Minister disputes chief’s claim money offered to remove highway checkpoint

A provincial cabinet minister says he did not offer up to $250,000 for economic development to Bloodvein River First Nation’s chief in return for the removal of a highway checkstop that has outraged hunters.

Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures Minister Ian Bushie said he and Bloodvein Chief Lisa Young have discussed application-based Indigenous economic development programs.

“We talked about the opportunity for them to apply for that,” said Bushie. “We did not offer a bribe in any way, shape or form.”

Young said this week that Bushie raised the prospect of the money in a private conversation in September and told her the First Nation would receive a letter directing it to move the checkstop because it’s on a provincial highway.

Shoal Lake No. 40 First Nation, Ottawa reach $17.45-M treaty settlement

Shoal Lake No. 40 First Nation and the federal government have resolved a long-running treaty land entitlement claim and have agreed on a $17.45 million settlement.

The claim relates to seven islands in Indian Bay on Shoal Lake — known as the Garden Islands — which were promised to Shoal Lake No. 40 First Nation under Treaty 3 but were never set aside as reserve land, a Thursday news release said.

The First Nation filed the claim in 1991.

“This claim has been outstanding for many years, and we are very pleased to have reached settlement on this important matter,” Shoal Lake Chief Herb Green said in the release. “We continue to uphold our shared connections to these islands, and the settlement of this Claim is an important part of Shoal Lake No. 40 history and legacy.”

Manslaughter charge in death of chef stayed because conviction unlikely: Crown

A manslaughter charge has been stayed against a man arrested in the death of a Ste. Anne chef because prosecutors did not believe they could prove the accused wasn’t acting in self-defence, a court heard Wednesday.

Jeff Wyness, 46, was arrested May 12, 10 days after 49-year-old Cameron Huley was fatally assaulted outside a home in the RM of Ste. Anne.

“Following a thorough review of all the evidence, including witness statements, forensic evidence and the applicable law regarding the defence of another person, the Crown has concluded there is no longer a reasonable likelihood of conviction on the charge before the court,” prosecutor Keri Anderson told provincial court Judge Helen Krahn.

Steinbach RCMP were called to a home just after 11:30 p.m. and found Huley suffering from serious injuries. He died hours later in hospital.

NDP expects crypto, data centre electricity levy to shave about $50 annually off residential Hydro bills

Revenue from the province’s new electricity levy on cryptocurrency businesses and large AI data centres will go toward offsetting residential bills, rather than the coffers of cash-strapped Manitoba Hydro.

The levy is expected to generate $20 million annually, which would take about $50 per year off every household’s electricity bill starting in 2027, Finance Minister Adrien Sala told reporters Thursday.

“This is one step that we can make as a government to make life more affordable for Manitobans,” Sala said.

The default levy is set at 100 per cent of the current rate charges, with $20 million in revenue equivalent to a one per cent rate increase, Sala said.

Inquest into fatal shooting of Eishia Hudson concludes

The inquest into the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Eishia Hudson by a Winnipeg Police Service officer in 2020 adjourned Thursday with an Indigenous ceremony after more than eight months of hearings.

“This concludes what has been a very long process… This is an important process, and it is a preventative process, and the goal is to see what can be done in the future to prevent a tragedy like this occurring again,” said provincial court Judge Margaret Wiebe.

The proceedings, which began in February, examined whether the use of force against the First Nations teen was appropriate and whether systemic racism played a role in the incident. The judge’s task is to make recommendations that could prevent a similar death, but not to assign blame or liability.

Wiebe said she intends to file the final report as quickly as she can.

MPI still lacking brain injury expert

Manitoba Public Insurance has failed to hire an independent brain injury expert to probe how personal injury claims are handled, nearly two years after it was recommended.

Several speakers shared their stories about experiences with MPI in relation to brain injury claims on the opening day of the Public Utilities Board hearing into the auto insurer’s general rate application for a 2.38 per cent increase.

Jean-Marc Christophe said he had a concussion after a collision in September 2025. He said he’s had little help from the Crown corporation and it has left him confused and frustrated.

“Before the collision, I worked about 55 to 60 hours a week, worked every day as a courier. I delivered groceries,” he told the board Tuesday. “Trying to navigate this has been very difficult. I don’t have anybody to help me. I have to do it on my own.”

Man pleads guilty to manslaughter for chasing, stabbing man downtown

An intellectually disabled man who drunkenly chased down a man he had been arguing with and fatally stabbed him in broad daylight admitted to manslaughter on Wednesday.

Matthew Gerald Tomack Pelletier, now 38, chased Ricky Dwayne Mancheese, 49, down Kennedy Street before stabbing him six times in front of his wife on the sidewalk between Sargent and Cumberland avenues, at about 11:50 a.m. on June 11, 2024.

Pelletier, who police arrested the next day, was charged with second-degree murder, but instead pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter in front of Court of King’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey on Wednesday.

“This type of incident on Winnipeg streets is all too common and must be strongly deterred,” said McKelvey.

Slain chef’s family infuriated by stayed charges

The family of a Ste. Anne chef who died after an altercation at a party says they are angry a manslaughter charge has been stayed against a 46-year-old man.

“What I’ve been told is they don’t have enough evidence to prosecute criminally because the only ones that are alive to tell the story are saying they did it in self defence,” said Jason Huley, brother of 49-year-old Cameron Huley, who died May 3.

“I’m pissed. I hate our justice system … I feel they let us down.”

Steinbach RCMP were called to a home in the RM of Ste. Anne just after 11:30 p.m. on May 2 about an assault. Cameron Huley was found suffering from serious injuries. He died hours later in hospital, police said.

St. Amant gets boost for autism supports

Manitoba parents Jamie and Colin Hilding say they could not imagine their lives without the support they’ve received from St. Amant Centre in Winnipeg.

On Wednesday, the province announced an injection of $6.75 million to get more families of those with autism the help they need.

The announcement, made at St. Amant Centre on River Road, will see $5 million given to the organization which supports more than 2,200 people with developmental disabilities, autism and acquired brain injury.

It will be used to implement additional early intervention supports, like behavioral and language pathology programs, double capacity for school-aged services and increase case management capacity.

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.

Chief says minister offered money to remove highway checkstop

The chief of the Bloodvein River First Nation says a Manitoba cabinet minister offered up to $250,000 for economic development as he was trying to persuade her to remove a highway checkstop that has outraged hunters.

Chief Lisa Young said Ian Bushie, the minister of Indigenous futures, raised the money in a private conversation in September, also telling her the First Nation would receive a letter directing it to move the checkstop because it’s on a provincial highway.

Young said Bushie described the money as support for economic development in the community.

“I really felt like I was being pushed into a corner. I also felt that I was being bribed,” Young said in an interview. “It may not have come off that way. But he even further said, ‘And I’m not bribing you.’ So, I really didn’t know what to say.”