A small step among troubling signs

There’s no getting around the fact — to many people, downtown Winnipeg is unsafe. Period.

Dropping the gloves to make the point

In hockey parlance, it’s called “shedding,” the moment in a game when you are forced to deal with an instigator by dropping (shedding) your gloves for an all-out brawl.

That term is a deep cut from hockey culture that Prime Minister Mark Carney — he of the “elbows up” phenomenon — may need to not only embrace but practise more often in the face of yet another round of overly punitive tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump.

To be fair, under Carney’s leadership, Canada has not exactly rolled over in the face of Trump’s bully-boy tactics.

Yes, Canada has made concessions to placate Trump to further a new continental trade agreement: investing more money to combat the cross-border flow of fentanyl that isn’t actually happening, stalling efforts to tax streaming companies as most European countries already do, and — most recently — giving Trump a cut of profits from the Canadian-made, Canadian-paid Gordie Howe bridge between Windsor and Detroit.

Pointing fingers and shifting blame

More often than not, it seems the city is willing to pass the buck upwards to the provincial government — while also being equally willing to download it onto individual home and business owners.

A foodborne parasite and government efficiency

Week-long explosive diarrhea. There. Now that we’ve got your attention, here’s a cautionary tale about red-tape reduction and public health.

Donald Trump and tariffs, ad nauseam

Are you tired of it all yet? You should be. Once again, Canada’s biggest trading partner has launched punitive trade tariffs on Canadian goods: U.S. President Donald Trump has levied a 50 per cent tariff on a wide range of Canadian exports, a move that is expected to affect US$20 billion in Canadian exports.

Drug treatment court leads to success

The criminal justice system has long been very good at punishing people for the consequences of addiction. It has been considerably less successful at addressing addiction itself.

A team — and league — of our own

North American interest in soccer is at an all-time high. No wonder, given that Canada, Mexico and the United States have hosted the men’s World Cup for the past seven weeks.

A whack-a-mole approach to a complex problem

The Winnipeg Police Service has produced a report that details the results of a recent 10-day crackdown on open drug use and trafficking. Unfortunately, and to the detriment of both the community and police service, they just won’t show it to anyone.

This week, a WPS spokeswoman confirmed no decision has been made “regarding reporting, future activities or the release of results” from the drug sweep. As the operation was ongoing, WPS did say that it “interacted” with more than 100 people and arrested 25, with most of those related to warrants and breaches of court orders, not open drug use or trafficking.

These very preliminary results prompted criticism that the WPS had failed to adequately collaborate with social service agencies that help the homeless and those suffering from addictions and mental health.

A detailed report on the results of the sweep, along with commentary from the police about lessons learned, is essential if police are to engage in this kind of initiative again. In fact, it would be hard to see how police could ever unleash a similar operation without some sort of accounting of the impacts — both good and bad — of the first effort.

Climate change consequences keep piling up

Has Mother Nature slapped you around enough yet, or are you finally starting to see the big picture?

Putting the pancake pilgrimage in focus

It’s a simple enough recipe: one-and-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, one tablespoon of sugar, two-and-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt, one cup milk, one large egg and one tablespoon of canola oil.

ATV deaths, injuries are call for action

The numbers are alarming, and the calls to address them are neither unexpected nor unreasonable. But reducing the rate of injuries and deaths related to the use of all-terrain vehicles will not be easily accomplished.

More mayoral candidates would mean more ideas

The absence of a competitive race for Winnipeg mayor is shaping up as one of the biggest disappointments of this year’s civic election.

Carney plays well on the road

Bankers are detail-oriented, pragmatic types. They seek to maximize assets incrementally, without taking big swings or big risks.

Bankers who run central banks — controlling the monetary policy of nations and states — must also think strategically and geopolitically, taking care of the details of national monetary policy, protecting assets and minimizing risk while also positioning and protecting their nations in a global economy fraught with financial and political pitfalls.

Given that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been head of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, it should be no surprise that, since he entered the political realm and became prime minister in 2025, he has governed like a careful national banker — the sort who raises or lowers interest rates a quarter-point at a time while carefully plotting a course through choppy geopolitical seas.

Domestically, Carney’s economic policies have focused on realizing the value of Canada’s assets in a post-COVID, inflationary global economy disrupted by the trade chaos of U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran and Russia’s continuing war with Ukraine.

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.

Stony drug-detection cuts threaten safety

It seems penny-wise and pound-foolish to impose austerity measures on efforts to stop the flow of illicit drugs at a time when those efforts are becoming more aggressive, ambitious and profitable than ever.