Quebec’s Bill 21 lands in the Supreme Court, with notwithstanding clause in spotlight

MONTREAL - A legal challenge to Quebec's secularism law, known as Bill 21, will be heard at the Supreme Court of Canada beginning Monday, and legal experts say whatever the eventual ruling, it will have a profound effect on constitutional law in Canada.

The highly anticipated high court challenge to Bill 21 has been years in the making, but legal debate is likely to focus primarily on Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the provision known as the “notwithstanding clause," which shields legislation from most court challenges over violations of fundamental rights.

François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government pre-emptively invoked the provision into the law passed in June 2019.

The Quebec law, known as Act respecting the laicity of the state, sets out the principles of secularism in the province. Among its most controversial measures is the prohibition of civil servants who are considered in positions of power — such as police officers, teachers and judges — from wearing religious symbols at work.

Maritime historical groups earn UNESCO recognition for Black Loyalist archive

HALIFAX - Detailed ledgers, business receipts and church records from Black Loyalists in the 1780s and onward are more than just rich historical texts to Andrea Davis.

“This is a part of my history… it means so much to us as a community,” she said in an interview Saturday.

Davis is an eighth generation descendant of Black people who left the United States for Nova Scotia at the end of the American Revolution, siding with the British. The Black Loyalists were offered land, protection and freedom, but they were not given the rations, assistance or fertile land they were promised.

“My ancestors, they are a group of people that were not meant to survive, but they did. And so to be here to represent the Black Loyalists and my ancestors is extremely rewarding,” she said.

SiR’s upcoming season a case of all’s fair in love and war

A month before Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey invades cinemas worldwide, Shakespeare in the Ruins’ 2026 season will feature a solo version of The Iliad, giving audiences a crash course in Homer’s epic prequel just in time for a blockbuster summer.

With global conflict and the threats of unmitigated re-armament on his — and everyone’s — mind, artistic director Rodrigo Beilfuss says it only made sense for the outdoor theatre company to return to the Trojan War as a window into the everlasting human cost of international conflict.

Beilfuss, who joined SiR as artistic director in 2019, made a concerted effort throughout the company’s return from pandemic-induced hiatus to program gentler fare. But with last year’s well-received production of Macbeth, the company indicated it was ready to return to tragic terrain.

During a season backdropped by wildfire, the artistic director was reminded of the potential for the classics to cut through the smoke and reveal eternal truths as the world burns.

Cuba refuses to let US Embassy in Havana import diesel for its generators

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Cuban government has refused a request by the U.S. Embassy in Havana to allow it to import diesel for its generators while the Trump administration continues to impose a fuel blockade on the island, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said Friday.

The government turned down the request as the U.S. State Department has been weighing a reduction in staffing at the embassy in the Cuban capital of Havana because of the lack of diesel. Such a move would likely lead to a U.S. demand for a similar reduction in staffing at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, say the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

The Cuban government rejection was first reported by The Washington Post.

The White House, State Department and Cuban Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Province still working on Crown corporation legislation to get Port of Churchill expansion going, Kinew says

Legislation needed to begin the work of turning the Port of Churchill into a national export hub with the potential to transform Manitoba’s economy is still being hammered out, says Premier Wab Kinew.

The act, to create the Manitoba Crown-Indigenous Corp., is still being written, which meant it was not among the more than 40 bills introduced by the NDP before Wednesday’s deadline for passage before the legislative session’s summer recess.

The government promised the legislation in November’s throne speech.

“The corporation has been set up,” the premier said Thursday at an unrelated event.

Most vulnerable will pay the most for federal budget cuts

As the federal government reallocates funds to deal with a $78 billion deficit, the loss of prison librarian positions threatens to undermine rehabilitation efforts for marginalized inmates.

‘A life-or-death program’: non-profit’s successful at-risk youth training awaits Ottawa funding decision

An inner-city non-profit that helps at-risk youth in Winnipeg has warned it will be forced to end an employment and training program March 31 unless government funding comes through.

A year of federal funding is set to run out for Resource Assistance for Youth’s Level Up! program, which has educated and secured work experience for more than 350 young people since 2020.

“We’re in that moment where no level of government has said, ‘We want to continue to support this going forward,’” said Kate Sjoberg, RaY’s executive director.

The paid training program involves six weeks of in-class learning and 12 weeks of work experience with a local employer. Participants also receive housing and mental-health and other supports.

Finance minister’s budget preview focuses on little feet

Manitoba’s finance minister — who had bags of children’s shoes in tow — announced Friday that families and affordability measures would feature prominently in Tuesday’s budget.

Adrien Sala went to Linwood Child Centre, his children’s former daycare, to announce that 2,000 childcare spaces would open within the province.

Tuesday’s budget will also include a 2.9 per cent increase to wages paid to early childhood educators as of September.

“We’re looking to make sure that we invest in you guys, our next generation,” Sala said, steps from children at Linwood.

‘Give ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions’: province gets feedback on French plan

Hiring more bilingual employees for the province’s public service, providing more services in French and making the history of the Francophonie a part of school curriculum could help make Manitoba a “truly” bilingual province.

That was the consensus from a survey taken by Manitobans aimed at shaping the NDP government’s francophone strategy. The results of the survey, which polled 1,600 Manitobans, was released Friday with a timeline for the government’s planned strategy.

Asked what a “truly bilingual province” means to them, 50 per cent of respondents answered “services.”

Bilingualism in the classroom was the top priority among respondents, followed by bilingualism in the health-care and social services systems and government bilingualism.

Canada should ‘absolutely’ match Poland’s Chinese EV ban at military bases: expert

OTTAWA - Intelligence and cybersecurity experts are warning the Liberal government about national security risks posed by allowing Chinese electric vehicles onto Canadian military bases.

Critics and some experts are even calling on Ottawa to ban the cars from Canadian Armed Forces bases and other sensitive sites due to onboard sensors they say could collect and transmit sensitive information to the Chinese government.

Their warning comes after Poland and Israel instituted similar bans  on EVs built by Chinese companies like BYD Auto over the past year — and as Conservative politicians in Canada raise the alarm over the threat of so-called "spy cars."

Dennis Molinaro, a counter-intelligence expert at Ontario Tech University and a former national security analyst, said the federal government should follow the example of Poland and Israel.

‘Wake up people’: mom says proposed drunk-driving law falls short

The mother of a designated driver who was killed by an impaired driver says proposed legislation to prohibit school bus and semi drivers from having booze in their system doesn’t go far enough.

“Wake up people, it should be zero for everybody,” said Karen Reimer, whose daughter Jordyn Reimer, 24, was killed in 2022 after being hit by a pickup travelling at 108 kilometres an hour on a residential street in Transcona.

Under Bill 31 (The Highway Traffic Amendment Act), drivers of class 1 to 4 vehicles — including semi-truck and bus operators — would not be allowed to have any alcohol in their blood.

Reimer told a legislative committee Wednesday laws aren’t moving the needle when it comes to impaired driving deaths and injuries. The province had 13 impaired driving fatalities in 2025, the same number that it had a decade ago. Last year, there were 62 serious injuries, an increase from 60 in 2015, as reported by Manitoba Public Insurance.

More than 20 per cent of Manitobans think the U.S. could invade Canada in the next two years, poll conducted for the Free Press reveals

It has been more than two centuries since American troops crossed the international border in 1812 and invaded what was then the British colony of Canada — but that feeling of everlasting peace is fading.

Against the backdrop of the U.S. war with Iran, its forced removal of Venezuela’s president and President Donald Trump’s musing about annexing Greenland and making Canada the 51st state, some Manitobans are beginning to fear the spectre of armed conflict between this country and its neighbour to the south.

More than one out of five Manitobans believe an American invasion of Canada is possible in the next two years, according to a new Probe Research poll commissioned by the Free Press. Of those, 18 per cent of respondents said the prospect was somewhat likely, and four per cent felt it was very likely.

“The idea of the U.S. invading, for a long time, seemed preposterous. This certainly isn’t a question that we would’ve expected to ask people even a couple of years ago, but we wanted to understand with all of the things that have been happening in the last few months… if this is something that people think is a possibility,” said Curtis Brown, principal of Probe Research.

Gas pains: soaring prices due to Mideast conflict could lead to energy turning point in Canada

Veteran actor Billy Bob Thornton may seem like an unlikely source of wisdom about the world’s relentless dependence on oil. Then again, it would be hard to find a better, more poignant description of the global addiction than a diatribe he delivered in a recent episode of Landman, a melodrama set in the Texas oil industry.

Thornton’s character, Tommy Norris, a crisis manager for a large oil company, is walking through a wind turbine farm that generates electricity to power remote oil rigs. Norris notes that over a wind turbine’s 20-year lifespan, the “clean” energy it produces won’t offset the carbon emitted in the manufacturing of its components or its installation. The same economics, Norris says, can be applied to solar panels and batteries for electric vehicles.

Then, the punchline.

“Our whole lives depend on (oil). And hell, it’s in everything — that road we came in on, the wheels on every car ever made, including yours. It’s in tennis rackets and lipstick and refrigerators and antihistamines. Pretty much anything plastic: your cellphone case, artificial heart valves, any kind of clothing that’s not made with animal or plant fibers. Soap, f—king hand lotion, garbage bags, fishing boats. You name it, every f—king thing. And you know what the kicker is?

U.S. congressman introduces bill targeting Online Streaming Act

OTTAWA - A Republican congressman in Washington has introduced a new bill taking aim at Canada’s Online Streaming Act.

The bill would trigger an investigation of the streaming legislation by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Rep. Lloyd Smucker's office said in a news release.

The statement said if the trade representative finds the implementation of the streaming bill discriminates against or burdens American commerce, the USTR would be directed to take “necessary retaliatory action.”

Under the Online Streaming Act, the federal broadcast regulator has ordered large foreign platforms to make a five per cent contribution toward Canadian content.

Minister promises $14M more for corrections after union complains about overcrowding

Manitoba’s justice minister has promised more resources after the union for corrections officers said Friday inmate overcrowding and chronic short staffing is putting lives at risk.

“Help’s on the way, our government has focused on hiring up as many new corrections officers as we can and we want to continue to build on that work,” Matt Wiebe told reporters.

Wiebe revealed the province will spend an additional $14 million on corrections in the 2026-27 budget, which is to be unveiled next week.

On Friday, the union released the results of a survey of corrections officers and other jail staff that suggests there’s widespread discontent and concern about inmate overcrowding and short staffing.

Family says teen re-victimized by school’s lax response after reporting sexual assault

With its soft lighting and cosy couches, the classroom hangout at the River East-Transcona School Division high school is supposed to be a safe space for students to decompress.

But that changed one Monday in January.

That day, after the supervising teacher had left the room, a teenage girl says she was sitting on the floor with her back against a love seat when a much larger male student sat down on the cushion directly behind her, boxing her in between his knees.

She said he reached over and forced his hands beneath her shirt, grabbing her breasts for several minutes while she froze and did not speak or move.

Winnipeg and ground squirrels

In a move shocking to many local animal lovers, the City of Winnipeg has opted to go ahead with its plan to kill ground squirrels at nine city parks and fields via methods that animal advocates say will cause prolonged pain and suffering.

Shopping bill is a good pre-emptive strike

On the face of it, it looks like a solution desperately hunting for a problem.

But that’s sometimes the way proactive legislation looks.

As first salvos go, Manitoba’s Bill 49 should probably be viewed not an effort not to deal with an imaginary problem, but one being put in place to ensure that the problem doesn’t arrive.

What the bill does is to add individual pricing to the province’s collection of improper business practices.

Teenagers sue Musk’s xAI claiming image-generator made sexually explicit images of them as minors

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Three teenagers in Tennessee sued Elon Musk's xAI this week, claiming the company's image-generation tools were used to morph real photos of them into explicitly sexual images.

The high school students, who are seeking to proceed under pseudonyms, filed the lawsuit in California, where xAI — Musk's artificial intelligence company — has its headquarters. They are seeking class-action status in order to represent what the lawsuit says are thousands of victims like themselves who either are minors or were minors when sexually explicit images of them were created.

According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe 1 was alerted anonymously in December that someone was distributing sexually explicit images of her on a social media website.

“At least five of these files, one video and four images, depicted her actual face and body in settings with which she was familiar, but morphed into sexually explicit poses," the lawsuit states. It claims the person distributing the images knew Doe and used xAI's image generation tools to turn real photos of her into sexually abusive ones. One of the images was taken from a homecoming photo. Another was taken from a high school yearbook.

PUB locks in Hydro rate increases, warns more on way

Manitoba Hydro customers can expect further upward pressure in rates as the Public Utilities Board has finalized a four per cent general rate increase — effective Jan. 1, 2026 — and approved general revenue increases of 3.5 per cent Jan. 1, 2027, and three per cent Jan. 1, 2028.

The board noted short-term financial pressure due to severe drought conditions, according to a news release late Thursday.

In 2025, water flows approached the second-lowest levels in 112 years, the release said.

Between filing the application in March 2025 and oral hearings in November, Hydro’s outloook worsened by more than $600 million — from a projected net income of $218 million to a projected loss of $409 million, the board’s release said.

Downtown mulls uncertain impact of Fairmont downtime

As the Fairmont Winnipeg hotel prepares to close its doors this summer for a months-long renovation project, surrounding businesses say they’re waiting to see what the impact will be on Winnipeg’s downtown.

Any time Palomino Club owner Christian Stringer books an act outside of the province, he’ll set them up at the Fairmont — most recently, DJ Pauly D of Jersey Shore fame — and a chunk of his customer base is out-of-towners staying at the nearby hotel looking for a bit of fun.

“(The Fairmont) has always been the five-star (hotel) for us,” Stringer said Thursday.

He said he’s not sure how much the hotel closing from July until spring of 2027 will affect business. He worries it might complicate bringing in performers from outside of Canada — a practice he’s already had to cut back on as the Canadian dollar has made it harder to meet the asking price of U.S. acts.

Construction groups miffed by new fee on public-sector projects

Three large construction associations in Manitoba say the cost of huge public projects will soar thanks to a new fee implemented by the province, and they want the auditor general to investigate it.

The fee is applied to projects covered by Manitoba Jobs Agreements, which launched last year to try to ensure more local workers and contractors benefit from big public-sector projects. Builders must pay 85 cents per hour, per worker.

The Winnipeg Construction Association, Manitoba Heavy Construction Association and the Construction Association of Rural Manitoba attacked the fee in a joint letter Thursday.

“The 85 cents per hour has nothing to do with wages of workers on site,” said Darryl Harrison, director of the Winnipeg association. “Every cent… (could) be spent in other ways that help the Manitoba taxpayer.