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.

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.

No jail time for drunk driver who killed best friend

A Manitoba mother of four who is responsible for a drunk driving crash that killed her best friend has been spared from jail in favour of two years of house arrest.

Jayden Starr Okemow pleaded guilty to one count of driving with a blood alcohol level over .08 causing death for the May 2023 crash that killed 23-year-old Haylee Linklater.

Provincial court Judge Wanda Garreck ruled Okemow’s personal history as an Indigenous woman and clear remorse justified a restorative justice sentence, in her written decision released last month.

Prosecutors had sought a sentence of five years in prison.

Speed reduction proposed for River Road after child hit

Six months after a child was struck on River Road, the city’s public service has endorsed 30-kilometre per hour school zones along the route in south St. Vital.

A new report recommends city council make changes to the road that winds around St. Vital Park and connects St. Vital Road, Abinojii Mikanah and St. Mary’s Road.

The proposal would delay snow clearing while allowing for reduced speed limits outside both Minnetonka School and St. Amant School.

“It’s a trade-off, but I think it’s a worthwhile trade off,” Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) said.

Federal help to buy groceries hailed by some, but not nearly enough for others

Cash from Canada’s Groceries and Essentials Benefit is officially landing in bank accounts across the country and one Winnipeg business owner said the one-time payment will “of course” help people deal with rising prices.

About 460,000 Manitobans will receive the cash in amounts varying based on household — from $267 for a single adult with no children to $533 for a couple with two kids.

Behailu Sebreszabher, who owns Raei Convenience and Halal Meat Ltd. with his brother, said the federal cheques will ensure customers keep coming through the door.

“The way I’m busy now, I’m just happy if customers are getting more,” he said.

Sweet dreams in new beds for 50 children

Fifty twin-sized beds were hand-built for 50 children by volunteers Friday as part of an annual event put on by Manitoba Blue Cross and Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

“New people are always needing beds, and so there’s always a demand,” said Jim Thiessen, co-president of the charity in Winnipeg.

This is the third year volunteers from both organizations have built beds behind Blue Cross Park since the non-profit announced they’d pay for a five-year lease on a warehouse that has allowed the charity to build beds year-round.

The non-profit organization relies solely on donations to build and deliver beds to families in need across Canada.

Tories decry limited hours of drug site, despite repeatedly opposing it

The Tory party, which has opposed a supervised drug consumption site, was critical Friday about limited operating hours for the soon-to-open site because it said addictions don’t follow a weekday schedule.

The site, set to open later this month at 366 Henry Ave., is expected to operate from Tuesday to Thursday between 11 a.m. and 6:45 p.m.

Jeff Bereza, the party’s addictions critic, says drug users will be without support for much of the week.

“Where are these people going to go?” asked Bereza, who has repeatedly said he supports more treatment options instead of a supervised consumption site. “It seems like this government, their only path is to keep people using drugs.”

Province has to hire, implement nurse-to-patient ratios, union leader says

The legislation is in place and the recommendations are in, but Manitoba needs to hire more people if nurse-to-patient ratios are to become a reality, the union representing public-system nurses in the province said Friday.

“We aren’t even close to ratios in most of our areas, so that means we would need to hire nurses, but I consider this to be a huge investment in our health-care system that is going to give nurses a chance to provide safe, quality patient care with numbers of patients that they can actually manage,” Manitoba Nurses Union Darlene Jackson said Friday after the province released a report out forth by the Manitoba Nurse-Patient Ratio subcommittee.

The recommendations lay out minimum staffing ratios in all areas of hospital and long-term care across the province.

Fridays release follows the passage of Bill 28 (The Health System Governance and Accountability Amendment Act — Nurse to Patient Ratios) in the legislature this week.

Suspects sought in armed smash-and-grab at gold store

Employees at a bullion store in River Heights were shaken after two masked men, armed with a handgun and hammer, swiped gold jewelry valued at as much as $290,000 in a smash-and-grab robbery.

The heist happened at Gatewest Coin Ltd. at 1711 Corydon Ave., near Lanark Street, shortly before 12:30 p.m. on April 29.

“It was a very quick smash-and-grab. The whole thing took a minute and a half to two minutes,” said Jasmine Allen, the store’s vice-president.

She said one of the men smashed a glass display case with a hammer and put gold jewelry, mostly rings, into a bag that he was carrying. The other man, who had a gun, stood nearby.

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.

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.