Manitoba marks end of sending simple workplace problems to doctor’s office

There are some changes in the workplace that make you think: “Well, it’s about time.”

This is one of them.

Starting Oct. 1, Manitoba changed the rules around sick notes. I think it is going to be a wonderful change — not just for doctors and patients, but for employers, employees and the way we think about accountability at work.

The change comes from Bill 11, the Employment Standards Code Amendment Act (Sick Notes for Employee Absences), which received royal assent on June 1 and came into force Thursday. Under the new rules, employers generally cannot require a sick note for an illness or injury unless the employee is away for more than one week or has been absent because of illness or injury for more than 10 scheduled workdays in the calendar year.

Winnipeg board game company charts winning path

Dennis Northcott has launched a game without frontiers.

The Winnipeg entrepreneur is the co-designer of Galactic Cruise, a board game published last year by Kinson Key Games LLC, the business he co-founded. Since its release, Galactic Cruise has been translated into 11 languages and sold around 50,000 copies worldwide.

It’s also one of three finalists for this year’s Deutsche Spiele Preis, a prestigious community-voted board game award. Northcott will travel to Essen, Germany, later this month, where the winner will be announced at Spiel Essen, an annual board game trade fair.

“It’s been amazing,” Northcott said of the response to Galactic Cruise during an interview in his Island Lakes neighbourhood home earlier this week. “The sales have been great, but it’s also been amazing in terms of people giving their reviews.”

Deadpool drops by Children’s Hospital to say thanks on behalf of Olympian’s family

For Olympian Justin Duff, rappelling down the side of a hospital was more than a test of nerve. It was a chance to give back to a place that helped his family through a frightening time.

On Friday, Duff, a former professional volleyball player who competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio, was one of several local community leaders and emergency-service workers who descended the side of the Health Sciences Centre Children’s Hospital for the fifth-annual Suspended Superheroes fundraiser.

Dressed as Deadpool, Duff took his time while making his way down the building, pausing at each floor’s window to wave and smile at the children and parents inside.

“Being able to bring a little bit of joy to these kids who are really fighting, it’s a great thing to do,” he said.

A day on the campaign trail: Winnipeg's mayor, seeking a second term, does double duty

In the weeks leading up to the civic election, Scott Gillingham has been performing a juggling act: he’s running to be Winnipeg’s 45th mayor, while still serving as its 44th.

“If someone asks me about the campaign, I’m going to answer them. But I think for most people, I’m the mayor of Winnipeg, even if I’m showing up as a candidate,” Gillingham, 58, says. “I try to do all I can to maintain that distinction.”

The Free Press joined Gillingham on a recent rainy September Saturday on the campaign trail, where he served in both roles during an event-laden day. City council’s final meeting before the Oct. 28 election was days earlier.

In Winnipeg, it’s rare for an incumbent to be defeated. But Gillingham knows his win in 2022 wasn’t exactly a landslide — he won with 27.5 per cent of the vote — and he’s been thinking about his second term ever since.

Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime admits to using AI to write book

MONTREAL - Quebec Conservative Party Leader Éric Duhaime admitted to using artificial intelligence to write his latest book.

Duhaime told reporters Friday morning that he used AI as "a tool among others" to write the book, titled Destination Autonomie, which was published in April.

Duhaime, who previously worked as a columnist and radio host, said he used AI to structure his thoughts and that the ideas in the book are all his.

"AI is important to us. It’s part of reality. That said, it has to be done under human supervision. And that’s exactly what happened," Duhaime said.

Gordon Bell rings in a century

Mischka Valencia had gotten used to the hum of heavy machinery at Gordon Bell High School.

“Ever since I’ve been here, it’s all been under construction,” the Grade 12 student said, standing on the sidelines of the brightly painted revamped outdoor basketball court. “I had no idea this was a court.”

The Filipina teenager landed in Winnipeg several months after the inner-city campus had transformed into a construction site.

It was the fall of 2023 and Mischka’s priorities were fitting in, befriending classmates and learning a third language via first-period French.

Rivers of gold, bare skin and J.Lo: Paris Fashion Week dazzles in defiance of luxury’s slump

PARIS (AP) — Saint Laurent sent out a river of gold, as giant chandeliers bathed a glossy black outdoor runway in golden light and the Eiffel Tower shimmered in the background.

The extravagant show was attended by Catherine Deneuve, Kate Moss, Hailey Bieber and Rami Malek, while elsewhere at Paris Fashion Week Jennifer Lopez watched from Stella McCartney’s rain-soaked gardens. Rihanna turned out for the upstarts at Matières Fécales, the conceptual fashion house whose name translates as “fecal matter.” There, the finale sent a woman in a gold lamé gown across a Paris protest square carrying two slumped dummies of white men in suits.

Whatever luxury's financial troubles, Paris retained its ability to assemble stellar front rows and Instagram-ready staging.

Midway through spring-summer 2027, shows crystallized into three stories: glamour on a grand scale; a great undressing that stripped all the way down to a pale pink thong beneath a coat that can top $33,000; and an industry working couture technique into T-shirts and jeans — all while asking itself, nervously, who all of this is for.

Here’s why experts say now is an ideal time to protect yourself from flu

It’s October and time for flu shots.

Medical experts urge getting a flu vaccination soon, before influenza starts spreading widely — and to get up to date on protection against other fall respiratory viruses, too. Updated COVID-19 shots are available now, plus shots for people especially vulnerable to another winter risk called RSV.

While these infections make many people feel miserable for a few days before they recover, every year flu alone causes hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations in the U.S. and kills tens of thousands.

Vaccination isn’t “a guarantee that we’re going to prevent illness. But just like the seat belt in your car, it decreases risk” of the worst outcomes, said Dr. Ryan Stanton of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Robot study gives seniors say in era of AI

It’s no longer the stuff of sci-fi: AI sidekicks that simulate emotional support and guide routines.

Robot companions are increasingly becoming part of everyday life for seniors, with certain U.S. states even subsidizing such devices for personal use through public health-care programs.

Among the many ethical questions this raises: what’s to be done with these robots, and all the secrets and personal data they carry, after the owner dies?

“We don’t know the answers. That’s why I’m running a study. It’s a participatory study with seniors,” said Clara Xi, a PhD student in computer science at the University of Calgary, who is conducting research at the University of Manitoba.

Health minister warns $1.2 billion in annual federal funding set to expire in March

Manitoba’s health minister is warning of possible cuts to health care with $1.2 billion in annual funding from Ottawa set to expire next year.

“We’re very concerned that what would be the largest cut to health care in a generation is right in front of us,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Thursday at the Manitoba legislature. “It means that services that Manitobans depend on will be in jeopardy and be at risk.

“Any reductions, any cuts from Canada, will have direct impacts on the health outcomes of Manitobans.”

Asagwara, who serves as the provincial and territorial health minister lead, chaired a virtual meeting Tuesday with provincial and territorial health ministers to discuss federal funding for health care, mental health care and substance use services, which is scheduled to expire March 31, 2027.

How has medical understanding of ‘shaken baby syndrome’ evolved?

TORONTO - An Ontario mother’s acquittal in the death of her infant son is the latest display of medical evidence of shaken baby syndrome discredited in the courtroom.

Jennifer Gaskin had been convicted of manslaughter in the death of her 2 1/2-month-old son Joeseph in 2002, after two medical experts testified the child had died as a result of shaken baby syndrome.

But an Appeal Court ruled Tuesday that Gaskin’s wrongful conviction was “based on the discredited 'shaken baby syndrome' as the cause of a child's death brought about, in part, by unreliable expert evidence."

The death should have been classified as “undetermined,” according to three experts Gaskin’s legal team retained.

Tokyo court grants legal protection to human voices in AI clone case

TOKYO (AP) — A Tokyo court has awarded legal protection to the human voice in a landmark case in which a popular Japanese anime voice actor demanded that TikTok close an account over its unauthorized use of an artificial intelligence clone of his trademark baritone.

The Tokyo District Court's decision Wednesday was the first acknowledgment of the right to one's voice in Japan. The ruling was good news for many anime voice actors at a time when they are increasingly concerned about the use of AI-generated versions of their voices on social media.

The plaintiff, Kenjiro Tsuda, is an actor best known for his “lustrous and deep” voice in starring characters such as Kento Nanami in “Jujutsu Kaisen,” a popular anime series.

In his lawsuit, Tsuda said that the anonymous operator of the TikTok account “Nanami" wrongfully profited by attracting viewers with his voice narrating in more than 180 videos about urban legends and paranormal phenomena, and asked for the material to be deleted.

Canadian astronaut reaches International Space Station for six-month mission

MERRITT ISLAND - Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk's first thought after being told Thursday he had made it to space was one of disbelief.

"I don't really believe it yet," Kutryk said after being told the crew was in orbit, about 10 minutes after blasting off from Florida as part of the NASA SpaceX Crew 13 mission to the International Space Station.

"It does feel weird, though."

The 44-year-old is a mission specialist on the four-person crew, which also includes commander Jessica Watkins and pilot Luke Delaney — both of NASA — and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, another mission specialist.

Winnipeg’s challenge: preparing for weather extremes

A new United Nations report warns the world will exceed the 1.5 C Paris limit by 2030.

3 GOP states go to US Supreme Court to challenge 3 Democratic-led states’ abortion ‘shield’ laws

Three Republican states went to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to challenge abortion “shield laws” protecting providers in three Democratic states, escalating the legal conflict over pills that account for a majority of abortions.

The attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana contend that the laws in California, Massachusetts and New York undermine their abortion bans and their states' sovereignty. Federal regulations allow prescriptions for abortion pills to be made by telehealth and filled by mail, and the three GOP states want to keep the pills out and punish out-of-state providers for sending them.

“This is the first time we've seen a state or group of states suing other states to challenge the validity of shield laws,” said Mary Ziegler, a University of California, Davis, law professor and author of seven books on abortion law and history.

The Supreme Court can hear disputes between states directly, though it rarely does. If the top court weighs in, it could short-circuit existing lawsuits.

Trade tensions spur fresh wave of interest in community-supported farms, fisheries

It started with one fisher who wanted to be paid a fair price for his catch.

Now Skipper Otto — Canada’s largest community-supported fishery — is connecting roughly 70 independent fish harvesters directly to Canadian consumers, a number that has grown as trade tensions with the United States send demand for local food soaring.

"We have our commitments before we even untie from the docks," said Skipper Otto chief executive Sonia Strobel, whose father-in-law Otto Strobel was the inspiration for the seafood business she co-founded with her husband, Shaun.

"Our members can pick and choose whatever seafood they want throughout the year from their pre-paid credit," she said in an interview from Vancouver. "It's a model that supports local small-scale fisheries and we're seeing more and more interest as Canadians think hard about food security and supporting local."

In a smart-device world, some families keep phone jacked into the wall

When the phone rings in Kristin Shiach and Jordan Sobkowicz’s Riverview home, their three daughters race to see who can be the first to answer.

“It depends who is closest,” says 13-year-old Emily. “If I’m sitting in my room, I can get to it quickest.”

“That’s because it’s always in your room,” Anna, 10, replies. “You never put it back!”

“Usually, when the phone rings,” explains Sobkowicz, “someone yells really loudly —”

Legislation needed on vacant buildings

There is something deeply backwards about a system that lets a property owner keep a building boarded up indefinitely while neighbours are left to live with the consequences.

Orange Shirt Day project fits students to a tee

On the eve of Orange Shirt Day, hundreds of black T-shirts will be handed out to teenagers at Elmwood High School — and there wasn’t a mixup in the clothing procurement process.

The student-run business behind the initiative wanted to make a statement about “truth and reconciliation” being a year-round activity, said Daniel Concepcion, a Grade 12 student.

Daniel said given that black is a staple in the wardrobe of teenagers, he hopes these shirts won’t sit on hangers for 364 days of the year.

“Every child matters, every part of the day, every day,” the 17-year-old said.

Museum warehouse holds the history of electrical power in Manitoba

The work it takes to bring any endeavour to light is rarely, if ever, seen by those who look upon the final result — be that a creative work such as a feature film or a museum display.

Since 2001, the Manitoba Electrical Museum and Education Centre, located at 680 Harrow St., has provided thousands of visitors with a century’s worth of history on electrical power in Manitoba.

“Everyone who comes in here is amazed at how much we can pack into such a small space,” says executive director Beryth Strong, who took on the role last November.

The museum is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. and hosts large groups of students throughout the school year. While the museum itself boasts numerous displays featuring approximately 220 electrical artifacts, including household appliances, computers, telephones, technical gear and much more, along with a collection of nearly 20,000 photos documenting major electrical construction projects, its warehouse just south of McGillivray Boulevard houses thousands more unique items.

Discrediting independent media is the game plan

United States President Donald Trump’s decision to bar several news organizations from White House briefings is, thanks to a court decision, teetering on the edge of collapse.

Wab Kinew as ‘communicator in chief’

Premier Wab Kinew and his party have been riding high in the polls longer than normal for a government one year or less away from its first re-election contest. One reason is his ubiquitous, dominating communications presence as NDP leader and premier.

The argument here is that Kinew has supplemented his prerogatives as premier and party leader (such as appointing cabinet ministers and approving party nominations) with the skilful use of communications to advance his policy agenda, boost his personal popularity and maintain the competitive advantage of his party over the opposition Progressive Conservatives.

Communications has always been a significant part of politics and policy making. However, in the contemporary political and media environments, communications considerations have moved from the background to the foreground of decision-making by political parties, including when they are performing in the role of government. Campaigning and governing now overlap in what has been described as a permanent election campaign.

Political parties use communications strategies for several purposes: to establish an image of the leader which makes a positive emotional connection with voters; to promote a coherent message and to keep party members on message; and to gain favourable media coverage for its policies and other actions on almost a daily basis.