to support the preservation, revitalization, and strengthening of Indigenous languages in Canada does not pause while institutional processes continue," St-Aubin wrote.

"While the formal process will determine the leadership team that follows, I see my role as helping support those who will welcome them and ensuring they can begin their work on a strong and respectful foundation."

Shoppers flock to the frozen aisle as fresh vegetable prices soar: Loblaw

Consumers are looking for savings in the frozen vegetable aisle at Loblaw banners as prices of fresh produce have spiked in recent months.

"It's more than (five percentage points) growth in the frozen veg in our hard discount banner," Loblaw Cos. Ltd. chief executive Per Bank told analysts on a second-quarter earnings call on Thursday. Hard discount largely refers to the company's No Frills and Maxi chains.

"Those customers who shop there, they are trying to mitigate their inflation."

Affordability continues to drive buying decisions as consumers contend with high gasoline and food prices.

Gaps in homecare leave Winnipeg man in perilous situation

Tom Landy fears he won’t live long enough to receive adequate homecare.

The 49-year-old Winnipegger has spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative disease, and requires 24-7 homecare, but gaps in his care leave him sitting in one spot for hours and lately he’s developed bed sores.

Landy was approved for around-the-clock care in June 2025, but staffing issues and an investigation into a homecare worker’s workplace injury have left him without help for periods of time throughout the day and forced his 76-year-old father to fill in.

“This is what they’re here for, to take care of me, and now it feels like I’m a burden,” he said from his home in the Maples.

Report draws link between missing Indigenous women and trafficking across Canada

A new analysis of online sex advertisements featuring Indigenous women has identified cross-country corridors that are highly indicative of sex trafficking, while revealing insight into how women and girls are exploited in Winnipeg.

Temporary foreign workers rally to stay

Close to 100 temporary foreign workers, mainly from China, whose time in Canada is running out, rallied on the steps of the Manitoba legislature Tuesday to raise awareness of their situation.

They arrived in Manitoba before the federal government cut immigration levels — when international students and temporary foreign workers had a shot at becoming permanent residents if they met the requirements to stay, said Ruby Lu.

“We come here for a few years and we work for a few years, pay taxes. Some of us are already bought a house,” said Lu, whose work permit expires at the end of the year.

“So if our (permit) expires, we don’t know what to do,” she said in front of demonstrators holding signs with messages including “we love Manitoba” and “bring back TPP” — the temporary public policy used by the Manitoba provincial nominee program to support open work permits and prioritize permanent residency for select candidates.

Canadian Copper expands New Brunswick mining operation, over 100 jobs expected

FREDERICTON - The New Brunswick government says a mineral development company is expanding its mining operations in the province's northeast.

The government says Canadian Copper Inc. has acquired the defunct Caribou Mine site through the receivership proceedings of previous owner Trevali Mining Ltd.

The province on Tuesday said the company plans to use the site's mill to process copper, zinc and other minerals that could be mined from the nearby Murray Brook mine site, which it already owns.

Canadian Copper will also take over care and maintenance of the Caribou Mine, along with the associated costs, according to a news release from the provincial government.

‘Drive day and night’: TFI plans to roll out driverless trucks in U.S.

MONTREAL - Canada's biggest trucking company aims to roll out autonomous big-rigs in the United States next year, with testing slated to start within months.

TFI International Inc. is working on the project with a partner south of the border in a bid to boost reliability, safety and fuel efficiency, said chief financial officer David Saperstein.

"It can drive day and night. There's no hours of service," he told analysts on a conference call Tuesday evening.

Driverless vehicles steer clear of human factors such as fatigue, illness and poor driving, Saperstein suggested.

Cultural consultation gives Indigenous stories strength in Netflix’s new Little House on the Prairie

Through her work as an Indigenous consultant for film and TV, Julie O’Keefe, a citizen of the Osage Nation, has brought accuracy and authenticity to works such as Martin Scorsese’s 2023 crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon, the 2025 western miniseries American Primeval and, most recently, Rebecca Sonnenshine’s new adaptation of Little House on the Prairie.

But she doesn’t work solo.

“One of the things that I always say is, in any of these jobs that I do — whether it’s Shoshone and Paiute and Ute or Osage — I never come alone to this,” says O’Keefe, who grew up in Pawhuska, Okla., the heart of the Osage Nation, and is now based in Santa Fe, N.M. “I engage because those stories are so much richer with our voices added to it, and we know that.

“I’m sitting down with brilliant directors, brilliant writers, and I’m handing over pieces of history that they’re like, ‘How come nobody knows this?’ And the great part is, this is the time in history … people are really starting to get on top of wanting this for their stories, because it really wasn’t of any importance before.”

Alberta to begin allowing self-referred medical testing as of Friday

CALGARY - Beginning Friday, Albertans will be able to pay out of pocket for diagnostic screening tests, including an MRI and an ultrasound, and without a doctor's referral.

The new change can help those who pay get a faster cancer diagnosis, and improve their chances of survival, without increasing wait times for others, the government said Monday.

Premier Danielle Smith said Albertans can self-refer, because they have a pretty good idea of when something isn't right.

"We just want to put the power in the hands of the patient so that they can get those peace-of-mind tests and hopefully get the all-clear," she said.

Manitoba Hydro’s energy plan set to be scrutinized

Manitoba Hydro is set to face questions and concerns over its plan for the province’s future energy needs, which includes proposed natural gas-powered turbines in Brandon and Indigenous-owned wind farms.

The Public Utilities Board, an arm’s-length regulator, will begin six weeks of hearings Monday into the 10-year blueprint and potential ways to satisfy electricity demand, while Hydro grapples with a projected energy shortfall, debt of $25 billion and aging infrastructure.

“The development plan reflects the best available information and analysis of how Manitoba Hydro can meet growing energy demand, while balancing factors we know are important to our customers, including cost, reliability and the environment,” Peter Chura, a spokesman for the Crown corporation, told the Free Press.

“We are confident in our analysis and that we’ve appropriately balanced reliability, affordability, safety and risk.”

Together Project helps newcomers feel at home

When refugee families first arrive in Winnipeg they are plunged into an alien culture.

Often fleeing dangerous circumstances, discrimination or war, displaced families are forced to navigate bewildering societal norms and cultural expectations in an unfamiliar environment.

It can often feel utterly overwhelming.

And while government settlement agencies are an invaluable foundational resource, nothing can replace human connection and peer-to-peer guidance.

Gordie Howe bridge opens to cars after months of cross-border controversy

The Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to motorists Monday after months of controversy over financial aspects of the project.

Officials announced in a post on social media just after noon that the Howe family had crossed first, in honour of the bridge's Canadian-American hockey namesake.

Minutes later, another post marked the crossing of the first commercial truck, a vehicle from a trucking company in Tecumseh, Ont., that was carrying auto parts to Michigan.

As the sunny afternoon went on, cars and transport trucks brought a stream of inaugural crossings.