WEATHER ALERT

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

Columnists

City’s proposed ‘nuisance’ protest ban doesn’t pass Charter test

Tom Brodbeck 4 minute read 2:02 AM CST

If the City of Winnipeg wants to protect public safety when it comes to protests, it should enforce laws that are already on the books.

What it should not do is pass a sweeping, constitutionally dubious bylaw that tramples on fundamental freedoms in the name of sparing people from being offended.

Yet that’s precisely what council is poised to do when it votes Feb. 26 on a proposed ban on so-called “nuisance” protests within 100 metres of a long list of “vulnerable social” locations — schools, hospitals, places of worship, post-secondary institutions, libraries, community centres, cemeteries and more.

On paper, the objective sounds noble: protect access, reduce intimidation, promote safety. In practice, the bylaw is far too broad, far too vague and far too discretionary to meet the Charter standard of a “reasonable limit.”

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Weather

WEATHER ALERT Feb. 15, 6 AM: -8°c Cloudy Feb. 15, 12 PM: -1°c Cloudy with wind

Winnipeg MB

-3°C, Cloudy

Full Forecast
Food-culture extremes reverberate back to farm

Food-culture extremes reverberate back to farm

Laura Rance 4 minute read Preview

Food-culture extremes reverberate back to farm

Laura Rance 4 minute read 2:02 AM CST

The absurdity of our civilization’s extreme relationship with food hit me like a runaway snowboard the other night while watching the Ozempic Olympics in between commercials advertising pizza and french fries.

The relentless marketing, alternately promoting weight-loss support and foods that lean towards making us fat, isn’t aimed at the elite winter athletes strutting their stuff on the world stage in Italy. It’s a safe bet they didn’t achieve the peak of human fitness on a diet of pizza and french fries. It’s equally doubtful they require injections of the GLP-1 class of drugs to help manage their weight.

These athletes deserve our admiration and respect, but to be fair to the rest of us, most working stiffs don’t have the time, drive or resources to devote full-time to the pursuit of extreme fitness.

No, those commercials are aimed at the couch potatoes back home, subjecting us to both temptation and a shortcut to redemption as we bear witness to these feats of human endurance.

Read
2:02 AM CST

Richard Shotwell / Invision Files

Actor Matt Bomer is cited by looksmaxxers as an ideal esthetic to attain.
Richard Shotwell / Invision Files Actor Matt Bomer is cited by looksmaxxers as an ideal esthetic to attain.

‘Looksmaxxing’ hammers home a new standard of attractiveness

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read Preview

‘Looksmaxxing’ hammers home a new standard of attractiveness

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read 2:02 AM CST

‘Pain is beauty” is not a new concept. Guys hitting themselves in the face with hammers? That’s new.

Welcome to the warped world of “looksmaxxing,” an online community of young men trying to become as attractive as possible, at any cost.

The term originated among incels (the slang term for men who think of themselves as “involuntarily celibate”) online, frustrated about the perceived advantages enjoyed by “Chads,” so-called alpha males who are tall, muscular and sexually successful.

Looksmaxxing goes beyond basic grooming and gym-going — that’s “softmaxxing” — in pursuit of Chaddom. Looksmaxxing is defined by extremes. It often involves injectables and surgeries and debunked pseudoscience, such as breaking the bones in your face via blunt-force trauma in order to “restructure them,” which is how we’ve come to young men smashing themselves in the face with hammers.

Read
2:02 AM CST

An online map, developed by Buck Doyle and available at chromatin.ca, shows that much of downtown and central Winnipeg would fall into a buffer zone.
An online map, developed by Buck Doyle and available at chromatin.ca, shows that much of downtown and central Winnipeg would fall into a buffer zone.

Reining in right to rally not a good look

Melissa Martin 6 minute read Preview

Reining in right to rally not a good look

Melissa Martin 6 minute read 2:00 AM CST

The thing about living in a relatively free society is that it can be messy. There’s no way around it, and there doesn’t have to be. It’s a glorious mess, our community, one that is both gift and challenge: thousands of people with differing backgrounds, differing beliefs, all sharing the same community, debating what’s right and how to move forward.

Nowhere is the breadth of that glorious mess more publicly visible than at a protest.

Protest is many things. It can be beautiful, creative, uniting, inspiring. It can also be chaotic, tense and discomfiting; and it can certainly be annoying, especially if you don’t happen to agree with the stance of the protesters. Above all, it’s one of the most powerful levers by which the public can raise their voice and hold power to account.

For that reason, it is a right enshrined in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms and must remain diligently guarded.

Read
2:00 AM CST

Stargazing with mate the perfect V-day date

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read 2:00 AM CST

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: What can I do with my fantastic woman on Valentine’s Day? We’re new to each other and very attracted — but it’s not quite time for sex yet. This woman is very special and I really need to get this right. What do you suggest?

— Crazy About New Mate, St. James

Dear Crazy: Here are couple suggestions that could go down well for you on this most-romantic of nights.

First off, the star-studded heavens. Binoculars and sky-gazing could get you away from the bright city lights. You’ll just need a map of the sky and its attractions, which you can track down online.

Freepik

Given all the other needs of a couple — notably purchasing an increasingly pricey home — many Canadians are skipping traditions such as a pricey engagement ring.
Freepik Given all the other needs of a couple — notably purchasing an increasingly pricey home — many Canadians are skipping traditions such as a pricey engagement ring.

Value of Valentine’s Day money chat

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

Value of Valentine’s Day money chat

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read 2:00 AM CST

Valentine’s Day may be for lovers, and a chat about personal finance certainly risks dulling the passions of the day. That is unless you love money.

Yet it is a discussion that nonetheless should happen … eventually. Often sooner is better than later, hopefully, well before popping the big question.

That decisive question could be happening right now. Valentine’s Day is the premier day for couples to get engaged and that big ask (and hopefully affirmative answer) often comes with a hefty capital allocation for a sparkling speck of costly rock set in a ring made of an increasingly high-priced precious metal.

De Beers coined the notion of three months’ salary as the rule of thumb to spend on an engagement ring amid the Great Depression. At the time, diamonds weren’t common for engagement rings. Today, the world’s priciest gem is considered the norm — and the bigger the rock, the greater the profession of your love, according to the marketing.

Read
2:00 AM CST

Feepik

Most organizations have no idea what to do with Valentine’s Day. Some ignore it completely; others lean in hard, decorating common areas and encouraging gestures of appreciation.
Feepik Most organizations have no idea what to do with Valentine’s Day. Some ignore it completely; others lean in hard, decorating common areas and encouraging gestures of appreciation.

Valentine’s Day: workplace culture lives in small moments

Tory McNally 6 minute read Preview

Valentine’s Day: workplace culture lives in small moments

Tory McNally 6 minute read 2:00 AM CST

Valentine’s Day has a way of sneaking into the workplace whether we want it to or not.

Even if your organization has never acknowledged it, the day announces itself loudly through pink coffee cups, heart-shaped pastries in the lunchroom and at least one employee insisting they “don’t believe in Hallmark holidays,” while quietly checking their cellphone all afternoon.

Love may not be a core competency, but Feb. 14 has a curious habit of shining a light on how we work, how we connect and how awkward things can get when personal lives brush up against professional ones.

By the time most people arrive at work on Valentine’s Day (or the closest work day to it), the emotional landscape is already uneven.

Read
2:00 AM CST

LUCA BRUNO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES

Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez leads the league in goals. The club has now spent 10 week in first place going into the Derby d’Italia clash against Juventus on Saturday.
LUCA BRUNO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez leads the league in goals. The club has now spent 10 week in first place going into the Derby d’Italia clash against Juventus on Saturday.

An Inter win would underscore Milan’s Oly success

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

An Inter win would underscore Milan’s Oly success

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:06 PM CST

MILAN — After a brief eviction from San Siro (something about Andrea Bocelli, Mariah Carey and five interlocking rings), Inter Milan is back home at its iconic, century-old ground. And not a moment too soon. Juventus is coming to town for the Derby d’Italia (Saturday, 1:45 p.m. CT, FuboTV), and any other stadium just wouldn’t do.

That’s not to disrespect Stadio Brianteo, where Inter “hosted” and defeated Torino last week in the Coppa Italia. It’s a perfectly fine arena for Monza, presently in a promotion battle in Serie B. But the biggest match in Italian football? Not a chance.

This is a showdown made for the grandest stage, and stages don’t come much grander than San Siro. The imposing and beloved, if creaking, venue was decked out and shown to all the world as the setting for the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. It looked good, all dressed up.

But who’s kidding who? As much fun as it was to see it welcome international athletes and hear it boo JD Vance, it only truly comes alive when either Inter or AC Milan — or both — are gracing its legendary surface.

Read
Yesterday at 2:06 PM CST

Don’t let tit-for-tat spat take marriage to the mat

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CST

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My second wife is complaining about my recent slip-up with an old girlfriend who was passing through Winnipeg. I only went for drinks with her and I was home by midnight, so what’s the worry?

My new wife is tough, and she has now claimed one night off from our marriage to go out with one of her exes for drinks. She promises sarcastically that she’ll be home by midnight.

I foolishly said, “A lot can happen before midnight.” And she said, “Exactly.”

Now what? I can’t go spy on her and I don’t have a date myself, so I look pathetic as it stands.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES

On Wednesday, Dr. Nichelle Desilets, president of Doctors Manitoba, offered one of the most comprehensive evaluations of Manitoba’s health-care system in some time
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES On Wednesday, Dr. Nichelle Desilets, president of Doctors Manitoba, offered one of the most comprehensive evaluations of Manitoba’s health-care system in some time

When it comes to fixing health care, province must follow doctors’ orders

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

When it comes to fixing health care, province must follow doctors’ orders

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

To get an honest assessment of Manitoba’s health-care system, it’s best to skip the government news releases and listen to the doctors.

That was essentially the message delivered Wednesday when provincial business leaders gathered for what Doctors Manitoba billed as a health-care “checkup.” The verdict from Dr. Nichelle Desilets, president of the physician advocacy group, was neither a partisan broadside nor a rosy government talking-point parade.

It was one of the most comprehensive evaluations of the province’s health-care system in some time.

The system has improved since 2023, said Desilets, but we still lag behind national and international benchmarks, just as wait times in many areas continue to grow.

Read
Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

Put in the effort to get your marriage back in gear

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My wife informed me over dinner tonight she doesn’t want “the last box of chocolates at the drugstore” for her Valentine’s Day gift this year. That’s where we’re at. Pathetic, I’d say.

I used to write her love poems for the special day, but that’s when she was being loving and we were happy. In response to my poems about her, she would always write up a list of my good qualities in a giant card and we’d light candles and make love all night.

But now things have changed. Nothing I do pleases her anymore. I can feel we’re nearing a dangerous crossroads. I’m not sure if I want to keep driving down this road or hit reverse.

I’m in early retirement and tired of being nothing more than her errand boy. What do you suggest? I do know other women, and one of them really thinks I’m great.

Buddies looking for vicarious thrills need to chill

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: Here comes Valentine’s Day and I’ve been trying to date around since my marriage ended just over a year ago. But I haven’t asked any babes to join me for any Feb. 14 celebrations, not even for drinks.

As a married guy, I hated the Valentine’s Day nonsense when I was expected to ask my wife out and we didn’t even want to touch each other anymore. Now I would love a wild night with a new girlfriend, but no women have asked me out either.

I’m going to feel like a loser if I stay home, hiding out watching sports on TV all weekend.

My married buddies are jealous, thinking I have somebody hot lined up that I won’t tell them about, and they’ll definitely prod and tease me next time we meet.

Bad Bunny performs during the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday. He is a vocal critic of the Trump administration. (The Associated Press files)
Bad Bunny performs during the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday. He is a vocal critic of the Trump administration. (The Associated Press files)

Republican backlash against Trump’s racist post comes down to politics

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

Republican backlash against Trump’s racist post comes down to politics

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026

There is, it turns out, a line — however faint and grudgingly acknowledged — that even Donald Trump’s brand of racist, dehumanizing rhetoric cannot cross.

That line was apparently breached last week when a video posted to Trump’s Truth Social account depicted former U.S. president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as jungle primates.

The clip was swiftly condemned, not just by Democrats and civil rights leaders, but by a notable number of Republicans as well. Within hours, it was deleted, although Trump refused to apologize for it.

Progress? Hardly. The bar was so low it was practically subterranean. If anyone was tempted to believe this episode signalled a newfound restraint, Trump quickly disabused them of that notion with a racist rant over the weekend aimed at Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny.

Read
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026

To up your game, find partner who likes to play

Maureen Scurfield 5 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: On the weekend my girlfriend and I had just finished having sex, when she said bitterly, “I had no climax, again.” She said she wasn’t going to fake it anymore.

Then she went quieter than she usually does after sex, and it got so tense I spitefully asked her what sex was like with her ex-boyfriend. She said quietly, “It was great, even when it wasn’t Earth-shaking.”

Then she got dressed, grabbed her keys and left in the middle of the night, at -25 C. Since then, she’s just replied to my texts with two- or three-word answers, saying things like, “Just relax” or “Get over it.”

She hasn’t actually broken up with me. I can’t work anything out with her if she’s not talking to me. I’m still half in love with her. What can I do?

Reach out for real help with wounded gut, spirit

Maureen Scurfield 3 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: This is an SOS. I just had my heart broken and it feels like my stomach is broken too. I gobble Tums to survive these days. I am a wreck.

What can you recommend for me in order to make it through university exams this spring, with the marks I so desperately need to get into my profession?

— Feeling Broken, Winnipeg

Dear Feeling Broken: Because you need to be able to concentrate while in class, studying and writing papers, you need a fast-acting plan other than good old Tums.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES

Mayor Scott Gillingham wrote a letter to citizens explaining that it wasn’t his idea to participate in the gun buyback.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Mayor Scott Gillingham wrote a letter to citizens explaining that it wasn’t his idea to participate in the gun buyback.

Premier, mayor have some explaining to do on firearms buyback

Dan Lett 5 minute read Preview

Premier, mayor have some explaining to do on firearms buyback

Dan Lett 5 minute read Monday, Feb. 9, 2026

Both Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew vehemently oppose a federal program to buy back military-style firearms from law-abiding gun owners. The question is why.

At first examination, it’s not entirely clear.

Both claim to be law-abiding gun owners. Both acknowledge that gun violence is a serious problem. However, both have condemned a program to get military-style firearms out of circulation without offering a clear explanation.

Kinew has said the program is “inefficient” and “an overreach.” In particular, he echoed the concerns of the gun lobby about federal legislation that sought to prohibit guns that accept a magazine with five or more rounds of ammunition, a provision that would have outlawed many popular sport hunting rifles.

Read
Monday, Feb. 9, 2026

LOAD MORE