Ottawa orders unprecedented posthumous appeal of fourth Indigenous man’s conviction in 1973 slaying

Canada’s justice minister ordered a new appeal Monday of a Manitoba First Nations man’s 1974 manslaughter conviction — a decision that was unprecedented because it came 14 years after his death.

New truths emerge among sea of orange

No matter where you are, the path towards reconciliation between Indigenous Peoples and Canadians has been very turbulent over the past decade.

In the 10 years since the end of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the 94 calls to action, much attention has been placed on the progress — and lack thereof — towards changing the policies, practices and beliefs that embody principles of Indigenous inferiority and Canadian superiority.

The fact is: the Indian Act, the most racist law in Canadian history, is still here.

Virtually all of the Indigenous land stolen during the last 150 years remains stolen.

Most refused to listen then, more understand now

An open letter, to the children:

It’s late September in Manitoba and the leaves are turning golden. Autumns are beautiful on this land. I hope that, wherever you were, you were able to enjoy it. I hope that there were moments, and maybe more than moments, where you were able to leap face-down in the fallen leaves, to gather them to your nose, to breathe their earthy perfume of red and orange.

There is more orange in Winnipeg now. I wish you could see it. The signs and flags, dotted around the city, staked into lawns and hung over doors and posted as stickers in shop windows. That orange means people care about you and they remember. Even those who didn’t know you, because you lived your whole lives before we were born.

Some of those lives were long, some far too short, and most were somewhere in the middle. Some found joy, whether in spite or because of everything that happened. Some were imprisoned by the pain, haunted by the memories and the grief for what was taken away. There, too, perhaps most were somewhere in the middle.

‘It’s our mission’: Inner-city church driven to help refugees

From its start in 2008, City Church set out to be intercultural. So, it was only natural the Maryland Street congregation would become involved in sponsoring refugees to come to Canada.

“It’s our mission,” said Tim Nielson, minister at the church that serves about 350 people from around the world and conducts services in the Chin, Karen, Punjab and Dari languages.

“Right from the beginning, we have been interested in helping refugees.”

The church started Naomi House in 2017 to help refugees immigrate. Along with providing various services when they arrive, the ministry provides housing while newcomers get settled.

This is what I want you to know

I sometimes stand on the third floor of the former Portage la Prairie Residential School, where hundreds of children stood before me, and look out over the grounds and the lake beyond.

Deepening and complex homelessness crisis pushing city neighbourhoods to tipping point

On a calm summer day, the Red River serves as a mirror, its glass-like surface masking the muddy bottom below.

Look closer and you’ll see a reflection of the city along its banks. Towering cottonwoods and elms, riverside homes, iconic postcard backdrops.

Look closer still, and the city’s scars — from the physical and psychological of individuals to the enabling and failings of institutions — are laid bare.

What begins as a trickle near Kildonan Park grows into a flood the further south you travel along the river.

The devilish details that make no sense

We all knew that kid when we were in school. You know the one — he would tell you he could throw a rock further than anyone in school, he just couldn’t do it today, because he’d hurt his arm winning an arm-wrestling championship against the biggest weightlifter the world had ever seen. The kid who told you his father was a secret agent who could kill anyone he wanted to, any time.

In praise of messy, unruly free speech

There’s a lot of obnoxious and hypocritical talk about free speech circulating online, in editorial pages and at the family dinner table.

Gun buyback comments an embarassing mistake

Cabinet unanimity is an interesting animal. Behind closed doors, cabinet ministers at the provincial and federal levels hash out the basic priorities and directions of government — sometimes, everyone at the table agrees. Often, it’s not unanimous.

Winnipeg firefighters can’t keep doing more with less

Fifty years ago, Winnipeg had fewer people, fewer challenges, and more firefighters. Today, our city has grown by roughly 53 per cent, but the Winnipeg Fire Department (WFD) has fewer frontline firefighters on duty than it did in 1975. This is not just a historical footnote. It is a red flag.

Only moratorium can save moose population: MWF

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is calling for a moose-hunt moratorium in two parts of the province after aerial surveys showed “significantly declining” numbers of the animal.

“The populations may never bounce back,” the federation’s Chris Heald said Tuesday.

The advocacy group representing sport hunters and anglers issued a news release calling for the complete closure of the fall moose hunt in Duck Mountain and Porcupine Forest. It follows Manitoba Conservation’s 2023 aerial survey results, which indicate “significantly declining moose populations” in the game-hunting areas in western Manitoba.

It wouldn’t be the first time for a moose conservation closure there. In 2011, licensed and Indigenous hunters supported a full closure of the moose hunt after a 2010 survey the showed moose population had fallen in both areas to 2,471 animals.

Charges upgraded to attempted murder in summer sword attack

A 16-year-old male has been charged with two additional counts of attempted murder after more victims were confirmed in relation to a sword attack at a high school in June.

Indigenous stories given wings by peers, playwrights

Six Indigenous storytellers are sharing new works with local audiences this week through Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s Pimootayowin: A Festival of New Work.

Message to the U.S. ambassador: we’re disappointed, too

The U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, is disappointed with us.

Minister says law on sign language services in works

Manitoba’s accessibility minister hinted her office is drafting legislation to increase access to and recognition of American and Indigenous sign language services.

Three months after she was caught complaining about an ASL interpreter on a “hot mic,” Nahanni Fontaine gave members of the deaf community an update about her office’s work on the file.

Fontaine, whose portfolio includes families, gender equity and accessibility, said efforts are underway to make real-time captioning and other interpretation services more available, consistent and reliable across local governments.

“We are exploring ways to support recognition of ASL and Indigenous sign languages as important parts of Manitoba’s cultural and linguistic landscape,” Fontaine said Tuesday at Memorial Park following a first-of-its-kind flag raising. “These are steps forward.”

Speed-limit cut proposed for street in Wolseley

A reduction to the speed limit has been proposed for a section of Arlington Street following concerns that ramped-up bus traffic has added noise and disruption to the quiet Wolseley neighbourhood.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) is calling on city council to reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h on Arlington, between Portage and Wolseley avenues.

Gilroy said the 28 Arlington route was added when Transit implemented a new primary network at the end of June. That turned a stretch that had little bus traffic into a key route, adding speed, congestion, noise and vibrations that shake nearby homes, she said.

“A large bus is a change in itself. And a lot of the residents really want the slowing down of the bus to 30 (km/h). They’ve said loud and clear that this is very disrupting,” said Gilroy.

Police investigating fires, vandalism at NDP cabinet ministers’ North End constituency offices

Broken windows, four blazes started in two months

Motion to rename park withdrawn after MMF complaint

A motion to rename a Glenwood park will be withdrawn after complaints the process would replace a name that honours Métis history.

Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) had raised a motion to rename Carriere Avenue Park in honour of James Peebles, an astrophysicist and astronomer raised in the St. Boniface neighbourhood. The motion was seconded by Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface).

Mayes issued a statement Tuesday that noted he and Allard have agreed to withdraw the motion instead of bringing it forward for a city council vote Thursday.

“(The councillors will instead) move to name a new outdoor classroom in St. George Park for Nobel laureate James Peebles … Both councillors learned last night that the Manitoba Métis Federation had concerns about renaming of the park,” the statement said.

Foster parents charged, accused of assaulting children in their care

Two foster parents in north Winnipeg are accused of abusing children in their care, including one who was in critical condition Tuesday, in a case that has Manitoba’s children’s advocate seeking answers.