Advocate’s report calls for urgent reform of child-welfare system

Cali Derksen was 14 when she threw a few things into a backpack and left home, fleeing weapons and threats of violence for what she believed would be a safer place.

Now 16, she said Child and Family Services did “good” by removing her from the home.

“But after they did that, I didn’t think much really came out of them,” she said Thursday at the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth office at 320 Donald St. “I had to call Kids Help line. I had to find solutions for myself in order to feel safe… because CFS wasn’t supporting me.”

Derksen’s experience is one of 17 shared in a new report calling for urgent reform of Manitoba’s child-welfare system. Youth in care say they are often left unsupported, unprepared and unheard.

Election bill takes aim at deepfakes, long ballots, threats to nomination contests

OTTAWA - The Liberal government is proposing new legislation to strengthen election integrity by banning digital deepfakes of candidates, cracking down on unduly long ballots and protecting nomination and leadership contests.

The bill, introduced Thursday, would extend existing election protections beyond the campaign period itself, making them effective year-round.

The government says this would include the extension of rules forbidding foreign people or organizations from improperly influencing someone's vote, as well as bans on offering or accepting bribes to influence a vote.

Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said the changes follow recommendations made by the chief electoral officer, the commissioner of elections and the public inquiry into foreign interference.

Air Canada CEO apologizes for inability to express himself adequately in French

MONTREAL - The chief executive of Air Canada has apologized for not being able to express himself adequately in French after releasing a video message of condolence on the deadly plane crash in New York on Sunday.

Michael Rousseau has been criticized for the four-minute video posted online that only included two French words — "bonjour" and "merci."

"I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees," he said in a statement Thursday.

"Despite many lessons over several years, unfortunately, I am still unable to express myself adequately in French. I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve."

Verdicts against Meta, YouTube validate concerns long raised by parents, child safety advocates

For years, parents, teenagers, pediatricians, educators and whistleblowers have pushed the idea that social media is detrimental to young people's mental health and can lead to addiction, eating disorders, sexual exploitation and suicide.

For the first time, juries in two states took their side.

In Los Angeles on Wednesday, a jury found both Meta and YouTube liable for harms to children using their services. In New Mexico, a jury determined that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

Tech watchdog groups, families and children’s advocates cheered the jury decisions.

Province’s first Indigenous parenting event draws hundreds in person, online

Amara LeClair starts with the basic questions: Where are you from? Who are your grandparents? Did they forage?

New studies of old dogs help scientists understand where they came from

Using the oldest dog genes studied so far, scientists are finding more evidence that our furry friends have been our companions for thousands of years.

Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Manitoba annual event encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to believe in themselves

Matthew Sabourin owns a craft brewery and hospitality company that employs 50 people, and is preparing to open a second location later this year, but when he was growing up, he never pictured himself as a businessperson.

“I did not have that confidence,” said Sabourin, co-founder of La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing Co. in Winnipeg’s Exchange District.

Ideas would run through Sabourin’s mind, but he didn’t even consider pursuing them because he believed he couldn’t make them a reality.

“I now realize looking back … I have been an entrepreneur all my life,” he said.

Liberals to debate age restrictions on social media, AI chatbots

OTTAWA - Age restrictions on using social media accounts and AI chatbots are among the topics up for debate when Liberal party grassroots gather next month for their national convention.

There are 24 different policy resolutions that are on the agenda when party rank-and-file meet in Montreal for their convention April 9 through 11.

Two of them try to tackle ongoing concerns about the impact of social media and artificial intelligence on children and youth.

One resolution from Quebec calls for anyone under the age of 16 to be banned from accessing "all AI chatbots and other potentially harmful forms of AI interaction," such as ChatGPT.

NDP bolsters autism support amid families’ demands

The Manitoba government will include $30 million in Tuesday’s budget to address the demand for autism services, after families have demanded more help.

St.Amant, a non-profit that supports people with developmental disabilities and autism, will receive some funding, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said Monday.

“It’s going to address some of the wait lists they have,” she said, adding it will “bolster their autism-specific supports.”

More medical professionals may be able to meaningfully diagnose autism, Fontaine said.

Provincial budget includes free transit passes for youths in Winnipeg, three other cities

Manitoba’s NDP government will make it more affordable for youths as young as 12 to get to school, jobs and activities with free transit passes.

Robot umpires are coming to MLB. Here’s how they work

NEW YORK (AP) — Robot umpires are coming to the big leagues this year.

The Automated Ball/Strike System will be introduced in the form of a challenge system in which the human umpire makes each call, which can be appealed to the computer. Robot umpires have been tested in the minor leagues since 2019, with recent testing done at Triple-A since 2022, MLB spring training last year and at the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta.

Here's what to know about MLB's robot umps.

How does the Automated Ball-Strike System work?

After 15 years of building North American brand, Winnipeg-based XiteBio Technologies Inc. eyes overseas markets

Out of the laboratory and into farmers’ fields.

If you had to describe Manas Banerjee’s career trajectory in fewer than 10 words, you could do a lot worse than that.

Banerjee is the CEO and founder of XiteBio Technologies Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company based in south Winnipeg, but before that, he was a researcher, scientist and professor at a number of institutions.

After earning a PhD in soil microbiology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Banerjee moved to Canada. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Saskatchewan, a research associate at the University of Manitoba and an adjunct professor at Western University (Ontario), publishing numerous papers and book chapters related to soil science.

The autism strategy gap is already here

In Winnipeg classrooms, the autism strategy gap is not theoretical. It is visible every day.

Archbishop urges Catholics to learn about Indigenous spirituality

Roman Catholics will benefit by taking time to learn more about Indigenous spirituality, the head of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg says.

Maritime historical groups earn UNESCO recognition for Black Loyalist archive

HALIFAX - Detailed ledgers, business receipts and church records from Black Loyalists in the 1780s and onward are more than just rich historical texts to Andrea Davis.

“This is a part of my history… it means so much to us as a community,” she said in an interview Saturday.

Davis is an eighth generation descendant of Black people who left the United States for Nova Scotia at the end of the American Revolution, siding with the British. The Black Loyalists were offered land, protection and freedom, but they were not given the rations, assistance or fertile land they were promised.

“My ancestors, they are a group of people that were not meant to survive, but they did. And so to be here to represent the Black Loyalists and my ancestors is extremely rewarding,” she said.

‘Fly WestJet, see a UFO’

The truth is out there — or at least it could be outside the cockpit of a WestJet flight.

In an incident reported by NAV Canada to Transport Canada on Friday, WestJet pilots had reported they had flown by “a basketball-sized object at 13,000 feet” during a flight from Winnipeg to Calgary on Jan. 19.

The pilots, of flight WJA485, were flying just northwest of Canmore at the time and descending to land in Calgary when the incident occurred.

NAV Canada has classified the incident, under occurrence event information, as a “weather balloon, meteor, rocket, CIRVIS/UFO.” CIRVIS stands for Communications Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings.

SiR’s upcoming season a case of all’s fair in love and war

A month before Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey invades cinemas worldwide, Shakespeare in the Ruins’ 2026 season will feature a solo version of The Iliad, giving audiences a crash course in Homer’s epic prequel just in time for a blockbuster summer.

With global conflict and the threats of unmitigated re-armament on his — and everyone’s — mind, artistic director Rodrigo Beilfuss says it only made sense for the outdoor theatre company to return to the Trojan War as a window into the everlasting human cost of international conflict.

Beilfuss, who joined SiR as artistic director in 2019, made a concerted effort throughout the company’s return from pandemic-induced hiatus to program gentler fare. But with last year’s well-received production of Macbeth, the company indicated it was ready to return to tragic terrain.

During a season backdropped by wildfire, the artistic director was reminded of the potential for the classics to cut through the smoke and reveal eternal truths as the world burns.

Finance minister’s budget preview focuses on little feet

Manitoba’s finance minister — who had bags of children’s shoes in tow — announced Friday that families and affordability measures would feature prominently in Tuesday’s budget.

Adrien Sala went to Linwood Child Centre, his children’s former daycare, to announce that 2,000 childcare spaces would open within the province.

Tuesday’s budget will also include a 2.9 per cent increase to wages paid to early childhood educators as of September.

“We’re looking to make sure that we invest in you guys, our next generation,” Sala said, steps from children at Linwood.

‘Give ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions’: province gets feedback on French plan

Hiring more bilingual employees for the province’s public service, providing more services in French and making the history of the Francophonie a part of school curriculum could help make Manitoba a “truly” bilingual province.

That was the consensus from a survey taken by Manitobans aimed at shaping the NDP government’s francophone strategy. The results of the survey, which polled 1,600 Manitobans, was released Friday with a timeline for the government’s planned strategy.

Asked what a “truly bilingual province” means to them, 50 per cent of respondents answered “services.”

Bilingualism in the classroom was the top priority among respondents, followed by bilingualism in the health-care and social services systems and government bilingualism.

More than 20 per cent of Manitobans think the U.S. could invade Canada in the next two years, poll conducted for the Free Press reveals

It has been more than two centuries since American troops crossed the international border in 1812 and invaded what was then the British colony of Canada — but that feeling of everlasting peace is fading.

Against the backdrop of the U.S. war with Iran, its forced removal of Venezuela’s president and President Donald Trump’s musing about annexing Greenland and making Canada the 51st state, some Manitobans are beginning to fear the spectre of armed conflict between this country and its neighbour to the south.

More than one out of five Manitobans believe an American invasion of Canada is possible in the next two years, according to a new Probe Research poll commissioned by the Free Press. Of those, 18 per cent of respondents said the prospect was somewhat likely, and four per cent felt it was very likely.

“The idea of the U.S. invading, for a long time, seemed preposterous. This certainly isn’t a question that we would’ve expected to ask people even a couple of years ago, but we wanted to understand with all of the things that have been happening in the last few months… if this is something that people think is a possibility,” said Curtis Brown, principal of Probe Research.

For vintage sewing-machine aficionado, it’s all about seeing them stitch again

Dave Johnson, a semi-retired snowplow operator who also worked as a homebuilder, collects, repairs and uses vintage sewing machines.

Winnipeg and ground squirrels

In a move shocking to many local animal lovers, the City of Winnipeg has opted to go ahead with its plan to kill ground squirrels at nine city parks and fields via methods that animal advocates say will cause prolonged pain and suffering.

Shopping bill is a good pre-emptive strike

On the face of it, it looks like a solution desperately hunting for a problem.

But that’s sometimes the way proactive legislation looks.

As first salvos go, Manitoba’s Bill 49 should probably be viewed not an effort not to deal with an imaginary problem, but one being put in place to ensure that the problem doesn’t arrive.

What the bill does is to add individual pricing to the province’s collection of improper business practices.

PUB locks in Hydro rate increases, warns more on way

Manitoba Hydro customers can expect further upward pressure in rates as the Public Utilities Board has finalized a four per cent general rate increase — effective Jan. 1, 2026 — and approved general revenue increases of 3.5 per cent Jan. 1, 2027, and three per cent Jan. 1, 2028.

The board noted short-term financial pressure due to severe drought conditions, according to a news release late Thursday.

In 2025, water flows approached the second-lowest levels in 112 years, the release said.

Between filing the application in March 2025 and oral hearings in November, Hydro’s outloook worsened by more than $600 million — from a projected net income of $218 million to a projected loss of $409 million, the board’s release said.