WEATHER ALERT

Editorials

PM oblivious to optics of ethics appointment

Editorial 4 minute read Yesterday at 7:00 PM CDT

With a single sentence uttered during question period in the House of Commons last week, Conservative MP Michael Bennett likely summed up the reaction of millions of Canadians:

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Weather

WEATHER ALERT Tonight: Scattered flurries -8°c Scattered flurries Thursday morning: Cloudy with sunny breaks -7°c Cloudy with sunny breaks

Winnipeg MB
-8°C, Light snow

Full Forecast

Boost to school funding drop in the bucket

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

Boost to school funding drop in the bucket

Editorial 3 minute read Tuesday, Apr. 4, 2023

The Stefanson government’s public schools funding announcement earlier this year was not quite as “astronomical” as originally advertised.

Read
Tuesday, Apr. 4, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Education Minister Wayne Ewasko

Higher oil prices won’t help Putin in the long run

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Higher oil prices won’t help Putin in the long run

Editorial 4 minute read Monday, Apr. 3, 2023

World oil prices shot up about six per cent yesterday after Russia, Saudi Arabia and their oil cartel partners announced a sharp cutback in production. The price rise will benefit oil producers, hurt consumers and perhaps help Russia finance its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Read
Monday, Apr. 3, 2023

Alexei Babushkin/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin

We deserve to hear it from the horse’s mouth

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

We deserve to hear it from the horse’s mouth

Editorial 3 minute read Monday, Apr. 3, 2023

Winnipeggers expect a degree of transparency regarding the services they pay for, and when something goes wrong, deserve informed answers. But the city’s increasing reliance on all-purpose spokespeople, rather than those directly involved or affected concerning municipal services, does little to provide the public with clear answers.

Read
Monday, Apr. 3, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Security at the Millennium Library

Mixed response to risky federal budget

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

Mixed response to risky federal budget

Editorial 3 minute read Friday, Mar. 31, 2023

When it comes to government budgeting, risk can come in many different forms.

Read
Friday, Mar. 31, 2023

Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press files

Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland

Time to make Orange Shirt Day official in MB

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Time to make Orange Shirt Day official in MB

Editorial 4 minute read Thursday, Mar. 30, 2023

There comes a time in the consideration of every issue when saying the right thing is no longer adequate and doing the right thing is the required next step.

Read
Thursday, Mar. 30, 2023

John Woods/The Canadian Press Files

Orange Shirt Day is celebrated in Winnipeg.

PCs owe public info on P3 schools proposal

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

PCs owe public info on P3 schools proposal

Editorial 4 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2023

The Stefanson government plans to build nine new schools under a public-private partnership, five years after an independent review recommended against using the model.

Read
Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2023

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Government Services Minister James Teitsma

Climate crisis key issue in upcoming election

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

Climate crisis key issue in upcoming election

Editorial 3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023

It’s nothing we haven’t heard before: human-caused climate change is threatening the livability of our planet and if we don’t drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, the damage will be irreparable. What’s different is the urgency.

Read
Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023

Peter Dejong/The Associated Press Files

IPCC Chairman Dr. Hoesung Lee. The IPCC report is clear that the fossil fuel-laden trail we’re currently blazing is a road to ruin.

China concerns shape Canada-U.S. roadmap

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

China concerns shape Canada-U.S. roadmap

Editorial 3 minute read Monday, Mar. 27, 2023

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden last week sharpened their shared complaints about China. Their revised roadmap for the Canada-U.S. partnership, issued last Friday at the end of Mr. Biden’s Ottawa visit, brings new attention to economic competition with China, “foreign interference in our societies” and the maintenance of peace between China and Taiwan.

Read
Monday, Mar. 27, 2023

Andrew Harnik / The Canadian Press

U.S. President Joe Biden met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Canada last week.

Swimming should be part of school curriculum

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

Swimming should be part of school curriculum

Editorial 3 minute read Monday, Mar. 27, 2023

Swimming is often thought of as a leisure activity or a sport, evoking summer days at the beach or 6 a.m. laps at the pool. But knowing how to swim is an essential life skill — one that could save yours or someone else’s.

Read
Monday, Mar. 27, 2023

Seth Wenig / The Associated Press Files

Swimming is a vital life skill.

Health minister wrong to pass the buck

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Health minister wrong to pass the buck

Editorial 4 minute read Friday, Mar. 24, 2023

Ministers of the Crown often toil under the weight of unfair expectations. They are regularly expected to know everything about their departments, all the time, and be involved in even the most minute issues within them.

Read
Friday, Mar. 24, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Health Minister Audrey Gordon

Auditor general’s report requires swift action

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Auditor general’s report requires swift action

Editorial 4 minute read Thursday, Mar. 23, 2023

The province’s auditor general has expressed disappointment in the government’s apparent inaction on implementing his office’s recommendations related to a wide range of departments and issues.

Read
Thursday, Mar. 23, 2023

Brandon Sun Tyson Shtykalo was officially appointed as Manitoba's Auditor General on Aug. 13, even though he has been largely fulfilling those responsibilities since his predecessor, Norm Ricard, retired on Jan. 31. (Submitted)

Racism remains a blight on the justice system

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Racism remains a blight on the justice system

Editorial 4 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2023

It’s been almost 32 years since Manitoba’s Aboriginal Justice Inquiry delivered its final report. Since that time, steps have been taken to address anti-Indigenous racism in our justice system.

Read
Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2023

Trudeau-Biden meeting must focus on China

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Trudeau-Biden meeting must focus on China

Editorial 4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

Xi Jinping, the political master of China, arrived in Moscow yesterday to cosy up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the world’s leading warmonger. The visit will encourage Mr. Putin to continue his cruel and outrageous year-old war against neighbouring Ukraine.

Read
Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

Patrick Semansky/The Associated Press

U.S. President Joe Biden

Bill 35 step toward teacher transparency

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Bill 35 step toward teacher transparency

Editorial 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

Through a simple online search, Manitobans can find out whether their doctor, lawyer, nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist or veterinarian has a history of impropriety. These are just a few of the occupations held to account through professional complaint and discipline registries designed to protect the public.

Read
Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Bill 35, the proposed Education Administration Amendment Act, would establish an online database of teachers and appoint an independent commissioner to monitor complaints of misconduct.

Trudeau puts rapporteur in no-win situation

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

Trudeau puts rapporteur in no-win situation

Editorial 3 minute read Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

Over his years leading the Liberal party and the government of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shown a remarkable capacity for making bad situations worse.

Read
Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

Supplied

Former governor general David Johnston

Mall development requires vision, consultation

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Mall development requires vision, consultation

Editorial 4 minute read Friday, Mar. 17, 2023

The long-stagnant Portage Place mall has become something of an avatar for all of downtown Winnipeg’s problems.

Read
Friday, Mar. 17, 2023

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Portage Place mall.

PCs wilfully obtuse about harm reduction

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

PCs wilfully obtuse about harm reduction

Editorial 4 minute read Thursday, Mar. 16, 2023

If there is a single issue on which Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government has clung relentlessly to a position that seems rooted solely in ideology — despite being on the wrong side of expert information, public opinion and plain old common sense — surely it’s the question of how best to address this province’s expanding drug-addiction crisis.

Read
Thursday, Mar. 16, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

In an op-ed published this week, Mental Health Minister Janice Morley-Lecomte suggested “forthcoming measures could open a new window … for licensed and regulated supervised-consumption sites.”

Action on physician shortage lacks urgency

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

Action on physician shortage lacks urgency

Editorial 3 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 15, 2023

It has been four months since the Progressive Conservative government announced its $200-million health human resource action plan to recruit, train and retain front-line staff. One of the key objectives of the initiative: to add 2,000 medical professionals to the system.

Read
Wednesday, Mar. 15, 2023

ERIK PINDERA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Dr. Candace Bradshaw, president of Doctors Manitoba, called the province’s failure to offer immediate relief “devastating.”

City flushing away positive outcomes

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

City flushing away positive outcomes

Editorial 3 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 14, 2023

When Amoowigamig, the permanent public washrooms on Main Street, opened last June, it was cause for celebration.

Read
Tuesday, Mar. 14, 2023

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The ceremonial opening of new downtown permanent public washroom which has been named, Amoowigamig, and will be open to the public on May 30th. See Joyanne Pursaga story 220517 - Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

U.S. bank failure could warn of recession

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

U.S. bank failure could warn of recession

Editorial 3 minute read Monday, Mar. 13, 2023

Friday’s Labour Force Survey for February found employment holding steady in Canada from January to February and the unemployment rate holding at five per cent. The data suggested the Canadian economy was recovering nicely from the depressing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read
Monday, Mar. 13, 2023

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has promised a federal budget for March 28 in which she must support economic expansion and employment growth without adding to the inflation already impoverishing Canadian households.

Free contraception should be province’s Plan A

Editorial 3 minute read Preview

Free contraception should be province’s Plan A

Editorial 3 minute read Monday, Mar. 13, 2023

In their March 7 budget, Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives announced a meaningful change to health coverage that lives up to the party’s name: it’s both socially progressive and, in the long term, fiscally conservative.

Read
Monday, Mar. 13, 2023

Rich Pedroncelli/The Associated Press files

Birth control pills will be free in B.C.

Health-care solutions start closer to home

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Health-care solutions start closer to home

Editorial 4 minute read Friday, Mar. 10, 2023

Success stories in Manitoba’s health-care system are so hard to find, the provincial government travelled halfway around the world to look for one.

Read
Friday, Mar. 10, 2023

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Health Minister Audrey Gordon

Politicians of every stripe must combat misogyny

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Politicians of every stripe must combat misogyny

Editorial 4 minute read Thursday, Mar. 9, 2023

In the current political climate, in which co-operation and consensus-building are viewed mostly as quaint and antiquated notions, the idea that elected officials from across the political spectrum should unite on a single topic seems as close to impossible as the business of governing can become.

Read
Thursday, Mar. 9, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Local - Politics Physical Appearance

Hon. Rochelle Squires, Riel Minister of Families, in her office prepping for QP Wednesday.

For feature story on Politics physical appearance by Danielle.

March 1st, 2023

Transparency, accountability key to police trust

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Transparency, accountability key to police trust

Editorial 4 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 8, 2023

Police forces internationally are suffering from a crisis of public confidence. There are valid reasons for concern.

Read
Wednesday, Mar. 8, 2023

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Winnipeg Police Service cruiser car

LOAD MORE