The Land: Places and People

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

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Carré civique, le soutien générationnel

Jonathan Semah 6 minute read Preview
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Carré civique, le soutien générationnel

Jonathan Semah 6 minute read Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025

Je donne en famille consiste à lever des fonds pour l’avenir du carré civique. La particularité de ce soutien c’est qu’il implique différentes générations, notamment les plus jeunes qui peuvent parfois se sentir éloignés des sujets liés au patrimoine.

David Dandeneau tente de partager son engagement à tous et à différentes générations.

Le membre du conseil d’administration des Ami.e.s du Carré civique de Saint-Boniface (ACCSB) a eu l’idée de lever des fonds pour notamment assurer des dépenses opérationnelles et à terme préparer également le processus d’appel d’offres que s’apprête à lancer la Ville de Winnipeg.

C’est à travers l’ACCSB, qui a reçu le statut officiel d’organisme de bienfaisance et peut donc recevoir des dons depuis mars 2022, que le monde pourra donner ponctuellement pour cette campagne.

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Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025

Marta Guerrero photo

Bintou Sacko (à gauche) et David Dandeneau

Marta Guerrero photo
                                Bintou Sacko (à gauche) et David Dandeneau
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Rare red auroras dazzle as part of Manitoba light show

Nicole Buffie 3 minute read Preview
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Rare red auroras dazzle as part of Manitoba light show

Nicole Buffie 3 minute read Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025

Solar storm chasers, rejoice: 2025 was an excellent year for aurora borealis, and the remainder of the year could be just as active.

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Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025

Owen Humphreys/ The Associated Press

The aurora borealis glow in the sky over St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the North East coast, England.

Owen Humphreys/ The Associated Press
                                The aurora borealis glow in the sky over St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the North East coast, England.
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Our monuments, statues and memorials give form to honouring, grieving lives lost in war

Kevin Rollason 14 minute read Preview
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Our monuments, statues and memorials give form to honouring, grieving lives lost in war

Kevin Rollason 14 minute read Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025

Tucked at the end of a walkway, which dead-ends between the University Centre and the Helen Glass Centre for Nursing on the University of Manitoba campus, stands a monument in memory of students who never returned from the First World War.

Carved from local Tyndall stone and at just over a metre high, it commemorates the 30 medical students, from both the Manitoba Agricultural College, which later became part of the University of Manitoba, and other universities across the western provinces, who were killed while serving with the 11th Canadian Field Ambulance.

It’s just one of several monuments at the university marking student sacrifices during the First World War and one of many markers — from cenotaphs to statues and even lakes — across the province commemorating Manitobans who have served in conflicts since the province was created in 1870.

Many of those monuments are either hidden or in hard-to-find places. Even veterans from the Second World War — who not so long ago were part of marching parades and outdoor services marking Remembrance Day — are mostly tucked away living the remaining days of their lives in personal care homes.

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Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025

The 11th Canadian Field Ambulance War Memorial lists the names of 30 university students who died during the First World War. (Brook Jones / Free Press)

The 11th Canadian Field Ambulance War Memorial lists the names of 30 university students who died during the First World War. (Brook Jones / Free Press)
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Decades-long fight to repeal discriminatory second-generation cut-off rekindled on Parliament Hill

Marsha McLeod 8 minute read Preview
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Decades-long fight to repeal discriminatory second-generation cut-off rekindled on Parliament Hill

Marsha McLeod 8 minute read Friday, Oct. 31, 2025

First Nations women who’ve spent a lifetime fighting for the right to belong in their own communities have been again travelling to Parliament Hill this fall, repeating their calls for change and their wish: for their children and grandchildren not to be excluded as they were.

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Friday, Oct. 31, 2025

Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty speaks during a press conference in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty speaks during a press conference in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
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Winnipeg MP’s private member’s bill would make residential school denialism a crime

Free Press staff 2 minute read Preview
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Winnipeg MP’s private member’s bill would make residential school denialism a crime

Free Press staff 2 minute read Friday, Oct. 31, 2025

Manitoba New Democrat MP Leah Gazan reintroduced a private member’s bill Friday that would criminalize residential school denialism, saying “real action” is needed to combat rising anti-Indigenous hate.

Bill C-254, if passed, would amend the Criminal Code to include the promotion of hatred against Indigenous Peoples by “condoning, denying, downplaying or justifying the Indian residential school system.”

“We cannot ignore the obvious, that residential school denialism is simply an act of inciting hate against Indigenous people,” Gazan, the MP for Winnipeg Centre, said in a news release.

“Members of Parliament must act immediately to uphold their safety, and I urge all my parliamentary colleagues to protect survivors and families by supporting this bill.”

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Friday, Oct. 31, 2025

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files

Manitoba New Democrat MP Leah Gazan

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files
                                Manitoba New Democrat MP Leah Gazan
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First Nations accuse Hydro, province, feds of profiting from land

Erik Pindera 2 minute read Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

Two First Nations are suing Manitoba Hydro and the provincial and federal governments, claiming the institutions have made billions of dollars through hydroelectric operations on land the communities never agreed to cede.

In a statement of claim filed last week in the Court of King’s Bench, Canupawakpa Dakota Nation and Dakota Tipi First Nation in southern Manitoba are seeking damages for alleged infringement on their rights.

The court filing accuses the public utility, the province and the federal government of breaching duties owed to the Dakota nations and of unjustly enriching themselves at the expense of the communities, without consultation.

“The yearly revenue Manitoba Hydro produces from the land and particularly, the activities, is substantial,” reads the lawsuit.

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A century later, Ukrainian church still helping new Ukrainians

John Longhurst 4 minute read Preview
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A century later, Ukrainian church still helping new Ukrainians

John Longhurst 4 minute read Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

When it was founded in 1925, St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in the North End was a welcoming and helpful place for immigrants seeking new lives in Canada.

As the church celebrates its centennial, it is still welcoming and helping Ukrainians fleeing war in their homeland.

“Helping each other never stops,” Eugene Hyworon, co-chair of the cathedral’s centennial committee, said.

A centennial gala will be held Saturday.

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Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

SHELDON BIRNIE / COMMUNITY REVIEW

Eugene Hyworon, co-chair of St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral’s centennial celebration, says the church was surrounded by ‘wilderness’ when it was on the outskirts past city limits.

SHELDON BIRNIE / COMMUNITY REVIEW
                                Eugene Hyworon, co-chair of St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral’s centennial celebration, says the church was surrounded by ‘wilderness’ when it was on the outskirts past city limits.
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Silenced no more: Indigenous languages celebrated at site of former residential school

Scott Billeck 4 minute read Preview
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Silenced no more: Indigenous languages celebrated at site of former residential school

Scott Billeck 4 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 30, 2025

Languages once suppressed at the Assiniboia Residential School are now prominently displayed at the site.

More than 100 people gathered Tuesday at 621 Academy Rd., on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, for a ceremony unveiling three plaques near the former school.

The plaques are written in Anishinaabemowin, Anishininimowin, Cree, Dakota, Dene, English and French — the languages spoken by children who attended the school.

“It’s very important, and it can also be quite emotional,” said Darian McKinney, a board member for the Assiniboia Residential School Legacy Group, whose grandparents were residential school survivors.

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Tuesday, Sep. 30, 2025

Scott Billeck / Free Press

More than 100 people gathered Tuesday at 621 Academy Rd., on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, for a ceremony unveiling three plaques near a former residential school.

Scott Billeck / Free Press
                                More than 100 people gathered Tuesday at 621 Academy Rd., on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, for a ceremony unveiling three plaques near a former residential school.
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Most refused to listen then, more understand now

Melissa Martin 7 minute read Preview
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Most refused to listen then, more understand now

Melissa Martin 7 minute read Monday, Sep. 29, 2025

An open letter, to the children:

It’s late September in Manitoba and the leaves are turning golden. Autumns are beautiful on this land. I hope that, wherever you were, you were able to enjoy it. I hope that there were moments, and maybe more than moments, where you were able to leap face-down in the fallen leaves, to gather them to your nose, to breathe their earthy perfume of red and orange.

There is more orange in Winnipeg now. I wish you could see it. The signs and flags, dotted around the city, staked into lawns and hung over doors and posted as stickers in shop windows. That orange means people care about you and they remember. Even those who didn’t know you, because you lived your whole lives before we were born.

Some of those lives were long, some far too short, and most were somewhere in the middle. Some found joy, whether in spite or because of everything that happened. Some were imprisoned by the pain, haunted by the memories and the grief for what was taken away. There, too, perhaps most were somewhere in the middle.

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Monday, Sep. 29, 2025

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS

People gather for Truth And Reconciliation Day or Orange Shirt Day in Manitoba as they walk down York Ave in Winnipeg Monday, September 30, 2024. Reporter: tyler

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
                                People gather for Truth And Reconciliation Day or Orange Shirt Day in Manitoba as they walk down York Ave in Winnipeg Monday, September 30, 2024. Reporter: tyler
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Only moratorium can save moose population: MWF

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Preview
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Only moratorium can save moose population: MWF

Carol Sanders 4 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is calling for a moose-hunt moratorium in two parts of the province after aerial surveys showed “significantly declining” numbers of the animal.

“The populations may never bounce back,” the federation’s Chris Heald said Tuesday.

The advocacy group representing sport hunters and anglers issued a news release calling for the complete closure of the fall moose hunt in Duck Mountain and Porcupine Forest. It follows Manitoba Conservation’s 2023 aerial survey results, which indicate “significantly declining moose populations” in the game-hunting areas in western Manitoba.

It wouldn’t be the first time for a moose conservation closure there. In 2011, licensed and Indigenous hunters supported a full closure of the moose hunt after a 2010 survey the showed moose population had fallen in both areas to 2,471 animals.

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Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025

Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES

Manitoba Conservation’s 2023 aerial survey indicated “significantly declining moose populations” in game-hunting areas in western Manitoba.

Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
                                Manitoba Conservation’s 2023 aerial survey indicated “significantly declining moose populations” in game-hunting areas in western Manitoba.
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Motion to rename park withdrawn after MMF complaint

Joyanne Pursaga 3 minute read Preview
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Motion to rename park withdrawn after MMF complaint

Joyanne Pursaga 3 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

A motion to rename a Glenwood park will be withdrawn after complaints the process would replace a name that honours Métis history.

Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) had raised a motion to rename Carriere Avenue Park in honour of James Peebles, an astrophysicist and astronomer raised in the St. Boniface neighbourhood. The motion was seconded by Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface).

Mayes issued a statement Tuesday that noted he and Allard have agreed to withdraw the motion instead of bringing it forward for a city council vote Thursday.

“(The councillors will instead) move to name a new outdoor classroom in St. George Park for Nobel laureate James Peebles … Both councillors learned last night that the Manitoba Métis Federation had concerns about renaming of the park,” the statement said.

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Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

INSTAGRAM

St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes (left) and St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard at the official opening of Carriere Avenue Park in September 2024. The councillors have withdrawn a motion to rename the park after astrophysicist and astronomer James Peebles.

INSTAGRAM St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes (left) and St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard at the official opening of Carriere Avenue Park in September 2024. The councillors have withdrawn a motion to rename the park after astrophysicist and astronomer James Peebles.
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Another subdivision, another city problem

Erna Buffie 5 minute read Preview
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Another subdivision, another city problem

Erna Buffie 5 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

So, here we go again folks. We just get the protection of the Lemay Forest done and dusted and bingo, there’s another proposed subdivision for 23 homes on two-acre flood plain lots right across the Red River from the Lemay on the old Daman Farm site.

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Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Piles of trees were found cut down in the Lemay Forest before the Manitoba government announced it would expropriate the land for a provincial park.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Piles of trees were found cut down in the Lemay Forest before the Manitoba government announced it would expropriate the land for a provincial park.
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Wildfires and the new normal

Tom Law 4 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

Wildfires like this aren’t normal. Stop trying to normalize them.

“Bring a pair of pants and a sweater to Clear Lake — it’s unseasonably cool because of the wildfires.” That was just one of those meteorological idiosyncrasies, attempting to reach back deep into long-forgotten geography lessons, that may seem obvious to those on the Prairies. But for the outsider, a visitor from Toronto, and indeed a relative newcomer to Canada, it was certainly a shock, and a stark reminder that I would be flying into a province still under a state of emergency, which had until recently been decimated by wildfires. It was also an introduction into what may be considered ‘normal’.

Visiting Manitoba this August was extraordinary — the people most certainly lived up to the “friendly” billing that adorns the licence plates, and the scenery of Riding Mountain National Park was worth the trip alone. However, there were a number of topics of conversation that made me question what I had come to know as accepted wisdom.

Talk about fishing restrictions, Indigenous rights, oil and gas permeated discussions, with healthy, good spirited debates. But for me, the most vexing issue was wildfires. More specifically, the extent of their aftermath, effects, and associated restrictions, have become normalized.

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Small changes, big impact

Janine LeGal 5 minute read Preview
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Small changes, big impact

Janine LeGal 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Are you a climate champion or climate destroyer? Ecological quizzes and carbon-footprint calculators can help you find out.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Alexa Dawn, compost and waste reduction program co-ordinator at the Green Action Centre, has always been interested in environmentalism.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Alexa Dawn, compost and waste reduction program co-ordinator at the Green Action Centre, has always been interested in environmentalism.
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Introduction to Michif — one word at a time

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Preview
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Introduction to Michif — one word at a time

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Before the wolf can howl, Norman Fleury says a Michif word: Ooyoowuk.

“Ooyoowuk,” Fleury repeats. Or, in English, “howl.”

Ooyoowuk is one of 70 words articulated by Fleury with an animation and English translation to match — all bundled into digital flashcards.

A group of Métis entrepreneurs unveiled their Michif flashcards this week. They join a swelling movement to revitalize the Métis language, which combines languages such as Cree and French.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Co-creators of savemichif.ca, Grant and Aynsley Anderson, estimate they have produced 1,500 physical flashcard sets.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Co-creators of savemichif.ca, Grant and Aynsley Anderson, estimate they have produced 1,500 physical flashcard sets.
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Hudson’s Bay seeks approval to auction off 1670 charter, court filings show

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview
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Hudson’s Bay seeks approval to auction off 1670 charter, court filings show

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

TORONTO - Hudson's Bay wants to revert to its original plan to auction off its founding charter after more parties signalled interest in buying — then donating — the 1670 document, new court documents say.

The Ontario Superior Court had been due to hear a motion earlier this month approving the sale of the artifact to the Weston family of grocer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. fame. Their holding company Wittington Investments Ltd. offered $12.5 million for the charter and planned to donate it to the Canadian Museum of History.

The hearing was adjourned after DKRT Family Corp, a holding company owned by David Thomson, objected to the Weston sale. The firm acting on behalf of the billionaire chairman of Thomson Reuters was willing to spend at least $15 million on the document he wants to donate to the Archives of Manitoba.

Hudson's Bay declined to comment Friday on news that it would return to the auction plan. The new court documents did not say who else was interested in the document but noted that the retailer will seek permission on Sept. 29 to auction off the charter on Oct. 15.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

The 1670 royal charter signed by King Charles II establishing Hudson's Bay, is shown on display at the Manitoba Museum where it was loaned to be displayed alongside its permanent collection of Hudson's Bay artifacts, in this 2020 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Manitoba Museum (Mandatory Credit)

The 1670 royal charter signed by King Charles II establishing Hudson's Bay, is shown on display at the Manitoba Museum where it was loaned to be displayed alongside its permanent collection of Hudson's Bay artifacts, in this 2020 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Manitoba Museum (Mandatory Credit)
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Will electric tractors gain traction? At a pilot event for farmers, researchers see possibilities

Michael Phillis, Melina Walling And Joshua A. Bickel, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview
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Will electric tractors gain traction? At a pilot event for farmers, researchers see possibilities

Michael Phillis, Melina Walling And Joshua A. Bickel, The Associated Press 7 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — In the soft dirt of an indoor horseback riding ring last month, a group of farmers got ready to test drive a new piece of equipment: an electric tractor.

As they took turns climbing in — some surprised by its quick acceleration — they gave real-time feedback to the Michigan State University researchers who have been developing it for over two years.

The farmers remarked on the motor's quiet whir. Most were intrigued, or at least open to the idea. Some were concerned that the battery on the underside of the carriage would mean a lower clearance over the field, while others worried that it would simply be too expensive.

“What we hope to do when we retire is we want to get everything electric on the farm. The tractor is the last electric implement to get,” said Don Dunklee, one of the farmers to provide feedback. He runs a small organic vegetable farm that's relied on wind and solar for decades.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

MK Bashar, right, test drives an electric tractor as Ben Phillips, left, watches Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, during a demonstration in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

MK Bashar, right, test drives an electric tractor as Ben Phillips, left, watches Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, during a demonstration in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
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After summer evacuation, northern students ready to hit the books

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview
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After summer evacuation, northern students ready to hit the books

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Hundreds of young wildfire-evacuees will be reunited with their peers and teachers on Sept. 29 for a belated, albeit welcome, first day of school on familiar campuses across northern Manitoba.

Frontier School Division plans to officially launch 2025-26 in South Indian Lake, Leaf Rapids and Lynn Lake before the end of the month.

Chief superintendent Tyson MacGillivray said he and his colleagues are looking forward to “opening day,” following months of emergency management and uncertainty.

Approximately 450 students are currently unable to attend regular classes at West Lynn Heights School (Lynn Lake), Leaf Rapids Education Centre (Leaf Rapids) and Thunderbird School (South Indian Lake).

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

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View from Sherritt Ave of wildfires near Lynn Lake.Wednesday night, May 28, 2025.

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                                View from Sherritt Ave of wildfires near Lynn Lake.Wednesday night, May 28, 2025.
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Province creates hunting buffer zone on Bloodvein First Nation

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Preview
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Province creates hunting buffer zone on Bloodvein First Nation

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

The Manitoba government is creating a buffer zone restricting where non-Indigenous hunters can harvest moose on Bloodvein First Nation’s traditional lands.

Manitoba Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures Minister Ian Bushie announced the change late Monday as moose season began for game hunting areas 17, 17A and 17B that includes the traditional areas of the First Nation, located 285 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

The community, which established a check stop to prevent illegal drugs and contraband from entering the First Nation, warned “outside hunters” on social media weeks ago that they’re not welcome to take moose on their traditional lands.

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation has questioned the First Nation’s authority to block licensed hunters with a moose tag from the area and called on the provincial government to intervene.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

A moose grazes in a field of canola bordering the Trans-Canada Highway west of Brandon last year. On Monday, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation applied for a judicial review of the province’s decision to reduce the number of available moose tags for four hunting areas in northern Manitoba. (File)

A moose grazes in a field of canola bordering the Trans-Canada Highway west of Brandon last year. On Monday, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation applied for a judicial review of the province’s decision to reduce the number of available moose tags for four hunting areas in northern Manitoba. (File)
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Province accuses mining company of negligence in Lynn Lake wildfire

Tyler Searle 3 minute read Preview
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Province accuses mining company of negligence in Lynn Lake wildfire

Tyler Searle 3 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

Manitoba Conservation investigators believe a massive wildfire that prompted an evacuation of Lynn Lake started at the nearby Alamos Gold Inc. mining site, accusing the company of negligence because it did not use water to extinguish burn piles.

The allegations are outlined in court documents filed by a sergeant working for the conservation service. They stem from an investigation into the wildfire, which is said to have started May 7 after a burn pile reignited at the Toronto-based gold producer’s MacLellan mine site, located about 7.5 kilometres northeast of Lynn Lake.

The blaze burned more than 85,000 hectares and got to within five kilometres of Lynn Lake later that month. The community, home to nearly 600 residents and located about 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was evacuated and dozens of properties were destroyed.

“The investigation showed that Alamos Gold Inc. was negligent in ensuring that the fires that occurred on May 7, 2025, from burn piles on the MacLellan Mine site set on earlier dates were properly extinguished,” allege the documents, obtained by the Free Press.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

SUPPLIED

View from Sherritt Ave of wildfires near Lynn Lake.Wednesday night, May 28, 2025.

SUPPLIED
                                View from Sherritt Ave of wildfires near Lynn Lake.Wednesday night, May 28, 2025.
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Equatorial Guinea enforces yearlong internet outage for island that protested construction company

Ope Adetayo, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview
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Equatorial Guinea enforces yearlong internet outage for island that protested construction company

Ope Adetayo, The Associated Press 6 minute read Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — When residents of Equatorial Guinea's Annobón island wrote to the government in Malabo in July last year complaining about the dynamite explosions by a Moroccan construction company, they didn't expect the swift end to their internet access.

Dozens of the signatories and residents were imprisoned for nearly a year, while internet access to the small island has been cut off since then, according to several residents and rights groups.

Local residents interviewed by The Associated Press left the island in the past months, citing fear for their lives and the difficulty of life without internet.

Banking services have shut down, hospital services for emergencies have been brought to a halt and residents say they rack up phone bills they can't afford because cellphone calls are the only way to communicate.

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Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025

A man paddles a canoe in Annobón Island, Equatorial Guinea, Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo)

A man paddles a canoe in Annobón Island, Equatorial Guinea, Sunday, June 12, 2022. (AP Photo)
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Local engineer was a real game changer

John Longhurst 5 minute read Preview
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Local engineer was a real game changer

John Longhurst 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025

Forty-seven years ago, George Klassen had an idea that improved the lives of millions of people in Bangladesh. It was for a hand-powered rower pump, a classic piece of simple, inexpensive and appropriate technology that poor farmers could use to irrigate their crops.

Today, an estimated 500,000 rower pumps are still in operation, benefitting more than 2.5 million people in that southeast Asian country — a legacy to Klassen’s vision, curiosity and ingenuity.

Klassen, who died on April 15 in Steinbach, spent his early years in Blumenort (near Gretna) before moving with his parents and 10 siblings to a farm near Steinbach. After graduating from the University of Manitoba with a B.Sc., he taught science and math in Nigeria with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) for three years.

There, he became convinced the best way he could serve people in the global south was by assisting them with practical skills and knowledge. With that in mind, when Klassen returned to Canada he decided to go back to the University of Manitoba to study engineering.

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Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025
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Canadian farmers facing harvest cash-flow crunch, talking support

Laura Rance 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025

Canadian farmers are understandably disappointed the federal government’s response to China’s punishing import tariffs on canola, pork, peas and seafood hasn’t so far included direct compensation.

After all, the duties are widely seen as retaliation for Canadian tariffs effectively locking Chinese electric cars out of the local market — a policy decision that had nothing to do with agriculture. This is the second time in recent memory China has targeted Canadian farmers to score points on unrelated issues. It’s unlikely to be the last.

While the full impact remains unclear, when Canada’s second-largest canola customer imposes tariffs of 75.8 per cent on seed and 100 per cent on oil and meal, it’s a safe bet demand will be curbed and prices will be lower than they would have been otherwise. Industry estimates place the eventual costs in the range of $2 billion.

However, commodity prices this year are depressed across the board — for a host of reasons. Much of the new-crop canola has yet to be harvested and very little has been sold.

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Nation building needs research — not just infrastructure

Mario Pinto 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025

Living through the second Trump administration as a Canadian has been likened, by one commentator, to a teenager being kicked out of the house. We must grow up fast and deal with the fact that we can now only rely on ourselves. So, the federal government is moving fast on files related to security, sovereignty and connectivity. The Liberals passed Bill C-5 to expedite projects that will help Canadians live on our own. Wonderful.

But.

In our rush forward, we cannot overlook the power of nation-building research, which must go hand-in-glove with these infrastructure projects. Research and infrastructure are not competing priorities: they are essential partners in nation-building.

Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, grants the federal government sweeping powers to quickly build large projects that help goods move faster and more easily. This act intends to strengthen our security, autonomy, resilience and advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples. But there can be no nation-building without nation-building research.