Saskatchewan announces 60 new COVID-19 cases, mostly on Hutterites colonies

DeKalb victory adds Team Ackland to list of province’s top curling teams

MORRIS, Man., — Don’t forget about Abby Ackland.

Councillor facing sex charges running for re-election

A Winnipeg city councillor who faces sexual assault charges says he is running for re-election.

A day before Tuesday’s deadline, Russ Wyatt registered to run in the Transcona ward where he has served five terms and to which he was first elected in 2002.

“After much reflection, I have decided to stand for re-election in the Winnipeg municipal election,” Wyatt said in a statement Monday.

“Time and time again, I have stood up to the powers that be, and they would love to get rid of me. But I see the mess this city is in today, with the disastrous new bus routes, ever rising water bills, developer largesse, and poverty in our streets,” he said.

Autopsy confirms dog attack killed animal-rescue volunteer on First Nation

An autopsy has confirmed an animal rescue volunteer died of a dog attack on Sandy Bay Ojibway Nation earlier this month, the Manitoba First Nations Police Service says.

Amanda Nobiss, a 37-year-old woman from Winnipeg, was found dead in Sandy Bay on July 17 after police were contacted by a friend trying to locate her.

She often visited the community 180 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg to save animals.

The police service said Tuesday that an autopsy confirmed her “injuries were consistent with a dog attack.”

Finding new markets — across an ocean

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s barnstorming trade mission to the European Union has created a ton of discussion and debate about cultivating new trade opportunities for Canadian exporters. What is hasn’t created, however, is very much certainty.

At first blush, opening up new trade relationships with the EU seems like a no-brainer as Canada is confronted with an increasing number of tariffs and restrictions from an increasingly unhinged Trump White House. And the possibilities are tantalizing; the EU and United Kingdom represent a market of more than 519 million people, which is larger than North America.

Canada is one of few nations to push back against Trump’s irrational trade demands. The result is an almost daily escalation of punitive measures and threatening rhetoric. Our trade relationship with the U.S. has been deeply wounded; in short order, it may become fatally so.

However, it is our courage in the face of American trade threats that has made us a coveted trading partner for many European nations. So much so that the EU created an entirely new category of “associate member” to give Canada an incentive to strengthen trading relationships.

Saskatchewan announces 60 new COVID-19 cases, mostly on Hutterites colonies

REGINA - Saskatchewan has posted its largest single-day jump in COVID-19 cases with 60 coming largely from Hutterite communities.

Health officials say 48 of the new cases are on colonies and 43 of those are from a single colony in the Rural Municipality of Lawtonia, 200 kilometres west of Regina.

Premier Scott Moe attributed that colony's high case numbers to testing being done by Saskatchewan Health Authority officials, but said communal living is an environment where COVID-19 can spread.

"This is a serious day for all of us in the province," he said at a media briefing Wednesday. "If this doesn't get everyone's attention across this province, I would hope it does."

Assiniboine Park has long provided visitors the chance to commune with nature

Here’s what I observed on a perfect spring day in Assiniboine Park last week: I saw people biking, jogging and walking their dogs (so many good dogs).

I saw the Assiniboine River at low ebb and perennial plantings in the English Garden pushing up toward the April sun.

I saw birdwatchers with binoculars, a group of 20-somethings playing cards, a man tossing bread to some chipper little ground squirrels, and a guy on a tricked-out three-wheeled cycle with a speaker blasting Don’t Stop Believing. This being Winnipeg, I also ran into my husband’s aunt’s best friend.

During the last year of COVID-19, as so many indoor places where Winnipeggers would normally gather were shut down, outdoor public spaces became crucial for mental and physical health. When time seems to have stopped, it helps to see the natural world continue its cycles. When life feels isolated, it’s reassuring to realize you’re still part of a larger community.