Liberals add $1.4 billion to climate change mitigation fund: McKenna

St. Boniface culinary matriarch’s presence, devotion are much missed

Irène Kirouac’s smile was as iconic as her restaurants.

Explaining Canada’s superior employment rate

Donald Trump regularly makes outrageous claims. Fentanyl was pouring across the northern border from Canada and had to be stopped. Canada is nasty to deal with and has the highest tariffs in the world. Canada needs the U.S. but the U.S. doesn’t need Canada. Canadians want to become the 51st state. And so on.

In the latest trade dispute, after Mark Carney walked away from negotiations, Trump made a new claim that Canada’s unemployment rate was 10 per cent and climbing rapidly. Insofar as the unemployment rate is closely monitored, reported monthly, and given similar attention to the rates of inflation and economic growth, the comment was likely intended to signal Canada’s weakness. It fits Trump’s narrative that Canada needs the U.S. for its livelihood and protection and would be better off more directly under U.S. influence as a 51st state, or perhaps a protectorate like the Philippines or Panama in the past.

Fact checkers quickly reported that Canada’s unemployment rate is really 6.4 per cent for July, not 10 per cent, has fallen from 6.9 per cent in April, and is at its lowest rate since May 2024. Some astute observers pointed out that Canada’s method for the calculation of the unemployment rate leads to a higher rate than the U.S. by about one per cent. Under the American methodology, then, our unemployment rate would be 5.4 per cent, not that far off the U.S. July rate of 4.1 per cent.

Detection of unemployment is less straightforward that might appear, as it is sandwiched between the labour force statuses of employment and inactivity at a particular point in time. The internationally established standard for determination of unemployment is the notion of searching for work — you are unemployed if you do not have paid employment and you are looking for work without success. Surveys have been developed to categorize respondents as employed, unemployed or inactive, including the labour force survey (LFS) in Canada and the current population survey (CPS) in the U.S.

Adorable accoutrements for the school year

By now, with only a handful of days left before summer holidays draw to a close, the back-to-school essential kit lists will be landing in inboxes throughout the province.

Specifying children turn up to school with a precise number of pencils — sharpened, of course — a deck of playing cards, a multipack of neon highlighters and an exact number of duotangs (or, as they are known elsewhere in the world, three-pronged report folders) in distinctly different colours, the rigid tyranny of the official school-supply list leaves little room for personal expression.

But this mandatory uniformity doesn’t mean every single item must conform. Just because it’s an essential doesn’t mean it can’t be cute.

Forget moody blues and midnight black — unless they’re your fave colours, of course — and opt for something a bit brighter, a bit sunnier, a bit more doodle-friendly as cheery add-ons for that first day back at schools … without breaking any rules.

Anxious about attending the WSO? Overcome this stage fright

This fall I bought season tickets to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for the first time.

At first I was excited. The (A)bsolute Classics and (B)eyond Classics series have a fantastic lineup and I felt proud to be able to support a local arts organization.

That feeling did not last long. The novelty of my purchase eventually wore off and I found myself faced with a lot of anxiety. What if I clap in the wrong spot? Was it wise to spend so much money on something I might not even enjoy? Is classical music even relevant anymore? And — most importantly — what on earth do I wear?

I’m no stranger to western art music (also called European classical music, or just classical music) by any means. As an unpopular high school student, I played French horn in the school band. If hadn’t become a writer I would have likely become a professional musician.

Stastny gave $1,000 to convoy protesters

GLENDALE, Ari. – Paul Stastny said he donated to the convoy protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates because of serious concerns he has for the future of those closest to him and what he believes could be a turning point for Canada.

The Winnipeg Jets forward was one of tens of thousands of people exposed in a leaked list of donors that financially supported the so-called “freedom convoy.” Stastny, under a registered company Walnuts, LLC, committed US$1,000 on Feb. 8, according to the leaked documents.

“Being the son of immigrants that left a communist country to come to Canada and have a future where they had their own decisions and do-what-they-want type of freedom is something that’s always been instilled in me,” Stastny told the Free Press, speaking for the first time on the topic. “And then I know what Canada was like, and I can see where Canada is going, and I think that’s what scares me.”

He added: “For me, it’s not about myself or my wife. It’s more about our kids’ futures, and you want their future to always be better than yours.”