Downtown crackdown necessary

It has stirred controversy and been met with loudly voiced objections from some interested parties, but this much can be said about the recent police crackdown on open drug use and trafficking in Winnipeg’s downtown core: Doing nothing was not an acceptable option.

Citizenship ceremony at The Forks welcomes 23 new Canadians on Canada Day

The sun peaked out of the clouds just before noon, shining down on The Forks just as the site’s Canada Day festivities were getting underway. The timing could not have been better: the sunbeams arrived just as Citizenship Court Judge Suzanne Carrière spoke from the CN Stage, and uttered the words that 23 people from 12 countries had waited years to hear.

“You are Canadian.”

In the seats facing the stage, Nathan Poole beamed. Originally from Saint Paul, Minn., he came to Winnipeg in 2000 to study music at the University of Manitoba. Manitoba soon became home, and he eventually met his husband, Brandon, here.

“I had to become Canadian, obviously,” he laughed. “You get married to a Canadian, you have to become a Canadian.”

U.S. not renewing trade agreement with Canada and Mexico in ‘current form’

WASHINGTON - The United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says the U.S. is not renewing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement "in its current form" — but the trade agreement will remain in place as negotiations continue.

"The United States will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the Agreement’s shortcomings and our trade deficits with these countries," Greer said in a statement Wednesday.

"However, the Agreement remains in force pending resolution of these issues or until the Agreement’s termination."

This decision triggers a rolling annual review for up to a decade, at which point it will expire if an extension isn't agreed upon.

MTS petition on residential school denialism garners 2,500 signatures

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society is petitioning Ottawa to make it illegal to deny, downplay or justify the harms of residential schools.

Its e-petition — formally known as “e-7191” on the House of Commons website — will close mid-morning Thursday, after a 120-day campaign to collect signatures in support of updating the Criminal Code.

“We won’t tolerate the denialism or the distortion of history,” said Lillian Klausen, who represents 17,000 public school teachers across the province.

The union leader said listening to the voices that have long been excluded from history textbooks “is part of trying to reconcile.”

Homeless adapt to city’s ban by packing up tent each morning, committee told

A new trend has emerged on Winnipeg’s homeless front.

Outreach workers say they’ve noticed an increase in the number of temporary structures set up overnight and taken down by morning.

The city’s community services committee was told Tuesday that’s likely a way to circumvent the city’s clampdown on tents near parks and school properties, among other sites, that was instituted in November 2025.

Chris Brens, the city’s manager of community development, updated the committee about the homeless status.

Harvard professor with polarizing alien theories is picked to lead Trump administration UFO council

WASHINGTON (AP) — A polarizing Harvard astronomer known for splashy theories about alien visits has been tapped by the Trump administration to lead a team of outside scientists to study the national security risks posed by UFOs.

Avi Loeb, a cosmologist who studied black holes and served as head of Harvard’s astronomy department until 2020, was recently appointed to helm a new scientific advisory council tasked with investigating the origins of mysterious orbs and other objects reported by military personnel in recent years.

Loeb’s team will report to a new panel focused on UFOs, now often referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP. The panel was established by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It’s part of the push announced by President Donald Trump in February to declassify more information about the issue.

“It’s like a detective story,” Loeb said in an interview. “It’s a lot of fun, as long as you don’t pay too much attention to the critics.”

Do online influencer posts count as news? Younger Canadians more likely to say yes

OTTAWA - Younger Canadians are more likely to say posts from influencers and online memes count as news, while the amount of news content on social media has dropped, a new report says.

"News organizations have long acted as information gatekeepers, determining which information reaches the public," says the report from McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, released Tuesday.

"However, Canadians are now exposed to a wide variety of content producers, from influencers to citizen journalists, memes, and AI-generated posts, blurring the boundaries of what counts as ‘news’ and making perceptions of newsworthiness increasingly subjective."

Respondents were asked to rate different types of content that described a major political event on a scale from "definitely not news" (zero points) to "definitely news" (10 points).

CRTC launches review into whether Big Three violated new ban on administrative fees

Canada's telecommunications regulator is launching a review to determine if the Big Three providers have violated its new rules banning so-called junk fees.

The CRTC announced the consultation Tuesday, saying it will require Bell Canada, Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. to demonstrate their fees do not contravene its policy.

The new regulations came into effect June 12 prohibiting activation, modification and cancellation fees in a bid to make it easier for customers to switch internet and cellphone plans without having to worry about unexpected costs.

If the commission determines the companies have violated the rules, they could face monetary penalties of up to $10 million while relevant managers could be penalized up to $25,000. The regulator could also order the providers to comply with the policy within 60 days.

Safe sport policies make a difference

Times have changed for the better. It is now expected that sports organizations will incorporate impartiality and objectivity into investigations of allegations of misconduct and maltreatment of their athletes. The sine qua non of such investigations has been that an independent third party (ITP) must investigate these complaints.

The historical handling of maltreatment complaints has drawn significant scrutiny and criticism, most recently related to Hockey Canada’s handling of sexual assault allegations dating back to 2018 and 2003. As a result of these concerns, Hockey Canada went through a restructuring in 2022, adopting the ITP system and a national-level complaints system tied to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC).

Also in 2022, under Manitoba’s newly enacted Protecting Youth in Sports Act, all provincial sports organizations were mandated to adopt and implement the Sport Manitoba Safe Sport policy manual. For anyone in Manitoba who plays a provincial sport, the Safe Sport policy manual is well worth reading.

It lays out an extensive code of conduct and ethics policy as well as a discipline and complaints policy. The code of conduct references Sport Integrity Canada’s universal code of conduct and, as such, outlines what constitutes psychological and physical maltreatment, neglect, sexual maltreatment, grooming, boundary transgressions, discrimination and other forms of maltreatment.

A passenger jet reported hitting a drone approaching NY. A helicopter had a near miss hours later

A passenger jet reported striking a drone while approaching JFK International Airport on Monday, and just hours later, a helicopter pilot alerted a close call with a remote-control airplane near the same airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the first incident that happened as a JetBlue plane passed through 3,000 feet (914 meters) Monday morning whit it was crossing the coastline. The plane landed safely in New York without any additional help, and no damage was found when the plane was inspected afterwards.

“We collided with a drone back there in the turn,” the pilot told an air traffic controller, according to ATC.com. “It hit us right above the cockpit.”

The airline said all the passengers deplaned normally, and then the plane was removed from service so it could be inspected. JetBlue said the airline “found no damage or evidence of a collision.” The Airbus A321 plane was flying overnight into New York from Las Vegas.

City report recommends Red River Ex manage John Blumberg Sports Complex

The Red River Exhibition Association is poised to take over management of the John Blumberg Sports Complex under a proposed long-term lease that would pave the way for millions of dollars in upgrades to the aging facility.

A report headed to the city’s property and development committee next month recommends approving a 50-year lease with the non-profit, along with the option of three additional 10-year renewal terms.

The report says the proposed lease preserves greenspace, provides outdoor recreation opportunities for residents and supports the development of a modern sports complex.

“The proposed sports complex is expected to attract local, regional, and national sporting events, generating economic activity, increasing tourism and creating additional revenue opportunities for both the facility and the broader community.”

Longtime St. Vital councillor cites difficulty working with mayor among reasons he won’t seek re-election

St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes will not run to keep his city hall seat after nearly 15 years in the role, opting to seek a school trustee position instead.

During an emotional news conference at St. Vital Park Monday, the councillor announced he’s decided to leave city hall.

“This has been a dream job in many ways and a very difficult final term,” he said, his voice at times breaking with emotion.

Mayes said his key accomplishments included securing $11 million of improvements at St. Vital Park and helping expedite the city’s target date — from the 2090s to 2045 — to complete a master plan to reduce combined sewer overflows.

Alberta separatists gain partial court win, referendum petition to be verified

EDMONTON - The group behind a petition for a separation referendum in Alberta has won a partial victory in court.

An Alberta Court of Appeal judge ruled on Monday that the signatures on the petition can be counted and verified and that the results can be shared publicly.

Justice Alice Woolley, in a written decision, said not verifying the signatures now could create more problems later on should things change with larger issues that have yet to be decided in court.

"People who signed the petition may move or die. They may change addresses or phone numbers. Trust and confidence in the security and integrity of the collected sheets will begin to erode (if they're not verified now),” Woolley wrote.

Extra police cruiser to patrol city streets

The Winnipeg Police Service’s minimum number of cruiser cars per shift is increasing today for the first time in decades.

A two-officer general patrol vehicle is being added to each shift in west district — the largest of the city’s four districts — where significant neighbourhood expansion and population growth have occurred.

“West district was the obvious choice (for an additional cruiser), just based on our call volume and the sheer extent of our having to get to the calls for service,” district commander Insp. Max Waddell said.

“Adding one more is definitely going to assist us in managing our calls for service.”

Indigenous artifacts also deserve legal protection

The trafficking of items of civilizational, cultural and historical significance is a global issue.

Wonders of science never cease

Scientific study, however specialized, can bring a huge variety of benefits — sometimes, from something as simple (and occasionally irritating) as a ground squirrel.

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.

Israel moves to formally recognize Armenian WWI deaths as a genocide

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s Cabinet unanimously approved a proposal on Sunday to designate violence against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as a genocide.

The step, which still needs approval in Parliament, reflects deteriorating ties between Israel and Turkey. Turkey has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries from officially recognizing the mass deaths of Armenians around 1915 as a genocide, even as Armenians have pushed for it.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

For years, Israel never officially broached the subject for fear of angering Turkey, but that relationship has soured over the past two decades, especially as the most recent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran have dragged on.