Local medical scrubs retailer feeling abandoned by U of M, RRC Polytech nursing programs

A Winnipeg uniform store is appealing to medical students to shop locally for scrubs this back-to-school season as it grapples with growing competition online and an apparent shutout by local campuses.

Unimor Healthwear has long ordered uniforms in bulk in navy blue, burgundy and pewter, as nurses-in-training are required to wear those colours based on where they’re enrolled in the province.

“It’s not like it used to be,” Evan Schwartz said about customer traffic to his store at 98 Sherbrook St.

The company’s director estimated he spent about $15,000 to stock up on scrubs in pewter in preparation for the launch of Red River College Polytechnic’s upcoming nursing intake.

Government overrides school board in ‘mature minor’ controversy

The Manitoba government has vetoed the Steinbach school board’s plan to override common law by making parents the ultimate authority on all student health issues.

Since Hanover School Division trustees approved a motion to disregard the category of “mature minors” just over two months ago, there has been widespread debate.

Trustees unanimously voted to stop honouring the mature minor doctrine — in which teenagers 16 and older are automatically assumed to have the maturity to make medical decisions for themselves — at the end of the 2025-26 school year.

“We would just encourage the Hanover School Division to do what they do best, which is providing high-level, quality education for the kids in their community,” Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said in an interview on Tuesday about her July 22 directive to the board to repeal its motion.

School backpack overload: Heavy bags can strain kids’ bodies

Backpacks can be fashionable and functional, but they can also be too heavy — weighed down by digital devices, musical instruments, sports equipment and more. Some kids carry home a laptop or tablet and textbooks, too.

It's good to be prepared, but kids who walk to school or participate in extracurricular activities may be lugging more than their bodies can handle. Lockers and classroom storage aren’t available everywhere — and a child carrying too much weight might not be ready to learn.

As families begin back-to-school shopping, here's how to know if your child's backpack is too heavy, and how to lighten their load.

How heavy is too heavy?

Manitoba Innovates seeks to pump up in-person networking as artificial intelligence-created resumés become norm

The average job seeker has a resumé ghost writer: artificial intelligence.

Many Manitoba businesses are flooded by AI-generated resumés and, in turn, use AI to filter the tide. In response, Manitoba Innovates — a startup incubator — is launching an initiative to lead more in-person networking.

“We’re still looking for authenticity in people,” said Ron Cantiveros, manager of the incubator’s new career catalyst program.

“We’re looking for innovative ways to … attract talent, but also verify and qualify talent.”

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.

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.”

Ethics isn’t about big scandals — it’s about little decisions made each day

As an HR consultant, I spend a surprising amount of time talking about ethics. Not because organizations are filled with bad people, but because good people sometimes make poor decisions when they are stressed, feel misplaced entitlement or are convinced “everyone else does it.”

U of W falls back on tuition hikes amid budget crunch

The University of Winnipeg has joined other public post-secondary institutions across the province in hiking tuition rates by four per cent — as high as possible — for the fall.

Domestic fees are increasing by more annually in 2026-27 than they have in eight years in Manitoba.

International rates, which are unregulated and roughly four times those paid by their Canadian peers, are rising even higher.

U of W’s board of regents approved a $180.7-million budget on June 22 that increases costs in undergraduate and graduate programs and phases out “low rate” courses on the downtown campus.

How great managers adapt without playing favourites

One of the most common pieces of leadership advice is also one of the most misunderstood: “Give each employee what they need to perform at their best.”

It sounds simple enough, until you become a manager and discover the minute you treat people differently, someone inevitably says, “Why does she get that?” or “How come he gets special treatment?”

Middle managers often find themselves caught, well, in the middle. Senior leaders expect them to bring out the best in every employee, while employees expect everyone to be treated the same. Those two expectations can feel completely at odds.

The truth is good management has never been about treating everyone identically. It has always been about treating everyone fairly.

Kids Market ringing up joy at Victoria Beach

If Maude Delaquis ever runs a fashion empire, she can say it all started at the beach.

The 11-year-old is one of more than 30 budding merchants who will hawk their wares at the Village Green Bakery Kids Market in Victoria Beach on Sunday.

The annual event is meant to encourage creativity and entrepreneurial spirit by giving children under the age of 14 a place to sell homemade items.

Maude will be promoting Bonjour Soleil, a line of T-shirts featuring a Victoria Beach-themed decal she created. It’s her fourth year participating.

FIFA World Cup, youth job gains gave the labour market a lift in June

OTTAWA - The FIFA World Cup and a better summer jobs market for young workers appeared to drive steady gains in Canada's labour market last month.

Employers added 18,000 jobs in June, Statistics Canada said Friday, mostly in part-time and private sector work.

That pushed the unemployment rate down a tenth of a point to 6.5 per cent, back to where it stood in January.

Employment gains narrowly topped economists’ expectations heading into the release but mark a slowdown from the 88,000 jobs added in May.

Celebrating an important milestone in their new country

Fourteen high school graduates gathered at Zaytoon on Wednesday to celebrate a milestone that represented years of hard work and adjustment.

The recent grads, all newcomers or refugees, arrived at the Osborne Village restaurant to find it decked out with balloons and flags from various countries for a special graduation dinner to honour their achievements.

The event was hosted by the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, which supports newcomer youth through programs including an after school program and homework and education for youth program.

“This is one of the biggest milestones in their life,” said Arshdeep Virk, IRCOM after-school program educator. “For some of them, coming from countries of war and different situations, them being able to come here and then graduate from high school is a big thing.”

Play for all: story time inspires students to fight for accessible playgrounds

Concerned about injustice on their school jungle gym, St. Vital students spent months researching upgrades to make playgrounds more accessible for children in Manitoba.

Darwin School is dismissed for the summer, but one of its teachers plans to resume an advocacy project after the break.

“It’s not fair,” 12-year-old Selena Wei said about the fact one of her classmates — along with other children who use wheelchairs — can’t fully experience the pea-gravel playground at 175 Darwin St. and others like it.

“A playground is a really big part of a child’s life. It’s where they experience most of their outside time and where they’re the most social,” Selena said.

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.

Countdown is on for Camp Arnes

The anticipation of leaving for summer camp grows as Kyla Gearo walks her kids through a list of everything they’ll need in preparation for their five-day adventure.

As each day passes, her kids grow increasingly more excited as the reality of getting to go to Camp Arnes sets in — a reality Gearo didn’t think was possible before help from the Sunshine Fund.

With the help of Free Press readers, the Sunshine Fund has been able to send children to camps across Manitoba and northwestern Ontario for 46 summers and sent 681 kids to camp in 2025.

“I wouldn’t have been able to afford it without it, that’s for sure,” said Gearo.

Eight Winnipeg teens leave high school with hopes, dreams and an uncertain, AI-flavoured future

Same as the gen-Zers who came before them, this year’s Grade 12 graduates were raised online and offline.

What sets the Class of 2026 apart is how it has been forced to reckon with the post-pandemic panic about student screen time.

In middle school, these students were told they could socialize only on digital playgrounds. After COVID-19 restrictions eased, a school cellphone ban was brought in. On their way out, they were assured future Manitoba children wouldn’t be able to access the same social media and artificial intelligence-powered chatbots they grew up with.

This group, born into an era of tech optimism, is the first to have had access to AI chatbots in all four years of high school.

Teen charged after Winnipeg teacher bombarded with disturbing images

A Grade 12 student has been charged after a police investigation into harassment against a teacher who was bombarded with sexually explicit messages — including intimate images of her generated by artificial intelligence.

The Winnipeg Police Service arrested a 17-year-old male on June 20 and charged him with one count each of criminal harassment, cybercrime-related mischief and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.

He is also accused of making, printing, publishing, circulating and possessing explicit material.

“The emotional toll of this has been so huge,” said a newly certified teacher as she described the “sickening” messages she started receiving during her final practicum in the River East Transcona School Division.

Summer school for RESPs

If you’ve been saving for years for your child’s post-secondary education, and they are now ready to pursue higher learning in the fall, it’s not unusual to feel a little lost regarding how best to use that money.

That’s because the main savings vehicle for post-secondary learning, the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), is often complicated to unwind.

“There are definitely some unique aspects to taking out money from a RESP,” says Anthony Maros, senior private banker at BMO Private Wealth in Winnipeg.

Unlike a RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) where every withdrawal is taxable because all contributions are made with after tax money (hence the deduction on contributions), RESPs involve taxable and non-taxable withdrawals.

Transit says it’s short $6.5M to provide free rides for youth year round

Winnipeg Transit has proposed to let youth ride buses for free for only seven months, stating the $10 million the provincial government provided for a year of that service won’t cover the entire cost.

In a new report, Transit says the program, which is meant to offer no-cost rides to youth aged 11 to 17 and high school students aged 18 to 21, would cost at least $16.5 million to implement for 12 months.

The program stems from the pledge in the province’s 2026-27 budget to invest “in free transit for kids and youth.”

Instead of exceeding the amount of government funding, Transit proposes to offer the free rides from September to March 2027, pending city council approval.

Australia plans to strengthen laws banning children from social media

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government plans to strengthen laws that ban children younger than 16 from social media platforms, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Observers said on Friday the government was responding to evidence that the ban on young children holding accounts on platforms including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube had failed since it came into force on Dec. 10 last year. Australia was the first country in the world to pass legislation keeping youth off social media, but others have since followed.

Albanese told Parliament on Thursday this government was considering options to strengthen the ban.

“We’re working on that as a priority because this is something that other generations didn’t have to deal with, which is why it’s complex,” Albanese told Parliament.