Ottawa pumps the brakes on proposed changes to major project environmental reviews

OTTAWA - The federal government is pumping the brakes on its proposed changes to how major projects are reviewed, and says it won't table legislation on the changes until the fall.

Last month Ottawa released two discussion papers which proposed, among other things, approving major projects before they’re reviewed and exempting certain projects from laws meant to protect species at risk.

It also proposed taking the responsibility for reviewing pipelines, transmission lines and offshore renewable energy projects away from the Impact Assessment Agency and handing it to the Canada Energy Regulator.

The federal government has said it has been told by industry that the level of expertise on energy projects that lived at the Canada Energy Regulator couldn’t be found at the Impact Assessment Agency.

Creative industry slams government on move to dismantle CanCon obligations for streamers

TORONTO - Groups representing writers and filmmakers are criticizing the government's move to dismantle Canadian content obligations for U.S.-based streamers.

The Directors Guild of Canada, ACTRA and the Canadian Media Producers Association issued statements saying the government is cowering to pressure from Big Tech, and that it risks creating "long-term uncertainty" for the Canadian film and TV industry.

On Wednesday, Culture Minister Marc Miller announced that Ottawa is asking the broadcast regulator to review a recent order that would require foreign streamers to invest 15 per cent of their revenues in Canada into Canadian programming.

Miller also said that the entire broadcasting framework needs a rethink, and that the government will invest $600 million into the audio and audiovisual sector annually in the meantime.

Teaching, learning are unrealistic expectations in intolerably hot classrooms

There is something fundamentally wrong with a province that can find room for tax cuts yet still sends thousands of children and teachers into classrooms that feel more like saunas than places of learning.

AP exclusive: Iran players describe how the war affects their World Cup preparations

ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — Iran is heading to the World Cup while the country is at war with the primary host nation, a situation that is unique in the tournament’s history.

In exclusive interviews with The Associated Press during a team camp in Turkey, two members of Iran’s squad described how the conflict is affecting its World Cup preparations.

“Well, to be honest, it’s not easy,” said Saeid Ezatolahi, a 29-year-old midfielder who also played for Iran in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

“That’s going to be my third World Cup. So for me and some of the other players, it might be easier to manage these kind of things,” he said in English on the sidelines of a training session on Wednesday. “But at the end ... it is going to be difficult for us because at the same time, we are following the news in our country and the political things, of course, can affect the mind of the players and the people."

New $2.3B federal AI strategy looks to close ‘adoption gap,’ build public trust

OTTAWA - Ottawa wants to increase Canadians' use of artificial intelligence — and it plans to do so through free AI training and legislation to tackle concerns like surveillance pricing and chatbot safety.

Announcing the government's new AI strategy in Toronto on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said "globally, Canada ranks near the bottom of countries in AI training, in literacy and trust."

The long-awaited AI strategy says Canada has "a major adoption gap." It says closing the gap in training and literacy "is the foundation on which everything else depends."

A new literacy initiative will offer entry-level AI training to all Canadians and the government will ensure "all post-secondary students have access to trusted AI agents," the document says.

Brazilian players from a Rio de Janeiro favela find hope and opportunities thanks to soccer

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When Brazilian João Victor Gonçalves began playing soccer in one of Rio de Janeiro ’s poorest and most violent favelas, little did he know the game would one day allow him to travel abroad and play in an international competition.

Last month, along with nine other young boys, he flew to Mexico to represent Brazil in the Street Child World Cup, a tournament with teams from 30 countries composed of boys from impoverished backgrounds, organized ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup.

“I never could have imagined that one day this would happen, that I would represent my country, doing what I most love — playing soccer — in another country,” said Gonçalves, who is 18. The Brazil team went undefeated and won the tournament, enhancing the thrill of the experience.

Like many Brazilians, Gonçalves and his teammates grew up kicking a ball around and closely following members of the Seleção, Brazil’s national soccer team. They dream of one day becoming professional soccer players like their heroes.

Treating the fever while ignoring the infection

Manitoba’s health-care system has a fever. It shows up as emergency room waits, crowded hallways, ambulance delays and patients waiting too long for care. A fever, however, is not the infection. It is the symptom.

Screwworm fly detected in Texas decades after cattle threat was largely eradicated in US

The New World screwworm fly has reached south Texas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed Wednesday, the first time in decades that the parasite with flesh-eating larvae has threatened the nation's cattle industry and only the third time it's appeared in the U.S. in that time.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the case was in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Mexico border. Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges said he has established a 12-mile (20-kilometer) quarantine zone, prohibiting the movement of any warm-blooded animal — including pets — outside that zone without an inspection.

Rollins said there have been no other detections of the fly in the U.S., and officials were quick to say that while the fly’s larvae are a threat to livestock production, they don’t infest food. Properly treated, even the infested calf should recover, Rollins said.

Rollins, U.S. and Texas agriculture officials, and cattle industry leaders have been sounding public alarms about the fly’s movement across Mexico for more than a year, spurred on by memories of it causing tens of millions of dollars of losses — potentially billions in today’s dollars — before its eradication in the 1970s.

Early childhood educators discuss First Nations students’ needs

Early childhood educators traded tips to improve attendance and well-being among First Nations students and their families at a first-of-its-kind event in Winnipeg.

The University of Winnipeg hosted an inaugural roundtable for ECEs to share their challenges and successes related to Indigenous education on Tuesday.

“The limited assessment data that we do have shows Indigenous children are not doing as well in life as other children and so we need to pick it up,” said Sheri-Lynn Skwarchuk, a professor who oversees the developmental studies program.

The facilitator described the gathering of nearly 50 women, including front-line workers, centre co-ordinators and post-secondary instructors, as a momentous occasion for their shared profession.

Councillors identify weakness in homeless camp enforcement

Two Winnipeg councillors say there must be close co-ordination with railways to deal with homeless camps on rail property because the sites fall outside city jurisdiction.

“Despite our encampment policy clearly identifying these locations as unsafe and requiring action, there was a lack of response from the city, including limited participation in efforts to connect individuals with appropriate supports and services,” said Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre).

The city centre committee passed a joint motion by Gilroy and Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge - East Fort Garry) last week that calls for a review of the city’s response to camps on railway-owned land.

While the encampment bylaw prohibits camps from being located within 50 metres of a rail line, the city has limited authority to act when those encampments are on railway property, which is considered private land.

Winnipeg artist’s House on Fire chronicles fallout of grandmother’s MK Ultra experience

In the late 1950s, Velma Orlikow sought treatment for postpartum depression at the Allen Memorial Institute at McGill University in Montreal.

Later, it would be discovered that she was unknowingly enrolled in the secret CIA research program now known as MK Ultra, where she was the victim of brainwashing experiments at the hands of Dr. Ewen Cameron. She was injected with LSD and forced to listen to Cameron’s voice on tape for hours.

In the 1980s, Orlikow and eight other victims sued the CIA, which settled out of court.

Winnipeg visual artist Sarah Anne Johnson, Orlikow’s granddaughter, explores this difficult family history through her long-running series of work House on Fire, which is on view now at Plug In ICA.

Goldeyes hosted second school game of the season Wednesday

A sizeable chunk of inhabiting schools from around Friendly Manitoba came out to the Blue Cross Park to get a taste of what baseball is all about Wednesday.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes hosted their second school day of the year, filling the crowd with students from 78 different schools located throughout the province.

Goldeyes general manager Andrew Collier looks forward to these events every year as the stands are filled with smiling kids, whether they have a deep love for the sport or are just being introduced to it.

“They are really successful days of the year. Kids have a great time,” Collier said. “It’s nice to have a field trip and get out of school.”

Uniform decision takes military out of Pride march

Pride Winnipeg’s president says 17 Wing Winnipeg’s decision not to send a military contingent to this year’s pride parade because of a ban on uniforms shows the military’s true colours.

Ahead of Sunday’s annual parade, Pride Winnipeg said it had banned military personnel in uniform based on community consultations and feedback. President Barry Karlenzig said the ban was supposed to apply only for this year’s march, and military members were welcome to come wearing everyday clothes, including branded T-shirts or golf shirts.

In response, 17 Wing Winnipeg pulled out of its participation in the parade.

“It has me sit back and say, ‘Is the military in the parade for the right reasons?’ Same as what we ask with police, same as what we ask with corporate partners, is you should be there for the community and to support the community. Are you there to support the community or are you there for the photo ops?” Karlenzig said Wednesday.

Lumi the lynx finds new home at Assiniboine Park Zoo

An orphaned and disabled lynx has found a new home at Assiniboine Park Zoo.

Premier Wab Kinew was on hand Wednesday morning to welcome Lumi the lynx and announce a $650,000 grant for the wildlife rehabilitation centre that rescued it.

Lumi was helped by the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre as a baby last year after its mother was killed in a dog attack. Lumi entered its public enclosure at the zoo for the first time Wednesday after receiving medical treatment at its health centre since March.

“What a beautiful animal,” said Kinew, as he and a zoo official let the wildcat out from a crate into the public habitat.

Auto sales down for eighth consecutive month as May sales fall 1.7%: DesRosiers

RICHMOND HILL - DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. says auto sales in May were down from a year ago, marking the eighth consecutive month of declining sales.

The firm estimates 184,000 vehicles were sold in the month, down 1.7 per cent from May 2025.

DesRosiers says while Statistics Canada's latest GDP data indicated a technical recession, the auto industry has already been in a "feels like" recession in recent months.

DesRosiers managing partner Andrew King says while there were hopes that the market may crack the 190,000 barrier for what is traditionally the biggest sales month of the year, that remained out of sight.

Ottawa tells CRTC to change course on increasing streamers’ financial contributions

OTTAWA - Ottawa is directing the CRTC to back down on its recent decision to triple streamers’ financial contributions to Canadian content, and will instead provide $600 million to the sector, Culture Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday.

The decision comes after the Motion Picture Association, the U.S. group representing streamers, called on cabinet to reconsider the current approach, and after the U.S. ambassador to Canada called for the policy to be rescinded.

The CRTC said in May it would require large streaming services like Netflix to contribute 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content. It made the decision as part of its work to implement the Online Streaming Act.

Asked whether the decision is another concession to the U.S. as Canada seeks renewal of the continental trade pact, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday the government was looking at how much the new policy would cost Canadians.

Life at the speed of sound

I was only five years old when the Beatles broke up and yet their music has been the overarching soundtrack of my life.

Heat wave leaves schools sweltering

Classes are being cancelled as thermostats spike — up to 42 C, in one case reported to the teachers union — in schools without building-wide air conditioning.

Families department criticized for 2024 cyberattack

The Manitoba ombudsman is criticizing the families department’s service provider and security policies after data involving vulnerable Manitobans was accessed in a 2024 cyberattack.