Protein crests current appetite wave

Holiday feasts often reflect the latest fads and trends influencing how we eat.

This Thanksgiving’s table is likely to feature more Canadian content than it might otherwise as a point of national pride.

In the recent past, the carb-free craze has made cauliflower a substitute for the mashed potatoes on some family spreads. Some have gone meatless, while others have added more. Still others offer gluten-free, dairy-free or fat-free alternatives.

Nowadays, it seems consumers can’t get enough protein. Desmond Sobool, deputy chief economist Farm Credit Canada, told a recent economic update for the agri-food sector there are two converging influences in play.

Building new addition to bouldering community

If you can’t find your footing, try climbing.

It worked for David Kalmakoff. Now, almost 10 years after taking up the sport, he’s opened the Kal Climbing Gym, a bouldering facility in Winnipeg where climbers can practice their skills.

It’s not the first bouldering facility he’s owned, but it’s the first one the public can visit. When the entrepreneur purchased a two-bedroom house a few years ago, he turned the extra bedroom into a climbing space.

“It’s this tiny little wall that doesn’t look like anything at all, but it’s led to hours of enjoyment,” Kalmakoff said. “It’s kind of what sparked the idea that I could do the same thing on a scale that involves other people.”

Chopped trees will leave a ‘blight’ on Windsor Park

Robert Gordon has watched the trees grow along a popular Windsor Park walking path for nearly six decades.

Now, as Manitoba Hydro cuts them down to protect nearby power lines, he says a familiar part of his childhood neighbourhood is disappearing.

Although he no longer lives in the area, Gordon regularly returns to walk or cycle along the tree-lined path, which runs parallel to Archibald Street.

He was concerned when he recently spotted crews clearing vegetation near the entrance to the path, but initially assumed they were removing brush. When he returned, he discovered the clearing had extended farther along the corridor.

Indigenous offenders need a new path to justice

Indigenous peoples – and Indigenous men in particular – are incarcerated at a rate higher than any other group in Canada.

As Canada’s own Department of Justice reports from data last collected in 2024: “Indigenous adults make up roughly 4 per cent to 5 per cent of Canada’s general population, yet account for about 32 per cent to 33 per cent of federal custodial populations and a higher share in provincial and territorial facilities.”

According to Statistics Canada during the 2023-2024 year 2.6 per cent of all Indigenous adults in Canada were incarcerated (25,640 people) with that rate doubling for the total amount of Indigenous men (7.3 per cent).

And things are getting worse.

Landlords will face fines for breaching confidentiality

The province is amending legislation to allow landlords to be penalized if they breach the confidentiality of tenants who break their lease by obtaining a domestic violence certificate.

“Hopefully, now there’s going to be measures in place so that if this happens again, and God forbid it happens again to anyone else, that there would be penalties imposed on landlords who do that,” said one victim whose concerns were published on the front page of the Free Press last month.

Under current legislation, landlords must ensure that any information received from those tenants regarding the termination of the tenancy is kept confidential, but there are no penalties for landlords who violate that section of the act. After hearing from victims put at risk when landlords broke the law by violating their confidentiality, the government announced Monday that it is amending the Residential Tenancies Act to allow for penalties.

The young woman who spoke to the Free Press showed that her landlord copied her alleged abuser in email correspondence that included her personal email address and the domestic violence certificate she obtained in 2025 to end a tenancy agreement early and leave an abusive relationship.

Special House committee votes to push forward major projects bill

OTTAWA - A special House of Commons committee created to study the Liberals' new economic bill agreed Friday to limit the period it can receive submissions and hear from witnesses.

Members of Parliament passed a motion to begin clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-39 in mid-November. The House is set to sit until mid-December.

The committee agreed to invite Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc to appear before the committee.

It also agreed to issue a press release asking interested stakeholders to submit briefs to the committee by Oct. 26.

Alberta Court of Appeal says Ottawa’s Impact Assessment Act is still unconstitutional

OTTAWA - The Alberta Court of Appeal has ruled the federal government's Impact Assessment Act is still unconstitutional, following a second court challenge of the federal legislation.

The act was first passed by the Liberals under former prime minister Justin Trudeau to set out a process to review the environmental, economic, health and social effects of proposed projects like ports, mines and pipelines.

In a 4-1 decision issued Friday, the court said even though Ottawa modified the law after the Supreme Court struck down much of it in 2023, the new version still infringes on provincial jurisdiction.

The Court of Appeal found that, among other things, the act still gives Ottawa the power to stop a project in provincial jurisdiction if it has even the smallest impact on federal jurisdiction.

Top court sets sentencing framework for cases involving Indigenous offenders, victims

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada says in cases where an Indigenous offender commits an offence against an intimate partner who is an Indigenous woman, a judge must apply sentencing principles related to both Indigenous offenders and victims of crime in a harmonious way.

In a 5-4 judgment Friday, the top court provided guidance and set out a new framework for determining an appropriate sentence in such cases.

The court said Indigenous people are disproportionately and excessively imprisoned, while Indigenous women and girls suffer from unacceptably high levels of violence and abuse.

"Both of these pressing issues have been shaped by the experiences of colonization, and addressing them together is central to the ongoing process of reconciliation," Justice Michelle O'Bonsawin wrote on behalf of the majority.

Alzheimer’s has sent my mother back in time

My mother does a lot of time-travelling — time-shifting, the Alzheimer’s Society calls it.

Manitoba Federation of Labour calls for independent review of Workers Compensation Board

A major labour association is calling for an independent Workers Compensation Board review as Manitoba leads the country in workplace injury rates.

Last year, 2.5 employees in every 100 reported a workplace injury serious enough to take time off, WCB tracking shows. The number is higher than any other province — just as it has been for the past three years, according to the Manitoba Federation of Labour.

(In 2025, the next highest time loss injury rate was in British Columbia: 2.04 people for every 100.)

“Our prevention work in Manitoba is failing Manitobans,” said Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour. “We need an independent review to help shine a light on, ‘What is happening on the prevention front of WCB?’”

Manitoba tourism reached new heights in 2025

Despite a devastating wildfire season, tourism in Manitoba hit record highs in 2025.

Taste of home: Winnipeg transplant shares Singaporean flavours at pop-ups

Anyone who lives far away from the place they consider home will tell you that while you can adapt to life in a new country, a new work culture and a completely unfamiliar climate, there’s one thing that will remain stubbornly non-negotiable: the appetite.

For Malvin Soh, 49, like so many whose lives straddle two worlds, food is a gateway to childhood memories, culture and heritage.

Originally from Singapore, Soh and his family moved to Canada in 2014 and settled in Winnipeg.

The urban designer began cooking familiar favourites to combat his own cravings when studying and working in Australia, where he lived for nearly 10 years.

Alberta separatists see an ally in Quebec premier-designate St-Pierre Plamondon

EDMONTON - Leading figures in the push for Alberta separation are celebrating the election of Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

Jeff Rath said Tuesday that St-Pierre Plamondon's election victory could change the political dynamic of Canada, especially since the premier-designate has already shown willingness to support Alberta's separatist movement.

"For the first time in Canadian history we have a government in Quebec that supports Alberta independence," Rath said in an interview.

"That's huge."

Justice minister to announce next steps for MAID in Canada

Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the government is nearly ready to reveal its long-awaited decision on the next steps for medical assistance in dying in Canada, which is expected to address whether the procedure will be available to people who solely suffer from mental illness.

A press release from the Justice Department said the announcement will be made with Health Minister Marjorie Michel in Ottawa on Wednesday at noon.

It will be the first time the federal government communicates the direction it plans to take on MAID in the wake of a parliamentary committee recommending in June that it should "indefinitely pause" an expansion of the end of life procedure to people with mental disorders.

Fraser said he will be putting the "final touches on the path forward" over the next 24 hours, and that his office solicited a variety of views in the wake of the report's release.

Older Canadians less confident in their retirement finances: BlackRock survey

A new survey from BlackRock finds that Canadians who are closer to retirement age appear to be less confident about their plans compared with younger people.

“Canadians have made meaningful progress building retirement savings, but saving is only part of the equation,” said Nick Nefouse, global head of retirement solutions at BlackRock, in a news release Tuesday.

"As people move through different stages of life, they face different retirement challenges, from balancing competing priorities early in their careers to making decisions about income, spending and risk later on."

The survey finds that 70 per cent of generation Z respondents indicated they are on track for their retirement, compared with only 51 per cent of gen X respondents, "showing signs that confidence is shifting as retirement gets closer."

PQ leader says referendum isn’t immediate priority after his party’s election victory

QUÉBEC - Quebec's premier-designate says a referendum on sovereignty is not among his immediate priorities as he focuses instead on homelessness, government spending and attempting to sever the province's ties to the monarchy as his first acts in office.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon outlined his plans on Tuesday, one day after Quebecers chose to hand his party a minority government in the provincial legislature.

He has promised to call an independence referendum in his first term in government, but not until after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office in 2029.

"We’ve got time and we’ve got plenty of urgencies and problems to solve," he said. "I think the upcoming months will be more about topics I mentioned, things that are urgent."

Amazon in the weeds over damage to tall grass reserve

Patricia Dutchak was devastated when she first saw the wide swaths of crushed grass and upturned soil at Winnipeg’s Rotary Prairie Nature Park, a municipal heritage site.

“This is a very rare ecosystem, a remnant of tall grass prairie, there’s barely any left in the world, and to come here and see all this damage was heartbreaking,” Dutchak, chair of the Transcona Rotary Club’s parks committee, says.

The club is responsible for maintaining the protected green space, which was significantly damaged this summer when a fence between the park and the neighbouring Amazon distribution centre was relocated.

The 20-acre nature preserve is situated on a narrow tract of land on Regent Avenue West in the commercial heart of Transcona. The park received its municipal heritage designation in 1992 and is, today, surrounded by high-traffic streets, industrial warehouses and car dealerships.

Business leaders want capital gains deferral to keep money in Canadian firms

TORONTO - Canadian business leaders are calling on the federal government to reform tax policies in hopes of bolstering investments in domestic firms.

More than 150 investors and executives signed a letter sent to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Tuesday, asking him to consider two policies they claim will bolster entrepreneurship in Canada.

The first encourages the country to adopt a program akin to the U.S. qualified small business stock incentive, which allows capital gains from qualified small business stocks to be excluded from federal tax.

The second proposes allowing more entrepreneurs and investors to defer paying some capital gains taxes when proceeds from some domestic business transactions are reinvested in another homegrown venture.