First Canadian coronavirus case now cleared of the virus: health officials

Neo-Nazi group members plotted to kill Free Press reporter

Disturbing details of a plan to kill a Free Press reporter who had infiltrated a white nationalist hate group were revealed for the first time Wednesday.

Waiting for Cormier verdict the ‘calm before the storm’

As the jury room door closed behind the seven women and four men who are now deliberating on the evidence against Tina Fontaine’s accused killer, Thelma Favel rose from the chair she’s occupied for most of Raymond Cormier’s second-degree murder trial.

Almost every day over the past three weeks, Favel, the woman who raised 15-year-old Tina, has sat right up front, directly across from the jury box, listening, sobbing and soaking in disturbing details of the teen’s last days that have come to light over the course of Cormier’s second-degree murder trial.

On Wednesday afternoon, after Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal instructed the jury and sent them off to be sequestered until they decide whether 56-year-old Raymond Cormier is guilty of killing Tina, Favel got up and hugged Crown prosecutor Breta Passler. It was one of many moments, this one shielded from jurors, that have long since proven the emotional impact of the case and the lasting power of Tina’s legacy.

Tina’s death sparked a public outcry that renewed calls for a national inquiry into disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across Canada, and the criminal trial for the man accused of killing her hasn’t happened in a vacuum.

Pair preps for weekend test in Kelowna

KELOWNA, B.C. — Their first spin around the ice at Skate Canada International on Thursday was a mix of business and pleasure for Winnipeg pair skaters Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov.

Job one for the practice session was to get accustomed to the size and feel of the ice surface at Propsera Place while test-driving the lifts, throws and jumps they’ll perform Friday in their senior ISU Grand Prix competition debut.

“The big thing is the patterns (skating into elements) because these boards are very narrow but very long — it’s NHL size — so when you’re setting up elements you need to make sure you’re using the full length or else you’re going to run into the boards,” Elizarov explained in a post-skate chat with media.

“The second thing is the ice which is sometimes really soft or really hard. This ice is really soft.”

MMF teams with Babcock for aviation takeoff

Métis leadership’s hopes are flying high: the Manitoba Métis Federation aims to be the province’s next aerial firefighting contractor.

On Thursday, the MMF unveiled a business it’s launched with Babcock Canada, a mammoth aviation and engineering company.

The pair signed a memorandum of understanding and committed to work together long-term.

“What better connection would you want?” Chartrand said. “It’s (the) perfect partnership.”