The new big cheese in wine

Stastny gave $1,000 to convoy protesters

GLENDALE, Ari. – Paul Stastny said he donated to the convoy protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates because of serious concerns he has for the future of those closest to him and what he believes could be a turning point for Canada.

The Winnipeg Jets forward was one of tens of thousands of people exposed in a leaked list of donors that financially supported the so-called “freedom convoy.” Stastny, under a registered company Walnuts, LLC, committed US$1,000 on Feb. 8, according to the leaked documents.

“Being the son of immigrants that left a communist country to come to Canada and have a future where they had their own decisions and do-what-they-want type of freedom is something that’s always been instilled in me,” Stastny told the Free Press, speaking for the first time on the topic. “And then I know what Canada was like, and I can see where Canada is going, and I think that’s what scares me.”

He added: “For me, it’s not about myself or my wife. It’s more about our kids’ futures, and you want their future to always be better than yours.”

Explaining Canada’s superior employment rate

Donald Trump regularly makes outrageous claims. Fentanyl was pouring across the northern border from Canada and had to be stopped. Canada is nasty to deal with and has the highest tariffs in the world. Canada needs the U.S. but the U.S. doesn’t need Canada. Canadians want to become the 51st state. And so on.

In the latest trade dispute, after Mark Carney walked away from negotiations, Trump made a new claim that Canada’s unemployment rate was 10 per cent and climbing rapidly. Insofar as the unemployment rate is closely monitored, reported monthly, and given similar attention to the rates of inflation and economic growth, the comment was likely intended to signal Canada’s weakness. It fits Trump’s narrative that Canada needs the U.S. for its livelihood and protection and would be better off more directly under U.S. influence as a 51st state, or perhaps a protectorate like the Philippines or Panama in the past.

Fact checkers quickly reported that Canada’s unemployment rate is really 6.4 per cent for July, not 10 per cent, has fallen from 6.9 per cent in April, and is at its lowest rate since May 2024. Some astute observers pointed out that Canada’s method for the calculation of the unemployment rate leads to a higher rate than the U.S. by about one per cent. Under the American methodology, then, our unemployment rate would be 5.4 per cent, not that far off the U.S. July rate of 4.1 per cent.

Detection of unemployment is less straightforward that might appear, as it is sandwiched between the labour force statuses of employment and inactivity at a particular point in time. The internationally established standard for determination of unemployment is the notion of searching for work — you are unemployed if you do not have paid employment and you are looking for work without success. Surveys have been developed to categorize respondents as employed, unemployed or inactive, including the labour force survey (LFS) in Canada and the current population survey (CPS) in the U.S.

What a difference a week makes

Take a week off, he thought. It's the dog days of summer, the sports world has slowed to a crawl and absolutely nothing of substance is going to happen, he figured.

Swing-and-a-miss on my part, with no shortage of newsworthy developments since we last spoke in this space. Now that I've powered up the laptop once again, let's quickly review the good, the bad and the downright silly that went down.

The NHL is heading back to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, and hockey fans around the world are the true winners. Good on the league, players' association and IIHF for finding a path to make this happen, even if Gary Bettman held his nose at the entire process. Shutting down the season for two weeks to send the best and brightest off to Beijing carries plenty of risk, in addition to the obvious inconvenience as the league tries to finally get back on a normal schedule after two COVID-19 shortened years. However, it's ultimately best for business.

On a local front, there should be no shortage of Winnipeg Jets suiting up for their countries. I'm looking forward to heading over to China in February to cover my first-ever Games for the paper, watching the likes of Mark Scheifele (Canada), Connor Hellebuyck and Kyle Connor (United States), Nikolaj Ehlers (Denmark) and Moose defenceman Leon Gawanke (Germany), who are all locks in my eyes. There could be others, too. Might Blake Wheeler (US), Neal Pionk (US), Ville Heinola (Finland) or Josh Morrissey (Canada) make a late bid? We shall see.

St. Boniface culinary matriarch’s presence, devotion are much missed

Irène Kirouac’s smile was as iconic as her restaurants.

Alex Jones ordered to pay $45.2M more over Sandy Hook lies

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury on Friday ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a child who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, adding to the $4.1 million he must pay for the suffering he put them through by claiming for years that the nation’s deadliest school shooting was a hoax.

The total — $49.3 million — is less than the $150 million sought by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis was among the 20 children and six educators killed in the 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut. But the trial marks the first time Jones has been held financially liable for peddling lies about the massacre, claiming it was faked by the government to tighten gun laws.

Afterward, Lewis said that Jones — who wasn't in the courtroom to hear the verdict — has been held accountable. She said when she took the stand and looked Jones in the eye, she thought of her son, who was credited with saving lives by yelling “run” when the killer paused in his rampage.

“He stood up to the bully Adam Lanza and saved nine of his classmates’ lives," Lewis said. "I hope that I did that incredible courage justice when I was able to confront Alex Jones, who is also a bully. I hope that inspires other people to do the same.”

Police conduct code long overdue

It may come as a surprise to many that Manitoba does not have a province-wide code of conduct for police officers. Most other provinces do. Manitoba has had the authority under the Police Services Act since it was passed in 2009 to establish formal rules around policing activity, including mechanisms to respond to allegations of officer misconduct. For reasons neither the former NDP or current Progressive Conservative governments have explained, none was ever put in place.

What Manitobans are left with is a patchwork system that differs from one municipality to the next. It is neither open and transparent nor does it provide the public with an effective process to hold police officers accountable for their actions. Some allegations of non-criminal misconduct are heard by the province’s Law Enforcement Review Agency. However, most complaints made through LERA (a process that has been widely criticized as dysfunctional and ineffective), rarely receive full hearings and almost never result in officer discipline. Allegations of criminal behaviour are investigated through the province’s Independent Investigation Unit.

Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen says the province intends to create a new set of rules that will govern the conduct of all police officers in the province. The minister introduced Bill 30 last week, amendments to the Police Services Act, which among other things restates government’s ability to establish a province-wide code of conduct.

The wording in the bill is similar to what already exists in the act. The difference now, at least according to Mr. Goertzen, is there is a stated intention to move forward on creating a province-wide code, although it remains discretionary under the proposed legislation.