Reach out for help to cope with volatile mom

Bell MTS plans outage compensation

Bell MTS won’t say how many of its customers have landline outages, but it has told the CRTC it will double its number of service technicians and compensate customers by giving them free enhanced service — if they have a Bell MTS cellphone.

In a letter to the federal regulator this week, the company promised to hire and train more technicians as well as bring in workers from elsewhere.

“By the end of July, we will have doubled the number of line technicians available within the Winnipeg area since Sept. 2021,” wrote Bell MTS assistant general counsel Philippe Gauvin.

“Since our (May 20) letter, extra technicians have been brought in from other provinces as well as other cities within the province of Manitoba and the increased repair load is being managed by a dedicated team under senior executive oversight.

Four years on, future of 24 Sussex uncertain

OTTAWA - Nearly four years after Justin Trudeau opted not to move into the prime minister's official residence over concerns about its crumbling state, the building remains vacant — except for staff who continue to use the kitchen to prepare meals for Trudeau and his family.

And it appears no decisions will be made on the future of the residence until well after the fall federal election.

The federal Conservatives accuse the Trudeau government of dithering over "critical" upgrades to the stately yet run-down home, and needlessly costing taxpayers more money in the process.

At the same time, none of the main federal party leaders appears willing to opine on whether the building should be torn down or renovated, or whether they would live in the residence if it were upgraded.

Soccer stars continue to inspire

For nearly a decade, Desiree Scott had visualized just what the moment would look like. Feel like. Sound like. And there were times, no question, where the Winnipegger wondered if it would all simply remain locked in her head, a figment of her vivid imagination.

Heartbreak in London in 2012. More disappointment in Rio in 2016. A 2020 Summer Games delayed by a global pandemic. And then, one year later, an all-too-familiar foe once again standing in their way.

But all the scheming and dreaming, all the training and sacrificing and blood, sweat and tears left on the field and in locker rooms around the world paid off in an epic way last week. Scott, along with her teammates on the Canadian national women's soccer team, had finally reached the pinnacle of their profession.

They were Olympic gold medallists.

Célébrer des employés qui mettent la main à la pâte

L’immigration francophone joue un rôle grandissant dans la vitalité de Saint-Pierre-Jolys. À la Boulangerie Saint-Pierre, des employés venus de plusieurs pays contribuent à la croissance de l’entreprise tout en s’intégrant à la vie du village. Une diversité que l’entreprise souhaite célébrer avec une nouvelle murale.

La Boulangerie Saint-Pierre, à Saint-Pierre-Jolys, connaît une importante expansion depuis quelques années. Pour Jocelyn Gagné, propriétaire de l’entreprise familiale, cette croissance repose largement sur le travail de ses employés, dont plusieurs sont des immigrants francophones. C’est pour souligner leur contribution que la boulangerie, en collaboration avec l’artiste franco-manitobain Gérald Laroche, a entrepris la création d’une murale qui ornera bientôt sa façade.

Jocelyn Gagné, qui travaille dans l’entreprise depuis l’âge de 13 ans, alors que ses parents étaient propriétaires, constate bien que la société a changé à travers les années. “On est rendu dans près de 150 magasins, on a grandi pas mal vite dans la dernière année. On a beaucoup plus d’employés que dans le temps de mes parents.” Avec une telle croissance, le besoin d’engager davantage de main-d’œuvre est venu naturellement.

Un Folklorama à l’année longue

Wastewater monkeypox testing underway across Canada

Wastewater testing to detect the monkeypox virus has begun in Winnipeg and 12 other Canadian cities as scientists work to determine how accurate the tests are.

New executive director has big dreams for WSO

Angela Birdsell was in grade 3 or 4 when she saw the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for the first time.

It was during a school field trip to an afternoon rehearsal at the Centennial Concert Hall, which, in the 1970s, was still fairly new. Birdsell, who would have been just eight or nine at the time, was struck by the grandness of the hall, the plushness of the blood-red carpet and those pleasing rows of red seats.

But it was the moment when the musicians raised their instruments that left the most indelible impression.

“I remember just being electrified by the sound of the orchestra tuning up,” she says. “It just opened my little psyche to a whole other world out there.”