Mark Zuckerberg pledges to stop COVID-19 misinformation on Facebook

Use it twice: a data centre we could support

In June, Premier Wab Kinew rejected a massive AI data centre planned near Île-des-Chênes. The project would have used 500 megawatts of power, which is about the same as the Grand Rapids generating station, and would have run on six natural gas turbines. Kinew said the environmental cost was too high and the long-term benefit for Manitobans was too low.

He made the right call. But simply saying no to data centres is not enough.

Winnipeg is a cold city. Data centres are basically huge electric heaters with computers inside. Almost every watt they use turns into heat, and most facilities pay to release it into the air. In a city that spends half the year paying to stay warm, that’s not just waste; it’s an opportunity. The idea is simple: use the energy twice. First for computing, then for heating our buildings.

The stakes are real. Manitoba Hydro’s new resource plan says peak demand will exceed our capacity as early as 2029 or 2030, and that the province will need about 1,760 additional megawatts of dependable capacity by 2035.

Judge orders City of Winnipeg to refund growth fees

A judge has ordered the City of Winnipeg to pay back all funds accumulated via its controversial impact fee — an amount that exceeded $32 million by March 31.

A court decision released late Wednesday afternoon concludes the civic growth fee charged to developers and homebuilders on construction in some new neighbourhoods is an “invalid indirect tax.”

“In my view, the connection between the use of revenues generated from the impact fee and the persons being regulated is doubtful and, as a result, I find that the impact fee imposed… is an invalid indirect tax, and therefore an unenforceable tax beyond the legislative authority granted to the city to collect,” writes Justice James Edmond in the decision.

The decision goes on to order the city to “refund the impact fees to persons that made the payments.”

Disturbing rise of the cult of hard-line anti-vaxxers

The serious long-term threat from this anti-vax cult is its ability to spread disinformation to their followers via social media and other outlets.

Eliminating short-term sick notes ‘big step forward’: Doctors Manitoba

Manitoba doctors will no longer be required to issue sick notes for short-term employee absences due to illness or injury, starting Thursday.

The new provincial legislation, which officially passed in June, will only allow employers to request the medical documents when an employee has been absent for more than a week or if they’ve called in sick 10 or more times in a calendar year.

Dr. Nichelle Desilets, Doctors Manitoba board chair, said the legislation will free up time for physicians to concentrate on medical appointments and called the new rules among the strongest in Canada.

“What may be a small change in the labour code can be a big step forward on improving access to medical care for all Manitobans and using our health care resources wisely,” she said during a news conference Tuesday.

Hydro reports $446-M loss in 2025-26, points to fourth drought year in past five

Manitoba Hydro posted a $446-million loss in 2025-26, as drought conditions slashed hydroelectric generation, forcing the Crown corporation to buy more power while leaving it with less electricity to sell outside the province.

The loss was $666 million worse than the $220-million profit Hydro had budgeted. The utility posted a $63-million loss the previous year, according to the utility’s annual report released Tuesday.

Hydro said the 2025-26 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, marked its fourth low-water year in the past five years, among the worst stretches of water-flow conditions in its recorded history.

Hydroelectric generation fell 23 per cent to 24 billion kilowatt-hours from 31 billion the previous year, leaving Hydro a net importer of electricity.

Port of Churchill signs agreement with Dutch port

Arctic Gateway Group, operator of the Port of Churchill, has signed an agreement with the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands to attract business and strengthen supply chains linking Western Canada and Europe.

The agreement enables the two ports to work together to develop new trade in critical minerals and energy products, connect Canadian producers with European buyers, and identify opportunities to improve the supply chain from Western Canadian resource projects through Churchill and into European markets.

The Port of Rotterdam is Europe’s largest port and home to more than 3,000 businesses across its industrial complex, serving as a major gateway for critical raw materials and energy.

Meanwhile, the Port of Churchill has been identified as a transformative national strategy for Canada and is emerging as a northern trade corridor connecting Western Canada’s resources to global markets.