Province accuses mining company of negligence in Lynn Lake wildfire

Manitoba Conservation investigators believe a massive wildfire that prompted an evacuation of Lynn Lake started at the nearby Alamos Gold Inc. mining site, accusing the company of negligence because it did not use water to extinguish burn piles.

The allegations are outlined in court documents filed by a sergeant working for the conservation service. They stem from an investigation into the wildfire, which is said to have started May 7 after a burn pile reignited at the Toronto-based gold producer’s MacLellan mine site, located about 7.5 kilometres northeast of Lynn Lake.

The blaze burned more than 85,000 hectares and got to within five kilometres of Lynn Lake later that month. The community, home to nearly 600 residents and located about 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was evacuated and dozens of properties were destroyed.

“The investigation showed that Alamos Gold Inc. was negligent in ensuring that the fires that occurred on May 7, 2025, from burn piles on the MacLellan Mine site set on earlier dates were properly extinguished,” allege the documents, obtained by the Free Press.

Bus overhaul leaves gaps in service to Grace Hospital, Assiniboine clinic

Some St. James residents are up in arms after a shift in bus routes cut evening and weekend stops in front of Grace Hospital and nearby Assiniboine Medical Clinic.

As part of the city’s recent Transit overhaul, there are now three feeder routes that stop directly in front of the Booth Drive hospital and within a block of the Lodge Avenue clinic. But they don’t run on weekends and stop in the early evening on weekdays, leaving an unacceptable gap in service, said St. James Coun. Shawn Dobson.

“I can’t fathom you walking in the rain or the cold, all that distance from Portage Avenue up to the hospital, it makes no sense,” he said Monday.

"A frequent express route, the FX3, stops at the nearby Sturgeon Road into the night all week, it’s too far of a walk for seniors and people with medically complex needs, and will only get more difficult for everyone in winter," Dobson said.

New documentary revisits Lilith Fair, gives it the overdue kudos it deserves

In the opening moments of Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, a new documentary about the pioneering all-women touring festival co-founded by Canadian icon Sarah McLachlan in the late 1990s, there’s a series of TikTok videos fronted by gen Z women expressing wonder and astonishment that something like that ever even existed.

“There was an all-female music festival from 1997 to 1999 — and I am shook to my core,” one woman says.

Ally Pankiw, the film’s director, is not surprised younger generations have never heard of Lilith Fair.

“It was not celebrated for how massive it was,” says the Canadian film/TV writer and director (Feel Good, Shrill). “It was so commercially successful. It changed so many artists’ trajectories and careers. It raised so much money for charity.

Researchers solve decades-old color mystery in iconic Jackson Pollock painting

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have identified the origins of the blue color in one of Jackson Pollock's paintings with a little help from chemistry, confirming for the first time that the abstract expressionist used a vibrant, synthetic pigment known as manganese blue.

“Number 1A, 1948,” showcases Pollock's classic style: paint has been dripped and splattered across the canvas, creating a vivid, multicolored work. Pollock even gave the piece a personal touch, adding his handprints near the top.

The painting, currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is almost 9 feet (2.7 meters) wide. Scientists had previously characterized the reds and yellows splattered across the canvas, but the source of the rich turquoise blue proved elusive.

In a new study, researchers took scrapings of the blue paint and used lasers to scatter light and measure how the paint's molecules vibrated. That gave them a unique chemical fingerprint for the color, which they pinpointed as manganese blue.

Family mourns couple struck on side of Kenaston, man charged with impaired driving

A man with a prior conviction for drunk driving is accused of being impaired while behind the wheel in a high-speed collision that killed two people on Kenaston Boulevard Saturday night.

Winnipeg Police Service traffic officers were called to the vicinity of Kenaston and Enterprise Drive around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, where they found a 31-year-old man dead and a 25-year-old woman seriously injured, police spokesman Const. Pat Saydak said Monday.

“Two people are dead because of an impaired driver,” said Saydak.

Paramedics rushed the woman to hospital, in critical condition, but she later died.

‘Prolific shoplifter’ facing nearly 40 charges in spree that began in March

A 44-year-old man, described by police as a “prolific shoplifter,” is in custody after investigators identified him as a suspect in multiple thefts and robberies dating back to March.

The man is accused of stealing in at least eight incidents that began March 21, resulting in dozens of charges. The total value of stolen goods is estimated at $3,000, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Monday.

The spree ended in a pursuit just before 10:30 a.m. Saturday, when officers patrolling on the 800 block of Main Street spotted the man on a bicycle, and he tried to flee, the release said. He was arrested after a chase.

Police said $700 in store merchandise was seized.

Kinew’s tolerance for Fontaine’s antics could set dangerous precedent for others in cabinet

What exactly does someone have to do to get fired from Premier Wab Kinew’s cabinet?

That question was left hanging in the air following the latest missteps by Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine, who drew a rebuke from Kinew and public criticism for sharing a social media post criticizing far-right activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination in Utah last week.

Kinew said he spoke directly with Fontaine and asked her to apologize. For now, she will remain in cabinet.

“It would be too easy to show her the door,” Kinew said. “It is a much harder task to say we’re going to work through this together and I am going to try to help you understand why we need to bring people together and not divide people at this time.”

Rogers wins gold, sets Canadian record in hammer throw at world championships

TOKYO - Camryn Rogers set the tone early in the women's hammer throw at the world athletics championships Monday with an impressive opening toss of 78.09 metres.

Good enough for a world title. Not good enough for Rogers.

The 26-year-old from Richmond, B.C., put the competition out of reach with her second throw of 80.51 metres to claim her second straight world championship gold medal in dominant fashion.

Rogers's winning throw broke her own Canadian record and is the second longest ever behind the world record of 82.98 set by Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk in 2016. Rogers's previous personal best was 78.88 metres.

New St. B ER great, but where are all the doctors to staff it?

When governments announce a major hospital expansion, it’s usually billed as a silver bullet solution to long wait times and overcrowding.

The latest example is St. Boniface Hospital’s newly expanded and renovated emergency department, expected to open officially on Oct. 2. (It was supposed to open next week, but there’s been a delay).

On paper, it looks impressive: more treatment spaces, updated facilities, a modern design intended to improve patient experience.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the facelift won’t do much — if anything — to cut ER wait times. If history is any guide, the experience for patients at St. Boniface will look remarkably similar to what it’s been for years — hours-long waits, gurneys lined up in hallways and admitted patients languishing in the emergency department because there’s no staffed hospital bed to move them into.

‘Doggie dates’ give four-legged friends a break from shelter life

Whenever Kendra Drever has a day off or free time before class, she likes to go on a “doggie date.”

The 30-year-old Red River College Polytech student volunteers at the City of Winnipeg’s Animal Services Agency, which allows members of the public to take dogs who are up for adoption out for a walk in the community to get a break from the confines of the shelter.

“I love just getting to meet the dogs, seeing all their different personalities, taking them out and giving them new experiences and getting to relay some new information to the shelter,” Drever says.

Volunteers keep an eye on the dog’s behaviour during the dates, to give shelter staff intel that could be key to placing the dog in the right home, such as whether the animal is obedient while on a leash.

‘As we grow, our roots only grow deeper’: Red River Mutual insurance company celebrates 150 years

If Red River Mutual was an ice cream flavour, it would be rhubarb.

Scratch that. Red River Mutual has an ice cream flavour — and it is rhubarb.

Earlier this year, the mutual insurance company — which is headquartered in Altona and has a regional office in Winnipeg — partnered with Chaeban Ice Cream to create a special, limited edition flavour. Red River Mutual Rhubarb includes fresh pieces of the titular vegetable along with crisp clusters made using rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, butter and almonds.

The collaboration is part of Red River Mutual’s ongoing 150th anniversary celebrations, and the rhubarb is a nod to the company’s roots in southern Manitoba’s Pembina Valley.

Liberals, Conservatives talk co-operation but trade jabs as Parliament returns

OTTAWA - After talking up the prospect of cross-party collaboration in the House of Commons, Liberal and Conservative MPs wasted little time after Parliament resumed Monday before reverting to partisan attacks over housing and the cost of living.

The tone was set early Monday afternoon, when the first-ever question period exchange between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre began cordially before turning belligerent.

"When I left, there was a Liberal prime minister who was making excuses about breaking promises, running massive deficits. Costs, crime, chaos were all out of control," Poilievre said. "Whereas today... we have a Liberal prime minister breaking promises, making excuses, running massive deficits with costs, crime and chaos out of control."

"I understand the leader of the opposition was busy," Carney said in reply — a reference to the Conservative leader losing his seat in the general election before securing another in an Alberta byelection.

Letting the Millennium Library be what it can be

After yet another underwhelming response to a tragic incident, it’s fair to ask whether the City of Winnipeg wants to keep the Millennium Library open.

One man killed himself by jumping over the railing of the fourth floor of the Millennium Library — a railing that overlooks a spectacular glass wall and atrium that runs all the way to the main level — and another attempted a similar act of self harm. The city responded by installing foreboding metal construction fencing near the railings.

The city says the fencing is only a temporary measure until a more permanent safety solution can be found.

However, based on the fact the city has failed miserably to deliver meaningful safety upgrades at Millennium, one has to wonder whether that solution will ever come.

Winnipeg Catholics can pay tribute to ‘saint in sneakers’

WHEN Carlo Acutis was made a saint by Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 7, John Paul Marable was very excited.

“We need him more than ever,” Marable said of the Roman Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.

“He’s an example of who we are called to be,” added the third-year education student at the University of Manitoba. “His same desire for the Eucharist and for Christ can live in all of us.”

Marable, a member of the St. Alphonsus parish in East Kildonan, is also excited for another reason; from Sept. 17-29, he will join other Catholics in the province in seeing and venerating a relic of the newly canonized saint who loved playing video games and going to mass.

Qatar and Poland — one is the bigger story

I’ll get to the Russian drones shot down over Poland, but I’ll start with the Israeli air strikes on Qatar, because that’s a much bigger deal.

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg set Emmy record with comedy wins for ‘The Studio’

After making a career of playing lovable underachievers, Seth Rogen is officially an overachiever: his show "The Studio" set a new Emmy record for the most wins by a comedy, racking up top prizes including best series.

The Vancouver comedian and his longtime collaborator Evan Goldberg dominated the comedy categories at Sunday's awards bash, when they also collected directing and writing trophies for their Apple TV Plus cringe comedy.

“It's getting embarrassing. I really appreciate it, in all honesty,” Rogen said with his trademark chuckle while accepting the best comedy series award.

“I’ll do my best attempt at sincerity here – if you watched our show, if you appreciated our show, if you voted for our show, especially, thank you very much. I'm legitimately embarrassed by how happy this makes me.”

Manitobans raise more than $81,000 for cancer research at Terry Fox Run

Hundreds of runners, walkers and cyclists flooded Assiniboine Park Sunday to remember Terry Fox’s legacy and honour their own loved ones affected by cancer.

The 45th annual Terry Fox Run kicked off by the park pavilion at 10 a.m. Sunday. Manitoba donors raised more than $81,000 for cancer research this year.

Families old and young took to the 2.5-kilometre route all morning, some with shirts bearing Fox’s iconic visage, others carrying signs and mementos of the people they were running for.

Some came in recognition of someone currently battling cancer, like Jason Wells, who ran for his father.

First Anishinaabe woman Bar Association president prioritizes mentorship, protecting the rule of law

In 1991, when Stacey Soldier was just 15 years old, Manitoba marked a watershed moment. After three years of hearings, the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry released its final report, a searing reckoning with how the province’s police and justice system had failed Indigenous people.

At home in Thompson, Soldier watched news of the inquiry unfold on TV. (“We were only allowed to watch the news in our house,” she says with a laugh.) The Anishinaabe teen was inspired to see an Indigenous judge, then-Justice Murray Sinclair, co-presiding over the proceedings, and was transfixed by the findings.

It felt “thrilling for justice,” she recalls. But it was also a stark lesson in the challenges her people faced to obtain it.

“One thing that the AJI made clear is that this is a system that wasn’t designed to help Indigenous communities and people in any way,” she says, chatting at her law firm Cochrane Sinclair’s Exchange District offices last week.

Manitoba cabinet briefing on landfill search for murder victims not being released

WINNIPEG - A report that could shed more light on why Manitoba's former Progressive Conservative government rejected calls to search a landfill for the remains of two murder victims is being withheld under the province's freedom of information law.

Records obtained by The Canadian Press show senior bureaucrats assembled a presentation for cabinet ministers on a potential search in the weeks before the government decided not to proceed with the idea in 2023.

The contents of that presentation — a 13-page digital slide deck that would reveal for the first time what civil servants told politicians — are not being released under Manitoba's freedom of information law, which one expert says is among the most secretive in the country.

Families of the victims and Indigenous leaders had called on the government of the time to search the Prairie Green landfill, a private operation north of Winnipeg, for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran.

Blame game after acts of political violence can lead to further attacks, experts warn

DENVER (AP) — From the moment conservative activist and icon Charlie Kirk was felled by an assassin’s bullet, partisans began fighting over which side was to blame. President Donald Trump became the most prominent to do so, tying the attack to “the radical left” before a suspect was even identified.

It was part of a new, grim tradition in a polarized country — trying to pin immediate responsibility for an act of public violence on one of two political sides. As the nation reels from a wave of physical attacks against both Republicans and Democrats, experts warn that the rush to blame sometimes ambiguous and irrational acts on political movements could lead to more conflict.

“What you’re seeing now is exactly how the spiral of violence occurs,” said Robert Pape, a political scientist and director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats at the University of Chicago.

On Friday, authorities announced they had arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Washington, Utah, in the shooting. While a registered voter, he was not affiliated with any party and had not voted in the last two general elections. Even so, officials said Robinson had recently grown more political and expressed negative views about Kirk.