Mom spearheads fight for rehab services

Four years ago, a car crash permanently changed Will Castor’s life.

The 28-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury that required a long recovery as he worked to relearn skills many people take for granted, such as eating, speaking and getting out of bed.

A key part of that journey was First Steps Wellness Centre, a Winnipeg rehabilitation facility, where Will worked with therapists to regain independence and connect with others facing similar challenges.

But on June 5, financial constraints forced First Steps to close, leaving families without the specialized therapy they had come to rely on.

Pristine Roofing nears 30 years with focus on making difference

More than 25 years after the dramatic film Pay It Forward inspired moviegoers to engage in acts of goodwill, serial reciprocity is alive and well at Pristine Roofing and Siding.

Natural disasters, accidents or wear and tear can put a roof in rough shape, risking the overall well-being of a home. Since not everyone can afford the repairs needed to feel safe and secure in their own house, staff at the Winnipeg company decided to do something about it.

Last year, Pristine launched its “Pay It Forward Project.” Manitoba residents can nominate someone who’s fallen on hard times and is in dire need of a new roof. The company chooses one recipient annually and does the repair work for free.

“We’re always looking at ways that we can help our community out,” says Don Fata, sales manager, who, along with Ash Boyd, started Pristine in 1998.

Painter honed art of volunteering at Lower Fort Garry historic site

When visitors wandered around Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site in the summer of 2023, they encountered a rather unusual volunteer: artist JD Hawk at his easel, busily working on his live paintings.

Hawk engaged with visitors as he painted, encouraging them to come and ask questions about what he was working on.

The paintings he produced during his tenure were never intended for exhibition, however. They were rough drafts for him to reference later in the year when creating his final paintings.

“There’s no fine detail, they’re not masterpieces. I consider them like a scrapbook, exploring the colours I would need to use for my master paintings,” he explains, adding that when he wasn’t painting he would walk around taking photographs for further reference material.

If it works in Ontario, why not in Manitoba?

Grid-scale battery storage has fundamentally changed the global energy landscape — and Manitoba needs to get on board.

Battery systems store large amounts of excess electricity for when it’s most needed. While they can be charged from any generation source, they are especially beneficial for integrating wind and solar power, which vary with weather and time of day. Batteries allow electrical grids to meet the need for firm, dispatchable and affordable capacity using renewable energy, rather than relying on coal, nuclear and fossil gas. They also provide numerous other benefits, including reducing overloading of transmission infrastructure and helping to regulate the grid’s frequency and voltage.

Average costs for grid-scale batteries plummeted by more than half between 2023 and 2025 and installations have skyrocketed in China, the U.S., Australia and Europe. Texas now has 16,500 megawatts (MW) of battery storage, while California has 15,200 MW. Closer to home, Ontario recently awarded 640 MW of contracts to three battery storage projects in a competitive auction, with batteries beating out fossil gas-fired power plants on cost every time. One of these projects will be built near Dryden, only four hours east of Winnipeg.

Each battery system will provide eight hours of capacity but will cost considerably less than Ontario’s previous battery procurements, which provide only four hours of capacity. With this latest auction, Ontario has now secured 3,600 MW of battery storage capacity, including the operational Oneida (250 MW), Hagersville (300 MW) and Napanee (250 MW) projects. Almost all have significant Indigenous participation, with the latest procurements boasting 50 per cent First Nations ownership.

Quebec municipalities express interest in Samuel de Champlain statue from Ontario

Some Quebec municipalities and organizations are offering to take a controversial statue of Samuel de Champlain from an Ontario city in Simcoe County.

The nearly four-metre-tall bronze monument of the 17th century explorer and founder of Quebec City was removed from a park in Orillia, Ont., and placed in storage in 2017 following debate over its colonial imagery.

Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac said a wave of offers poured in after the city recently raised the possibility of melting the statue down.

“They say it's racist, it's not our history, it is an insult to Indigenous peoples,” McIsaac said in an interview about the controversy over the statue.

Canada’s Senate: A glimpse at the operations of the upper chamber

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney made his first appointments to the Senate on Tuesday, naming four new senators to the upper chamber. They include Carney's principal secretary Tom Pitfield and Conservative MP Richard Martel, who will both fill seats from Quebec.

He also announced he is dropping the non-partisan criteria for appointments to the upper chamber, and plans to rejig the independent appointments advisory committee established by former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Those were just some of the changes Trudeau made to the Senate, which had been dogged by accusations of cronyism and spending scandals.

Here's a look at the role the Senate plays, and how the Senate has changed in the last 10 years.

‘Not a fun time’: Quebec video game industry in limbo as studios cut back

MONTREAL - At 10:30 a.m. last Monday, about a dozen employees at Bethesda Game Studios in Montreal learned they would be laid off.

The group, part of a larger team of 120 at the Xbox-owned company, had been riding high with the ongoing success of action role-playing video game “Fallout 76” and another one called “The Elder Scrolls VI” in the works.

Instead, roughly 10 per cent of them were told via video conference by a director in Maryland they would be laid off in two months and locked out of company systems until then, said one worker who was present.

The Canadian Press is not naming the source because they were not authorized to speak publicly and feared it would harm their future job prospects. Xbox and Bethesda did not respond to questions on the layoffs.

Ottawa mum on joining legal case against Trump’s sanctioning of Canadian ICC judge

OTTAWA - Ottawa won't say whether it will intervene in support of a Winnipeg-born global judge who is asking a U.S. court to reverse sanctions ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, which have left her unable to use a credit card or most major online vendors.

Washington sanctioned International Criminal Court judge Kimberly Prost nearly a year ago, over her work on a case involving American troops in Afghanistan. Unlike France, Canada has never criticized that decision.

"We haven't said anything about that," said Sabine Nolke, a former senior Canadian diplomat whose career focused on international law.

"We do have fairly solid human rights credentials, but we can certainly stand (to be) speaking out more about them."

Tanmaxxing trend leaving gen Z cooked

Tanning isn’t new and, like every beauty norm, has seasons where it’s in and seasons where it’s out. But unlike their bronzed forebears, gen-Z tanfluencers know the risks of sun exposure.

Mayor’s flip-flop a welcome effect of campaign

Trees may not have a vote, but they are poised to become among the biggest winners from this fall’s municipal elections in Winnipeg.

At the start of the week, things didn’t look good for Winnipeg’s tree population. City staff issued a report recommending city council reduce the 2026 urban forest renewal program and divert the money to improvements to the Assiniboine Park Conservancy’s Journey to Churchill exhibition.

The recommendation was triggered by a directive from the provincial government to take the same sum of money out of a strategic infrastructure fund it provides to the city to support the conservancy exhibit. This left the city with a $1.2-million hole in its infrastructure program. Staff felt the money could come from the tree-planting budget.

Mayor Scott Gillingham — who is running for re-election this fall — initially endorsed the recommendation when it was put before the executive policy committee (which he chairs) earlier this week. Seventy-two hours later, however, Gillingham was having second thoughts.

Indigenous theatre founder Nova Courchene gets nod for prestigious prize

For her work as the founding artistic director of Oshkagoojin Indigenous Theatre for Youth, Winnipeg’s Nova Courchene has been named the recipient of one of Manitoba theatre’s highest honours for emerging arts leaders.

Since 2023, the Cherry Karpyshin Arts Management Prize has been given out by Prairie Theatre Exchange to early-career or aspiring arts managers. Named for PTE’s longtime general manager, for whom the company’s mainstage is also named, the Cherry Prize is accompanied by professional supports and a $2,500 cash award.

Meaning “new moon” in Anishinaabemowin, Oshkagoojin runs a variety of initiatives in Winnipeg, including the teen-focused Rising Voices, the middle years Growing Voices, and the early years Young Voices programs. Through storytelling, movement, narrative games and guided play, the Young Voices program introduces Indigenous children aged five through nine to the fundamentals of collaborative and co-operative theatre with a curriculum devised through a cultural lens.

“As I continue to grow Oshkagoojin Indigenous Theatre for Youth, I look forward to strengthening the organization’s capacity, sustainability, and national reach so that more Indigenous young people can access theatre, cultural learning, and artistic leadership opportunities in their own communities,” says Courchene in a release. “I believe that when Indigenous youth are empowered to tell their stories, entire communities benefit, and I am excited to continue building these pathways for future generations.

Stretching the limits of our flexibility

Most people think you’re either born bendy or you’re not. Some kids fold up like lawn chairs. The rest of us reach for our shins and call it a win.

Yes, like everything physical, there are genetic advantages, but your mobility is more in your control than you realize.

A recent Huberman Lab podcast episode on stretching laid it out. Flexibility isn’t only about your muscles. It’s about your nervous system.

Picture your body as an overprotective bouncer. When you hit the edge of a stretch, it’s not always your muscle saying, “this is as far as I go.” Sometimes it’s your nervous system saying, “I don’t trust you out here, pal.”

Sports gambling marketing during World Cup raises concerns about negative influence on susceptible audiences

It’s just a game. And in the case of the World Cup over the last few weeks, it’s a beautiful game — dozens of them, in fact.

Yet interspersed amongst the exciting broadcast play on the pitch, advertising for sports gambling has raised concerns fun and games may come at too high a cost for some.

A recent New York Times feature pointed to a bonanza for the gaming industry globally, with one analyst stating the flow of bets amounts to as many as 10 Super Bowls.

Billions are likely to be made by online gambling platforms from what has been called the biggest gambling event in history. The other side of that coin is billions of dollars will be lost by sports fans willing to wager on a game’s outcome.

Saison des feux: vigilance au rural

Dans un contexte d’incendies plus intenses ces dernières années, l’exemple de La Broquerie permet de mieux comprendre ce qui alimente les feux et comment y faire face.

“On est chanceux, cette année,” estime Rhéal Gagnon, nouvellement chef des pompiers de La Broquerie. Entré en fonction il y a tout juste un mois, il prend la tête du service en pleine saison des feux.

Pompier dans la municipalité depuis 34 ans, il considère cette nomination comme “un privilège” et une occasion de continuer à servir sa communauté. Comme francophone en contexte minoritaire, il y voit aussi un symbole : “Les francophones, on est quand même capable d’avoir des postes comme ça.”

À ce jour, la caserne a bien répondu à quelques feux, mais “rien de majeur.” Elle n’a pas non plus été appelée en renfort dans d’autres communautés. Il attribue ce répit momentané aux récentes pluies : “Cette année, c’est un peu plus humide que l’année passée, où l’été avait été très sec.” Si la saison demeure pour l’instant calme, les pompiers de La Broquerie restent cependant prêts à intervenir à tout moment.

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.

Book review: Spirit of live theatre captured in haunted festival venue

When is a book like a play, or a play like a book — or both? This is the underlying question posed by David Jón Fuller in his debut novel, Venue 13. Considering Fuller’s background as an editor and reviewer for this newspaper, and a longtime part of our city’s theatre community, who better to write a novel that takes place during the Summer Theatre Festival, known locally as Skeeter Fest? (This may sound familiar to any readers who have attended a Winnipeg festival known as the fringe.)

Venue 13 takes the reader behind the scenes of the festival — and not just the actors, directors and sound techs, but the venue owners who mount numerous shows with the hope of attracting large crowds to their BYOV (bring your own venue) location (to use the fringe parlance).

Robert Laliberte has bought an old building that he hopes to resurrect into an arts hub, complete with a fancy fusion restaurant run by his friend, the exotically named Ihor. Winnipeg, and the Exchange District in particular, are well-drawn in the novel, and you can have fun trying to guess which buildings Fuller is referencing.

The novel is a rogue’s gallery of theatre types: the controlling directors, the perfectionist producers, the sensitive actors and even the guy called in to fix the rotting foundation of the theatre.

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.

Homeless face even more peril in high heat after drug use crackdown, advocates say

Advocates say the recent police crackdown on open drug use on Winnipeg streets has driven members of the homeless community into the shadows and will put them at risk during the heatwave this week.

“That was a really ugly week and a half in the city’s history. The results have been devastating,” said Kate Sjoberg, executive director of Resource Assistance for Youth, who has been highly critical of the 10-day drug sweep in which more than 100 people were detained for drug use or trafficking.

She said the crackdown has made it harder for some homeless people to receive help because they’ve moved to less visible areas to avoid police.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for southern Manitoba that warns of intense heat that will last into next week. It’s expected to reach up to 45 degrees Celsius on Sunday, when the humidity is factored in.

Province has ‘serious concerns’ with Winnipeg personal care home

The Manitoba government has placed licensing conditions on a Winnipeg personal care home after an inspection uncovered “serious concerns” related to the safety of senior residents.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara confirmed the province issued the order against the Extendicare Heritage Lodge — an 86-bed nursing home at 3555 Portage Ave. — effective June 9.

“This is an important oversight tool, and it is not used lightly. Conditions are imposed when there are serious concerns that require enhanced oversight and clear, corrective action,” Asagwara said in a statement.

“Our expectation is simple: Extendicare must meet the standards Manitoba seniors and families deserve. We will continue working with the (Winnipeg Regional Health Authority) to monitor this facility closely and ensure the required improvements are made.”