Fans returned in droves and the league’s economic engine is now moving in the right direction
The Canadian Football League had much to celebrate on Sunday. For one thing, this year’s Grey Cup was an exciting and memorable contest. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-25 in overtime to win the 108th Grey Cup at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. (These teams played in the previous Grey Cup in…
Manitoba’s provincial government depends on long-calcified federal transfer programs to fund 37% of its budget
Around 1915, Winnipeg was frequently described as a second Chicago, a serious transportation hub with a bustling private economy. In 1921, it was the third-largest city in Canada. In the 1960s, Winnipeg was Western Canada’s corporate headquarters city. Today, Winnipeg is Canada’s ninth-largest city, known more in the United States, if not by most Canadians,…
Unfortunately, government hiring rules and public sector unions make it hard to leverage the gig economy
My landlord friend had a problem and the solution was so novel he had to tell me about it. He lives in Winnipeg but his house tenant in Regina couldn’t remove snow from the property. Not long ago, finding someone to deal with that might have been difficult or expensive, especially if a long-term arrangement…
If historical figures with 2020 attitudes could be found, renaming familiar streets and place names wouldn’t be so daunting
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman is determined to pursue his name game – renaming, removing and rewriting history. Among his targets is Bishop Grandin Boulevard – the mayor doesn’t like the late Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin’s attitudes. If Bowman succeeds, the next logical renaming would be St. Vital – also named after Grandin, who was an important…
We could see as many as five Canadians teams in the playoffs – but more likely we’ll see two or three at this pace
For fans of Canada’s seven embattled National Hockey League teams, the man from Zamboni is a suitable talisman of their frustration. As most everyone now knows, a 42-year-old Zamboni driver – a kidney-transplant Zamboni driver – stepped in for the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night in Toronto to defeat the listless Leafs 6-3. When both…
The mayor is misreading the events of the Northwest Rebellion and romanticizing a nasty moment in our country’s history
“The red coats we know, but who are those little black devils?” This was the question posed by a Métis prisoner after the Battle of Fish Creek. Thus was born the nickname of the military unit that would later be known as the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, one that had been sent west to help crush…
Corrections institutions are merely holding facilities with few effective rehabilitative programs. They must have programs for safe, effective reintegration
An analysis by the CBC covering two decades of homicide statistics for Winnipeg reveals a major shift in the types of weapons used. It’s happening across the country. Winnipeg had 44 homicides in 2019, more than in any other previous 10-year period. Police seized 1,771 guns in 2018, up from 1,195 in 2017 and 825…
We need to to treat the crisis of a growing prison population as a public health challenge rather than the narrower response being advocated
Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth has a typical challenge on his hands: crime is up, resources are stretched and more money is needed. Behind the scenes, he must also be seen as preserving the interests of his officers and the police association. The Winnipeg Police Board and municipal politicians have their perpetual challenges: be perceived…
The rash of liquor store robberies in Winnipeg says more about underlying social problems than it does about the effectiveness of police
Winnipeg has experienced a rash of liquor store swarmings involving masked individuals who have become increasingly accustomed to little or no resistance. The best deterrent to crime is not the severity of sentence or punishment, but the certainty of detection and apprehension. An even better and common-sense response would be to mitigate the underlying precursors…
The dangerous, violent seeds of the communist revolution were being sown in Canada
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike, the most dramatic moment in our nation’s labour history and one highly romanticized ever since 1919. All of this romance seems to have caused people to forget what was really at stake. In 1919, the communist movement was gaining ground in Europe and elsewhere.…