Manitoba roots go deep for Swiss sensation

MILAN — Her birth certificate may say Switzerland, but make no mistake: Olympic speed skater Kaitlyn McGregor’s roots are firmly planted in Manitoba.

For starters, there’s the strong family connection. Her parents, Mark and Faye, hail from MacGregor, a small farming community about 130 kilometres west of Winnipeg. Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents are there as well. Yes, the McGregors have heard the jokes. No, the town isn’t named after them.

But secondly — and arguably more importantly — McGregor’s inspiration to reach this grand sporting stage can be traced directly to Winnipegger Cindy Klassen.

Remember the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, when Klassen set a Canadian Olympic record by winning five medals? McGregor certainly does, albeit from after the fact. She was 12 at the time, and it was that epic performance — brought to her attention by her grandmother through Free Press newspaper articles — that ultimately lit the fire.

An American skier is fighting to open up the last Winter Olympic sport off limits to women

MILAN, Italy (AP) — Annika Malacinski remembers the moment the door to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics was slammed shut.

On a flight from Munich to Denver, she bought airplane Wi-Fi to join a conference call with the International Olympic Committee, certain that Nordic combined competition would at last be opened up to female athletes.

“Then the decision came: ‘no.’ No explanation, no discussion. Just ‘no,’ and then they moved on to the next topic,” she told The Associated Press from her training base in Norway. “I cried for eight hours straight on that flight. When I arrived in Denver, my eyes were swollen shut. It felt like my world had crashed.”

That was in June, 2022. And despite an ongoing campaign led by Malacinski, an athlete from Colorado now aged 24, her sport remains the last to exclude women – even as Milan Cortina is showcasing the highest level of female participation in Winter Games history at 47%.

A curator’s dilemma: art, power, and the limits of neutrality

In recent weeks, a major Canadian art museum found itself at the centre of international attention — not over an exhibition on the wall, but over whether a recently produced artwork should enter its collection at all.

Is the concept of Canada as a ‘middle power’ meaningless?

Does the middle power concept have any relevancy today?

When you read through Prime Minister Mark Carney’s notable Davos speech, he makes a number of references to the term “middle power.” This was no accident for sure.

Government officials, commentators and journalists often refer to Canada as a middle power as if it’s supposed to mean something important. But it is really little more than a term of convenience — and a self-serving one for Canada.

Does the concept still have any meaning today? Does it denote a certain status, influence or position in the international hierarchy of states? More to the point, what makes Canada a so-called middle power?

Respect Pride participants, Winkler mayor says ahead of summer parade

The City of Winkler is distancing itself from the Pembina Valley Pride march but the community’s mayor is also asking residents to respect those taking part in the LGBTTQ+ event.

Mayor Henry Siemens said he has received “lots” of comments about the parade, scheduled to be held in Winkler for the first time this summer.

“Council and I don’t personally support all of the beliefs or ideologies of the various groups or events that might take place in Winkler, but we do support people’s individual freedom to plan and host their own events,” Siemens said in a social media post Wednesday.

“It is my sincere prayer that we, as a community, find a way to respect one another’s freedoms and pray that no one event would define who we are.”

Independent toy shops ready to fill void from Toys “R” Us Canada closures

TORONTO - For tots, teens and anyone in between, Cowtown Kids Toys & Candy is a dream.

The Maple Creek, Sask., shop spanning four buildings is jammed with more than 30,000 toys ranging from classic books and puzzles to trendy plushies, trucks and other curios.

Owner Bob Siemens says the vast array of products is proof his business — like many other independent shops — is ready to fill the void created by Toys "R" Us Canada closures.

"Even if it looks like the toy industry is suffering, there's still a vibrancy in the independents that have been there and have stood the test of time. They're going to be eager to meet the folks still looking for toy shops," Siemens said mere hours before Toys "R" Us Canada announced it had filed for creditor protection Tuesday.

Washington Post cuts a third of its staff in a blow to a legendary news brand

The Washington Post laid off one-third of its staff Wednesday, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage in a widespread purge that represented a brutal blow to journalism and one of its most legendary brands.

The Post's executive editor, Matt Murray, called the move painful but necessary to put the outlet on stronger footing and to weather changes in technology and user habits. “We can't be everything to everyone,” Murray said in a note to staff members.

He outlined the changes in a companywide online meeting, and staff members then began getting emails with one of two subject lines — telling them their role was or was not eliminated.

Rumors of layoffs had circulated for weeks, ever since word leaked that sports reporters who had expected to travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics would not be going. But when official word came down, the size and scale of the cuts were shocking, affecting virtually every department in the newsroom.

Teen newcomers hope powerful poem opens minds

Escaping Syria as a child, Fawwaz (Ali) Al Hassan knows a thing or two about global conflict.

“I’ve gone through war, genocide, poverty, myself firsthand, and I know how bad and terrible it is for anyone, not just for people of my kind, but anyone across the world,” the 17 year old who immigrated to Canada 10 years ago said.

The Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute student co-wrote the spoken-word poem What We’re Meant to Be, along with Sami Suliman, 16, and Tobilola (Tobi) Olorunsola, 17. The trio recited it Monday at the Manitoba legislature as part of the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation’s international development week.

The teens, all newcomers to Canada, brought their own personal experiences to the poem, a journey across the globe.

Defiant Minneapolis citizenry delivers aspirational message

There have been many times over the last several years where I’ve felt myself losing hope. War, turmoil, disinformation, rising authoritarianism; so much suffering with no clear road out. It’s a dangerous position. Despair is a killer; hope is an antidote. Yet it can be so hard to find, when the state of the world seems so dark.

If you’re looking for hope right now, turn your gaze south. Because right now, it shines bright in Minneapolis.

What’s happening on the ground in Minneapolis could be one of the most inspiring stories of our generation; an incredible grassroots response to a brutal and unwanted federal occupation, organized and led by ordinary residents. And it lays out a framework from which people in all cities could draw beautiful lessons.

Since December, when a surge of 3,000 heavily armed and armoured Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began in the city, the citizens of Minneapolis have held their streets, united to comfort those affected, and remained undaunted by the frigid -25 C weather which Winnipeggers know well.

First Nation says Hydro misuse of river diversion destroying sturgeon population

A northern First Nation is calling on Manitoba Hydro to alter its use of the Churchill River diversion to protect a lake sturgeon population allegedly decimated by hydroelectric operations.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation Chief Doreen Spence said the culturally significant species is facing extinction on the river system without immediate intervention, 50 years after Manitoba built the diversion to send water to large power generating stations.

“The diversion has artificially altered the flow of the water… so much that the river is barely able to sustain life as it once did,” Spence told reporters in Winnipeg Thursday.

“Manitoba Hydro must operate the diversion in sync with the natural flow regime of the river for the sturgeon to survive.”