Winnipeg biz owners encouraged to fly the Maple Leaf

A Winnipeg city councillor says business owners should fly the Maple Leaf to bolster Canadian pride as the country fends off a trade assault from the U.S.

“It’s all about being patriotic and showing that we are all on the same page and are unified in our efforts as we negotiate trade with the United States,” said Markus Chambers.

The St. Norbert - Seine River representative launched “Operation Naked Flag Pole” Wednesday.

“I’m seeing flag poles in our downtown area, but they’re not covered with Canadian flags,” he said. “They’re sitting empty. They’re naked. So let’s get them dressed with the Canadian flag.”

Men’s Wesmen basketball bench boss scouts fresh crop’s depth in pre-season series

Mike Raimbault didn’t take much time to bask in the triumph. His attention has already turned to a more elusive feat.

An admittedly tired Raimbault was back on the sideline last week, this time at his primary post as head coach of the Winnipeg Wesmen men’s basketball team, just days after guiding the Winnipeg Sea Bears to the franchise’s first Canadian Elite Basketball League championship.

A title in the professional ranks was well-earned, and while there will be a time to soak up his special summer, a new campaign awaits.

“It’s nice to get some time together before school starts. It’s a sort of a litmus test of where you’re at and what you need to do,” Raimbault said after the second of a two-game pre-season series against the University of South Dakota.

Bombers defence is in for its stiffest test of the season against Als

Jordan Younger sees the growing pains, yet he still sees the potential through it all.

This isn’t about watching film through rose-coloured glasses either, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive co-ordinator has no trouble acknowledging the issues that have occasionally plagued his unit during a 5-5 start.

There have been missed tackles, blown coverages and the occasional costly penalty.

There have also been goal-line stands that hold the opponent to field goals and some really stingy showings, including a performance that bordered on dominant in building a 16-6 lead over the Edmonton Elks last Friday.

Security guard, 22, stabbed by shoplifter at Dollarama store

A security guard was stabbed as he tried to stop a shoplifter at a Dollarama store in Winnipeg Tuesday, the latest in a string of violent incidents at the discount chain.

Winnipeg police were called to the outlet in the Courts of St. James, at 2727 Portage Ave., around 4 p.m.

Police said the guard, who is employed by Impact Security, had confronted a man suspected of shoplifting and directed him to leave the store. The suspect pulled out a sharp-edged weapon and stabbed the guard in the upper body before fleeing with stolen merchandise.

The guard, 22, was seriously injured and was taken to hospital in unstable condition. He was later upgraded to stable condition.

Ex-MP Mark faces more charges after 445 guns, explosives found at Dauphin home

A former member of Parliament accused of firearms trafficking has been hit with 26 new charges after an RCMP investigation uncovered 445 guns and more than four times the legal limit of explosives at his Dauphin home.

Inky Mark, 78, was rearrested Aug. 12 and charged with 26 offences, including weapons trafficking, unauthorized possession of prohibited and restricted firearms, possessing firearms with ammunition without a licence or registration, failing to report lost firearms and possessing more than six kilograms of explosives. He was released from police custody.

In total, he faces 38 charges in connection with the months-long investigation, RCMP said Wednesday.

“I think this is definitely going to be a wake-up call to some people,” said Cpl. Barry Kirby of the RCMP west district investigative section, on Wednesday.

Winnipeg police body cams to feature AI translator

The Winnipeg Police Service will begin testing an artificial intelligence translation tool on Thursday, adding the feature to its body-worn camera pilot project.

The translation tool works with more than 50 languages and will initially be used by the 40 front-line officers who began testing the cameras in June.

When a button is pressed, the device will recognize the language being spoken and translate it into English. The officer can respond in English or French and have the device translate their words into the language spoken by the other person.

“What it effectively does is allow that immediate transfer of communication to occur, without having to find a translator,” said George Labossière, WPS deputy chief of operations.

Opponents spar over gas tax holiday

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the prime minister to extend the 10-cent per litre gas tax holiday, set to end on Labour Day.

“We’ve done polling that shows a majority of Canadians from across the country oppose the tax coming back on at the pumps,” said Gage Haubrich, Prairie director of the non-profit advocacy group in front of the Manitoba legislature Tuesday.

Those polled in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were more opposed to the return of the federal gas tax than anywhere else in Canada, he said.

Haubrich said the group was also asking Premier Wab Kinew to “follow in the steps of (Ontario) Premier Doug Ford and send a letter to the prime minister calling on him to extend the gas tax cut as well.”

Fear and loathing in bedbug-infested seniors building

Years of living in a regularly infested suite in an always-infested building have given Lewie Gwyllt nightmares in which he’s wrestling giant bedbugs.

The 64-year-old has lived at 529 Country Club Blvd., a 107-unit seniors’ home run by Manitoba Housing, for nearly eight years. Much of his tenancy has been marked by monthly, but futile, bedbug-eradication treatments.

Gwyllt’s routine is set in stone: he bags his laundry, steams his clothes, and buys covers for any piece of furniture he buys. He has a physical disability and struggles to move things when the pest-control people arrive to spray for the bugs, but he knows the nooks and crannies of his baseboards are a problem spot.

The mental toll has weighed heavily on him. He takes anti-anxiety medication to deal with the stress and despair when the treatments don’t work.

Bombers give would-be boo birds their marching orders

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are being criticized by some fans online for booking the University of North Dakota’s marching band for Friday’s game against Montreal.

With the current state of Canada-U.S. relations, and Friday being designated as Canadian Armed Forces Appreciation Night, many view the club’s decision to invite a band from a pro-Trump state as a puzzling one.

“I’m a very proud Canadian,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea after Tuesday’s practice.

“But I don’t think politics enter into this entertainment realm when you’re dealing with university kids that are coming up here to put on a show.”

Northern Manitoba mobile MRI makes first move in 15 months

Northern Manitoba’s mobile MRI made its first move since it began scanning in Thompson nearly 15 months ago, setting up shop Monday in The Pas.

“It’s really exciting that we finally have this piece of equipment here,” said Dayna McTaggart, a medical radiological technologist in The Pas and provincial manager for the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists Manitoba.

The mobile MRI will travel between the two communities that are 400 kilometres apart in an effort to strengthen northern health-care delivery, the provincial government said in a news release.

“This rotation ensures patients in northern communities have easier, more equitable access to vital diagnostic imaging without the burden of long-distance travel,” Dr. AbdulRazaq Sokoro, Shared Health’s chief operating officer of diagnostic services, said in the release.

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.

Bombers rookie Williams a hidden gem in the club’s secondary

Major Williams was far from a lock to make the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The rookie corner was one of many fresh faces brought in by the club during training camp to compete for an opening in the secondary.

But even though he was facing an uphill climb, Williams walked up to star halfback Evan Holm on Day 1 and told the veteran he was looking forward to being on the field with him this season.

“He just had a confidence about what he was going to come in and do,” recalled Holm after Tuesday’s practice. “And now he’s out there working with us.”