Une 5e édition, et une incorporation pour Noir et Fier

Lors du gala de clôture de Noir et Fier, tenu le 26 février au Musée canadien pour les droits de la personne (MCDP), le festival conclut le mois de février avec l’annonce d’une incorporation. L’organisation franchit donc une étape structurante importante en devenant un organisme à but non lucratif à part entière.

“Le bilan que je fais de cette cinquième édition est très positif.”

En cinq ans, Noir et Fier est passé d’une exposition de portraits pour le mois de l’histoire des Noirs, à un festival qui occupe désormais tout au long de février et qui franchit aujourd’hui une nouvelle étape avec son incorporation.

“Chacune des activités a rassemblé beaucoup de personnes. Ça a été des moments de discussion très intenses, de très bons moments d’échange, de partage, de sensibilisation et d’éducation. Nos statistiques sont assez frappantes,” assure Wilgis Agossa, directeur artistique et fondateur de Noir et Fier.

Making the most of Winnipeg’s biggest opportunity

The critical moral test for any community is the world it leaves for its children.

Without a doubt, Winnipeggers want all their city’s young people to have successful lives. Here are things we know make success possible: graduating from high school and avoiding disasters like addiction to drugs, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and becoming involved with the criminal justice system.

Most citizens understand this. And if they were told there are proven ways to make it much more likely for our wishes for Winnipeg’s young people to come true, they would probably say “Hey, let’s do more of that!”

But mostly, we don’t.

Main Street Project basement becoming donation-based ‘store’

Soon, Winnipeg’s homeless population will have their own store to shop for clothing and hygiene products, free of charge.

The basement of Main Street Project’s Main Street shelter is being transformed into a donation-based “store” where homeless people can pick out the clothes they want, instead of just accepting the donations they are given.

“A lot of the time we like to buy clothes that fit us well and look good and make us feel good. And I think it will be great to be able to offer that same experience to people in the community who may not otherwise have that opportunity,” said Cindy Titus, interim director of development at Main Street Project.

Part of the store will be named Ashley’s Closet, in memory of former Winnipegger Ashley Tokaruk.

Jeux Voyageurs: la tradition se joue en équipe

À l’Hôtel Marion, en plein Festival du Voyageur, les Jeux Voyageurs restent un rendez-vous à part. On s’y rend pour la communauté, pour encourager ceux qui s’y affrontent, mais aussi pour participer aux festivités (marionhotel.ca/voyageur-games).

À l’organisation, l’on retrouve Guy et Johanne Noël, membres de la Brigade de la Rivière Rouge, et Laneil Smith, propriétaire de l’hôtel Marion.

“Même si tu viens juste comme spectateur, tu embarques,” résume Guy Noël. “C’est comme aller voir une game de hockey: tu rentres dedans.”

Membres de la Brigade de la Rivière Rouge et voyageurs officiels en 2000-2001, Guy et Johanne Noël portent les Jeux Voyageurs avec une énergie que l’on pourrait presque qualifier de contagieuse.

Relationship with city’s icy waterways warms many a Winnipegger’s heart

In summer, a screened porch or gazebo adds another room to Winnipeg houses, full of light and fresh air.

A balcony in a high-rise apartment seems to double the horizon available to residents: it feels like you could step out into the branches of a big old elm or a cottonwood, full of birds.

In the same way, the frozen Assiniboine, Red and Seine rivers add concert hall- and football stadium-sized swathes of space to the city.

The iced-over rivers provide new ways of seeing and understanding this place we call home.

Elmwood students’ clothing venture instils pride, breaks down stereotypes in blue-collar neighbourhood

Xander Woodley is spending his fourth period filling orders.

The Grade 12 Elmwood High School student pulls a blank sweatshirt from the supply closet and double-checks the customer’s purchase: one double-extra-large GPS Crewneck in navy.

He walks over to the heat press at the back of the graphics lab and flips through a stack of transfer sheets to find the correct design.

“It’s a map of our community of Elmwood; these are all of the streets, as well as the Red River and co-ordinates of where we are,” Woodley says, pointing to the line-art rendition of the northeast Winnipeg neighbourhood, the ward boundaries of which run from McLeod Avenue to the Canadian Pacific mainline and from the eastern bank of the Red River to Lagimodiere Boulevard.

Bill aims to give MMF self-government treaty with Canada

The Manitoba Métis Federation is one step closer to having a self-government treaty with the federal government.

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty introduced Bill C-21 Thursday, the Red River Métis Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Treaty, which if passed would be the first self-government treaty with any Métis government in the country.

“This treaty has been 156 years in the making and represents the cherished vision of our ancestors and elders, who fought so hard to preserve our existence and keep the flame of our nationhood alive through the dark times,” MMF president David Chartrand said in a statement.

“This legislation realizes their vision and shows that the fighting spirit of the Red River Métis — Canada’s negotiation partner in Confederation and the founders of Manitoba — can never be dismissed when we stand for what we believe in.”

Arviat, Nunavut chosen as main campus location for Inuit Nunangat University

OTTAWA - The main campus of the new Inuit Nunangat University will be located in Arviat, Nunavut, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed announced Wednesday.

The school also moved a step closer to being built with the announcement of a $50 million investment from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., and another $85 million through the Nunavut Agreement Implementation Contract.

The Mastercard Foundation previously committed $50 million toward the development of the university.

The university, expected to open in 2030, will be the first based in the North and the first in Canada operated by and for Inuit. It will be tasked with promoting Inuit language retention and revitalization and supporting economic and cultural opportunities in the region.

Plight of imprisoned Hong Kong ex-publisher Jimmy Lai evokes grief over loss of press freedoms

HONG KONG (AP) — About five years after Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Apple Daily shut down and its founder was jailed, the newspaper’s former staff and readers are lamenting the loss of the city’s press freedoms.

Founder Jimmy Lai, 78, was sentenced Monday under a Beijing-imposed national security law to 20 years in prison, the longest such sentence so far. His co-defendants, six other former Apple Daily journalists, received jail terms ranging between six years and nine months and 10 years.

Officials in both Hong Kong and Beijing defended the case against Lai, with the city's leader John Lee accusing the newspaper of inciting violence and poisoning young minds. The government insisted his case had nothing to do with press freedom, saying the defendants used journalism as a guise to commit acts that harmed Hong Kong and China.

There's no question that things are different in Hong Kong without the Apple Daily. Since it folded, the city’s once freewheeling press scene has changed drastically. Its voice was one of many that have been silenced in the former British colony.

Ukrainians push for permanent residency in Canada as war with Russia grinds on

OTTAWA - Roksolana Kryshtanovych never planned on moving to Canada before Russia's war, but the invasion made it impossible for her to go home to Ukraine.

In the years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, she said, Canada has become her new home. But without a path to permanent residency, she and thousands of other Ukrainians here face an uncertain future as the war drags on.

Immigration Minister Lena Diab has acknowledged many of these visa holders are no longer here temporarily — but the government has no concrete solution yet to their plight.

Now, her government is under new pressure to open a permanent residency pathway for the nearly 300,000 Ukrainians like Kryshtanovych who came to Canada through the emergency visa program.

Province’s Indigenous tourism industry growing

Melanie Gamache has been taking her beading and jigging sessions on the road lately.

Schools, immigrant services agencies and private companies had asked whether she would take Borealis Beading to them.

“With the exception of last year (with wildfires), there has been a growing demand,” Gamache said. “There’s just an increase in people wanting to know more — like people want to know the history.”

Gamache registered her company, Borealis Beading, in 2018 and started by hosting Métis beading workshops.

Art for Minneapolis: West Broadway not-for-profit partners with sister agency

Art City has issued a callout to creatives of all kinds for paintings and other flat artworks to show solidarity with residents of Minneapolis.

The West Broadway not-for-profit is hosting a free workshop on Monday to create and collect art to send south of the border.

“There’s a lot of feelings of anxiety because this is a situation that we have no control over and we don’t like it,” said Eddie Ayoub, artistic director of the local community hub.

As ICE operations continue to upend daily life in their sister city, Ayoub said his team wants to give residents a chance to gather, process and take action.

Cascadia movement has roots in the past, but does B.C. separatism have a future?

VICTORIA - In 2017, Cory Pahl was a candidate for the Cascadia Party of British Columbia, whose official goals included the creation of a provincial assembly that would assert the sovereign rights of "British Columbians, Canadians and Cascadians."

Cascadia, the concept of commonality between British Columbia and U.S. states in the Pacific Northwest, has roots dating back to the 19th century and beyond. It has sometimes been expressed as a desire for nationhood — although Pahl said the party never campaigned for the creation of a Cascadian nation, with British Columbia as part of it.

While he acknowledged the "separatism kind of discussion" surrounding the idea of Cascadia, he wanted nothing to do with a new expression of B.C. separatism, fuelled by anti-Ottawa sentiments, alienation from mainstream politics, and a sense of allegiance with similar movements in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Pahl said the Cascadian movement "came from a very different perspective."

Manitoba roots go deep for Swiss sensation

MILAN — Her birth certificate may say Switzerland, but make no mistake: Olympic speed skater Kaitlyn McGregor’s roots are firmly planted in Manitoba.

For starters, there’s the strong family connection. Her parents, Mark and Faye, hail from MacGregor, a small farming community about 130 kilometres west of Winnipeg. Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents are there as well. Yes, the McGregors have heard the jokes. No, the town isn’t named after them.

But secondly — and arguably more importantly — McGregor’s inspiration to reach this grand sporting stage can be traced directly to Winnipegger Cindy Klassen.

Remember the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, when Klassen set a Canadian Olympic record by winning five medals? McGregor certainly does, albeit from after the fact. She was 12 at the time, and it was that epic performance — brought to her attention by her grandmother through Free Press newspaper articles — that ultimately lit the fire.

Respect Pride participants, Winkler mayor says ahead of summer parade

The City of Winkler is distancing itself from the Pembina Valley Pride march but the community’s mayor is also asking residents to respect those taking part in the LGBTTQ+ event.

Mayor Henry Siemens said he has received “lots” of comments about the parade, scheduled to be held in Winkler for the first time this summer.

“Council and I don’t personally support all of the beliefs or ideologies of the various groups or events that might take place in Winkler, but we do support people’s individual freedom to plan and host their own events,” Siemens said in a social media post Wednesday.

“It is my sincere prayer that we, as a community, find a way to respect one another’s freedoms and pray that no one event would define who we are.”

Teen newcomers hope powerful poem opens minds

Escaping Syria as a child, Fawwaz (Ali) Al Hassan knows a thing or two about global conflict.

“I’ve gone through war, genocide, poverty, myself firsthand, and I know how bad and terrible it is for anyone, not just for people of my kind, but anyone across the world,” the 17 year old who immigrated to Canada 10 years ago said.

The Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute student co-wrote the spoken-word poem What We’re Meant to Be, along with Sami Suliman, 16, and Tobilola (Tobi) Olorunsola, 17. The trio recited it Monday at the Manitoba legislature as part of the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation’s international development week.

The teens, all newcomers to Canada, brought their own personal experiences to the poem, a journey across the globe.

Beloved drop-in centre remains a haven for youth after 50 years

Some children are never given the foundational tools at home to ease their way into this world. For a long list of complex reasons, home is not always a haven. And it’s not assured to be a safe place for kids.

But there is a building at the corner of Ross and Sherbrook that serves as both a home and a refuge, where young people find safety, acceptance and love, 365 days a year, anytime, all the time.

“I wouldn’t be alive today if it hadn’t been for Rossbrook House,” is an often-repeated phrase.

In 1976, Sister Geraldine MacNamara (Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary), with the help of other sisters and a group of young men from Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood, founded Rossbrook House as an alternative to the streets.

Iraqi calligrapher’s handwritten Quran ends 6 years of artistry and craft

ISTANBUL (AP) — Iraqi calligrapher Ali Zaman gazes with pride at his masterpiece — a colossal, handwritten manuscript of the Quran that has taken six years of craft and devotion to complete.

The finished work consists of 302 double sided scrolls, each measuring 4 meters (13 feet) in length and 1.5 meters in width. The sheets, resembling heavy parchment, were custom made for Zaman with a blend of traditional materials including eggs, corn starch and alum.

“Anytime I think of this Quran … it gives me very nice feeling that the mighty God gave me the life to be able to finish this thing and complete it. I feel very proud,” the 54-year-old told The Associated Press at a mosque in Istanbu l where the manuscript is kept.

Islamic calligraphy is regarded as one of the most valued artistic traditions in the Muslim world. The art form served to preserve and embellish Islam ’s holy book and was later also used to adorn mosques, palaces and manuscripts.

Protest songs capture horror, hope in times of turmoil

Bruce Springsteen has always held a mirror up to America.

Sometimes that looks like 1975’s Born to Run, about escaping small-town suffocation and hitting the open road. Sometimes that looks like 2001’s American Skin (41 Shots), about the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean student who was hit by 19 of the 41 rounds fired at him by the NYPD. And sometimes that looks like 1993’s Streets of Philadelphia, which was about the AIDS crisis.

On Wednesday, Springsteen released Streets of Minneapolis, an appropriately Dylan-esque protest song about ICE’s reign of terror in Minnesota. The Boss does not mince words, calling out “Trump’s thugs,” “Miller and Noem’s dirty lies” and naming the two “left to die on snow-filled streets,” Alex Pretti and Renée Good.

No, it’s not subtle. But it can’t be. These are not times for subtlety.

Métis-Canadian soprano exploring portrayals of Indigenous women in opera stresses need for joy, humour

While historically opera has been divided into comedies and tragedies, buffa and seria, Camryn Dewar believes Canada’s recent operas have tended to be overly solemn when tackling certain difficult subjects.

The Métis-Canadian soprano is thinking, in particular, about the representation of Indigenous issues — a lightning rod for both government funding and critical scrutiny in Canadian culture.

“Lots of (operas) tackle the struggle and the loss, but not many of them feature Indigenous joy and humour,” she says. “And that’s something that’s really necessary because it helps with normalization, showing us as normal people.”

Dewar, a Fulbright Scholar with a newly minted master of music in vocal performance from Montclair State University, is on a Canadian tour showcasing Indigenous Female Representation in Opera, 1879–Present. Part lecture, part singing performance, the presentation had its first Winnipeg stop last week at the University of Manitoba and returns to the Canadian Mennonite University at 11:30 a.m., March 12, in the Laudamus Auditorium.

‘He took us to the mountaintop’: 30th Sacred Assembly celebrates Elijah Harper’s legacy

Several hundred people from across Canada, including church and Indigenous leaders, gathered in Winnipeg on the weekend to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Sacred Assembly, and to discuss ways to keep its vision alive.

First Nation says Hydro misuse of river diversion destroying sturgeon population

A northern First Nation is calling on Manitoba Hydro to alter its use of the Churchill River diversion to protect a lake sturgeon population allegedly decimated by hydroelectric operations.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation Chief Doreen Spence said the culturally significant species is facing extinction on the river system without immediate intervention, 50 years after Manitoba built the diversion to send water to large power generating stations.

“The diversion has artificially altered the flow of the water… so much that the river is barely able to sustain life as it once did,” Spence told reporters in Winnipeg Thursday.

“Manitoba Hydro must operate the diversion in sync with the natural flow regime of the river for the sturgeon to survive.”

Dan David, Mohawk journalist and Indigenous news trailblazer, dies at 73

Dan David, a renowned Mohawk journalist who helped establish the news department of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, has died.

His sister Marie David said he died Jan. 12 after a long struggle with cancer.

He was 73.

Karyn Pugliese, an APTN host and producer and David's friend and colleague, said his death is a huge loss for the dozens of Indigenous journalists he mentored and whose careers he helped launch.