New exhibition offers up 125 different ways to look at Canada

As a curator and head of collections and exhibitions at WAG-Qaumajuq, Riva Symko has been contemplating landscapes in art for a long time. But living in an ever-changing and ever-threatened one has altered her perspective on them.

Before coming to Winnipeg, Symko and her husband lived in Anchorage, Alaska. One day, seven or so years ago, they were out hiking when a sudden thunderstorm rolled through — “which is very unusual in Alaska,” she says — sparking a forest fire that ended up raging out of control. That summer, the whole city, save for the ocean side, was surrounded by fire and blanketed with heavy smoke. Climate change was viscerally visible.

“And since then, I really haven’t been able to look at a beautiful landscape the same,” she says.

With Terra Cognita/Incognita, a new exhibition opening at WAG-Qaumajuq Wednesday night, Symko wants to inspire and challenge viewers to look at landscapes differently, too.

From the Plate to the Mic: Several former Blue Jays active in baseball podcast space

TORONTO - The post-season hangover lasted a lot longer than Toronto Blue Jays fans expected this year.

A slow start coupled with mid-season struggles nearly derailed the 2026 campaign for Canada's lone big-league team. However, a strong run of form after the recent trade deadline has lifted Toronto back into the playoff race.

With interest ramping up for the reigning American League champions, the timing couldn't be better for several former Blue Jays who moved into the baseball podcast space this year.

One such offering is the "Get It Done League" podcast featuring former sluggers Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin with broadcaster Arash Madani. The title serves as a nod to a memorable Donaldson quote from the 2015 season.

Daycare, family centre addition will turn care home into intergenerational community hub

Seven-year-olds and 70-somethings will socialize daily when a 152-spot daycare opens inside of a seniors’ residence in Winnipeg in a couple of years.

Construction on a new wing of the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre is scheduled to begin this fall, it was announced Monday.

The project won’t be complete for at least 22 months, but it’s already being touted as a made-in-Manitoba model for intergenerational community hubs across the country.

“It’s a real good idea to mix the younger generation with the older generation,” said Allan Rutherford, a 79-year-old resident of the 200-bed personal care home in Linden Ridge.

Canada’s social media ban for under-16s likely to face Charter challenge, experts say

OTTAWA - The federal government is likely to face a constitutional challenge to its proposed ban on social media for kids under 16, some experts say.

On Friday, France’s top court struck down that country’s social media ban for kids under 15, saying the ban was too broad and infringed on freedom of expression.

Dalhousie University associate law professor Michael Karanicolas said a Charter challenge to Canada’s law is almost inevitable.

"If we're talking about such a significant intervention in the social media space and in the expressive space, there will be organizations that have the resources and the expertise to take a challenge forward and I think it's very likely that we see litigation around this," he said.

Free fix is in: repair café aims to keep items out of landfills

Stephen Kirk wants to give people a chance to fix items they’re not ready to let go of.

The Spence Neighbourhood Association staffer took notice when repair cafés started popping up around the world, and he decided to bring the idea to Winnipeg.

The café invites people to bring broken items like bikes, clothes and small kitchen appliances to the association’s headquarters to get free repairs by a team of skilled volunteers.

“Certainly in our neighbourhood, a lot of people’s motivation is economic, they would rather fix it than have to buy a new one,” said Kirk, the environmental and open spaces coordinator for the Spence Neighbourhood Association.

Trustees call for e-scooter safety education

School trustees are calling on the province to bolster public education around e-bike and e-scooter safety ahead of back-to-school season.

The Manitoba School Boards Association brought members’ concerns about a growing number of students using electronic devices to get to and from classes to the education minister’s office this month.

“There’s a concerning lack of safety knowledge on the part of Manitoba youth,” executive director Alan Campbell said.

Campbell, a long-time trustee in the Interlake School Division, resigned from elected office this summer to run the association that mobilizes school boards and provides them with labour relations support.

Volunteer helps keep Nellie McClung’s legacy alive

Growing up with ties to the community of Manitou, Gillian Potvin has found great inspiration in the traces of Nellie McClung’s legacy.

The 39-year-old has spent nearly a decade channelling that inspiration back into the community by being a key part of the Nellie McClung Museum of Canada’s marketing and events planning since it opened at 55 Main St., in the southern Manitoba town in 2017.

Utilizing her skills in marketing and digital design for the museum is her way of thanking the woman who fought for the rights she has today and continuing her legacy.

“She helped women to be identified as persons and that’s huge,” she said of the woman born in 1873 and considered one of Canada’s most prominent suffragists. “It’s easy to take for granted some of these rights we now have as women, but there would have been a big fight back in the day to change the things that have always been.”

Indigenous peoples are deeply invested in Canada

First Nations voters have only been allowed the legal right to cast a ballot in Canadian elections since 1960, but many in the past — perhaps rightly — felt a sense of complicity in the country’s colonization or, worse, that voting didn’t make a difference. Not anymore.

‘You vote with your bike’: cyclists celebrate freedoms, call for increased safety

Patty Wiens got dressed up in her sparkly, hot pink cowboy boots to pedal and talk politics with more than 100 other people on Sunday.

The founder of Winnipeg’s Fancy Women Bike Ride called on attendees of the 2026 event to ask candidates in the upcoming civic election — a half-dozen of whom were in attendance — about their active transportation platforms.

“We’re here today, in an election year, to remind you that you vote with your bike,” Wiens told a crowd of nearly 120 cyclists gathered on the legislature grounds for the group ride.

“When (city council) candidates come to your door and ask what’s important to you, you’re going to say, ‘I want to ride my bike safely in the city. What are you going to do about it?’”

Anti-terrorism measures hindering Muslim charities’ humanitarian efforts: study

OTTAWA - Strict measures to prevent terrorism financing are prompting Muslim charities in Canada to withdraw humanitarian assistance from countries in need, such as Syria and Yemen, because they fear losing access to banking services if they operate there, a new study warns.

The study by University of Toronto law and history professor Anver Emon makes a dozen recommendations, aimed at various federal agencies, to help charities and other non-profit organizations provide assistance abroad without fear of repercussions.

The treatment of Muslim charities has come under scrutiny in recent years. Critics claim they have been unfairly singled out in the fight against terrorist financing.

A National Security and Intelligence Review Agency report released last October found "a lack of rigour" in the way the Canada Revenue Agency selects charities for audits over terrorism concerns. The report said the process introduces risks of bias and discrimination.

Ottawa wants to block kids from social media. How would age verification work?

OTTAWA - In June, the federal government introduced Bill C-34, which would force social media platforms to block access for kids under 16.

The exact ways in which social media platforms would verify age haven’t yet been worked out. Culture Minister Marc Miller said there will be "a back and forth with platforms as to what protects people’s privacy and what is adequate and sufficient in the circumstances."

But we can look to experiences in other countries to get an idea of the options. They range from facial age estimation technology to verification through existing accounts to government-issued digital ID.

Canada is one of a number of countries around the world moving toward social media age restrictions.

Rise of social media reflects rise of self-promotion — to the detriment of genuine storytelling

A conversation is overheard between two people; one congratulates the other on their success, evident through countless posts on LinkedIn, but the other confesses the prolific aggrandizement is due to slumping success.

A young man on an airplane spends three hours poring over selfies taken on a vacation, zooming in on his biceps and using AI to retouch photos before posting on Instagram.

Anonymous and cowardly trolls on Reddit attempt to end another person’s career.

All this “storytelling” was observed in one day by this reviewer.

Célébrer des employés qui mettent la main à la pâte

L’immigration francophone joue un rôle grandissant dans la vitalité de Saint-Pierre-Jolys. À la Boulangerie Saint-Pierre, des employés venus de plusieurs pays contribuent à la croissance de l’entreprise tout en s’intégrant à la vie du village. Une diversité que l’entreprise souhaite célébrer avec une nouvelle murale.

La Boulangerie Saint-Pierre, à Saint-Pierre-Jolys, connaît une importante expansion depuis quelques années. Pour Jocelyn Gagné, propriétaire de l’entreprise familiale, cette croissance repose largement sur le travail de ses employés, dont plusieurs sont des immigrants francophones. C’est pour souligner leur contribution que la boulangerie, en collaboration avec l’artiste franco-manitobain Gérald Laroche, a entrepris la création d’une murale qui ornera bientôt sa façade.

Jocelyn Gagné, qui travaille dans l’entreprise depuis l’âge de 13 ans, alors que ses parents étaient propriétaires, constate bien que la société a changé à travers les années. “On est rendu dans près de 150 magasins, on a grandi pas mal vite dans la dernière année. On a beaucoup plus d’employés que dans le temps de mes parents.” Avec une telle croissance, le besoin d’engager davantage de main-d’œuvre est venu naturellement.

Un Folklorama à l’année longue

Manitoba family finalist for cattle producers environmental award

A family in western Manitoba is one of seven finalists for a national environmental award honouring beef cattle producers.

Proposed Transcona development — which could add 20,000 people — gets thumbs down from residents

Dozens of Winnipeggers fear plans to make way for up to 20,000 more people to live in south Transcona would dramatically alter their neighbourhood and tie hefty fees for new services to their property titles.

If city council adopts the proposed South Transcona secondary plan, all future development applications would need to conform to its goals. The affected area is located south of Dugald Road, north of St. Boniface Road, east of Plessis Road and west of Murdock Road.

Homeowner Virginia Page Jähne fears the plan could add a massive tab to the title of her 4.3-acre property to cover services required for the development.

“My main concern is that they are wanting to put $1.4 million onto my title to pay for this. Now, they say that I will not have to pay it unless I subdivide. But if a person comes by and wants to buy from me … and they see that $1.4 million … what’s the first thing (they’re) going to do?” said Page Jähne, in an interview.

Gillingham promises to help level playing field for local biz if re-elected

Scott Gillingham promises to take new steps to ensure local businesses can compete for the hundreds of millions of dollars in city contracts awarded each year, if re-elected as mayor.

The campaign promise follows the city’s controversial decision to replace longstanding Winnipeg restaurant Salisbury House with an American company at the city-owned Kildonan Park and Windsor Park golf courses. That contract for food and beverage service took effect April 1.

Gillingham acknowledged public opposition to the move is one of the reasons he’s revisiting the issue.

“As mayor, I want as many opportunities for local companies to benefit from work the city procures,” he said.

Federal government still missing 111 Indigenous artworks from its collection

OTTAWA - The federal government still can't locate 111 Indigenous artworks missing from its collection — nearly two years after an internal audit found it couldn't account for 132.

The Indigenous Art Centre's collection — established by the federal government in 1965 to protect, preserve and promote Indigenous art — consists of more than 5,000 works from First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists.

The collection, which is valued at roughly $14.4 million, includes works by such renowned artists as Christi Belcourt, Elisapee Ishulutaq, Kent Monkman and Norval Morrisseau.

An internal audit of the collection, dated November 2024, was posted last October on the Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada website. It tracked the operations of the department’s Indigenous Art Centre from April 2019 to August 2024 and said the centre could not account for 132 items in the collection.

Alberta delaying new restrictions on flags in schools, national anthem mandate

EDMONTON - New provincial rules restricting which flags can be flown in Alberta schools and a mandate for playing the national anthem once a week are being delayed until later this year, the government says.

Also being delayed is a change that grants the education minister the power to name or rename public schools.

The new rules were expected to take effect on Sept. 1, in time for the school year.

They stem from a bill passed in the spring that Premier Danielle Smith's government has said is meant to remove ideology from the classroom.

Revered Broadway rail anchors Winnipeg’s resilient skateboarding scene

The Woodsworth Building at the corner of Broadway and Kennedy Street is an accidental, unofficial mecca of Winnipeg skateboarding.

France’s top court blocks under-15 social media ban, citing constitutional freedoms

PARIS (AP) — A top court in France on Friday struck down a law banning children under 15 from using social media, saying it infringes on fundamental freedoms.

The Constitutional Council ruled that provisions in the ban “disproportionately infringe freedom of expression and communication" and haven't provided legal guarantees to ensure those rights, according to a press release summarizing the decision.

France last month became the first country in the European Union to pass a blanket ban on the platforms amid rising worldwide concerns about the harmful effects of digital content on kids.

Both chambers of the Parliament had voted in favor of the measure, which also banned the use of mobile phones in high schools.

Trailblazing Western Scrap Metals heavy-equipment operator relishes role at massive crane’s control

Less than five per cent of heavy-equipment operators in the country are women but that number is trending upward, according to a study conducted by trade magazine Crane & Hoist Canada.

It was reported that in Ontario roughly eight per cent of jobs in the transport and heavy-equipment field are currently held by women. Furthermore, in 2024 almost 20 per cent of graduates at an Edmonton-based heavy-equipment operator training school were female, the article stated.

That brings us to Harmony Guspodarchuk, the first female crane operator in the 70-year history of Western Scrap Metals, a family-owned business at 18 Sutherland Ave.

Three years ago, Guspodarchuk literally stepped into the driver’s seat of a 27,500-kilogram, Liebherr C 924 Heavy Lift Litronic crane. The 29-year-old hasn’t looked back much since.