Reach out for help to cope with forthright ex

Chinese newcomers protest over delays in security screening clearance

Dozens of Chinese newcomers rallied outside Winnipeg’s federal immigration office Friday to protest what they describe as untenable delays to Canada’s security screening process.

The rally against Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada comes after a surge in immigration security screening requests created backlogs for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Protesters said the resulting delays have left them in limbo as they try to obtain permanent residency.

“We just want transparency,” said Pakying Chau, 26, who travelled from Hong Kong to Winnipeg in 2018 to study agribusiness.

Rollins becomes fifth councillor to bow out of fall election

Sherri Rollins says she’s withdrawing her bid to keep her city hall seat after eight years, citing her concerns about the “gradual erosion of the role played by council” and the struggle to work co-operatively with the mayor’s office.

The Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry councillor called her time in council “one of the great privileges of (her) life.”

“There’s still a lot of work to be done in the city, but I’m hoping my residents know that it was always personal to me, and bringing my A-game was what I wanted to do for them as long as I could. I’m going to be doing it until November inauguration day,” Rollins told the Free Press Friday.

Winnipeg’s municipal election is Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Each of city's historic bridges has unique story

They span the muddy waters from which Winnipeg derives its name. They connect neighbourhood to neighbourhood. They’re a fundamental feature of our city.

Winnipeg has a reputation as a “River City,” but many don’t know the stories behind the bridges they use every day.

While a bridge may seem to be a boring piece of basic infrastructure, many of Winnipeg’s have fascinating histories that go back more than 100 years.

Police say pellet-style gun used in mosque attack

Police investigators probing an attack on a Winnipeg mosque have determined the weapon used was likely an airsoft or pellet-style gun — not a firearm, as initially believed.

The Winnipeg Police Service said in an update Friday investigators have potentially linked the Wednesday night shooting at Rahma Islamic Centre to reports of similar damage at a home on the 600 block of Roberta Avenue.

“The incident is reported to have occurred at 10:15 p.m. on the same evening, and damage to the windows of the residence is believed to have been caused by an airsoft or pellet-style gun as well,” the news release said.

“Due to the proximity and time frame of both incidents, investigators are attempting to determine if the incidents are related.”

Tory meddling could cost MPI millions, boost Autopac rates

The Pallister government has directed Manitoba Public Insurance to give complete control of its future online product sales to insurance brokers, a move that could cost the corporation an extra $23 million over five years and boost Autopac rates, according to documents obtained by the Free Press.

The documents, which include emails, letters, briefing notes and presentations, show repeated interventions by the Progressive Conservative government on behalf of brokers and shed light on why the Tory-appointed MPI board of directors sought a legal opinion last year to clarify its rights and responsibilities.

The documents also reveal that the PC government directed MPI management last fall to extend the corporation's contract with brokers by two years to Feb. 28, 2021 at a remuneration rate MPI viewed as excessive.

MPI had first proposed a less generous package than the brokers had been receiving, and then offered zero per cent increases in the first two years followed by 0.75 per cent in Year 3, mimicking government policy on civil servant and Crown corporation employee pay. The brokers wound up receiving annual increases to their base $84.5 million compensation that are indexed to inflation (the Consumer Price Index, which rose 1.9 per cent in March compared to a year earlier ).

Local brother act cut their teeth working with the late Jerry Lewis

One of the toughest tasks for the Steiner Brothers, a former kid tap dancing act from Winnipeg, was performing with Jerry Lewis at hospitals for sick kids.

“Oh my, you’d be trying not to cry,” recalled Rob Steiner, 72.

And Lewis, who would go on to help raise over US$2 billion for muscular dystrophy over his career with his annual telethons, would admonish the boys.

“He’d say, ‘What are you crying for? You’re making them happy. Why are you crying?’”