News briefs for Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Game 1 of CEBL final cancelled

6:55 PM

The series opener of the Canadian Elite Basketball League Finals between the Winnipeg Sea Bears and Brampton Honey Badgers in Brampton, Ont. has been cancelled in the first quarter due to the court being deemed unsafe for play.

Game 1 of the best-of-three series inside the CAA Centre was one minute and 46 seconds old when officials delayed the contest briefly, then ended it. The game was tied 6-6.

It is unclear whether Game 1 will be rescheduled. Games 2 and 3 (if necessary), were scheduled to take place in Winnipeg on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

More to come on this story.

Two arrested in Portage Place area drug trafficking probe

12:39 PM

Winnipeg police have arrested two people accused of illegally selling prescription pills near Portage Place mall as part of the force’s crackdown on open drug use.

The investigation began in July, police said.

On Monday, guns and gangs and drug enforcement investigators located their suspects in the area of Portage Place. Officers seized illicit drugs, a folding knife and about $800 in cash from them.

A 40-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman face drug trafficking offences. The woman is also charged with weapons possession. Both were released by police on undertakings.

Teen ticketed after imitation police vehicle seen at cruise night

11:08 AM

Winnipeg Police Service traffic investigators have fined a teenage boy who’s accused of driving an imitation police vehicle into a parking lot during a cruise night gathering in Sage Creek on Sunday.

Police were advised on Monday of a video circulating online that depicted a white Ford Explorer with flashing red-and-blue lights in its rear window in the parking lot on Sage Creek Boulevard on Sunday night. Investigators then identified the vehicle’s driver.

Police met with the 17-year-old, who they say admitted placing the lights on the rear window with suction cups after a dare from his friends. Investigators found the vehicle was a decommissioned police vehicle, with its lights and markings removed.

A further inspection of the vehicle found the tint on the front driver and passenger side windows was in violation of regulations and the boy was ticketed as a result.

Officers spoke with the teen about the potential consequences, including criminal charges, of operating a vehicle with emergency lights and pretending it’s an active police vehicle, police said.