Climate change demands action, not hope

Hoping against hope may have suddenly, quietly, become the world’s new strategy for addressing climate change.

An ancient biblical concept, hope against hope describes our ability to believe everything is going to be alright despite abundant evidence to the contrary. It’s relevant now because, after two decades of aggressive progress in reducing carbon emissions, we’ve started to retreat.

There has been progress in the energy generation sector, where zero-emission options such as hydro, wind and solar have been increasing at an aggressive rate. However, coal and oil still account for roughly two-thirds of all electricity generation in the world, even as severe weather causes trillions of dollars in damage and lost economic activity around the world.

Manitoba offers a good example of how climate change has been de-emphasized against a backdrop of severe weather. Destructive wildfires and floods have become annual events in Manitoba, but not convinced the NDP government to become more aggressive on carbon emissions.

Potash ‘test shipment’ planned for Churchill

The owner of Manitoba’s sole potash mine plans to send its first shipment to Europe via the Port of Churchill this fall.

Upwards of 200 tonnes of potash will travel to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium, said Daymon Guillas, president of the Potash Agri Development Corporation of Manitoba (PADCOM).

From there, it’ll be taken to a client in France.

“This is a test shipment,” said Guillas, who declined to give the customer’s name.

CMHR rejects Jewish organization’s allegations of foreign interference in exhibit about Palestinians

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has said B’nai Brith’s allegations of foreign interference in connection with an upcoming exhibit are unfounded, after the Jewish organization asked the museum to investigate a meeting about the exhibit between its leaders and a Palestinian ambassador in 2024.

On Tuesday, the National Post published an email from 2024 between Ramsey Zeid, the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba president and museum officials, including vice-president of exhibitions, Matthew Cutler and CEO Isha Khan.

The correspondence appears to show plans for a meeting between museum team members and Mona Abuamara, Palestine’s ambassador to Canada, while she was at the museum in December 2024, including discussions about the exhibit, titled Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present.

B’Nai Brith has previously raised concerns about the exhibit, saying the museum failed to properly consult with members of the Jewish community in its development and said the meeting has amplified those concerns.

Mayor’s cabinet signs off on proposed 110-acre neighbourhood on Dugald Road

A major development proposes to create nearly 3,000 homes, ample commercial space and a possible school at a mostly vacant industrial park.

The Waters Urban Village project would transform 110 acres (44.5 hectares) of employment and industrial land at 1390 and 1470 Dugald Road in the St. Boniface Industrial Park by creating 2,946 residential units, a commercial town centre, a central park and six business park buildings, pending final city council approval.

The largest high-rise residential buildings would be close to key Winnipeg Transit routes.

The substantial addition of infill homes and businesses fits well with the city’s goals to make use of existing infrastructure, said a proponent of the project.

‘Fundamentally broken’ support system failing Manitobans with disabilities, scathing report concludes

Manitoba’s disability support system is “fundamentally broken” and routinely fails people as they transition into adulthood, according to a damning new report that calls for a sweeping overhaul of provincial services.

Justice minister says he will review MAID committee testimony before making decision

OTTAWA - Justice Minister Sean Fraser says he will take time over the summer to review the work of a committee tasked with determining whether Canada is ready to allow people with mental illness access to medically assisted dying.

Committee co-chair Marcus Powlowski said last week the report would be presented to Parliament on Wednesday to ensure it's in the government's hands before the House of Commons takes its summer break.

Fraser said Tuesday he will consider more than the committee's conclusions and recommendations.

"Importantly to me, I'm also going to be reviewing the witness testimony upon which those recommendations were based," he said.

MPs urge action to undercut ‘manosphere’ by tackling anti-women ideology

OTTAWA - MPs are calling on the government to tackle the rise of antifeminist ideology by funding programs that undercut the "manosphere" of online influencers who blame women for men's problems.

The House of Commons status of women committee tabled a report Tuesday warning "antifeminist ideologies are becoming increasingly prominent in Canada and internationally."

The committee says boys and young men who are isolated or struggling to find their place in society are being presented with extreme content online that glorifies dominating and dehumanizing women and amplifies gender-based violence.

At a news conference on Parliament Hill, Conservative MP Dominique Vien, the committee's chair, told reporters witnesses who spoke to the committee struggled to identify a single reason for the rise in antifeminism.

Minister says ‘lost Canadians’ must prove link to Canada in each generation

OTTAWA - Immigration Minister Lena Diab says having a Canadian ancestor does not guarantee someone is eligible for Canadian citizenship.

Diab was pushed in question period Tuesday by Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner to state how many people got proof of citizenship under the new citizenship-by-descent law using inaccurate documents.

An unknown number of people who received citizenship certificates under the new law received letters from the federal government over the weekend demanding that they surrender them. A statement from the Immigration Department says "a limited number" of people received these letters.

A spokesperson from Diab's office later said "a few dozen" surrender letters have been issued.

Ottawa’s new surveillance pricing rules not likely to take effect before 2028

OTTAWA - The federal government wants to be "super careful" as it tackles surveillance pricing, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said after tabling the government's new privacy bill.

Under the plan outlined by Solomon, those rules on surveillance pricing are unlikely to be in place before 2028.

"It's very easy to say just ban using personal information to give personal pricing, because we have to be super careful that we don't want to penalize people who are members of a rewards program," Solomon said Monday in an interview with The Canadian Press.

The government introduced the bill Monday — its third attempt to update decades-old privacy laws covering the private sector.

Liberal government tables new First Nations drinking water legislation

New legislation tabled by the government on Tuesday will create a legislative framework to protect drinking water in First Nations communities, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said.

Man’s suicide raises concerns about sentencing of Indigenous offenders

The suicide of a young Indigenous man is raising questions about the province’s efforts at reconciliation in the justice system.

Ethan Wildcat was arrested in 2021 at age 19 following a gun incident at a Winnipeg home that resulted in no injuries. The first-time offender pleaded guilty in court and received a three-year prison sentence.

A formal Gladue report was not prepared for the sentencing.

“Our system isn’t working the way it’s supposed to,” said criminal defence lawyer and MLA Mark Wasyliw, noting Indigenous Manitobans make up 18 per cent of the general population and 82 per cent of those incarcerated.

Ebola stretches weakened global aid system

The WHO has declared the current outbreak an international public health emergency.

Alberta separatists can’t see economic future through their blinding rage

It would be easy to dismiss the threat of Alberta separation as the delusions of a misguided and greedy minority. Easy because the concept does not have much traction.

Opinion polls show that a solid majority of Albertans do not want to leave Canada. Yes, more than 300,000 of the province’s voting-age citizens signed a petition demanding a referendum seeking a departure from the federation. But more than 400,000 other Albertans signed a petition telling the separatists to get stuffed.

That is not a good excuse to ignore what is happening in Alberta. It’s a serious threat but right now, it’s easy to ignore because it’s being pursued by people who are decidedly unserious.

The demands uttered by Alberta separatists are not designed to give its citizens more fairness and equality within the federation; this is about getting more from Canada than any other province has a right to expect.

New First Nations water bill changes mention of ‘right’ to clean water access

OTTAWA - A new First Nations clean water bill set to be introduced by Prime Minister Mark Carney's government changes a provision in a previous bill that would have recognized First Nations have a human right to clean drinking water.

The Canadian Press has obtained a draft of the bill labelled "for consultation until June 11, 2026." It's not clear if any changes were made since the consultation period ended.

Some First Nations leaders had expected the bill to be introduced as early as Monday, but that didn't happen. It's now expected on Tuesday, and Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is scheduled to hold a news conference.

The House of Commons is expected to rise by Friday for the summer break, which means the legislation likely won't be debated or voted on until the fall.

‘It’s all going to be OK’: Canada’s U.S. ambassador tries to ease CUSMA anxiety

TORONTO - Canada's ambassador to the United States is trying to lower the temperature around the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement with the renewal date for the North American trade pact just a few weeks away.

"Everybody take a deep breath, relax, it's all going to be OK," Ambassador Mark Wiseman told a business crowd in Toronto on Monday.

Wiseman was interviewed by Darryl White, the Bank of Montreal's CEO and a member of the advisory council on Canada-U.S. relations, at the Canadian Club Toronto.

Looming in the background of Monday's talk was the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA, which enters a renewal period starting July 1.

Ottawa introduces privacy bill covering children’s data, right to request deletion

Proposed federal legislation would recognize privacy as a fundamental right of all Canadians and set higher standards for organizations when they manage children's data.

Manitoba’s role in a distant Ebola outbreak

Across parts of Central and East Africa, a familiar threat has returned. The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, one of the rarer and generally less fatal variants of the virus, has emerged again in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Taking Pride in what’s been built

Sunday, June 7, was a steamy day but, even without the heat, the heart of Winnipeg glowed with warmth.

That’s because an estimated 15,000 LGBTTQ+ Winnipeggers and allies snaked their way through the city’s downtown arteries — from the Manitoba legislature, along Portage Avenue and to The Forks — as part of the city’s 39th annual Pride Winnipeg parade, a riotously colourful expression and celebration of love and joy.

At The Forks, participants enjoyed drag shows, live music, theatre performances and other activities to mark the culmination of Pride Week, as well as the beginning of what the province of Manitoba now recognizes as Pride Month.

Jim Kane, grand marshal of this year’s parade, said during the pre-parade rally in front of the Legislative Building that Winnipeg and Manitoba have made great strides since 1987, when the first Pride march was held.

‘We’re doing a lot’: Manitoba Lt.-Gov., proud of reconciliation work being done

Reconciliation was a hot topic for Manitoba’s lieutenant-governor and her counterparts as they convened in Ottawa to meet Canada’s new Governor General.

Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville attended Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour’s swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

Both women represent the Crown — Neville at a provincial level, and Arbour federally.

“It was lovely to meet her,” Neville said, adding the two had met once before. “She was warm, she was welcoming.”