“The incident has brought long-standing concerns to a head,” Eric Robinson said. Story by Gabrielle Piché. www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

Good time to re-up: the Tumbler Ridge newspaper is literally one person who is doing his best to update his community while grieving along with them. One-time donations can be etransferred to [email protected] or ongoing via www.patreon.com/posts/thanks...

The Tumbler Ridge newspaper puts it better than I could

This is a great read. I have a lot of gratitude for my employer for letting me take 10 months off to care for my mum as she died of cancer (and two more after her death) – longer than the 28 weeks months allowed by Manitoba's compassionate care leave. www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article...

Great reporting by @sourcenm.com, highlighted in the @localmatters.bsky.social newsletter this week, which is always full of great reads. sourcenm.com/2026/01/28/f...

Damn, I didn't realize the digital news subscription tax credit has ended, with 2024 as the last eligible year. www.canada.ca/en/revenue-a...

From @bhobs22.bsky.social today ⬇️ www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

🫠 via @indicator.media indicator.media/p/ai-generat...

The mandated court inquest into the death of 16-year-old Ojibwe teen, Eishia Loletta Hudson, begins today in Winnipeg, said the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in a press release. Eishia was shot and killed by a member of the Winnipeg Police Service nearly six years ago, on April 8, 2020.

Just one reason among many why I have never even glanced at Threads. I'm entangled with FB and Insta in ways I'll have to figure out eventually. But what do I need ANOTHER news-blocked platform for?

I wrote about this leading up to the election, and this blew my mind: "According to a MEO report from August 2024, only 22 per cent of Canadians knew that news was banned on Facebook and Instagram. At that point, the ban had been in place for a year." www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

906 days. That's how long Meta's been blocking news in Canada. Doesn't matter if the outlet is based in Canada, the U.S. or Germany – we can't read it. Small non-profit or legacy newspaper. Can't read it. Posts made before Aug. 1, 2023? Nope. But disinformation, AI-generated spam, that'll pass.

“I think this is a wake-up call for Canada,” said Lloyd Richardson, with the Winnipeg-based @cdnchildprotect.bsky.social. “Let’s get on with it, let’s stop bantering around about the Online Harms Act. Let’s get pen to paper. Let’s get all political parties on the same page.” My latest ⬇️

Frenchie was sentenced to 12 to 18 years in prison today.

I spoke with Dr. Lavallee on background in 2023, when I first joined the paper, ahead of my series on inquests in Manitoba. He said something that really stuck with me: the inquest system could not see the "imprint of racism."

Dr. Barry Lavallee was the head physician of a health and wellness centre in northern Manitoba that represented 23 First Nations. Lavallee’s passing was unexpected and further updates will be made when deemed appropriate by his family.

We heard today that Dr. Barry Lavallee has passed away. What an immense loss. Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin, where he was CEO, said in a release: "His powerful voice commanded attention. He spoke up for those who could not and left an impact that will be remembered." kiminoayawin.com/5845-2/

Something I've loved seeing since I came to Winnipeg is the strength of the community organizations and the community spirit, and it was nice to write about that today. www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

Elon Musk’s Grok ‘Undressing’ Problem Isn’t Fixed www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Indigenous legal experts and advocates were not shocked by the findings, but say it shines a light on systemic issues that persist after centuries of colonization.

"The Manitoba wheat farmer turned Central America crop duster did not know what lay ahead of him – whether he could buy the fuel he needed or what might come next." By Nathan VanderKlippe www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

This documentary, which aired last May, by W5’s Avery Haines is horrific. It's disturbing, but worth a watch. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QRE...

A big year-end thank you to our @winnipegfreepress.com readers, who, far from shying away from a 7,600-word piece, made this story on Conor Rae, an 18-year-old who was fatally shot by an RCMP officer, the fourth-most engaged with story on our site in 2025. www.winnipegfreepress.com/featured/202...

NYTimes: "local and federal officials were immediately divided on how the shooting unfolded.” @doubleemmartin.bsky.social "Yes, they are divided by the fact that federal officials are lying." www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

A former Winnipeg police officer who previously pleaded guilty to a long list of charges involving corruption and other inappropriate actions has now also admitted to selling drugs over a period of years — both to civilians and other officers. Story: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

LLMs are not sentient, are not human. Grok cannot “apologize” or explain how or why any of this is happening. But of course major outlets such as Bari Weiss’s CBS News wrote that Grok “acknowledged ‘lapses in safeguards'." @jasonkoebler.bsky.social with more: Listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT9l...

This is my favourite take: "In the era of disinformation and AI slop, hard-hitting, deeply reported investigative stories relevant to real people and real communities will once again be seen as valuable. Not just journalistically, but economically as well."

And now I've got insulated, nearly-knee high wellies! Why have I spent so many years with winter boots that barely go past my ankle? Times are changing around here! Snow is not going down the shoes first thing in the morning! No more wet socks!

I've been tracking the spread of nonconsensual deepfakes on X for more than two years. Here's a timeline of how Musk's leadership allowed the practice to flourish from a once-underground market to a viral trend, with little recourse for victims or legal enforcement. spitfirenews.com/p/grok-csam-...

As of Oct. 10, the term "child pornography" has been removed from Canada's Criminal Code and other federal laws – replaced with "child sexual abuse and exploitation material," in a move that's meant to more accurately reflect the harm of this abuse. www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

WFP Investigation🧵: How does a teacher groom a student from Grade 3, admit to being "obsessed" with her, and still get to quietly resign without charges? My investigation into the systemic failure that protected David Wray and shattered a Winnipeg family: www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

“With this change at the legal level — and if media follows suit — we end that implication that this could somehow be entertainment," said Kalyn Danco, associate general counsel with @cdnchildprotect.bsky.social, referring to how the term "pornography" can connote an entertainment purpose.

As of Oct. 10, the term "child pornography" has been removed from Canada's Criminal Code and other federal laws – replaced with "child sexual abuse and exploitation material," in a move that's meant to more accurately reflect the harm of this abuse. www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

Moving to Winnipeg has made me confused about why I didn't buy a pair of snow pants before this. As children, it's obvious that our legs would get cold when it's punishingly frigid out, but as adults, somehow our legs are expected to become self-warming? My legs have always been freezing! Until now!

Nearly three years after receiving updated guidance for alcohol consumption, Health Canada has not yet published that information on its website. www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...

Big news! "The fact is that we cannot govern who First Nations fall in love with," said Sen. Paul Prosper. Story by @karynpugliese.bsky.social ⬇️ www.aptnnews.ca/national-new...

A bill is being reviewed in Senate that will restore Indian status to about 3,000 people. But witnesses say they want the bill to recognize more people – and the Senate is listening. Is this the end of second-generation cut off? That’s on N2N.

After hearing from more than 50 witnesses, the Senate Standing Committee on Indigenous Peoples is preparing to go further than the government ever intended in restoring legal recognition to “non-status Indians.” That's on Nation to Nation.

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. My latest on the second-generation cut off (no paywall!) ⬇️ www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

I am currently off work and not responding to e-mails. Because of the long wait times for endometriosis surgeries in Canada, I chose to go to the U.S. to get excision surgery for Stage IV endometriosis, where I had a four hour surgery on Monday. It went well and I expect to return to work on Dec. 1.

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. My latest on the second-generation cut off (no paywall!) ⬇️ www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

I continue to cover the second-generation cut off and am closely following the Senate committee meetings over the last few weeks on Bill S-2. I'll be writing something next week on the meetings and am always interested to hear from people affected by the cut off. Feel free to drop me a line.

Thanks to the Winnipeg Free Press for covering our special event, marking the 50th anniversary of the Department of Indigenous Studies at @umanitoba: www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

Cute news alert! Annie MacDonald's neighbourhood coffee stand has raised more than $2,000 for CancerCare over the last two months. It's also become the site of meaningful community connections. In today's @winnipegfreepress.com ☕ www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-lif...

“Everything that I know about me, and the love I have for myself, the knowledge I have about my people, and the love that I have for my people, came from my own people,” said Elder Carl Stone at an event honouring 50 years of Indigenous Studies at UofM. www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

The University of Manitoba's Indigenous Studies department celebrates 50 years. My story from today ⬇️ www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

"With the increasing number of families with one status and one non-status parent, the second-generation cut-off will become increasingly common, creating harmful and far fetching consequences by limiting future generations of Indigenous peoples from accessing status." www.cbc.ca/news/indigen...

Got my first parking ticket courtesy of the lack of parking meters in Winnipeg today 🫠 I only had my personal phone (a flip phone) on me, so couldn't use the app to pay. I looked around for a meter for a while until I forgot they're gone ☹️

Commissions from Manitoba's contract with Synergy – a portion of profits from jail phone calls, paid for by inmates' relatives, that go back to the province – can fund Indigenous cultural programming in jails, a dynamic one expert called "unconscionable." www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...