Sens captain Brady Tkachuk unhappy with White House AI video that insulted Canadians

OTTAWA - Brady Tkachuk’s first game back with the Ottawa Senators wasn’t an easy one.

The Senators captain returned to the nation’s capital riding the high of a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics, but his on-ice performance hasn’t been the headline.

Earlier this week, Tkachuk was one of 20 American players who visited the White House and attended the State of the Union following an invitation from President Donald Trump.

But what many Canadian and Senators fans took issue with was an AI-doctored video shared by the White House that made it appear he was disparaging Canadians. The altered clip, shared by the White House's TikTok account, inserted fabricated audio of Tkachuk referring to Canadians as “maple syrup eating f---s,” with the expletive bleeped in the video. The video carries a note saying it “contains AI-generated media.”

Winnipeg School Division proposes 9.3 per cent tax increase

Manitoba’s largest school division has tabled a draft budget that raises local property taxes by upwards of nine per cent.

The Winnipeg School Division has released a $549.7-million blueprint for its 82 schools, which are attended by 32,000 children.

The plan freezes staffing at current levels, upgrades information technology systems and resumes full-day kindergarten.

“What we’re proposing is basically a stand-pat budget where we want to maintain (our roster of) teachers, EAs and clinicians, ” chief superintendent Matt Henderson told a public budget meeting on Tuesday. “With that, though, comes some pressure.”

Housing affordability challenges remain despite recent improvements: CMHC

A new analysis from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. shows housing affordability challenges have eased in recent years but still remain at historic highs, and have even spread to other major cities.

The national housing agency says affordability issues are no longer limited to Canada's largest cities and have spread to other areas such as Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. One of the key factors, CMHC said, was the impact of labour mobility brought on by remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has persisted even as the job market has changed.

"Affordability started recovering slightly since 2023, when it reached historical lows. For home ownership, we observed improved affordability, while for renters we saw stabilization over the last two years," said Mathieu Laberge, CMHC chief economist and senior vice-president of housing insights, in a news release Wednesday.

"Even with these improvements, we cannot overlook how much housing affordability has eroded in recent years, especially in Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax, clearly demonstrating that Canada's housing affordability crisis is no longer limited to Toronto and Vancouver."

Councillor calls for permanent bike lanes on Wellington stretch

The chair of Winnipeg’s public works committee wants the city to scrap plans for temporary bike lanes on part of Wellington Crescent and immediately proceed with a permanent protected route.

Coun. Janice Lukes wants permanent lanes to be installed in 2027 if her proposal is approved, although some proponents worry there will be more delays if plans change for a road they consider unsafe.

“I know this is frustrating and it’s challenging, but we’ve got the money — move it up and let’s just do it right the first time,” Lukes told reporters.

The city on Wednesday published a staff report and design for temporary lanes on a one-kilometre section between Academy Road and Stradbrook Avenue, after getting public input on a proposed $436,000 pilot project.

First Nations awaiting Hydro consults

With licences for two major Manitoba Hydro projects set to expire later this year, affected First Nations await consultation — and want to see change.

Licences for the Churchill River Diversion and Lake Winnipeg Regulation projects, first issued in the 1970s, expire Sept. 1 and Aug. 1, respectively.

The diversion directs water to five stations accounting for roughly 75 per cent of Manitoba’s power generation. The latter project allows Hydro to generate power by manipulating Lake Winnipeg’s water levels.

There is no timeline for the licence renewals, said Environment Minister Mike Moyes. He said that would be dependent on consultations with impacted First Nations.

AI chatbots and teens — a sometimes deadly combination

As if there weren’t enough concerns about the changes artificial intelligence may bring in the future — the displacement of millions of workers, or the potential for AI to disconnect from its human managers and go its own way — there are clear and present dangers which AI companies must be forced to address now.

Tattoo removal business owners discover customers’ ink easier to erase than scammers’ damaging online reviews

The owners of two Winnipeg tattoo removal outlets say scammers are trying to extort them by posting negative Google reviews, then demanding payment to take them down.

Organizations join forces to make First Nation kids’ dreams a little sweeter

Nearly two dozen children in Pukatawagan will be able to sleep in their own new beds this week, thanks to the Manitoba chapter of the Knights of Columbus and Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

The Knights, an organization that helps Catholic men live out their faith through service to their parishes and the community, has partnered with Sleep in Heavenly Peace to provide 22 beds for the children.

The beds, which are being shipped in pieces, will arrive this week by truck and train, together with 500 donated coats and seven wheelchairs. The cost of all the items, along with transportation, has been covered by the Manitoba chapter of the Knights.

A group of volunteers, led by Mark Desjardins, who leads the chapter, will leave Wednesday, driving to the community located about 200 kilometres north of The Pas to assemble and install the beds.

Police warn about AI use in sophisticated scam calls

Police warned Manitobans about the rising use of artificial intelligence to clone voices for use in phone scams, while launching a campaign Tuesday to protect seniors from fraud.

The six-month “Just Hang Up” campaign will alert seniors, their children and their caregivers about grandparent or emergency scams that have become prevalent and increasingly sophisticated.

“These scams are designed to be high pressure. They prey on the ones we love the most — our grandparents, the ones we know who are going to help us in the time of need,” Winnipeg Police Service Insp. Jennifer McKinnon said at a news conference.

Manitobans aged 60 and older reported losing almost $350,000 to grandparent or emergency scams in 2024, as reported by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The actual total is likely much higher because scams are vastly underreported.

Unpredictable health-care costs a given, redundant health-system bureaucracy an unaffordable burden

It’s an annual ritual in Manitoba politics: the provincial government blows past its health-care budget, critics cry mismanagement and the government responds that the spending was unavoidable because people got sick, needed care and deserved treatment.

This year is no different. The NDP government last week approved an unbudgeted $200 million to cover health-care costs in the 2025-26 fiscal year. The province signed off on a special warrant declaring the spending is “required for the public good.”

That language sounds dramatic, but the reality is far less scandalous than critics would have people believe.

It’s not unusual for governments to exceed their health-care budgets. In fact, it happens virtually every year, no matter who’s in government.

Waymo’s robotaxis now being dispatched in 10 major U.S. markets with expansion in Texas and Florida

Waymo will begin dispatching its robotaxis in four more cities in Texas and Florida, expanding the territory covered by its fleet of self-driving cars to 10 major U.S. metropolitan markets.

The move into Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando, Florida, announced Tuesday, widens Waymo's early lead in autonomous driving while rival services from Tesla and the Amazon-owned Zoox are still testing their vehicles in only a few U.S. cities.

In contrast, Waymo's robotaxis already provide more than 400,000 weekly trips in the six metropolitan areas where they have been transporting passengers: Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas.

Waymo operates its ride-hailing service through its own app in all the U.S. cities except Atlanta and Austin, where its robotaxis can only be summoned through Uber's ride-hailing service.

Sustained scabies outbreak frustrates families of PCH residents

A months-long outbreak of scabies at a Selkirk personal care home has families upset and the local MLA urging health officials to do more to eradicate the problem.

Tudor House has confirmed it is battling an ongoing outbreak of scabies, which was first declared on Sept. 12.

Dave Ramsay says his 85-year-old father, Neil, moved into the 76-bed facility the day before the outbreak was declared. His dad, who suffers from dementia and is unable to stand or walk independently, contracted scabies several days later.

He has been in and out of isolation since, and was reinfected with the skin infestation in mid-December. His roommate has also been infected multiple times.

‘Electric vehicles work really well’

STEINBACH — The temperature hovered around -18 C on Sunday, but that was all right with organizers of an electric vehicle protest outside Provencher MP Ted Falk’s office.

Political rivals in the last election campaign, Liberal Trevor Kirczenow and Green Blair Mahaffy waited for a cold day to respond to a pamphlet sent out by Falk’s office six months ago.

There was one sentence in it that they said got the EV community concerned.

“Colder regions like Manitoba and long distances make an EV option impractical,” the mailer stated.

First Nations hopeful as Hydro’s first Indigenous chair eyes reversing years of enmity

Manitoba Hydro’s first Indigenous board chair says he has reconciliation on his mind as First Nations-driven lawsuits pile up against the Crown corporation and two of its major project licences are set to expire.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity on the reconciliation side in Manitoba,” said Jamie Wilson, 58, a former treaty commissioner. “The more you understand the history, the more you understand the opportunity.”

Wilson, a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, grew up on a farm in The Pas. He remembered neighbours worked at Hydro but didn’t think much about the public utility — just enough to know it kept the house warm in the winter.

Opaskwayak recently took Ottawa to court over a Grand Rapids hydro dam and its impact on band members, CBC reported.

Belated Lunar New Year party a feast of Korean culture

For the last month, Andrea Kitano has been spending her weekends hosting hanbok fashion shows at shopping centres across Winnipeg.

Brandon-based Cando Rail & Terminals purchases Utah-based Savage Rail, absorbs 700+ U.S. employees

In a move the company’s chief executive describes as “transformative,” Cando Rail & Terminals Ltd. has acquired a leading rail provider in the United States.

The Brandon-based company, which owns and operates first- and last-mile rail infrastructure, announced on Monday its acquisition of Utah firm Savage Rail.

Savage Rail is part of Savage Enterprises LLC, a family of companies headquartered in Salt Lake City.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close April 30, were not disclosed.

Heavenly Coco Cafe owners order up Chilean, Portuguese pride

A taekwondo lesson and a chat — that’s how a new Chilean- and Portuguese-owned café was born in Winnipeg.

Councillors approve developer’s request to cut number of affordable units in new West Broadway apartment block

City councillors have approved a developer’s request to reduce the number of affordable housing units that will be included in the construction of a new Sherbrook Street apartment complex.

‘We need to act,’ health minister says as Canada seeks feedback on men’s health

OTTAWA - Canada needs to take action to improve the health of men and boys, Health Minister Marjorie Michel said Monday as she launched an online consultation to inform a national strategy.

Michel made the announcement in Ottawa with MPs from other parties in attendance. She said the government's approach to the issue must be non-partisan and the solutions will require co-operation among governments and community organizations.

The federal government is seeking feedback from people across the country through an online consultation that will run from March 2 to June 1.

"We invite everyone, and especially men, to participate in this important conversation," she said.

Eby says it looks like OpenAI could have prevented ‘horrific’ Tumbler Ridge killings

VICTORIA - British Columbia Premier David Eby said it "looks like" OpenAI had the opportunity to prevent the recent mass shootings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., in which nine people died, as pressure piled on the artificial intelligence firm over its handling of interactions with 18-year-old shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar.

The firm has been summoned to Ottawa on Tuesday to explain why it didn't go immediately to police after its internal safeguards flagged worrisome interactions between the shooter and its ChatGPT chatbot at least seven months ago.

Eby — who is also calling for national standards for AI companies on reporting potential threats — said Monday there would be a public accounting by the company to explain why it only reported its concerns to police after the Feb. 10 killings by Van Rootselaar, who shot dead her mother, half-brother, five school pupils and a teacher's aide, then herself.

"From the outside, it looks like OpenAI had the opportunity to prevent this tragedy, to prevent this horrific loss of life, to prevent there from being dead children in British Columbia," he said. "I'm angry about that."

Family embraces challenges, rewards of launching a fruit orchard

Growing up on a farm near Boissevain taught Kelvin Hildebrandt many things. But becoming an orchardist has meant taking a comprehensive and strategic approach to acquiring a whole new set of skills.

In the process, Hildebrandt has consulted with local orchardists, including well-known growers like Betty Kehler and Bob Pizey who ran Plum Ridge Farm, a popular u-pick orchard located in the Interlake region near Teulon.

“They taught me a great deal,” says Hildebrandt.

Hildebrandt has also been influenced by Jean Spencer who owned a 150-tree apple orchard near Miami. “Jean was very welcoming and let me take care of her trees for a while,” he says.