Economics and Resources

The erosion of trust

Dennis Hiebert 4 minute read Friday, Jun. 28, 2024

What are the social consequences of the gradual, grinding, grim dwindling of public trust in social institutions? For one, the powerlessness of alienation worsens.

Four-week program injects staff into city’s home-care ranks

Tyler Searle 3 minute read Preview

Four-week program injects staff into city’s home-care ranks

Tyler Searle 3 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024

Efforts to bolster the roster of professionals who work in the city’s home-care sector are paying off as the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority celebrates the addition of hundreds of new employees.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Monday that 256 health-care aides have been hired by WRHA since February, when the city had a 24 per cent vacancy rate among home care workers.

“Home care is about providing dignified, compassionate services to the folks who need it most,” Asagwara said in a news release.

“The WRHA has put in a huge effort to recruit home-care workers and it’s paying off. It’s all good news: fewer vacancies, more visits and less frustrating cancellations for people.”

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Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024

Spending on private health-care aides skyrockets

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Preview

Spending on private health-care aides skyrockets

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Monday, May. 27, 2024

While the province tries to rein in the soaring costs of private agency nurses, spending on private health-care aides has also skyrocketed.

Freedom of information requests show spending on private agency health-care aides is way up in at least two Manitoba health regions.

The Interlake-Eastern Health region spent $8.7 million on private health-care aides in 2023-24, more than double the $3.4 million spent in 2021-22. The Prairie Mountain Health region spent almost $14.8 million for the first nine months of the 2022-23 fiscal year, nearly triple the $4.8 million spent in 2021-22.

Nearly half of what the Prairie Mountain region spent on agencies went toward travel costs, said Kyle Ross, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union that filed the freedom of information requests.

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Monday, May. 27, 2024

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
“Here we are again with the same offer for another group of MGEU members,” union president Kyle Ross said in a news release.

Manitoba auto repair shops in high gear amid lengthy MPI strike

Tyler Searle 4 minute read Preview

Manitoba auto repair shops in high gear amid lengthy MPI strike

Tyler Searle 4 minute read Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023

Despite bumps in the road, Manitoba auto repair shops are chugging along as strike action at Manitoba Public Insurance drags into its seventh week.

“There are some delays, but we are hoping the (MPI) people can get back to work. We miss them. We miss the adjusters, but there is not much we can do about it,” said John Vernaus, owner of Vernaus Autobody in Winnipeg.

“Can you ask for more when (MPI is) operating with maybe one-10th of the staff?”

Around 1,700 walked off the job Aug. 28, after the Manitoba Government General Employees’ Union and the Crown auto insurer failed to reach a contract agreement. Many services have been halted, delayed or limited in the weeks since, as MPI works to maintain operations with reduced staff.

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Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Johnny Vernaus, president of Vernaus Auto Body, with technician Roy Samlal, says minor claims are processing quickly, but vehicles with extensive damage are taking longer to be assessed.

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Crave introduces ad tiers, including $9.99 plan

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

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Crave introduces ad tiers, including $9.99 plan

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

TORONTO - Crave is introducing two ad-supported tiers that each shave $5 or $10 off the monthly subscription fee.

Bell Media says its new Crave Basic with Ads costs $9.99/month, while Crave Standard with Ads costs $14.99/month. An unchanged ad-free option remains at $19.99/month, and is renamed Crave Premium Ad-Free.

Viewers can watch most shows and movies, including HBO and Max originals, on the ad-supported plans. About one per cent of titles won't be available due to licensing restrictions.

Ads will be 15 or 30 seconds long, totalling about five minutes per hour, and appear before and during some episodes and films.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The Crave app is seen on a phone in Toronto on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. Crave is introducing two ad-supported tiers that each shave $5 or $10 off the monthly subscription fee. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

Low-cost Temu goes head-to-head with Amazon

Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Low-cost Temu goes head-to-head with Amazon

Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

It started with a video of a postal worker sorting a mountain of orange packages from Temu.

Rachael D'Amore hadn't heard of the online shopping site, but after watching the video she found good reviews, affordable products and free shipping on most orders — what she called "a unicorn in Canada these days."

"I had to double check the URL to make sure that I wasn't on the U.S. site," she said.

Temu also offered a $5 credit if an order took longer than 12 days to arrive — a quasi-insurance policy that gave D'Amore the confidence to place a $30 order for seven items, including an 89-cent necklace, earrings for $1.78 and hair clips for $3.59.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

A person navigates the Temu website on a smartphone in Toronto, Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Temu launched in Canada in early February, the same month it aired a Super Bowl ad with the tagline

As elites arrive in Davos, conspiracy theories thrive online

Sophia Tulp, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

As elites arrive in Davos, conspiracy theories thrive online

Sophia Tulp, The Associated Press 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — When some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential figures gathered at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting last year, sessions on climate change drew high-level discussions on topics such as carbon financing and sustainable food systems.

But an entirely different narrative played out on the internet, where social media users claimed leaders wanted to force the population to eat insects instead of meat in the name of saving the environment.

The annual event in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos, which opens Monday, has increasingly become a target of bizarre claims from a growing chorus of commentators who believe the forum involves a group of elites manipulating global events for their own benefit. Experts say what was once a conspiracy theory found in the internet’s underbelly has now hit the mainstream.

“This isn’t a conspiracy that is playing out on the extreme fringes,” said Alex Friedfeld, a researcher with the Anti-Defamation League who studies anti-government extremism. “We’re seeing it on mainstream social media platforms being shared by regular Americans. We were seeing it being spread by mainstream media figures right on their prime time news, on their nightly networks.”

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

A Swiss national flag waves on a building in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from Jan. 16 until Jan. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

‘Ignominious anniversary’ of Hydro’s stalled broadband deal

Martin Cash 3 minute read Preview

‘Ignominious anniversary’ of Hydro’s stalled broadband deal

Martin Cash 3 minute read Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021

A year after Manitoba Hydro stopped taking on new contracts for broadband network access, and three months after Xplornet won the bid to manage that network, critics are complaining the continuing moratorium has left would-be customers in the lurch.

Adrien Sala, NDP critic for Hydro, is calling on the Progressive Conservative government to end the stop sell order and disclose the revenue losses suffered from the disruption.

“It is taking far longer than anyone expected it to and it is creating further and further delays for a lot of ISPs (Internet service providers), school divisions and regional health authorities that have asked for service upgrades,” Sala said.

A spokesperson for Reg Helwer, minister of central services, confirmed that the Xplornet agreement has yet to be finalized but is expected to be soon.

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Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
NDP Hydro Critic Adrien Sala: “It is taking far longer than anyone expected it to.

‘Mistake’ leads to Canadian Forces ad on far-right website

Dylan Robertson 5 minute read Preview

‘Mistake’ leads to Canadian Forces ad on far-right website

Dylan Robertson 5 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 6, 2018

OTTAWA — The Canadian Forces have been running a recruitment ad on the American website Breitbart — a digital force in far-right politics that’s among U.S. President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies and one of Canada’s biggest critics.

The military indirectly paid Breitbart, in violation of Ottawa’s advertising rules, but has since pulled its ad off the site.

The ad popped up several times across Breitbart. In one case, it appeared in an article about a Italian mosque, weighing into that country’s Sunday election, which was accompanied by an October 2016 photo showing scores of Muslims praying next to the Colosseum in Rome.

The military took down the ad after the Free Press asked how it was spending taxpayer’s money. But the fact it appeared on a far-right website speaks to the unpredictable nature of online advertising, with Ottawa using a system that provides no idea of exactly where its ads will appear.

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Tuesday, Mar. 6, 2018

Screen capture of a Canadian military recruitment ad on Breitbart.com. The military has taken the recruitment ad that appeared on Breitbart, in violation of Ottawa's advertising rules.

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À la pêche aux entreprises

Valentin Cueff de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 4 minute read Preview

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À la pêche aux entreprises

Valentin Cueff de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 4 minute read Saturday, May. 6, 2017

Alt Hotel, la boulangerie Le Croissant, l’Épi de blé, Thermëa Spa. Qu’ont ces lieux de Winnipeg en commun? Ce sont des compagnies nées dans d’autres contrées francophones, qui ont posé leur valise dans la capitale manitobaine. Entreprises familiales ou grosses sociétés, toutes ont été “séduites” par Mariette Mulaire et son équipe pour venir s’installer dans la province.

Pour Mulaire, le premier défi est souvent de faire connaître le Manitoba en dehors du Canada. “Vous venez d’où?””De Winnipeg.” “C’est où, ça?” “Au Canada.” “Ah, au Québec?” “Pas tout à fait…”

La présidente-directrice générale du WTC a l’habitude d’avoir ce type d’échanges, notamment quand elle se déplace en France pour des forums économiques. “Pour les entreprises, le Manitoba est une alternative qui est mal connue, ou méconnue. Il faut éduquer les gens.”

À l’origine, il y avait l’Agence nationale et internationale du Manitoba (ANIM). Née en 2007, cet organisme avait pour but “d’utiliser le bilinguisme au Manitoba pour aller chercher les marchés francophones.” Mulaire en était la PDG. Elle travaillait de paire avec Michel Simard et Annie Girard pour attirer des investisseurs dans la province, ainsi qu’avec Brigitte Léger dans le dossier de l’immigration économique francophone.

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Saturday, May. 6, 2017

Valentin Cueff photo
Mariette Mulaire, présidente du WTC Winnipeg, va à la pêche aux entreprises francophones pour amener de l’investissement dans la province.

Social justice fighters restore our faith in humanity

Shauna MacKinnon 5 minute read Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016

On Dec. 12, housing and anti-poverty advocates gathered to recognize Clark Brownlee, a local activist who retired after a long engagement with social justice and policy advocacy. It was a much-needed reminder there is still good in the world.

It has been difficult not to lose faith in humanity in a world where millions of people recently saw fit to elect Donald Trump as leader of the United States.

Many Canadians are watching in horror as a new political era begins to take shape south of the border. It’s not just the United States that has seemingly gone mad. Racism in politics is rampant in Europe and Kelly Leitch has shown us Canada is not immune. In her bid for leadership of the Conservative party, Leitch has been vocal about her support for Trump and has pitched a number of racist policy proposals. She is currently a frontrunner.

So yes, it is hard to be hopeful at a time when hate and fear of “the other” seems to be inspiring a disturbing number of voters.

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Un rapport alarmant

Vincent RéGIS de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 4 minute read Preview

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Un rapport alarmant

Vincent RéGIS de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 4 minute read Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012

LA situation de l’accessibilité au logement à Winnipeg est alarmante, surtout pour les nouveaux arrivants, révèle le premier rapport réalisé à ce sujet par l’École de service social de l’Université de Saint-Boniface (USB).

“Il y a une crise du logement évidente qui sévit partout au Canada, et Winnipeg est l’une des grandes villes avec le plus bas taux d’inoccupation de logements au pays,” explique le professeur à l’USB David Alper, un des co-auteurs du rapport.

“Plusieurs études ont été effectuées dans les dernières années pour démontrer comment cela touchait différentes tranches de la société, alors on a voulu étudier la problématique dans la communauté francophone, surtout chez les nouveaux arrivants.”

Pour ce faire, les auteurs ont interrogé une douzaine de familles francophones venues d’Afrique.

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Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012

VINCENT RÉGIS DE LA LIBERTÉ
Le professeur de l’École de service social de l’Université de Saint-Boniface, David Alper.

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Un acteur de l’immigration

Camille Séguy de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 5 minute read Preview

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Un acteur de l’immigration

Camille Séguy de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 5 minute read Saturday, Jul. 14, 2012

L

E Franco-Manitobain émigré du Sénégal, Ibrahima Diallo, a laissé sa marque dans l’histoire récente de l’immigration au Manitoba.

En effet, il a été de 2008 à 2010 le premier président du Conseil de l’immigration du Manitoba renouvelé, et il y oeuvre toujours depuis, comme conseiller. Les membres du Conseil de l’immigration du Manitoba sont nommés par le lieutenant-gouverneur du Manitoba.

“Un premier Conseil de l’immigration du Manitoba a été créé en 2006, mais ça n’a pas fonctionné avec les autorités provinciales, car il était trop virulent et militant,” explique Ibrahima Diallo. “Le Conseil a donc été entièrement recréé en 2008, avec des nouveaux membres, et j’en ai pris la présidence.”

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Saturday, Jul. 14, 2012

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Remettre le pied à l’étrier

William Sineux / Le fil des francophiles Winnipeg Free Press 4 minute read Preview

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Remettre le pied à l’étrier

William Sineux / Le fil des francophiles Winnipeg Free Press 4 minute read Saturday, Jun. 9, 2012

L’INTÉGRATION sociale par le travail n’est pas encore devenue un rêve utopique.

L’entreprise à laquelle appartient le francophone Jean Luc Beaudry, Warm Up Winnipeg (B.U.I.L.D) est là pour le démontrer. En effet, cette entreprise d’une cinquantaine d’employés rénove les maisons de la région pour réduire leurs dépenses énergétiques. Mais l’originalité de cette entreprise demeure aussi dans son recrutement.

Un programme d’intégration sociale “Nous recrutons en priorité les personnes qui ont besoin d’un travail pour se réintégrer socialement,” déclare le co-ordonnateur du recrutement et de l’apprentissage, Jean-Luc Beaudry. “Des autochtones en majorité, des réfugiés, des immigrés ou encore des personnes qui sortent de prison ou qui ont eu des problèmes avec la justice les empêchant de retrouver un travail. Il existe encore beaucoup de discrimination dans le milieu du travail et toutes ces personnes ont un mal fou à se réintégrer. Nous voulons donc les aider à mettre le pied à l’étrier. Car sans emploi, il est pratiquement impossible de se réintégrer et pour gagner sa vie beaucoup sont alors obligés d’entrer dans l’illégalité des marchés noirs.”

L’entreprise recrute ainsi les personnes qui ont un passif pouvant faire obstacle à leur recherche d’emploi. C’est pourquoi les employés doivent suivre dans un premier temps un programme de formation et d’apprentissage en charpenterie et en plomberie. Puis, la durée normale de travail doit être de six mois pour assurer un certain renouvellement des effectifs et donner sa chance au plus grand nombre.

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Saturday, Jun. 9, 2012

William Sineux de La Liberté
Le coordinateur du recrutement et de l'apprentissage chez Warm Up Winnipeg (B.U.I.L.D), Jean-Luc Beaudry.

Becoming a hairstylist today goes far beyond knowing your way around a pair of scissors

By Carolin Vesely 8 minute read Preview

Becoming a hairstylist today goes far beyond knowing your way around a pair of scissors

By Carolin Vesely 8 minute read Tuesday, May. 15, 2012

There's a scene in the movie Grease where Frenchy, the "ne'er do well" would-be beautician, is visited by a crooning angel who tries to get her to wake up and smell the Barbicide regarding her lack of talent in her chosen field.

Not only has Frenchy "flunked shampoo," her failure is further highlighted on screen by the fact that she has inadvertently dyed her hair a bright shade of pink.

Roberto Sinopoli hates that scene.

As director of the newly opened Aveda Institute Winnipeg, the words "beauty school dropout" aren't exactly music to his ears. In fact, he thinks the term "beauty school" itself could use a makeover.

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Tuesday, May. 15, 2012

Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press
Derek Campbell will put in 3,000 hours of training to become a licensed hairstylist.

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Du Pérou au Manitoba

By Camille Séguy de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 3 minute read Preview

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Du Pérou au Manitoba

By Camille Séguy de La Liberté pour le Winnipeg Free Press 3 minute read Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012

Quand le Métis de La Broquerie, Miguel Vielfaure, s'est rendu au Pérou en mai 2006, il n'avait alors pas l'intention de se lancer dans le commerce équitable. C'est pourtant ce qu'il a développé en créant Etchiboy, début 2007.

"Quand je suis allé au Pérou, j'ai trouvé sur un marché des ceintures faites sur un métier tisser très semblables aux ceintures fléchées métisses," raconte Miguel Vielfaure. "Ä mon retour au Canada, la Fédération des Métis du Manitoba m'en a commandées 26.

"J'ai donc contacté une amie Lima, qui m'a mis en contact avec l'Association des mères célibataires El Telar, proche de Cuzco, pour la fabrication des ceintures," poursuit-il. "En les rencontrant, par le biais d'Internet, j'ai décidé de me lancer dans le commerce équitable et de créer Etchiboy."

El Telar rassemble 20 mères célibataires, veuves ou abandonnées, dans les communautés rurales de Cuzco. Elles ont accès sept métiers tisser pour fabriquer les commandes provenant 80 % de Miguel Vielfaure et 20 pourcentage du marché local.

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Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012

March 11, 2026