Folklorama 2015 – Day 1 in pictures

Epidemiologist examines COVID-19 risks associated with five activities allowed under Manitoba's public health orders

Sitting in church unmasked. Gathering with friends on an outdoor patio. Relaxing in a spa. All are allowed under Manitoba’s current public health orders. But how safe are these activities? The Free Press spoke with local epidemiologist Cynthia Carr about the risks associated with five activities permitted right now.

Fair does not mean equal How great managers adapt without playing favourites

One of the most common pieces of leadership advice is also one of the most misunderstood: “Give each employee what they need to perform at their best.”

It sounds simple enough, until you become a manager and discover the minute you treat people differently, someone inevitably says, “Why does she get that?” or “How come he gets special treatment?”

Middle managers often find themselves caught, well, in the middle. Senior leaders expect them to bring out the best in every employee, while employees expect everyone to be treated the same. Those two expectations can feel completely at odds.

The truth is good management has never been about treating everyone identically. It has always been about treating everyone fairly.

Olympians are only human, athletes say

As of March 1, businesses and other institutions in Ontario will no longer ask for proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

Let the sunshine in

If our home is our castle, then our backyard could be considered our playground.

Never has that been more true than now, according to Jane Gagnon, customer experience manager for Backyard Paradise by SunCo, a Headingley-based company that specializes in sunrooms and other custom-made backyard structures.

“The impact of the pandemic has been huge. Everybody is doing staycations now,” Gagnon says. “People are realizing … they can enjoy their property and our province even better.”

Gagnon says sunrooms continue to be one of her company’s most requested backyard builds. Not only do they add more useable space to a home, but they also allow homeowners to be able to enjoy the outdoors longer, in some cases for as long as nine or 10 months a year, she adds.

Ask civic candidates to do the math

As Winnipeg voters prepare for a municipal election this October, a well-worn campaign playbook is already emerging.

Candidates across the city will knock on doors promising lower taxes, fewer potholes, shiny new recreation centres and grand road expansions designed to alleviate congestion.

It is a familiar refrain, but it is also one completely disconnected from the city’s financial reality.

While city council is legally mandated to produce a balanced operating budget every year, they do so only after scrambling to close a seemingly never-ending series of unexpected shortfalls — how many years in a row has the city cited “above-average snowfall” to explain budget pressures?