Lopsided loss not as damaging as it could have been for the Jets

PITTSBURGH — There once was a time in the National Hockey League when a putrid performance like the one the Winnipeg Jets delivered Thursday night in Boston would have carried some painful consequences.

Namely, a next-day practice filled with skating, skating and more skating — and perhaps nary a puck in sight.

But those “old-school” days are long gone, which is why Friday was all about rest and recovery for the Jets. Only a handful of players took part in an optional skate, while the majority stayed back at the team hotel for workouts and video sessions.

“Just reset. That’s a big thing. Do what everybody feels like they need to do today in order to be ready for tomorrow,” said rookie forward Isak Rosen, who was one of the few to hit the ice.

Rural resident wins court battle against ban from council meetings

A Manitoba judge has told a rural municipal council it can’t issue a blanket ban on people attending council meetings.

Justice Sadie Bond, of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, said the Rural Municipality of Alexander has to allow resident Aaron Wiebe to attend council meetings.

“The banning resolutions are neither an exercise of the RM’s authority under the (Municipal) Act, nor under the RM’s procedures bylaw,” Bond said in her 14-page decision, which was released on Monday.

“In passing them, the council acted in excess of its jurisdiction… I find that the council’s interpretation of its authority to pass banning resolutions is both incorrect and not reasonable.”

Councillors push decision on new fireworks restrictions to next spring

Fire prevention officers will meet with cultural groups and fireworks sellers to talk about conducting safe celebrations, but the city won’t impose any bans or create new bylaws before next year.

City council’s community services committee heard from the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service Tuesday and from speakers arguing both for and against additional fines, enforcement or restrictions around the sale and use of fireworks.

The committee was split on how to approach new fireworks bylaws and eventually voted to revisit the issue next March, promising to create a working group to explore the issue further, in the meantime.

“I think it’s a very complicated file, and it’s important that we’re able to hear from the councillors on what direction they want this to take for the city,” Lisa Gilmour, the WFPS’ assistant chief of community risk reduction, said after Tuesday’s meeting.

Number of measles cases in May lowest so far in 2026

Manitoba is on track to record its lowest monthly number of confirmed and suspected measles cases this year.

The province said 48 confirmed and six probable cases were detected in May, excluding the final day of the month (the most recent seven-day reporting period ended May 30). The true number of infections is believed to be higher.

Seven confirmed cases were reported between May 24 and 30, Manitoba Health said in a weekly update Friday. No new hospital admissions were reported. Data for May 31 will be included in next week’s update, along with the initial days of June.

Although incomplete, May’s figures are similar to those in December, when the province had 48 confirmed and seven probable cases of the highly infectious disease prior to an uptick early this year.

Winnipeg police to launch body camera program next week

Some front-line Winnipeg Police Service officers will begin wearing body-worn cameras on their uniforms next Wednesday as part of a six-month pilot project.

The WPS said 40 cameras will be used to record video and audio during the officers’ regular duties, including their response to calls for service, self-initiated interactions with people, and enforcement or investigative activities.

The service is trialling the Axon Body 4 camera. In March, Chief Gene Bowers said Axon agreed to a free trial period. The Arizona-based company is known for its Taser devices.

An online survey has been set up by the WPS to get Winnipeg residents’ opinions on the use of body cameras during the pilot project.

Manitoba judge approves $129-M settlement in solitary confinement lawsuit

A Manitoba judge has approved a $129-million settlement agreement in a lawsuit that argued the provincial government improperly used solitary confinement in its youth and adult jails, causing emotional, physical and psychological harm.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Theodor Bock approved the settlement on Thursday, court records show.

Koskie Minsky LLP, a class-action law firm based in Ontario, filed the suit in May 2021 on behalf of two inmates — an adult and a youth — who had both been put in solitary for extended periods of time.

The class action argued the government’s use of solitary confinement — which the law firm defines as a person segregated in a room or area without any meaningful human contact for at least 22 hours a day — was negligent and breached their Charter rights to life, liberty and security, and not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.

City has ignored dangerous median opening for more than a year, frustrated residents complain

North Logan community members want the city to take responsibility for a hazard they say is putting pedestrians at risk and has gone ignored for more than a year.

An uncovered utility access point on a median near Logan Avenue and Patrick Street has exposed pipes inside to the elements and people to a potentially nasty fall, said Romeo Zapata of the North Logan Safety Patrol.

“The location of the hole is on the boulevard,” he said. “So when people try to cross the street, they go to the boulevard and they look for cars; they don’t look for holes. So that’s a double danger.”

The Logan neighbourhood hazard is the city’s latest trouble spot. A Wolseley woman fell armpit-deep into a boulevard hole in April, and a West End resident has had no luck getting a crater in front of their home filled.

Pandemic, system overhaul blamed for delayed transit master plan

The next Winnipeg Transit Master Plan update could arrive two years late, after staff were diverted to handle pandemic demands and implement a new primary transit network.

A new report requests the update originally expected this year be delayed to mid-2028, a few months after a preliminary design on downtown rapid transit corridors is expected.

“(During the COVID-19 pandemic) regular work was disrupted for a period of more than two years, due to the need to create five different schedule scenarios for each of the four seasonal schedule periods, while also developing the implementation plan for the primary transit network,” writes Bjorn Radstrom, Winnipeg Transit’s manager of service development.

City council approved the master plan in April 2021, in a vote that required a five-year update on its progress.

Premier pulls plug on proposed AI data centre

Premier Wab Kinew says a massive artificial intelligence data centre southeast of Winnipeg will not go ahead.

“The very limited economic benefits for this project do not outweigh the serious environmental concerns and the unique rural way of life that people in the region enjoy,” Kinew told reporters at the Manitoba legislature on Thursday.

The public should be skeptical about “hyperscale” data centres that are being proposed in many jurisdictions, he added.

“It’s very clear AI is transforming our economy and our society,” Kinew said. “But I think Manitobans want that to happen in a way where AI serves us and we’re not servants of AI.”

Word test

TESTING

Premier Wab Kinew is an imported Manitoban, born in Kenora and raised on Onigaming First Nation in Treaty Three (in northwestern Ontario) before his family moved to Winnipeg. He’s the son of well-known Anishinaabe leader and traditional knowledge keeper Tobasonakwut Kinew and Kathi Kinew.

These are the words we provided feedback on: Boniface, Cockburn, Dauphin, Dene, Hellebuyck, Iafallo, Íslendingadagurinn, Kinew, Kildonan, Malak Abas, Métis, Newfoundland, Orlikow, Pembina, Portage la Prairie, Premier, Regina, St. Vital, Samyn, Schiefele, vínarterta, Wiebe, Generation Z.

Nursing job yet to be filled, but supervised consumption site will open this month: Kinew

Manitoba’s premier expressed confidence Thursday that the province’s first supervised consumption site will open this month, even though at least one nursing position hasn’t been filled.

“This month it’ll open,” Wab Kinew said, referring to the 366 Henry Ave. location.

The province received approval from Health Canada for the Indigenous-led site last month. However, a recent job posting by the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg, Inc., which will operate the facility, suggests key staffing positions are still being filled.

The posting advertises a Nurse 3 position beginning June 29 and running through March 31, 2027, with a “high likelihood of extension.”