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Province to acquire burial-site property

By Morgan Modjeski 2 minute read Updated: 8:34 AM CDT

WINNIPEG — A burial site for dozens of children who died while attending the Brandon Indian Residential School will be acquired by the province, the Winnipeg Free Press has learned.

Premier Wab Kinew will announce the province’s plan to protect Turtle Crossing Campground at a news conference in Brandon Wednesday to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The move is in partnership with the City of Brandon.

The graves of at least 56 children are located at the campground, the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation has said, pointing to a geophysical study conducted by an archeology firm in 2018.

There have been long-standing concerns from Indigenous leaders and community members that people were camping on the resting place of children victimized by colonialism.

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Khan quits as Tory leader, leaves caucus

By Carol Sanders 5 minute read Preview

Khan quits as Tory leader, leaves caucus

By Carol Sanders 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:20 PM CDT

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s Leader of the Opposition is stepping down.

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan announced late Monday afternoon he is quitting caucus and will sit in the legislature as an independent MLA, effective today.

He cited internal party fighting for his decision.

The former Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive lineman survived a caucus confidence vote Friday. He said there were 13 votes for him to remain and six against, with one person absent.

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Updated: Yesterday at 11:20 PM CDT

Local

Run helps bring healing home

By Abiola Odutola 6 minute read Preview

Run helps bring healing home

By Abiola Odutola 6 minute read Yesterday at 11:13 PM CDT

BIRTLE — For some participants, Saturday’s fifth annual Reconciliation Run was more than a 21.1-kilometre race.

It was a journey home.

“It feels special to run it, especially because of the ones that didn’t make it home,” said Anastasia Petrachuk, who travelled from Esterhazy, Sask., to participate in the run for the third year in a row.

“We’re essentially … taking their spirits home while we’re running.”

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Yesterday at 11:13 PM CDT

Local

Unveiling to cap Orange Shirt Day Walk

By Connor McDowellLocal Journalism Initiative 6 minute read Preview

Unveiling to cap Orange Shirt Day Walk

By Connor McDowellLocal Journalism Initiative 6 minute read Yesterday at 11:15 PM CDT

Premier Wab Kinew will be in Brandon tomorrow as Truth and Reconciliation Day events return to the Riverbank Discovery Centre with activities focused on healing through tradition.

Kinew is expected to take part in the Orange Shirt Day Walk before making an announcement at the site of the former Brandon Indian Residential School.

An unveiling ceremony will take place at the site for a permanent monument consisting of a centre panel made of black granite, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Chief Jennifer Bone said.

With the addition of eight additional panels, the finished monument will list the names of students who attended the school, as well as survivors and children who never returned home, she said.

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Yesterday at 11:15 PM CDT

Local

Security guard assault nets 9 months in jail

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Preview

Security guard assault nets 9 months in jail

By Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:15 PM CDT

A 37-year-old man was sentenced to nine months in jail on Monday after he lunged at a Prairie Mountain Health security guard with a knife and pushed him, resulting in the employee breaking his ankle.

Frank Benn was high on crystal methamphetamine and experiencing negative side effects from being off medication when he assaulted the guard at The Town Centre mall on July 22, said his defence lawyer, Bob Harrison, in Brandon provincial court.

“He was suffering from mental health issues at the time,” Harrison said, adding that his client initially planned to see a psychiatrist and feels remorse for his actions.

Benn, who appeared virtually from the Brandon Correctional Centre, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, failing to comply with a release order, and another weapons charge for an incident in May.

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Yesterday at 11:15 PM CDT

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Ward 3 candidate wants city to shore up its reserves

By Alex Lambert 4 minute read Preview

Ward 3 candidate wants city to shore up its reserves

By Alex Lambert 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:19 PM CDT

The city should be putting more money into financial reserves in order to better prepare for surprise repairs and fund major projects, a municipal council candidate says.

Craig Shanks, who is one of four registered candidates in Ward 3, said being proactive is better than being reactive when it comes to paying for infrastructure work that arises without notice.

“All the stuff that’s happened with flooding and windstorms and hailstorms and wildfires and those kinds of things … that just puts a real big pressure on the city and the infrastructure as a whole,” Shanks, who works as an executive adjuster at Wheat City Claims Services, said in an interview at his home in Ward 3 last week.

Responding to this year’s flooding, Brandon city council recently voted to use $210,000 of parks reserve funds to improve drainage at the Wheat City Golf Course after floodwaters closed part of it during the summer. An additional $2,280,000 was taken from four separate reserves in July to pay for flood recovery and mitigation, though the city has applied for disaster financial assistance from the province to recuperate that cost.

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Yesterday at 11:19 PM CDT

Business

Trump’s import bans on Canadian liquor, whey, motorcycles take effect

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Trump’s import bans on Canadian liquor, whey, motorcycles take effect

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 8:50 AM CDT

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his trade war with Canada with outright bans on imports of certain Canadian goods.

Trump's previously announced bans — which affect some alcoholic drinks, dairy byproducts and motorcycles, among other goods — came into force at 12:01 a.m. ET Tuesday.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc's office said Monday the government's top priority remains "protecting and supporting Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses from these unjustified actions."

The bans mark the latest escalation of the trade war between the two countries as the Trump administration seeks to pressure Canada into concessions in trade talks.

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Updated: 8:50 AM CDT

Local

Konrad Narth named Manitoba PC leader as ex-leader makes conspiracy accusations

Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Konrad Narth named Manitoba PC leader as ex-leader makes conspiracy accusations

Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 3:44 PM CDT

WINNIPEG - Konrad Narth took the reins as interim leader of the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives on Tuesday, while the former party leader accused him of hosting caucus conspirators.

Narth was selected in a closed-door caucus session in the morning, and soon after the house resumed work for the new legislature sitting.

He stood in the chamber and received applause from fellow Tory members as he made his first comments in the top job.

“PCs are optimistic," Narth told the house. “We're united, and we're moving forward for all Manitobans.”

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Updated: 3:44 PM CDT

Business

Carney’s moves on labour and environment could create an opening for the opposition

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Carney’s moves on labour and environment could create an opening for the opposition

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: 8:45 AM CDT

OTTAWA - The Liberals may be riding high in the polls now, but their opponents say Prime Minister Mark Carney's strategy for boosting growth offers them unexpected opportunities for political gain.

Bill C-39, the "Building Canada Strong Act," proposes giving the government new powers to fast-track major infrastructure projects and end labour disputes, putting it offside with environmentalists and many union members.

The legislation would enshrine the labour minister's power to end work stoppages in federally regulated industries. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu has said the legislation would impose guardrails on that so-called Section 107 power by requiring that the minister first consider a special mediator's report and determine whether a work stoppage is having a negative effect on the "national interest."

But the labour movement argues that the "national interest" trigger gives Ottawa too much power to quash strikes.

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Updated: 8:45 AM CDT

Business

Canada extends travel restrictions linked to Ebola outbreak for 60 days

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Canada extends travel restrictions linked to Ebola outbreak for 60 days

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 8:50 AM CDT

OTTAWA - Canada has extended its travel and immigration restrictions related to the Ebola outbreak for another 60 days, and the health ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo has released new data showing there have been more than 8,000 cases of the virus.

People from Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been barred from travelling to Canada since May.

The measures were set to expire on Monday at midnight but have been extended to Nov. 27.

Immigration documents, including valid visas and travel authorizations, remain suspended for people from all three countries, leaving tens of thousands in limbo.

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Updated: 8:50 AM CDT

Local

RCMP boss Duheme says it’s still too soon to release details on Tumbler Ridge guns

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

RCMP boss Duheme says it’s still too soon to release details on Tumbler Ridge guns

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 8:50 AM CDT

OTTAWA - RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says in a recent letter that information about firearms used in the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., will stay under wraps for now because it's still part of an active investigation.

The Sept. 23 letter from Duheme to PolySeSouvient and four other gun control advocacy groups echoes a statement from an RCMP spokesperson earlier this month about the deadly February shootings at a home and school in the small B.C. community.

In a Sept. 14 letter to Duheme, the groups said that as the new school year begins, students, parents, teachers and communities deserve verified information that could help address failures in gun control law or its enforcement before another shooting happens.

"In a mass murder investigation like the one at Tumbler Ridge, operational secrecy and public accountability can coexist," the letter said.

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Updated: 8:50 AM CDT

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