Fort Garry Hotel on Métis federation’s radar

One of Winnipeg’s most iconic buildings, the Fort Garry Hotel on Broadway, is next on the Manitoba Métis Federation’s list of acquisitions.

“We are not done with our commitment to investing in Winnipeg’s downtown,” president David Chartrand said Friday, the same day the federation announced it has purchased the former National Research Council property on Ellice Avenue downtown.

“One potential new acquisition we’re considering, if the price is right and the partnership is positive, is the Fort Garry Hotel. It is an iconic part of Winnipeg’s history and its future, just like the Red River Métis,” Chartrand said.

The 113-year-old hotel was co-listed for sale in May by real estate brokerage firms Avison Young and Cushman & Wakefield Winnipeg, but doesn’t have a list price.

Westman residents fear power project’s wind turbines will sully their idyllic landscape

POLONIA — Leonard Kaspick can list just about every household in the valley.

“There’s someone living right across the northeast, someone living behind here, about a quarter mile there’s a house there, then a half mile there’s another house there, I’m here, and then on top of the hill there’s someone else there,” he says, standing in the heart of the hamlet — a community hall just off the main drag.

Besides the hall and the smattering of homes, there’s a historic (though out-of-commission) church next door and a single general store further down the road.

“There’s less people here now than there was in 1885,” Kaspick, 83, jokes as he wraps up a condensed history of the western-Manitoba community.

Mayor flip-flops on cutting tree-planting budget after intense criticism

Public opposition has prompted Mayor Scott Gillingham to change his mind about chopping $1.2 million from the city’s tree-planting program.

B.C. First Nation challenges dredging plan to accommodate larger tankers in Vancouver

NORTH VANCOUVER - A British Columbia First Nation says it has launched a legal challenge against a plan by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to dredge Burrard Inlet to make room for oil tankers with larger loads to operate.

In a release, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation says it has filed for a judicial review, seeking to overturn the permits issued by the port authority to allow for the dredging to take place.

The plan calls for the dredging along northern and southern edges of the navigation channel in Vancouver's Burrard Inlet underneath the Second Narrows bridge, starting in September.

The Tsleil-Waututh Nation says while it understands the project's importance for Canada's trade needs, the approval process was "rushed" and did not address any of its concerns about the impacts of the operation — including the "risks of more fully laden oil tankers traversing the inlet."

City of Winkler hit by cyberattack

Winkler has become the latest Manitoba municipality to grapple with cybersecurity incidents.

On Tuesday morning, the city’s cybersecurity protection systems detected an incident, prompting officials to isolate affected systems and take certain municipal systems and services offline as a precaution while the situation is assessed.

Phone and payment systems are unavailable as the city, about 115 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg, works to resolve the issue.

“We’re fortunate that we have a very good IT team, and security has always been a significant investment for us,” Winkler Mayor Henry Siemens said. “So we were maybe better prepared than others potentially would have been because of the strength of our staff and the strength of our security protocols.”

Keeping cool: How Meta plans to cut down on water use at its Alberta data centre

CALGARY - A Meta Platforms Inc. executive garnered applause at a news conference this week after he boasted that a gargantuan data centre planned for north of Edmonton would use less water annually than a typical Alberta golf course.

The tech behemoth was announcing a $13-billion-plus investment in a complex the size of 33 Canadian Football League fields. It will be powered by a new natural gas plant that could eventually produce more electricity than what the City of Edmonton uses.

The data centre in Sturgeon County, like other hyperscale proposals in Canada, is to use what's known as a closed-loop cooling system to keep servers from overheating. That differs from an evaporative cooling system, which requires enormous amounts of cool water that is not reused.

Gary Demasi, vice-president of data centre strategy and development at Meta, told a news conference Wednesday that no water will be needed for regular cooling operations.

Canada objects to Olympics loosening restrictions on Russia athletes amid Ukraine war

OTTAWA - Canada objected on Thursday to the International Olympic Committee loosening its suspension on Russian athletes.

The move, announced Tuesday, would apply to the 2028 games in Los Angeles, opening the door for Russian athletes to compete, but the IOC says it will decide later if they could do it with the Russian flag and anthem.

"I am appalled by the IOC’s decision," wrote Secretary of State for sport Adam van Koeverden, a former Olympian.

"The countries of Russia and Belarus should not be represented in international sports competitions while Russia's illegal and unjustifiable full-scale invasion against Ukraine continues," he wrote.

Court rules confidentiality clause for air travel complaints violates Charter

An Ontario Superior Court judge has struck down a rule that blocks travellers from sharing the outcome of passenger complaints made to the country’s transport regulator.

The ruling Wednesday found that federal regulations barring travellers from disclosing the result of complaints on matters ranging from refunds to accessibility violate Canadians' Charter right to freedom of expression.

The Canadian Transportation Agency's complaint resolution process, in place since 2023, had prevented consumers and airlines from publicly disclosing such information unless both parties agreed to waive confidentiality.

Canada’s biggest airlines, including Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat, Jazz Aviation and the industry group that represents them, had opposed the court challenge.

Union urges voters to make buy local civic election issue

The City of Winnipeg’s largest union is calling on voters to demand local-first practices from candidates running in the civic election in October.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 has launched a petition and is running video ads that criticize city contracts recently awarded to U.S.-based companies: garbage collection from GFL Environmental, which moved its home base to Florida this year, and the decision to end its contract with Salisbury House, to provide food at two city-owned golf courses, after 16 years and switch to Aramark.

“These are city services paid for by Winnipeggers, but the money isn’t staying here, it’s not just going to your neighbour’s local business,” Winnipeg resident Ian Bawa says in one video ad posted to YouTube. “The local guarantee asks every municipal candidate to commit — when these contracts renew, bring the work back in house, give it to Manitoba-based companies.”

The petition has garnered more than 4,000 names.

What can you do with $200 million?

Let’s see if I’ve got this right. In the article Carbon capture project gains support (June 30), Julia-Simone Rutgers writes that the direct carbon capture facility proposed by Deep Sky for construction in southwestern Manitoba will cost $200 million to build.

The company claims the facility will scrub 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year and inject it 1,000 metres into the ground. To do this, it will need to draw up to 15 megawatts of power from the Manitoba Hydro grid for the first stage of the project. The project will be financed by selling carbon credits.

To put this into perspective, the Canadian industrial carbon price is set at $130 per tonne. At that price, Deep Sky will have to sell more than 1.5 million tonnes of carbon just to cover the upfront cost of building the plant. That’s over 51 years’ worth of carbon credits. And that doesn’t even cover the everyday operating costs, such as the electricity needed to run the plant.

Some studies suggest it requires about 2,000-2,500 kilowatt hours to electricity to capture one tonne of CO2 and inject it into the ground. To capture 30,000 tonnes, that’s about 60 million kWh. Even if Manitoba Hydro sells it to the facility for only $0.035/kWh, that’s an additional $70 per tonne.

Imperialist crusades: 21st-century style

In the 11th century and lasting into the 13th, the papacy launched a series of at least eight military campaigns we now refer to as the Crusades, or Holy Wars. They were an imperialistic call to arms for Christians to retake Jerusalem, which was at the time under Muslim rule.

Spiritual rewards for participation were implied, and other incentives offered, to dull the extra taxation demanded to fund the campaigns. Over time, the “crusades” morphed to become massacres of not only Muslims but also Jews and Christian dissidents — in other words, any enemies of the papacy. If today’s news sounds like déjà vu all over again, it probably should.

The stories keep repeating themselves in many forms. We now know that two 20th century world wars, global in scope, were caused by imperialistic ambitions, changes in the balance of international powers and corresponding arms races. The first was attributed to the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne by a Bosnian Serb, a kind of “regime change” initiative. The second resulted from rising tensions between Allied and Axis powers, triggered by the rise of European fascism and Japanese militarism. The human toll of both was unimaginable.

In the First World War, 15 to 22 million people, including soldiers and civilians, were killed and another 23 million were wounded. These numbers do not account for those otherwise affected — victims of chemical warfare whose compromised health shortened their lives; of the subsequent Spanish flu epidemic amplified by the displacement of peoples; others who died from other diseases caused by war conditions; and those who were malnourished or starved. Nor do they account for the ongoing trauma and resentments passed on intergenerationally to this day.

Winnipeg high school football coach subject of hazing investigation

Manitoba’s independent teacher commissioner is investigating the head coach of the Grant Park Pirates football program amid allegations of team hazing.

The AAAA varsity team is at the centre of a probe into allegations student-athletes who played for Doug Kovacs during the 2025-26 school year drew blood while carrying out a locker room ritual.

Multiple sources confirmed Kovacs was put on leave from Grant Park High School in the spring in response to a complaint about his coaching style.

“There’s a lot of different red flags here,” said one parent of a football player who was recently contacted about the case by the office of commissioner Noni Classen.

City considers million-dollar chop to tree planting program

The City of Winnipeg is one step away from chopping $1.2 million from its tree planting program to fill a separate budget gap.

The Manitoba government recently directed the city to spend an additional $1.236 million of its provincial “strategic infrastructure basket” funding on the Assiniboine Park Conservancy Journey to Churchill Exhibit, according to a city finance report.

Finance officials recommend the city fill that budget gap by transferring the same amount from the urban forest tree planting budget, which council’s executive policy committee voted in favour of Tuesday.

A local tree protection group said any funding loss would hurt an already ailing city canopy.

Manitoba Tories can learn from Poilievre’s mistake

Among the many errors made by Pierre Poilievre since becoming leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, his decision to attempt to persuade supporters of Max Bernier’s People’s Party and other right-wing groups to return to the Tory party ­— as opposed to adopting policies that would make the CPC more attractive to moderate Canadians — may be his greatest mistake.

Work permits extended to 2027 for international grads

The federal government is offering a reprieve for international graduates who found work and settled in Manitoba, giving the province more time to process a backlog of provincial nominee applications.

A look at defunct past pipeline pitches and their recent revivals

CALGARY - Pipeline proposals long considered dead and buried are coming back from the grave — sort of.

Past plans to send oilsands crude east, west and south are being revived with different branding, proponents and routes. And, at least in the first two cases, the efforts are being driven by politicians rather than the private sector.

Here is a look at defunct projects of yore and their resurrected versions:

East

Carney names TKMS preferred sub bidder, hopes to join sub club with Germany, Norway

HALIFAX - Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday named German defence manufacturer TKMS as the preferred bidder to supply the Royal Canadian Navy's next fleet of submarines, and he said several are expected to be delivered by 2034.

Carney made the announcement at a Canadian Armed Forces base in Halifax, a stop along his way to this year's annual NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where he can talk up the massive purchase.

"The sovereignty of our country, bounded by the three oceans and the world's longest coastline, depends on our maritime capabilities," he said.

The prime minister said it was a close race and the government had a difficult decision to make between offers from TKMS and its South Korean rival Hanwha.

Rogers to take full ownership of MLSE with $4.35B purchase of remaining stake

TORONTO - Rogers Communications Inc. says it has signed a deal to buy the remaining 25 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment it does not already own from Kilmer Sports Inc. for $4.35 billion.

Rogers chief executive Tony Staffieri called it a defining moment for the company.

"Our full ownership of MLSE brings together Canada's premier communications company with Canada's premier sports and entertainment organization," Staffieri said in a statement.

"It gives us even more opportunity to invest in championship-calibre teams, create unique experiences for customers and fans, and unlock long-term value for shareholders."

Teen urges premier to reject data centre, ‘put people and the environment first’

A 17-year-old who started a petition against the construction of an AI data centre northwest of Winnipeg has made a personal appeal to the premier to stop it.

Leona Gollub emailed Premier Wab Kinew to voice her concern about the environmental impact of a 5.5-megawatt AI data centre that’s being built on Brookside Boulevard in the Centreport industrial area in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, northwest of Winnipeg.

She said she worries about the noise and light pollution that would be emitted by the facility, and the massive amount of electricity it will require that could instead power people’s homes.

The premier, who recently rejected a data centre in Île dês Chênes, southeast of Winnipeg, thanked her for her concern in an email but did not go beyond that.

Premiers Smith, Ford unveil proposed west-east oil pipeline route

CALGARY - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled Monday a route for a proposed west-east oil pipeline.

The two premiers say it would stretch 3,300 kilometres from Hardisty, Alta., to refineries in Sarnia, Ont., without crossing the U.S. border.

They made the announcement at the Calgary Stampede after the two leaders were up bright and early flipping pancakes at Smith's annual premier's breakfast.

An Ontario government brochure says the line, referred to as the Northern Shield Energy Corridor, would move 500,000 barrels of crude per day and help reduce Canada's need to import refined oil. It could be expanded to handle 800,000 barrels per day, the brochure says.

Businesses report ongoing struggle amid reduced walk-by traffic 1 year into Graham Avenue transit corridor rework

Layoffs, squeezed profits, reduced hours and a downsizing have plagued Graham Avenue businesses in the year since buses were removed from the former Winnipeg Transit strip.

A convenience store along the road doubled its footprint two years ago. Now, it’s operating in half the space: a wall was built in the middle of the shop last month, creating room for a new tenant.

Across the street, bong seller Aluminum Sound has laid off two staff. It’s one of at least two companies to lessen its employee count following the Transit overhaul.

“You could fire a cannon down Graham Avenue a lot of the time and not have to worry about any casualties,” said Aimee Peake, owner of Bison Books.

‘Forward guidance’ on Canadian climate targets

At last, some honesty in Canadian climate policy

Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke the truth last week about where greenhouse gas emissions were going in Canada: up, not down. This is the first time any prime minister has stated the reality of the country’s emissions trajectory. Until now, it’s all been about putting a positive gloss on far-off reduction goals and unrealistic ambitions.

The prime minister’s second instalment of “forward guidance”, as he calls it, focused on what’s ahead on energy and climate. It was a refreshing and overdue pivot in crafting a more realistic and durable climate policy for the country.

Here’s what he said: “I want to be clear on this point. The changes we have made will mean that our emissions will be higher in the next few years than they were projected to be under the previous government’s plan. But in my judgment, that plan was not sustainable over the long term.”

In America 250 years later, Thomas Jefferson's elegant phrases remain hollow

In the 16th and 17th centuries, countries and territories such as the Netherlands and Portugal boldly declared their independence from Spain. But 250 years ago, on July 4, 1776, the American Declaration of Independence — marked in the U.S. by the semiquincentennial celebrations — was the first time an overseas colony (the 13 colonies, in this case) had set out in an official document its reasons for breaking away from its mother country.

Because the Declaration ultimately gave birth to the United States, it is considered one of the greatest of historical treatises. Thomas Jefferson, its primary author, later explained that his main aim was “not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of … but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject; in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent.”

He did so brilliantly, creating, in theory at least, an enlightened argument for American independence based on the political, economic, social and philosophical thinking of the era.

Influenced by such philosophers as John Locke and Montesquieu, Jefferson, then 33 years old, a lawyer, landowner, Virginia politician and a delegate to the Second Continental Congress which met in Philadelphia, passionately believed in natural law — that all human beings were born free and equal and that no king or ruler could abolish these rights. It was a key point he made in the Declaration’s well-known preamble.