Charleswood eatery ownership change

‘You vote with your bike’: cyclists celebrate freedoms, call for increased safety

Patty Wiens got dressed up in her sparkly, hot pink cowboy boots to pedal and talk politics with more than 100 other people on Sunday.

The founder of Winnipeg’s Fancy Women Bike Ride called on attendees of the 2026 event to ask candidates in the upcoming civic election — a half-dozen of whom were in attendance — about their active transportation platforms.

“We’re here today, in an election year, to remind you that you vote with your bike,” Wiens told a crowd of nearly 120 cyclists gathered on the legislature grounds for the group ride.

“When (city council) candidates come to your door and ask what’s important to you, you’re going to say, ‘I want to ride my bike safely in the city. What are you going to do about it?’”

Liberal-NDP dental plan would benefit millions of Canadians

The program was the centrepiece of an agreement announced Tuesday by the Liberals and NDP, that will see the former stay in power as a minority government until 2025 with support from the latter.

Tax hike in billion-dollar budget

Winnipeg homeowners are facing a 2.33 per cent property tax increase next year.

Mayor Brian Bowman and his executive policy committee tabled the city’s draft 2017 operating and capital budgets Tuesday, which will see the city’s spending crack the $1-billion mark for the second year in a row at $1.08 billion.

If the budget is approved, the 2017 municipal property tax bill for a Winnipeg home assessed at $288,190 will be $1,694 — an increase of $38.51 from 2016.

“This is a fiscally prudent budget,” Bowman told reporters Tuesday. “It’s balanced and responsive to those who asked we get our own house in order.”

A better approach, but not yet enough

In late June, when the Winnipeg Police Service launched a 10-day ‘crackdown’ on open drug use and illegal drug sales in areas in and around downtown, it did so without consulting or informing community outreach and social services agencies working in the targeted areas.

Inevitably, the WPS action drew criticism from several front-line agencies, which issued a collective statement just two days after the police operation began, pointing out that heavy-handed policing would drive vulnerable people away from the help they desperately need.

“Every day we work to build trust with people who have experienced trauma, discrimination, and barriers to care,” Kate Sjoberg, executive director of Resource Assistance for Youth, said at the time. “Actions that create fear around accessing services can undo months or years of relationship-building and place people at greater risk of preventable harm.”

At the time, WPS Chief Gene Bowers held up his hand and said, “That’s on me.”