First Nations hopeful as Hydro’s first Indigenous chair eyes reversing years of enmity

Manitoba Hydro’s first Indigenous board chair says he has reconciliation on his mind as First Nations-driven lawsuits pile up against the Crown corporation and two of its major project licences are set to expire.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity on the reconciliation side in Manitoba,” said Jamie Wilson, 58, a former treaty commissioner. “The more you understand the history, the more you understand the opportunity.”

Wilson, a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, grew up on a farm in The Pas. He remembered neighbours worked at Hydro but didn’t think much about the public utility — just enough to know it kept the house warm in the winter.

Opaskwayak recently took Ottawa to court over a Grand Rapids hydro dam and its impact on band members, CBC reported.

Belated Lunar New Year party a feast of Korean culture

For the last month, Andrea Kitano has been spending her weekends hosting hanbok fashion shows at shopping centres across Winnipeg.

Heavenly Coco Cafe owners order up Chilean, Portuguese pride

A taekwondo lesson and a chat — that’s how a new Chilean- and Portuguese-owned café was born in Winnipeg.

Councillors approve developer’s request to cut number of affordable units in new West Broadway apartment block

City councillors have approved a developer’s request to reduce the number of affordable housing units that will be included in the construction of a new Sherbrook Street apartment complex.

Eby says it looks like OpenAI could have prevented ‘horrific’ Tumbler Ridge killings

VICTORIA - British Columbia Premier David Eby said it "looks like" OpenAI had the opportunity to prevent the recent mass shootings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., in which nine people died, as pressure piled on the artificial intelligence firm over its handling of interactions with 18-year-old shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar.

The firm has been summoned to Ottawa on Tuesday to explain why it didn't go immediately to police after its internal safeguards flagged worrisome interactions between the shooter and its ChatGPT chatbot at least seven months ago.

Eby — who is also calling for national standards for AI companies on reporting potential threats — said Monday there would be a public accounting by the company to explain why it only reported its concerns to police after the Feb. 10 killings by Van Rootselaar, who shot dead her mother, half-brother, five school pupils and a teacher's aide, then herself.

"From the outside, it looks like OpenAI had the opportunity to prevent this tragedy, to prevent this horrific loss of life, to prevent there from being dead children in British Columbia," he said. "I'm angry about that."

Four years after full-scale Ukraine invasion, Canada faces tough choices on defence

OTTAWA - As the world marks four years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday, analysts say Moscow has contributed to global instability that will force Canadians to spend more — and more quickly — to defend their territory.

"People need to understand why defence is extremely important right now, and why we're going to have to make sacrifices financially to make sure that we stay protected and safe in the long run," said Anton Sestritsyn, a lobbyist who has helped to organize civil society support for Ukraine.

"It's time for world leaders to start talking to their people and explaining to them what kind of situation we really find ourselves in."

Sestritsyn was speaking at a panel last month staged by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank funded by German governments to promote transatlantic relations.

Albertans react to looming referendum during weekend rally, call-in radio show

EDMONTON - Some callers to Danielle Smith's provincewide radio show expressed support for a referendum the Alberta premier announced this week, while others at a rally outside the legislature said they're disheartened with the direction Smith is taking.

One caller congratulated Smith on her morning radio show for her speech on Thursday announcing the Oct. 19 referendum, which is to include questions about whether social services should be restricted for newcomers.

"It reflected what many Albertans wanted to hear," the caller told Smith.

"You're on the right track and I'm so thankful you're the premier at such a time as this," another caller told her.

Indigenous leaders outline priorities for spring sitting of Parliament

OTTAWA - Indigenous leaders were braced for change after the last federal election, when Prime Minister Mark Carney's win ushered in a new look for the Liberal government after 10 years under Justin Trudeau.

That change has compelled those leaders to build relationships with new cabinet ministers and a revolving cast of public servants working on Indigenous files.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders have a long list of priorities they want the federal government to work on, including the introduction of a series of bills on self-government and clean drinking water.

Here's what they'll be watching for.

Alberta premier asks voters to bypass Indigenous rights

There is a standard playbook that politicians use when they have mismanaged an economy, want to divert attention from a scandal, or violate citizen rights and the law: Blame the brown people.

Olympic fans basking in warm embrace of Italy; our neighbours to the south endure frostier reception

MILAN — It was a scene that could have quickly turned ugly.

A handful of young men, clad in red, white and blue jerseys and likely a tad over-served, were revelling in their men’s hockey team’s 5–1 group-play win over Latvia. Aboard a crowded shuttle bus departing the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, they wanted everyone to know it.

“USA! USA! That was a Latvian beatdown!” they took turns shouting. “A BEATDOWN! USA! USA!”

Dozens of fans in Latvian jerseys — some smiling politely, others scowling — remained silent. Biting their tongues, perhaps.

Norway House files suit against Hydro, governments over Lake Winnipeg

Norway House Cree Nation is suing Manitoba Hydro and the provincial and federal governments over how the public utility manipulates the level of Lake Winnipeg.

It’s the latest litigation launched by a First Nation in relation to Hydro’s regulation of the outflow of the lake into the Nelson River, which it has done since the mid-1970s.

Norway House filed its claim in the Court of King’s Bench on Thursday. It alleges Hydro and the Manitoba government have misrepresented the severity and scope of the adverse effects to the community caused by the regulation operation and the construction of a channel from Lake Winnipeg to Playgreen Lake.

The community, which is about 460 kilometres north of Winnipeg, near the northern shore of Lake Winnipeg, hired engineering firm DHI Water and Environments Inc. to conduct a scientific assessment of the effects of the regulation project.

Entrepreneurs lauded as Manitoba Queer Chamber of Commerce’s biz awards return

When Alana Fiks and Angela Farkas opened Black Market Provisions, they hired one employee and almost couldn’t imagine bringing on more.

“We tend to be sort of scared and risk averse, so even the thought of having employees at the time seemed like a dream to us,” said Fiks, who started the shop with Farkas in Winnipeg’s South Osborne neighbourhood almost seven years ago.

The entrepreneurs have built a workplace culture rooted in respect, transparency and well-being. Today, Black Market Provisions has four full-time and six part-time employees.

The Manitoba Queer Chamber of Commerce recognized Fiks and Farkas earlier this week when the organization named the duo as finalists for the Employer of the Year Award as part of its 10th annual MQCC Business Awards.

U.S. International Trade Commission launches CUSMA rules-of-origin auto investigation

WASHINGTON - The U.S. International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into rules-of-origin regulations for automobiles under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade.

A news release on the commission's website says the investigation will analyze the regulations' "impact on the U.S. economy, effect on U.S. competitiveness, and relevancy considering recent technology changes."

It's the third investigation of the rules since the trilateral trade pact, widely known as CUSMA, was adopted during the first administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The commission is required to conduct an investigation every two years until 2031.

The report on automobiles must be delivered to Trump and the U.S. Senate by July of next year.

Alberta’s Smith to put immigration, Constitution questions on fall referendum

EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government is putting nine questions to a provincewide referendum on Oct. 19, including proposals to restrict social services from some immigrants.

One question asks Albertans if non-permanent residents should be charged a "reasonable" fee to access health and education systems.

Another asks for approval to cut off newcomers from social services if they don't fall under "Alberta approved immigration status." The question doesn't define what that status means.

Other questions delve into the Constitution, asking whether Alberta should open negotiations with the rest of Canada to abolish the Senate and to give provinces the power to appoint superior court judges.

New report says youth should help guide Ottawa’s campaign against online exploitation

OTTAWA - The federal government should listen to young people as it takes on the problem of online harms, a group of youth advocates told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday.

The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights held a joint press conference with the youth advocates in Ottawa to present a new report. It says current systems aren’t protecting young people in digital spaces.

"Youth are calling for clear federal action," including a national youth advisory council on digital safety, said Blue Vetsch.

The report outlines harms young people are experiencing online, including sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

Canada should work to recruit bilingual health workers, Senate report says

OTTAWA - Many Canadians face barriers to accessing health care in their own language and the federal government should prioritize fast-tracking immigration and credential recognition for bilingual and francophone health-care workers, a new Senate report says.

The Senate committee on official languages recently wrapped up an 18-month study of language barriers in the health system.

It heard from witnesses from across the country — including anglophones in Quebec and francophones in the rest of Canada who said that they have trouble accessing care in their own language.

"There is an acute shortage of health care professionals all across Canada, which has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing influx of newcomers," the report said, adding that attracting more health professionals to Canada and more training and foreign credential recognition are all needed.

‘Nuisance’ protest bylaw stalled after hundreds object

A bylaw that proposed a ban on “nuisance” protests within 100 metres of certain locations has been shelved indefinitely after intense public pushback and and a protest that drew hundreds to city hall Tuesday.

Homelessness a humanitarian crisis, Rattray says

Jennifer Rattray says few challenges facing Winnipeg are as urgent as the homeless crisis.

“Collectively as a society, as a province, as a city, we need to do better,” the new executive director of End Homelessness Winnipeg told the Free Press.

She says a humanitarian crisis has unfolded on city streets.

“It’s awful,” she says. “We need to do something, and we need to do more than what we’re currently doing.”

Advocate urges feds to update equity act, settle class action with Black employees

OTTAWA - An advocate is urging the federal government to update equity legislation for Black employees and to drop its fight against a discrimination lawsuit that has cost more than $15 million so far.

Nicholas Marcus Thompson, president and CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat, told The Canadian Press that changes to Canada's Employment Equity Act are long overdue.

In 2023, former labour minister Seamus O'Regan announced two new designated groups would be created under the act for Black and LGBTQ+ people.

The act requires that federally regulated employers, including the public service, take steps to eliminate barriers and maintain proportional representation in the workplace for members of designated groups.