Failed plan to produce COVID vaccine in Winnipeg generates multibillion-dollar lawsuit

Truckers convoy: How a TikToker, oil advocates and a Wexit organizer helped fire up the ‘Freedom Rally’ that’s heading to Ottawa

A GoFundMe raised more than $3 million to help the truckers with fuel, food and lodging.

Haunted houses aren’t the only places to find jump scares

C’est l’Halloween, to quote the 1981 elementary school French class banger by Matt Maxwell, but you know what’s already plenty scary? Life.

We all have our personal haunted houses, so to speak, hence the popularity of the “a haunted house but it’s just…” meme that pops up every October. Sample: “a haunted house but it’s just a bunch of men telling you you’d be prettier if you smiled.”

In the spirit of the season, I thought I’d offer up a few jump scares of my own.

A haunted house but it’s just Gate E25

Teemu Selanne living the good life in southern California

LAGUNA BEACH — He likes his coffee black. His steak “medium rare plus.” And he’s an extremely generous pour, especially when it comes to a Moscow mule.

His left knee is giving him all sorts of trouble these days, he’s admittedly almost always running behind schedule and his biggest pride and joy are his four children, who keep him and his wife Sirpa hopping with their numerous athletic pursuits.

He is Teemu Selanne, the beloved Winnipeg Jets legend who, you’ll be happy to know, is still living the good life just a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean in this little piece of southern California paradise.

Despite being nearly eight years removed from the end of a Hall of Fame hockey career, the Finnish Flash remains a big deal around here. That was clear as we sat down earlier this week for an exclusive chat inside “Selanne’s Steak Tavern” — a high-end eatery he owns that sits along the stunning Pacific Coast Highway.

The long and winding road

As theatre goes, it sent a strong message.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, standing in front of microphones and television cameras, holding up his Indigenous status card and saying that he didn’t feel Canada should have “a race-based form of identification in this country, but that is a reality,” adding that it was time to abolish the Indian Act.

“I think it’s time to abolish the Indian Act, get rid of the Indian Act, move past the Indian Act, and it needs to be done with First Nations people and First Nations governments, of course. I think it’s long overdue that we have a relationship with Indigenous Peoples in Canada that reflects who we are as Canadians today,” he said.

The Indian Act — the name alone suggests how out-dated and out of place the law has become. Originally dating from 1876, the law was put in place to “amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians” and gave the Minister of the Interior the responsibility to “control and management of the reserves, lands, moneys and property of Indians in Canada.”

Province’s first female dentist took skill, insight wherever needed

Some stories take longer to get around to than others.

In the fall of 2011 I hooked up with Fiona Odlum at an Academy Road Starbucks for a lighthearted feature about people who report on traffic for a living. Odlum, currently a contributor at CBC Saskatchewan, was working for 680 CJOB at the time, clueing rush-hour commuters in on stalls, lane closures and fender-benders they’d be wise to avoid.

Odlum turned the tables at one point by asking a few questions of her own including, “So, what’s your main beat?”

I don’t really have one, I told her, but if pressed, I would probably go with human-interest pieces.

Ottawa announces $500 million for North End sewage plant upgrade

The federal government will provide $500 million to help complete the major upgrade to Winnipeg’s North End sewage treatment plant.

Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid confirmed the total funding at a news conference at the plant Friday, calling the work critical to Winnipeg’s future.

“The stakes could not be higher. Without expanded wastewater treatment, Winnipeg would run out of capacity to build new homes and accommodate new industries within six years,” said Duguid.

The commitment offers the final funding needed to cover the $1.57-billion third and final phase of the upgrade. The city and province will also pay $500 million each for the work.