Trustee suspended for third time in three years

TRANSCONA’S school board has given a veteran member his third strike in as many years, but he’s not out of a job.

Rod Giesbrecht, a longtime trustee in the River East Transcona School Division, has been suspended for three months for breaching the board’s code of conduct.

Giesbrecht was disciplined twice during the 2023-24 school year for admitting he spoke out of turn about confidential board matters.

His colleagues voted to suspend him without pay — the most severe consequence available — on Sept. 9.

‘We have to call it out’: Souris responds to anti-LGBTTQ+ vandalism

A Pride crosswalk in a southwestern Manitoba community was vandalized over the weekend, leaving its creators upset but unbowed in their efforts to foster inclusive and safe spaces for LGBTTQ+ people.

Decades-long fight to repeal discriminatory second-generation cut-off rekindled on Parliament Hill

First Nations women who’ve spent a lifetime fighting for the right to belong in their own communities have been again travelling to Parliament Hill this fall, repeating their calls for change and their wish: for their children and grandchildren not to be excluded as they were.

Winnipeg MP’s private member’s bill would make residential school denialism a crime

Manitoba New Democrat MP Leah Gazan reintroduced a private member’s bill Friday that would criminalize residential school denialism, saying “real action” is needed to combat rising anti-Indigenous hate.

Bill C-254, if passed, would amend the Criminal Code to include the promotion of hatred against Indigenous Peoples by “condoning, denying, downplaying or justifying the Indian residential school system.”

“We cannot ignore the obvious, that residential school denialism is simply an act of inciting hate against Indigenous people,” Gazan, the MP for Winnipeg Centre, said in a news release.

“Members of Parliament must act immediately to uphold their safety, and I urge all my parliamentary colleagues to protect survivors and families by supporting this bill.”

The ‘fix’ is a fantasy as dysfunctional health-care system fails Manitobans on multiple fronts

If you’ve been stuck in a Winnipeg emergency room wondering why you’re waiting longer than ever to see a doctor, you’re not imagining it.

New numbers are in, and they paint a grim picture of a health-care system still in crisis.

According to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s 2024-25 annual report released this week, emergency room and urgent care wait times have jumped 36 per cent over the past three years.

The 90th percentile wait time — meaning nine out of 10 patients are seen faster and one in 10 waits longer — has ballooned from 7.6 hours in 2022-23 to 10.3 hours in 2024-25.

A century later, Ukrainian church still helping new Ukrainians

When it was founded in 1925, St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in the North End was a welcoming and helpful place for immigrants seeking new lives in Canada.

As the church celebrates its centennial, it is still welcoming and helping Ukrainians fleeing war in their homeland.

“Helping each other never stops,” Eugene Hyworon, co-chair of the cathedral’s centennial committee, said.

A centennial gala will be held Saturday.

The road not taken: lowest number of Manitobans in three decades cross border at Pembina in July, August

Many Manitobans appeared to skip U.S. road trips over the summer as the number of southbound travellers hit at least a 30-year low — excluding COVID-19 pandemic years — at a major border crossing south of Winnipeg.

Annual Diwali celebration puts spotlight on Hindu culture, customs and community

‘Even a single lamp dispels the deepest darkness’

— Mahatma Gandhi

The Hindu Society of Manitoba welcomed more than 5,000 attendees to its Diwali Mela on Oct. 11. The annual bazaar-type event streamed bright lights throughout the RBC Convention Centre in the spirit of celebrating Hindu culture, customs, community connections and camaraderie and cheer.

At this moment in time, as many of us and as many corners of the world face challenges and conflicts, the Diwali vibe offers a reminder to hold firmly onto the message that darkness is defeated by lamps of light and love.

Local Buddhist Temple teaches true meaning of karma; promotes positive living

A popular misconception about the Buddhist idea of karma is that it’s about punishment — a kind of cosmic “what goes around comes around.”

While Buddhists believe actions have consequences, karma is a much deeper idea than that, said Kyle Rathgaber, a board member of the Manitoba Buddhist Temple.

“Karma is not about retribution,” he said. “It’s not about being punished for something you did wrong.”

While there are elements of negative consequences in the idea of karma — if you are angry at others all the time, you may feel stress and anxiety in your own life — for Rathgaber, 34, it’s more about how people can peacefully and helpfully engage the world around them.

Former Liberal cabinet minister says young people are hesitant to enter politics

OTTAWA - Sergio Marchi says when he asks students in his university course on politics how many of them are interested in a career in public life, he's surprised if two or three of them raise a hand.

Marchi, who served as minister for international trade from 1997 to 1999 and later as ambassador to the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, told The Canadian Press he fears that more and more young people are giving politics a pass.

"You can't have the current young generation be exempted from public life," he said.

"Nothing wrong with old white men, but we can't have our politicians be just white old men. We need the energy and the idealism of the youngsters."

Winnipeg-based organization injects federal funds into innovative, women-powered business in Bolivia

With practised grace, Antonia Olpo slides down the bank of the long, shallow pond and plunges fully clothed into the muddy water. On the grass above, other women and their male helpers unfurl the net, stretching it across the pond from edge to edge, and let it sink below the surface.

A petition you should consider signing

Let’s just keep track of e-6679 and ask ourselves whether it’s not about time for plenty of us to sign it.

What is e-6679? Well, it’s an electronic petition to the House of Commons, suggesting that federal politicians and candidates who knowingly mislead the public should face penalties, including, potentially, being disqualified from sitting in the House of Commons.

Here’s the prayer — the details — of the petition.

“Whereas: Members of Parliament (MPs) have been accused of making important public statements that are false and without evidence; Misinformation is a growing threat to the proper functioning of, as well as faith in, our democratic process; A mechanism is needed to verify MPs’ public statements to maintain trust in our governing body; Artificial Intelligence is amplifying misinformation; Current events in the United States demonstrate the dangers of not addressing this problem; and The Institute for Constitutional and Democratic Research (ICDR) of Wales, UK, proposed a white paper entitled ‘A Model for Political Honesty,’ created because ‘the Welsh Government will bring forward legislation before 2026 for the disqualification of Members and candidates found guilty of deliberate deception through an independent judicial process and will invite the committee to make proposals to that effect.’

U of M political scientist predicts scrappy fall legislative session

The gloves will be off when members of the legislative assembly return to the chamber today for the fall sitting.

Manitoba faces economic threats from U.S. President Donald Trump and climate impacts from deadly wildfires, but don’t expect any display of unity in the face of adversity, one political expert advised.

“I think we’ll see the two leaders really going at it and I don’t think it’ll be very pleasant,” University of Manitoba political studies professor Christopher Adams said.

Premier Wab Kinew and Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan have verbally attacked each other repeatedly during question period. Outside the chamber in 2023, there was an alleged physical altercation when the pair shook hands at a Turban Day event in the rotunda.

TikTok as a tool — but for whom?

Canada already considers TikTok a threat to national security and the lives of many Canadian youth who, a recent investigation showed, collect huge amounts of personal data on every one of its users.

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.

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.

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.