Crown Royal no longer on rocks in Ontario as deal struck

Ottawa earmarks another $60M for national sport organizations

Another chunk of cash earmarked to increase participation in sport and develop homegrown athletic talent is being wired across the country.

On Thursday, the federal government announced an additional $60 million in financial backing for national sport organizations (NSOs).

Some extra wiggle room on mid fiscal-year budgets was not expected by Canada’s 63 NSOs, which were slated to receive a combined $112 million in core Sport Support Program (SSP) funding, and will now see north of $150 million in total.

“Sport has the power to shape lives and bring people together in a way few things can. Today’s announcement reflects a new era for sport in Canada, one where more kids have the opportunity to get out and play, and Team Canada athletes have the support they need to compete and win,” Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said in a statement.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of wounds inflicted on man, murder trial told

The body of a Winnipeg man beaten to death in a North End drug house was outside a Flora Avenue church for nearly a week before it was discovered, a court has been told.

Christopher Kyle Wattman, 38, Hazel Flett, 38 and Victoria Lee Andrews, 28, are on trial charged with first-degree murder in the December 2023 killing of 20-year-old Brooklyn Elijah Hiebert.

Prosecutor Theresa Cannon laid out the Crown’s theory of the case in an opening address before Court of King’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey on Monday.

Hiebert and the three accused were at a Selkirk Avenue “trap house” on the evening of Dec. 24, 2023, when Hiebert got into an argument with Flett and a number of unidentified people.

Researchers: lights at Henderson crossing ‘long overdue’

Six months after a fatal collision at a crosswalk on Henderson Highway, two traffic safety researchers question why the intersection remains an outlier that is missing key flashing lights.

The City of Winnipeg is being urged to install “backflashers” to better protect road users moving in all directions at the intersection where a 32-year-old father died in the spring.

“It’s these little, mundane, non-sexy engineering problems that can cause everything right up to fatality,” said Curt Pankratz, an associate professor at the University of Winnipeg who studies traffic engineering and policymaking.

On April 19, shortly before sunrise, Gabe Beardy was struck when he was crossing the six-lane thoroughfare at Neil Avenue.

Premier touts addition of 137 physicians to Manitoba

Manitoba’s recruitment office has helped to attract 137 physicians to the province since it was established in 2024, including 18 who have taken positions in the western region.

“The point we are making today is that things are getting better, improvements are happening and investments are bringing people to Manitoba,” Premier Wab Kinew said at an announcement in Brandon to highlight the office’s efforts to attract physicians from across Canada and abroad.

The office, which was established as part of the 2024 budget, helps physicians navigate licensing, immigration and job placements. It has engaged with nearly 800 prospective recruits to date.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the office has assisted professionals during every step of their journey, adding that there have been some “hairy” situations at airports where the minister has waited to greet an arriving physician.

Most incumbents regain their seats… but not all

When it comes to civic elections, voters like incumbents — but that doesn’t mean they are always invincible.