RRC Polytech reduces program offerings, lays off 26 staff

RRC Polytech has announced it will let go 26 employees as it prepares to end some programs and suspend others.

The post-secondary institution blamed the reduction in international student enrolment and reduced English language-training funding as a result of federal changes to immigration policy.

“These changes, along with shifting domestic enrolment trends in some programs and increased program delivery costs, have had direct impacts on operations and financial stability at RRC Polytech,” said a news release issued Thursday.

“These impacts have both immediate and long-term financial implications that we must responsibly address.”

Healthy food subsidy might be on table over gas tax cut: Kinew

Premier Wab Kinew says he is still considering relief for Manitobans struggling with the high price of fuel but it may not be in the form of a gas tax holiday.

Captain Kennedy House reopens after $1.4-M upgrade

Manitobans will once again be able to enjoy tea and scones while taking in history — the tea room at the Captain Kennedy House has reopened after a 10-year absence.

The Heritage Tea Room is reopening after a $1.4-million restoration of the historic building on the Red River south of Lockport, Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes said Thursday.

Moyes said in a statement the building was restored and revitalized and will now offer visitors and area residents “a unique opportunity to experience the rich history of St. Andrews in a welcoming accessible environment.”

The stone house, a provincial heritage building, was built for Capt. William Kennedy, an Arctic explorer, Métis community leader, and Hudson’s Bay Company employee, in 1866.

Liberals shut down committee debate on $6.6-billion IT project

OTTAWA - Opposition MPs say the Liberals used their new power as a majority government Thursday to shelve debate on calls for the government to provide documents about a $6.6 billion IT project that has gone far over budget.

While the project to modernize the systems the government uses to deliver benefits to Canadians, such as old age security, launched in 2017 with a $1.7 billion budget, the cost is now more than three times that sum.

Last week, the House of Commons human resources committee debated a Bloc Québécois motion to have the government produce documents about the project.

When the committee convened Thursday, the Liberals instead pushed forward with clause by clause consideration of an unrelated bill, without providing any notice to the rest of the committee of that plan.

Archbishop of Toronto calls on Carney to stop extension of MAID for mental illness

OTTAWA - The Archbishop of Toronto is appealing to Prime Minister Mark Carney's Catholic faith and urging him to "choose life and not death" when it comes to the planned extension of assisted dying eligibility.

In a letter dated April 20, Archbishop Frank Leo expressed support for a Conservative private member's bill that would prevent access to medical assistance in dying from being extended to people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness.

That change is set to take effect in March 2027. A special joint parliamentary committee of MPs and senators is currently studying whether Canada is ready for that to happen.

Leo urged the prime minister to allow Liberal members of Parliament to vote freely on the private member's bill to restrict MAID.

Business council’s new housing alliance, partners complete first ‘deeply affordable’ project

A unique Manitoba business-led enterprise created to invest in​ affordable housing has completed its first project, helping to launch a 23-unit building in Winnipeg’s inner city.

City offers real cost-of-living help while Ottawa, province pander for popularity

There’s no shortage of political enthusiasm these days for “cost-of-living relief.” Governments at every level are tripping over themselves to prove they feel your pain at the checkout counter and the gas pump. The problem isn’t the intent, it’s the execution.

Alberta voter info database shut down amidst probes of alleged data breach

EDMONTON - A database belonging to an Alberta separatist group was shut down Thursday as elections officials and Mounties probe an alleged voter-list privacy breach affecting up to three million Albertans.

“The RCMP has initiated an investigation and is working with other law enforcement partners in the province to determine if any offences have been committed,” Alberta’s Mounties said in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, Elections Alberta officials were in court where they argued for and were granted an injunction to have the group, called the Centurion Project, be ordered to take down the database.

Joey Redman, a lawyer for the elections agency, told Court of King's Bench Justice John Little that the information on the list, and therefore in the database, is "incredibly confidential."