Together Project helps newcomers feel at home

When refugee families first arrive in Winnipeg they are plunged into an alien culture.

Often fleeing dangerous circumstances, discrimination or war, displaced families are forced to navigate bewildering societal norms and cultural expectations in an unfamiliar environment.

It can often feel utterly overwhelming.

And while government settlement agencies are an invaluable foundational resource, nothing can replace human connection and peer-to-peer guidance.

Anishinaabe Days teepee poles vandalized

An act of vandalism to a teepee at the Treaty One Development Corp’s Anishinaabe Days did not stop the celebrations from continuing over the weekend.

An eroding Winnipeg neighbourhood looks to new foundations

The lot Jesse Bettcher lives on in Winnipeg's North End used to be a pile of burnt rubble. Same with the one next door. And the one across the street. But he's now the proud owner of a two-storey house with blue-grey siding and white trim.

Young Quebec sailor, 17, aims to challenge gender stereotypes in sailing

MONTREAL - At 17, Jasmine Pernot is set to become the youngest skipper and one of only three women leading crews in Quebec's new offshore sailing race, hoping to show other young women they belong at the helm.

Jasmine Pernot will lead a crew of seven in the inaugural St-Laurent 400, a 400-nautical-mile race that begins in Tadoussac, at the mouth of the Saguenay River on Quebec's North Shore, on Aug. 6 and finishes in the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

"Everyone has been looking forward to this race because it's a format we haven't had yet in Quebec," Pernot said Thursday before a training session at the Deux-Montagnes sailing club, northwest of Montreal.

Unlike shorter races where crews return to shore at the end of the day, competitors will spend more than 24 consecutive hours at sea.

For unique Menno-centric take on Free Press, satirist mines her jibes between the lines

Free Press readers of a certain vintage may remember when tuning into a local radio station to hear a pair of disc jockeys perusing a section of the Saturday edition was appointment listening.

On Sunday mornings from 1962 until the mid-1980s, CKRC 630 personalities Bob Washington and Tom Ashmore — better known as Wash and Ash — entertained Winnipeggers of all ages by impersonating the likes of Dennis the Menace, Beetle Bailey and Archie Andrews, as they lent their voices to that weekend’s multi-page, colour comic insert.

In a 1984 interview, Washington, who died in 2016 at the age of 82, attributed the weekly program’s longevity to audiences enjoying the antics of “two middle-aged guys in 24 dialects, giving their version of what Dagwood is saying to Blondie, or what Hägar the Horrible is bragging about.”

More than 40 years later, another Winnipegger is turning to the Free Press for her material. Only instead of reading the paper’s funnies, Lori Klassen, a mother of three and grandmother of two, is funnily reading the paper.

While Osborne Village hub has transitioned from church to community space, entrenched issues persist

On Wednesday afternoon, when the sun shone its hottest, the shaded lawn in front of the Augustine Centre was empty, save for a shopping cart abandoned beside the church’s old stone entry steps. A security guard milled about the sidewalk on the west side of the building, though in that moment, he didn’t have much to do.

Nearby a man was lying, not on church property, but on a grassy bit of boulevard wedged between the sidewalk and Pulford Street. He lay on his back with his sneakered feet akimbo, gazing up at the leaves. Beside him was a shopping cart piled with blankets, a bag of clothes and other sundry belongings.

A few minutes later, someone emerged from the Oak Table drop-in centre in the church basement, strolled up to the prone man and spoke to him briefly. The man sat up, repacked his cart and pushed it across River Avenue. He collected a second cart he’d stashed there, and rattled away down the back lane behind the Gas Station Theatre.

After that, for a while, the only people around the building were the security guard and a few small groups of friends and relatives emerging from the Oak Table drop-in, chatting in friendly conversation as they made their way down the street.

Cleanup squad makes positive waves across city

The period after the snow melts isn’t when Winnipeg is at its most attractive.

As months of hidden trash and accumulated waste emerge, streets and sidewalks across the city quickly become covered in litter.

But Take Pride Winnipeg’s latest litter index has found the city looks cleaner than it did earlier this spring. Every area of Winnipeg showed improvement.

The organization’s overall litter index score dropped from 5.92 after the snow melted to 3.47 in its latest assessment. The index measures litter levels on a scale of one to 10, with one representing a perfectly clean area and 10 representing the worst levels of litter.

‘Too big to rig’: Alberta separation petition succeeds with 223K verified signatures

EDMONTON - A citizen-led petition seeking to force a vote on Alberta quitting Canada is officially successful.

Elections Alberta announced Friday it verified nearly 223,000 signatures out of almost 280,000 valid names counted. The petition needed almost 178,000 signatures to be successful.

Despite the result, the document is largely moot.

It was quashed in court in May, although the ruling is being appealed by those behind the petition campaign as well as by Premier Danielle Smith's government.

Inner City Youth Alive changes lives, one program at a time, in city's North End

Inner City Youth Alive has worked in Winnipeg's North End neighbourhood, running programs including a drop‑in centre, summer camps, school support and a wilderness program, for 40 years. The Free Press spent a day following the organization’s work.

First Nation evacuees fleeing wildfire face safety risks in Toronto, leaders say

TORONTO - In a Toronto hotel off Highway 401, a bag check station screening for alcohol greets people in the lobby.

Cat Lake First Nation operations manager Derek Spence said it’s to limit drinking among residents who evacuated from the community north of Sioux Lookout, Ont., last week as wildfires closed in and downed power lines. Alcohol and drugs are much easier to come by in Toronto than the remote fly-in community residents call home, Spence explained.

Substance use and fears of suspicious people hanging around the hotel where Cat Lake residents are sheltering have been fuelling some residents’ desire to return home as soon as possible, even as nearly 180 wildfires continue to burn in Ontario’s north.

“It is a scary city for some people, and there (were) people hanging around here trying to abduct some of the ladies,” Spence said. “Someone's gonna get lost, someone's going to get hurt, someone's going to get killed.”

‘Existential’: Community papers struggling to survive amid Canada Post flyer delivery

MONTREAL - Community newspaper owners claim Canada Post is helping to drive some of them out of business thanks to an expanded partnership it forged with the country's largest printing firm.

Last month, the Crown corporation launched the countrywide rollout of a joint venture with Transcontinental Inc. known as Raddar, which saw Canada Post start delivering discount-deal leaflets in all 10 provinces.

Community newspapers have traditionally relied on flyer bundles to fund their publications, which are delivered free to millions of readers in urban and rural communities.

Paul Deegan, CEO of News Media Canada, which represents scores of community papers among the 550 news titles it advocates for, says those outlets are now losing ad clients after being undercut by a government-backed enterprise. The revenue loss threatens to shutter news outlets and leave residents less informed about their communities, he said.

In an apartment above the Sherbie, famous local artists line the walls

Directly above the West Broadway vendor and noisy bar now known as the Kyoto Kat Club, amid a primly kept wardrobe and dirty coffee mugs, Josh Peterson’s bachelor suite is bursting with coveted Manitoba art.

Cab companies hailed for improved Indigenous relations

Three taxi drivers have been fired and others suspended without pay since a zero-tolerance policy for mistreatment of Indigenous passengers was implemented by Winnipeg’s two largest cab companies.

Giant metal roosters spread autism acceptance in Maine after town zoning spat

OGUNQUIT, Maine (AP) — Giant metal roosters are popping up on lawns in and around a community in southern Maine and as far away as New Zealand in support of a 6-year-old autistic girl and her love of the colorful creations.

David and Sara LeBlanc had a rotating display of the roughly 6-foot-tall (1.8-meter-tall) ornaments decorating their Ogunquit lawn until officials in the small coastal town deemed them to be impermissible advertising for their attached restaurant, The Omelette Factory.

The couple initially resisted the town's removal order, insisting the roosters were meant to comfort their daughter Pyper, not advertise their business.

“Roosters don’t lay eggs,” David LeBlanc told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Small business group says immigration cut makes it tough to hire workers

Canada’s immigration clampdown has put employers in remote and rural places in a bind and put fear into employees from abroad who want to stay.

Yi (Rick) Zheng and his family from China, who’ve been working in Thompson for two years and hope to gain permanent residency, said they fear their work permits will expire and they’ll have to leave the country.

Zheng, 41, says he works as a restaurant cook and his wife works at a hotel in the northern city, where their two children, ages 10 and 12, are thriving in school.

“I work very hard every day. Our kitchen doesn’t have enough staff.”

Winnipeg-developed new app Hostly seeks to bring community together

Stephen Hua enjoys making connections.

“That’s my calling or my passion here, so to speak: to find ways to bring people together and plan events,” he said.

Over the last 25 years, Hua has pursued that passion as a live events promoter and restaurateur in Winnipeg. He’s the founder of the annual electronic music festival Summer of Sound, he’s organized local concerts by major musical acts such as Drake and Lady Gaga, and he co-owns Commonwealth Kitchen and Bar on Main Street.

Now, Hua is helping people make connections via a new app.

Sea Bears Dance Crew takes athleticism to the next level

Many grow up believing dance can only be a hobby and never a career. The Sea Bears Dance Crew defies the notion by showing there can be a professional side of dance in Winnipeg.

Tasha Farmer and Kersey Sarao lead a team of 18 dancers from different backgrounds and styles. Together, they create a high-energy game-day experience — one that encourages everyone in the arena to get up and boogie.

Farmer started dancing at a young age, experimenting in all that was offered.

“I trained in ballet, lyrical, hip hop, musical theatre — every single style you can think of,” she said.

Blueberry First Nations says native plant orchard to help restore B.C. industry sites

FORT ST. JOHN - A First Nation in British Columbia says a new native plant orchard established in its territory could help reclaim and restore thousands of industrial sites around northeastern B.C.

The Blueberry First Nations near Fort St. John unveiled the orchard last week, and Chief Sherry Dominic said it will produce native plants for sale to industry partners in the oil and gas sector, as well as Indigenous communities.

The nation says in a statement the garden will eventually have 1.7 million seedlings from a representative supply of grasses, shrubs, wildflowers and trees to reflect various layers of a healthy forest system.

"So, eventually, (the orchard) will be putting the land back to its natural form," Dominic said in an interview.

Indigenous drum group celebrates sisterhood, solidarity

Aliyah Yellowback wants a seat at the drum circle.

There are differing Indigenous teachings and perspectives on whether women should join in, but the 16 year old has found a spot around a big drum inside a welcoming community at St. John’s High School.

“I automatically get goosebumps and shivers in me — it’s such an empowering feeling,” Aliyah said as she described what it’s like to perform her favourite song with drum group Leading Lynx (Niighani Bezhew in Anishinaabemowin).

“Strong Woman Song really resonates with our drum group because we are strong women. We are resilient, we are powerful and when people hear our voices, I feel like they can feel that, too.”

Restorative justice program helps newcomers find their way

The Masjid Bilal is a chunky grey building just off Logan Avenue surrounded by warehouses and railyards. It looks more like a bunker than a mosque.

But on a summer Friday afternoon, its green-and-white carpeted interior is humming with activity. Two men in white robes and flat woolen caps are seated on the carpet poring over a copy of the Qur’an. A few young boys dodge through hallways, poking curious noses into open doors. At the back, next to a table piled with prayer mats, two girls in hijabs share schoolyard gossip. In the kitchen, women are cooking up pots of rice and chicken for people who will soon arrive for Friday prayers.

The Masjid Bilal is a community hub for members of Winnipeg’s African diaspora as well as Muslims from many other countries.

It’s also home to the Bilal Community and Family Centre, an innovative, community-centred nonprofit that is meeting vital needs for newcomers in this city.

Easing the transition: Newcomer fair helps people find community, belonging

Under a hot Saturday sun at Freight House Field in Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood, children bounced on inflatable castles, families lined up for food, and the sounds of cultural performances carried through the crowd as newcomers to Winnipeg gathered for an annual celebration.

“We’re all trying to build a relationship together.”

That was the message from Clayton Sandy on Saturday at Winnipeg’s Newcomer Welcome Fair, where he shared Indigenous teachings and helping newcomers better understand the history of the land they now call home.

Hosted by Immigration Partnership Winnipeg and community partners, the fair, now in its 10th year, brought together more than 30 settlement organizations, employers and community groups to help newcomers access services, explore job opportunities and connect with their new community.

A Life's Story: Advocate Lucien Loiselle celebrated the French connection in Manitoba

A pillar in the local French community, Lucien Loiselle wanted francophone culture to be shared as widely as possible.

“I remember him telling us to be proud of being francophones and of our culture, to never let anyone speak negatively of francophones or make fun of the French language,” said his middle son, Richard, who shares his father’s passion for French language and culture and served for 20 years as the French language services co-ordinator for Manitoba Health.

“He helped us appreciate and keep francophone music, movies, books and comic books in our lives,” eldest son Michel added. “I have an MP3 player full of French music, and shelves loaded with French-language comic books.

“I passed that love on to my five kids, one of whom works in French media and another who intends to become a teacher in the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine.”