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Waywayseecappo First Nation sets sights on building battery energy storage systems, renewable projects via new venture

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

A Manitoba First Nation and former national chief are throwing their weight behind new-to-Manitoba energy storage methods amid projections of squeezed energy availability.

The province doesn’t have any utility scale battery energy storage systems. Through these, electricity is kept in electrochemical batteries until needed.

Volterra Technology creates the battery technology. It’s part of a new venture: Waywayseecappo Energy Alliance.

Other members include Waywayseecappo First Nation and Ishkonigan Inc., a consulting company founded by former Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine. (Fontaine is a member of Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba.)

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Business

Supplied Killarney-based Warlock Lid Co. sells apparel that celebrates individual Canadian provinces.

Warlock Lid puts province upfront, on top

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Preview

Warlock Lid puts province upfront, on top

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 29, 2026

Warlock Lid Co.’s success has been fuelled not by sorcery but by national pride.

The four-year-old company sells Canadian-themed apparel, including a provincial collection with unique designs for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Headquartered in southwestern Manitoba, Warlock is on track to sell around 30,000 hats this year and a similar amount of hoodies, according to owner Brett Warbeck.

“We’ve almost doubled our production every year since we’ve started,” Warbeck said by phone from his shop on Broadway Avenue in Killarney. “People seem to love the hats and hoodies more than ever.”

The 37-year-old creates the designs and sources the clothing from Canadian suppliers. The leather patches and rubber pieces bearing the logos — also sourced in Canada — are applied at the shop.

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Monday, Jun. 29, 2026

Business

Deep Sky / Facebook A rendering of what the proposed Westman site may look like, where Deep Sky plans to pull carbon out of the air and store it underground.

Carbon capture project gains support

Julia-Simone Rutgers 7 minute read Preview

Carbon capture project gains support

Julia-Simone Rutgers 7 minute read Monday, Jun. 29, 2026

A direct air carbon capture facility proposed for southwestern Manitoba has been shoring up allies in local and Indigenous governments and large corporations, as Montreal-based Deep Sky aims to convince the province its project is ready to launch.

The venture capital-backed tech firm sent the province a package of support letters late last year, encouraging the government to provide the regulatory support and electric power supply needed for the facility to move forward, according to documents obtained by the Free Press/The Narwhal.

“Deep Sky Manitoba is not a speculative concept,” the company wrote in a December letter. “It is a commercially viable infrastructure project that is backed by real market demand and presents an economic opportunity for Manitoba on a global scale.”

Deep Sky is proposing a 145-acre facility in the agriculture and oil-dominant southwestern region that will scrub 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere each year and inject it into porous rock formations 1,000 metres below ground. The company says it will use technology first tested at its existing accelerator in Innisfail, Alta., and will finance the $200-million Manitoba project by selling carbon credits.

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Monday, Jun. 29, 2026

Business

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Angie Cormier, co-owner of Cormier’s Berry Patch and executive director of the Prairie Fruit Growers Association, looks over a field of strawberries on Friday in La Salle.

Berry farms brave storms, eye opening days

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Preview

Berry farms brave storms, eye opening days

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

Despite the unprecedented downpour, berry season is on in Manitoba.

Bright red strawberries have begun sprouting at Boonstra Farms — just two weeks after the Stonewall-area patch was hit by 11 inches of rain during a storm.

“Hopefully, it’ll still be an OK season,” said co-owner Danielle Boonstra. “We’re still hoping to open, probably after Canada Day.”

Torrential rain and cold temperatures have pushed strawberry picking season back to, likely, the first week of July. Haskap picking may start this weekend.

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Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

Opinion

Christinne Muschi / The Canadian Press files Carrots are harvested at fourth-generation, family-run vegetable business Mas & Fils Jardiniers in Saint-Michel, Que.

Farmers just one link in long supply chain

Laura Rance-Unger 4 minute read Preview

Farmers just one link in long supply chain

Laura Rance-Unger 4 minute read Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

Farmers are hardly front and centre in newly released federal and provincial reports analyzing why food has become less affordable for many Canadians.

The word “farmers” doesn’t even appear in the Manitoba government’s Grocery Price Strategy report until Page 7.

That’s a good thing, because it signals a new level of awareness in how we collectively view the food system. The focus is shifting from front-line farmers to the largely invisible and complicated supply chain connecting field to table.

It might even change how farmers see themselves.

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Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

Opinion

Summer school for RESPs

Summer school for RESPs

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

Summer school for RESPs

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

If you’ve been saving for years for your child’s post-secondary education, and they are now ready to pursue higher learning in the fall, it’s not unusual to feel a little lost regarding how best to use that money.

That’s because the main savings vehicle for post-secondary learning, the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), is often complicated to unwind.

“There are definitely some unique aspects to taking out money from a RESP,” says Anthony Maros, senior private banker at BMO Private Wealth in Winnipeg.

Unlike a RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) where every withdrawal is taxable because all contributions are made with after tax money (hence the deduction on contributions), RESPs involve taxable and non-taxable withdrawals.

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Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

Opinion

Magnific Nobody wants to come back from a relaxing week away only to face 500 unread emails, a backlog of urgent requests and a mountain of work that accumulated during their absence.

Vacation shouldn’t feel like workplace risk

Tory McNally 6 minute read Preview

Vacation shouldn’t feel like workplace risk

Tory McNally 6 minute read Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

As summer officially arrives, many Canadians are preparing for lake weekends, road trips, family vacations and the long-awaited opportunity to step away from work for a few days. At least, that’s the theory.

In practice, many employees are packing something extra alongside sunscreen and sandals: guilt.

A recent survey conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of Employment Hero sheds light on an uncomfortable reality in workplaces. While many organizations proudly promote work-life balance and encourage employees to use their vacation time, a significant number of workers still feel anxious about actually disconnecting.

The survey found 45 per cent of employees have delayed, shortened or changed vacation plans because of workload or workplace pressures. Nearly half (46 per cent) admit they check work communications at least sometimes while on vacation. Thirty-nine per cent avoid taking their full vacation entitlement because they worry about falling behind, while 41 per cent report feeling guilty when taking paid time off.

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Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

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Business

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS The main gate at Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg on Tuesday.

Construction boom to take flight at 17 Wing

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Preview

Construction boom to take flight at 17 Wing

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2026

Upwards of $250 million in construction projects could be inbound as Winnipeg’s Royal Canadian Air Force base expands.

The Winnipeg Construction Association is tracking 33 projects at 17 Wing Winnipeg from now through 2033. Collectively, they could be worth $250 million to $450 million, said Darryl Harrison, the association’s president.

“This is historic levels of defence spending in construction.”

He expects half the projects to begin this year. One involves a training facility, potentially $50 million to $75 million in construction, as part of the Future Air Crew Training program — an initiative meant to replace current offerings at 17 Wing, Southport (west of Winnipeg) and Moose Jaw, Sask.

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Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2026

Business

AARON EPP / FREE PRESS Connor Vogt, owner of Parlour Coffee, will close the long-running 468 Main St., location on Friday. Vogt will open a new coffee shop called Passage at 474 Main St., next month.

Parlour Coffee closes, clearing way for Passage

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Preview

Parlour Coffee closes, clearing way for Passage

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2026

Two-and-a-half years after purchasing Parlour Coffee, Connor Vogt is closing the Exchange District business to make way for a new venture next door.

Parlour staff will pour their last drinks at 468 Main St., on Friday and then open Passage at the corner of Main Street and Bannatyne Avenue next month. The new coffee shop will feature a bigger space, longer hours and live events while retaining Parlour’s emphasis on being a gathering place, Vogt said.

“There are so many great coffee shops in our neighbourhood already doing their thing,” said Vogt, 31, naming Sho Coffee & Bar, Saintuary and Más Coffee Co., as examples. “We want to do something just a little bit different.”

While Parlour is between 400 and 500 square feet and can fit around 20 people, Passage will be more than double the size, with room for around 50 customers. Renovations are currently under way in the building, which is owned by Vogt’s father Ernie. (He also owns 468 Main St.)

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Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2026

Business

Saskatchewan mine books space on Hudson Bay Railway

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 23, 2026

A Saskatchewan mine deemed a project of national importance by Ottawa will ship its goods on the Hudson Bay Railway.

Eldorado Gold is sending nickel concentrate to Eastern Canada. To get there, it’s trucking the product to the Hudson Bay Railway’s Flin Flon stop.

The nickel concentrate is then railed to The Pas, where it’s transferred to the Canadian National Railway network.

“It’s all kicking off,” said Chris Avery, president of Hudson Bay Railway owner Arctic Gateway Group.

Business

Ottawa tabs $21.6M for Sayisi Dene energy projects

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Monday, Jun. 22, 2026

A remote northern Manitoba community has solar panels stocked — and now, it’s creating the province’s first integrated renewable energy microgrid led by a First Nation.

Opinion

Magnific A 2019 study says axing drug costs for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory conditions would result in 90,000 fewer hospital stays and $1.2 billion in cost savings a year.

Pill, bills, budgetary aches

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

Pill, bills, budgetary aches

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

We’re a nation of drug users. Well, not those drugs.

Rather, many Canadians have their health supported by pharmaceutical medications prescribed by a physician.

In our universal health-care system, medication can come with a big additional cost.

The federal government introduced a national pharmacare program in 2024. Manitoba was among the first to sign on, partly leading to its Enhanced Pharmacare Program, which now offers birth control, diabetes and a few other medications at no cost to Manitobans.

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Saturday, Jun. 20, 2026

Waywayseecappo First Nation sets sights on building battery energy storage systems, renewable projects via new venture

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

A Manitoba First Nation and former national chief are throwing their weight behind new-to-Manitoba energy storage methods amid projections of squeezed energy availability.

The province doesn’t have any utility scale battery energy storage systems. Through these, electricity is kept in electrochemical batteries until needed.

Volterra Technology creates the battery technology. It’s part of a new venture: Waywayseecappo Energy Alliance.

Other members include Waywayseecappo First Nation and Ishkonigan Inc., a consulting company founded by former Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine. (Fontaine is a member of Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba.)

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