Stand and deliver

Community’s compassion shelters family every step of painful journey

Outside the courthouse, in the light of a cool spring day, George and Melinda Wood stood facing the quiet half-circle of reporters. Around them were gathered dozens of family and supporters, a halo of love as united here, at the end of the journey, as it had been just over a week ago when the trial started. 

It hadn’t been a long trial, which is a kind of blessing. The trial of the man accused of Christine Wood’s murder was expected to last up to three weeks; it took just nine days. The jury reached a unanimous verdict in less than two hours Wednesday. 

As they sat waiting to hear the accused’s fate, George and Melinda clutched their hands together tightly. When the jury foreman rose to make the pronouncement — guilty, second-degree murder — those interlaced hands shot upward in unison, moved by the same surge of raw feeling that sent cries of relief ringing through the room.  

At the front of the public gallery, Melinda’s mother, Gladys, held up a spray of green flowers. They were so bright they drew eyes to them, beaming in vivid contrast to the subdued hues of the court. The colour of life. The colour of hope.

Of pigs and porcine politics

There’s an old saying in politics — that if you wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty, and the pig likes it. Welcome to negotiating free trade with Donald Trump.

This is the unenviable position Canada finds itself in, a year and a half into a radically changed relationship with the United States. How do you negotiate with a president who practises the art of the steal? Is it principled to compromise with corruption simply to satisfy a president who is bankrupt of any principles except making money?

Answering these questions will say as much about us as it does about them.

President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat makes this starker. He is imposing 50 per cent tariffs on $28 billion worth of Canadian exports, covering more than 500 product categories.

Local dressage duo getting to know each other while pursuing Olympics dream

He’s hardly what you'd call Ariana Chia’s latest flame, some recent connection on a matchmaking site such as e-(quine) harmony.

In fact, Manitoba’s top equestrian rider and her horse, Fiderflame, have been an item for a decade, from the first time she saw the chestnut foal with the four white socks and chalky mark on his muzzle resembling a fire emoji.

The now 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding has come a long way from that breeding farm south of Hamburg, Germany, and with Chia atop is out to gain national and international prominence in the intricate sport of dressage.

While the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics burst the bubble of athletes around the world, it might turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Chia and her horse.

Convicted sex offender awaits latest sentence

Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for a Red Lake, Ont., man who groomed two Indigenous girls online and drove nearly 500 kilometres to Winnipeg to sexually abuse one of them.

Scott Christopher Alcorn, 50, has pleaded guilty to one count each of child luring, sexual interference and possession of child sexual abuse material.

Alcorn was still on parole for child sex offences at the time of his April 2025 arrest, having been convicted four years earlier of providing a 16-year-old girl a bottle of alcohol in exchange for sex.

“Despite this (prior conviction)… Mr. Alcorn egregiously reoffended, this time to lure two children online and successfully groomed, manipulated and commodified one of (the victims),” Crown attorney Dayna Queau-Guzzi told provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs at a sentencing hearing Thursday.

Police union slams top cop’s take on violent crime wave

Winnipeg’s police chief is under fire for dismissing a recent spate of violence in the city as nothing new, in the wake of another weekend of violent crime involving innocent bystanders.

PM overhauls cabinet, moves most senior ministers

OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau asserted Tuesday that he intends to lead the Liberals the next time Canadians head to the polls, as he undertook a major cabinet overhaul aimed at rapidly delivering on his top priorities during his third term as prime minister.

There were nine new faces in the slightly larger cabinet roster. Three previous members were dropped from cabinet and most other senior ministers were moved to new posts.

Trudeau sought to put to rest speculation that he's focused on creating a legacy for himself before exiting the political fray ahead of the next election.

Asked if he intends to lead the Liberals in the next election, he answered simply and categorically: "Yes."