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Premier Wab Kinew is an imported Manitoban, born in Kenora and raised on Onigaming First Nation in Treaty Three (in northwestern Ontario) before his family moved to Winnipeg. He’s the son of well-known Anishinaabe leader and traditional knowledge keeper Tobasonakwut Kinew and Kathi Kinew.

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Mayor 2 puts positive spin 3 on city’s less-than-edsfxpected share of federal housing fund

The city will receive $122 million in federal government housing money, falling about $70 million shy of the municipal government’s original request. However, Winnipeg’s mayor stressed the amount is substantial and should leverage millions of dollars of additional investment.

Downtown groups plead for parking reprieve

The city is being urged to explore expanding paid parking beyond downtown before making any changes to the fees charged for city centre spaces.

“It is critical for the economic health of our city that we don’t discourage people from coming downtown (through parking fees),” said Kate Fenske, chief executive officer of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, during Thursday’s public works committee meeting.

The city is considering a five-year parking strategy that could eventually overhaul parking practices and prices.

Paid parking times could be extended into evening and/or weekend hours, prices could increase to ensure turnover in high-demand areas and new fees could be charged where parking is currently free, the strategy notes.

‘He could come for me again’: stabbing victim fears for her life if court removes hospital attacker’s high-risk designation

It has been four years since Trevor Farley nearly killed Candyce Szkwarek during a frenzied knife attack inside Seven Oaks General Hospital, but it still feels like it happened yesterday, the now-retired nursing manager told a judge Thursday.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think of what he did to me,” Szkwarek said. “I struggle to fall asleep and often wake up reliving the attack.”

Two years ago, Farley was found not criminally responsible for the October 2021 attack on Szkwarek and the slayings of his parents Stuart Farley and Judy Swain in separate attacks earlier that same day.

The not criminally responsible finding by King’s Bench Justice Ken Champagne was accompanied by an order that Farley be designated a high-risk accused — a first in Manitoba since former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government introduced legislation creating the designation in 2014.

Veterinarian agrees to quit practice after regulator rules on latest complaints

A veterinarian who has an extensive history of being disciplined by the provincial regulator will stop practising next year.

Dr. Wenchao Zheng has agreed to retire on June 30 after he pleaded guilty to professional misconduct in front of the profession’s regulatory body earlier this year.

The peer review complaints committee of the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association held a hearing into four recent complaints against Zheng in July. Two were filed by members of the public in 2023, while the other two were referred to the committee by the regulator’s registrar in 2024.

In an order issued in September, the association banned Zheng from doing orthopedic surgeries.

Drug rehab staffer injured in attack by armed resident

A staff member at a Winnipeg drug rehab centre, frequently used as an inpatient facility for people involved in the criminal justice system, was attacked and seriously injured by a resident armed with a weapon.

City police responded to reports of an assault at the Behavioural Health Foundation at 35 Avenue de la Digue shortly after 9 p.m. on Oct. 24. The victim, a person in their 20s, was transported to hospital in unstable condition, and later upgraded to stable condition, Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said.

Officers arrested a 29-year-old woman and charged her with assault with a weapon and breaching a release order. Police withheld further details about the victim.

The Free Press has confirmed the accused involved in the attack is Jennifer Marie Pollard, who was being treated at the foundation’s inpatient facility in St. Norbert.

Councillors to vote on new parking plan that includes surge pricing

The City of Winnipeg has unveiled a five-year parking strategy that includes more spaces and “surge pricing” during busy times and special events.

If the plan is adopted, the $270,000 strategy would pilot electric vehicle-charging stations downtown, develop an app for all parking needs and update accessibility signs for drivers with disabilities.

The strategy aims to manage the parking stock amid increased curb use.

“With the federal government providing funding for housing and transit, the city is densifying and we need our parking policies to better reflect that,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, who is chairwoman of the public works committee, which will vote on it Nov. 6. It requires final approval from council.