This is the right way to wash your hands

Supreme Court road show draws overcapacity crowd in Winnipeg

A historic Supreme Court hearing began Wednesday in Winnipeg by putting into focus the lack of resources in Manitoba’s court system — a reality felt deeply across the country, the Supreme Court justices were told.

As they presided over a case outside of the nation’s capital for the first time in the court’s 144-year history, the nine judges were tasked with considering whether court delays caused by judges are a systemic problem in Canada, and if so, what they can do to stop them.

The issue likely isn’t top of mind for most Canadians outside the legal system — or even the majority of those within it — but the public’s interest was piqued by the chance to see Canada’s highest court in action.

About 180 people showed up to watch Wednesday’s hearing at the downtown Law Courts building in a 60-seat courtroom usually reserved for Manitoba’s Court of Appeal. There was a little fanfare: people were issued free tickets to get into the hearing, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner gave a short welcome address (not the norm in Ottawa).

Granite Curling Club wants judge to stop work on housing project, review city’s decisions

The Granite Curling Club has filed a new court action asking a judge to review and quash City of Winnipeg decisions on a controversial project that would construct a 110-unit housing complex on its parking lot — and to issue an injunction stopping work for now.

The new notice of application, filed in the Court of King’s Bench on Wednesday, comes as a judge mulls his decision on an earlier court application from the club over how the city moved forward on approving the development.

The developer has since begun what it calls “investigative work” at the site, conducting some digging to prepare for a heritage resources impact assessment that will determine whether the area has archeological significance, the chief executive of the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corp. Inc. 2.0 said earlier this week.

Work at the site prompted the club’s lawyers to file the new application, which will have its first hearing on Oct. 26.

Health ministers meeting ends without long-term funding commitment from Ottawa

Canada’s health minister failed to deliver the promises of long-term funding increases that her provincial and territorial counterparts, who were gathered in Winnipeg this week, had been seeking.

Instead, Marjorie Michel reiterated the federal government’s commitment to working collaboratively towards renewing bilateral funding agreements and to meet again before the end of the year to discuss long-term funding.

“The decision we all agreed on is to have our public service… start the work on what will be the next step for the next negotiation on Canada Health Transfer and other agreements,” Michel said Friday at a news conference after meeting with the other health ministers.

When asked why the federal government couldn’t commit to maintaining funding levels geared, at a minimum, to the rate of inflation over the long term, Michel said that it’s time to update agreements signed a decade ago.

This is the right way to wash your hands

Dr. John Embil, professor of medical microbiology and infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba, gives the low-down on the best way to wash hands to effectively stop the spread of germs.

Team president locked out, day after speaking out on arena’s closure

A longtime team official in Manitoba’s hockey community says he’s being punished by the City of Winnipeg for speaking out about the poor condition of one of its rinks.

Barry Bonni, president of the River East Royal Knights, has occupied an office at Terry Sawchuk Memorial Arena for more than four decades.

On Friday, he was locked out.

“They’re on the war path,” Bonni said.

Valieva wins European figure skating title ahead of Olympics

Three years in, All Elite Wrestling has established itself as being the first viable alternative to WWE since the ‘Monday Night Wars’ of the mid-90s.