Fried Chicken Fest set to kick off

Olympics Latest: Dutch cyclist wins time trial

With six Olympic medals at age 21, it seems almost inevitable now that swimmer Penny Oleksiak will become the most decorated Canadian Olympian of all time, winter or summer.

Rookies prep for Councillor 101

The school for new city councillors is now in session.

The election last week ushered in nine new councillors, the highest turnover since 1992, who will receive an enhanced training program to help them adjust.

While the 17 council information sessions, which are to take place over six weeks, should help ease the pressure of a steep learning curve, Mayor Scott Gillingham was not wrong to describe taking in the surge of new information as like trying to drink from a fire hose, one new councillor said.

“It’s been pretty intense … It’s all moving very quickly. I think most of us expected that, but I think the formality of it gives more structure to the learning,” said Lora Meseman, who represents Transcona.

This not just in: treaty rights carry legal force and are protected in the Constitution

More than a century after the numbered treaties were signed across Western Canada, the courts delivered a blunt reminder last week that those agreements are not ancient historical footnotes.

They still carry legal force and governments cannot ignore them.

Two major court rulings — one in Manitoba and one in Alberta — reinforced a reality many Canadians still do not fully understand: treaties between First Nations and the Crown remain constitutionally protected agreements that continue to shape Canadian law, public policy and governments’ obligations today.

The decisions also underscored something else: Canadians would benefit greatly from learning more about treaties, why they were negotiated as Canada expanded westward and why courts continue to uphold Indigenous and treaty rights.

NHL may have cleared Chevy, but plenty of questions remain

As NHL commissioner Gary Bettman noted Friday, it would have been all-too-easy to toss Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff into the lion's den and give the angry mob the pound of flesh they were demanding. To carpet bomb everyone connected to a clearly broken system that failed several young hockey players who were sexually abused by a predator in their midst.

Instead, Cheveldayoff's career lives to see another day, becoming the last man standing from the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks scandal that has rightfully cost six other colleagues their cushy, high-paid jobs. The league's position will not be popular in some courts of public opinion, where Cheveldayoff has already been tried and convicted. By standing by their man here in Winnipeg, True North may also face backlash.

A popular quote, widely attributed to philosopher Edmund Burke, comes to mind in this sorry situation: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." However, as Bettman wrote in his decision — which are supported by the findings in a damning 107-page independent report released earlier this week — there was enough evidence to spare Cheveldayoff the rod.

That his knowledge was limited as the low-man on the organizational totem pole whose presence in a pivotal May 23, 2010 meeting regarding allegations against video coach Brad Aldrich wasn't even recalled by the majority of other participants. That he was assured the matter was in good hands higher up the proverbial food chain. That his involvement as essentially an "observer" ended that day. That he was not privy to anything that transpired further regarding how Aldrich was handled by the club, nor what he went on to do. And that he has been "extremely forthcoming and credible" about his role.

Knowledge is profitable

It’s been stated many different ways throughout history that knowledge is power.

That is true with respect to finance today.

What’s more, information is not just a powerful tool to navigating money matters: knowledge can be profitable.

Well-informed consumers are often the most financially healthy or, at least, they’re less stressed.