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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.

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Mayor 2 puts positive spin 3 on city’s less-than-edsfxpected share of federal housing fund

The city will receive $122 million in federal government housing money, falling about $70 million shy of the municipal government’s original request. However, Winnipeg’s mayor stressed the amount is substantial and should leverage millions of dollars of additional investment.

Province launches first Liquor Mart pop-up store next to new Costco

Manitoba has launched its first pop-up Liquor Mart — right next to Winnipeg’s newest Costco.

Shoppers drove by the converted construction trailer Thursday on their way to the opening of the new Costco, located on Portage Avenue West, just north of Highway 1.

The pop-up, covered in purple Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries signage, sits off Festival Drive in west Winnipeg.

“It is unique,” said Premier Wab Kinew, who paid a visit Thursday morning. “This is a really exciting opportunity for us to see if this kind of thing makes sense.”

Calls mount for mental health court to serve Westman region

Defence lawyer Bob Harrison has spent almost 40 years practising in Brandon and brings up the need for a mental health court whenever he has a chance.

“I’m always yapping about it,” Harrison said. “We’ve got a lot of mental health problems in this area, so that’s why I keep going on about it.”

Manitoba’s only mental health court is in Winnipeg. Established in 2012 as a joint initiative between Shared Health, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Manitoba Justice, its purpose is to divert adults whose crimes are a direct result of their mental illness out of the regular court system.

Harrison said people with mental illness typically don’t function well in jail because they are “prone to getting picked on.”

Former police chief details volunteer time in Jamaica

In early October, former Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis was back in his native Jamaica, volunteering with a humanitarian organization to support three schools.

But only weeks after he left, Hurricane Melissa tore through the island, battering the hard-hit western region where he had been working and damaging the very schools he’d just helped.

Now, Clunis — who was in Mexico on business this past week — is waiting for the right time to return.

“We don’t quite have the full scope, but we are in regular contact with the people in those specific areas,” Clunis, who served as police chief from 2012 to his retirement in 2016, told the Free Press on Saturday. “Some are just getting back to school now in some locations. I just saw that some schools are going to have tent schools now, because some of the schools were significantly damaged.”

Health minister listens to Hamiota residents’ ER concerns

HAMIOTA — Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara got an earful when they appeared before residents in this western Manitoba town Friday, to address shortcomings with its emergency care centre.

The minister, appearing beforeroughly 75 people in the community centre, spent an hour responding to questions, comments and concerns.

Robin Johnston, a Hamiota resident in his 80s, complained that his wife Bette waited two and a half hours for an ambulance response, and said he believed it led to her death.

“Everybody here should be cheering that we should have an ambulance,” he said. “It would have saved my wife’s life.”

Premier takes his chequebook to Brandon

BRANDON — Members of the Manitoba government launched a funding spree as they descended on the province’s second-largest city for their party’s annual convention.

Premier Wab Kinew held a news conference to announce the province will spend another $1 million for reconstruction of Park Community Centre in Brandon.

The fully reconstructed centre, which will open in about two years, will include 68 daycare spaces, a kitchen and a new main hall. In total, the province is chipping in $7 million, the City of Brandon will spend $1.4 million and $100,000 will come from Heritage Co-op.

“We’re really excited about this. This is going to bring child care and recreational and social space to a new level in this part of Brandon. But importantly, this is a hub for community,” Kinew said.