Lifestyles 55 2026 March Digital

Tips for seniors who are first time home buyers

Evelyn Jacks

The First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is quite possibly the most lucrative tax assisted investment to come along for Canadian residents who have not owned and lived in a principal residence in the current or any of the four preceding calendar years. The tax savings start to occur when the money is contributed to the plan – you’ll get a tax deduction. But in addition, the principle earns tax free income while in the plan. Then upon withdrawal for a home purchase, the money is received on a tax-free basis. To take advantage this tax triple-header, read on: How Much Can Be Contributed? It is possible to contribute up to $8,000 per year to a FHSA. The maximum lifetime contribution to the account is $40,000. The contribution room is created when you open an FHSA, so that’s an important first step.

This account differs in significant ways from other registered accounts. For example, annual contribution room is earned for a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) simply by being a Canadian resident aged 18 or older. New TFSA contribution room is added automatically to your

records with CRA every January 1st.

Contributions allowed to an RRSP are based on the prior year’s earned income and they can be made during the calendar year or within 60 days of the next calendar year. In the case of 8 ‘First time home buyers' u

Lose yourself in the music of the 2026 Winnipeg Baroque Festival

Trudy Schroeder

Festivals are a beautiful way to explore a collection of performances that have been curated and structured to provide variety, great quality, and excellent value. This year, Winnipeg’s Baroque Festival continues its five-year tra-

dition of presenting a splendid array of music that features the outstanding talents of local musicians and ensembles and some great guests as well.

The festival includes 13 concerts in venues around the city, more than 300 musicians performing in solo performances or in ensembles of varying size, and more than twenty-five 11 ‘Baroque Festival' u

Men’s Sheds Manitoba –what’s that

It’s about guys doing interesting things and making new friends

Are you at loose ends, wondering what is the point of it all? Men’s Sheds can give you a new lease on life.

Originating in Australia in the late 1990s, the Men’s Sheds movement has since grown to over 2,500 Sheds in more than 12 countries, and the numbers keep growing! The first shed in Canada began in Winnipeg in 2009 and has grown to 11 sheds in Manitoba and over 140 sheds across Canada. While each is as different as the communities they are found in, Men’s Sheds all share the same aim of improving men’s health and well-being by providing a space for social interaction, skill-sharing, and community engagement.

We welcome all men

Many of us find that a good portion of our lives have revolved around career and work activities. When retirement or lifestyle changes come along, or we finally have an opportunity to spend time on activities we have looked forward to, we may not find it as enjoyable without a friend or two to share the fun.

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ISSUES IN THE NEWS

Winter is almost behind us and with it a year of upheaval and change. We have a new prime minister leading an old government and a new neighbouring president determined to shake up the world. In many ways, the two are alike.

First, we have learned a lot about the ways of the WinningThrough-Intimidation President, Donald Trump. Winning Through Intimidation is the name of a popular book written by Robert J. Ringer who published a number of self-help business books in the 70s and 80s all predicated on the idea that the most aggressive takes home the spoils. His other popular titles of the day were Looking out for Number One and Getting What You Want. At the time, the books were the bible for many up-andcoming young businesspeople. Anyone who aspires to better understand Donald Trump need only read these books to get his number. The books also explain the TACO (Trump always chickens out) Trump syndrome – it’s all part of making the deal. Knowing and understanding these things should present a bit of a roadmap on how to deal with The Donald.

According to Robert J. Lifton, a US psychiatrist, Trump is a “solipsist” more than a narcissist: “Trump, the solipsist, the only point of reference is himself, so he makes no attempt even at faking interest in other people, since he can’t really see them from his self-centered position.”

Knowing this, throwing a “hissy fit” to quote Jamil Jivani, is the wrong approach to dealing with Trump over trade with Canada. Well publicized campaigns such as Elbows Up and a refusal to sell American wines simply satisfy his need for reaction. It makes the president the centre of attention and keeps him there. Lifton advises, “You need to deal with him like a parent dealing with an ornery child”. You “need to temper reprimands and raised voices with self-restraint, calmness and even studied indifference.” Self-deprecating humor can also be a useful tool.

It would be a mistake to ignore Trump’s narcissistic side, however. His grandiose sense of self-importance and his compelling requirement for admiration and special treatment drive him. He needs to believe you are on his side. He cannot bear to be thwarted, either, so any wins must be attributed to him rather than to his opponent. Let him be the hero so you can get what you want.

Instead, Canada took exactly the opposite stance, perhaps because Mr. Carney also demonstrates narcissistic traits. He too needs to be seen to be in charge, to be the smartest person in the room. He is impatient when questioned – in Question Period, his shouted responses that often contain a voice break at the height of his anger, betray his annoyance at being questioned at all. He is impatient with reporters who are too aggressive, even taking on the formidable Rosemary Barton by telling her to “look inside yourself” when she questioned him over his asset conflicts of interest. He is often dismissive with comments such as his “Who cares?” when asked about Trump. When you put the two men together something has to give. At first it was Carney who, during the election, quietly, at the

request of the President, removed some of the tariffs he had recently imposed on the U.S. Carney continued with this personal conciliatory approach while carrying on a public and contradictory “elbows up” campaign. He went on to take direct aim at Trump during his speech to the global community at Davos in what can only be characterized as a passive-aggressive approach. Watching from the sidelines, one has to wonder just how Mr. Carney thought Trump wouldn’t hear these insults across the border or how he can actually believe that Carney did not approve the Ronald Reagan ads launched by Doug Ford when it was all over the news that he did.

So, we have stalemate. Trump has recently referred to Carney as Governor Carney in retaliation for those veiled insults in the Davos speech. According to reports, the two haven’t spoken since January 26. After that call, Carney reported that it was cordial and that he stood by his Davos remarks. However, this claim was refuted by a witness to the call that said Carney tried to walk back what he said.

There appears to be no more trade discussions between the two and they seem to have assigned the USMCA talks to functionaries.

This was the year that was – the year that was supposed to see Carney smooth over relationships with the US. and “maturely” handle Donald Trump. This was the year that we were going to see new developments, new trade agreements and the accelerated development of major energy, infrastructure, and housing projects, "building at speeds not seen in generations". So far, there are no trade agreements, although there are a dozen MOUs, and no building. And no major projects!

The Globe and Mail reported last March that “Rage is the new Canadian mood!” And now? Canadians are anything but exuberant about the future. While there is some cautious optimism, it is not predicated on anything but public relations from the PMO. There is a lot of anxiety over the cost of living and debt. A whopping 71% feel that the cost of living will continue to rise. The uncertainty is affecting our lifestyles to the point where dating is down due to the expense! One can only speculate about the birth rate for the same reason.

In my view, Carney is living on borrowed time despite his poaching campaign. He needs to show some results very soon or face an increasingly disheartened electorate.

Crossing the floor

It is not new. Canadian politicians, both federal and provincial, have crossed the floor more than 300 times since Canada began – some of them more than once. David Kilgour comes to mind. A Winnipeg boy who earned his law degree here with a successful law career in Winnipeg, he later moved to Alberta where he became a member of Parliament for the Progressive Conservatives. He crossed the floor to sit as an Independent, then from Independent to Liberal and finally back to Independent.

After the decimation of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1993 until the final merger of the Reform/Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives to form the Conservative Party of Canada in 2003, there was a lot of floor crossing.

Sometimes the reasons are personal pique as in the case of Chris d’Entremont who was miffed because he was not “reappointed” deputy speaker by the Conservative leader, who insisted on a fair election. Chris felt he was owed the appointment as he was deputy speaker prior to the 2025 election. This made him easy picking for a hungry minority government. His long-term friend, former leader Peter McKay, was surprised and angry at his defection.

of Canadians consider it unethical for MPs to cross the floor, particularly if it helps a party achieve a majority. Of that number, a full 46% of liberal voters are of the same view!

A total of 67% of voters are against incentives such as preferments, and other offers of special positions, to attract members and one-third believe that an MP should be required to resign and run again under their new banner.

Only 20% of Canadians support the current practice.

Some people believe that an MP who dees defect should be required to return any funds donated by the Riding Association toward their election campaign.

Michael Ma was a recruited rookie MP who had no longterm, deeply rooted history in the Conservative party. That and the fact that he won the swing riding of Markham-Unionville by a very slim margin made him an ideal candidate for luring across the floor. The response to his move was surprisingly bitter as 37,000 people signed a petition calling for his resignation.

Matt Jeneroux got a nice preferment as special advisor to the prime minister on economic and security partnerships (something of a mystery as he has no experience in either field) for crossing. As events unfurled, it is pretty clear that the deal was made back in November, but he was asked to delay after the heat that had risen with the defection of Michael Ma. Saying that he would resign in “the spring” was suspicious in itself as he had been seen at a downtown Ottawa bar with Liberal staff shortly after his initial "resignation". After his resignation announcement he pledged to give his salary to “local charities” until he officially left office, and he did not reappear in Parliament in the meantime.

Although most often floor crossings are spontaneous and personal to the floor crosser, this latest batch was clearly initiated by the Prime Minister trying to eke out a majority without going back to the polls. That raises questions of ethics for many – according to a Leger report, 51%

The duty of judgement

Your representative owes you not his industry only but his judgement; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinions.

SGiven this public resistance to the practice of floor crossing, which also carries with it an increasing unlikelihood of the floor crossers being reelected, it is somewhat surprising that the governing party would continue employing such tactics. But then, desperate times call for desperate measures as they say, and this government is clearly desperate to maintain its toehold in power and to discredit their opponent through any means available to them.

The timing of this Jeneroux announcement may have been prompted by Pierre Poilievres’ rising popularity on the heels of a very successful convention where he won 87.4% of the vote on his leadership. His widely publicized speech to the convention which followed a highly successful appearance where he made fun of himself at the annual Press Gallery dinner were threatening the Liberals’ absolute dominion over the media.

But the timing was made disappointing given that, a week earlier, the Prime Minister had reached across the aisle to embrace all the opposition parties asking the leaders to join him in a pilgrimage to Tumbler Ridge where they appeared, apparently united, in their sympathy for the community and the grief-stricken families. The public breathed a sigh of relief. This seemed to herald a new and more normal era of co-operation between a minority government and its opposition, but that has quickly dissolved.

What is next? Stay tuned. Only one thing is for sure: Mark Carney, hiding some very sharp teeth behind flowery words and a constant smile, appears to stop at nothing to maintain power. And it seems that the recruitment efforts will not stop by the Liberals’ own admission. So much for public opinion.

o wrote Edmund Burke, newly elected MP of Bristol, in 1774. Voters, he argued, do not hire a delegate to obey instructions; they choose a person to think. And this principle still underpins our parliamentary democracy today. Parliament is not a collection of local messengers. Members are meant to weigh evidence, debate policy and consider the longterm national interest. Constituents entrust an MP with judgement between elections but retain ultimate power in being able to remove that MP in the next election. During the MP’s term, they must sometimes act on conscience and reason rather than on immediate public pressure.

the choice. When an MP switches sides mid-term, it can feel like the terms of the agreement have been altered after the fact. Some argue that anything less than a by-election is a democratic sleight of hand. That argument deserves respect. It reflects a legitimate instinct about mandate.

But Canada has repeatedly declined to require automatic byelections for party switching. Why? Because doing so would redefine representation. It would make the seat effectively the property of the party apparatus rather than the elected member. In a system already characterized by strong party discipline, that would consolidate even more authority in leaders’ offices and discourage independent judgment altogether.

In the current Parliament, three Conservative MPs have recently crossed the floor to sit with the Liberals, narrowing the gap between minority government and majority status. None of them was a party leader. None was elected as a national figurehead. Each, however, carried a vote equal to every other member in the House. Their decisions have altered committee balances, reduced the government’s reliance on opposition support and shifted the political arithmetic in Ottawa. Whether one applauds or condemns their choice, the episode is a reminder that individual judgment has measurable consequences.

There have been just over 300 floor crossings at the federal level since 1867. In that same time, more than 4,000 MPs have served. Crossings are not common, but neither are they extraordinary. +-They are part of a democracy that balances ideology with personal reflection.

Here is the blunt version of the opposing case: a voter in a Conservative riding did not consent to being represented by a Liberal. The party label was printed beside the name. The party brand influenced

And voters are not powerless. Consider what has happened historically. Several MPs who crossed the floor faced defeat at the next election. Leona Alleslev crossed from Liberal to Conservative in 2018 and was re-elected in 2019, only to lose in 2021. Voters ultimately rendered their judgement. Others have not survived their first test under a new banner. Crossing the floor is a political gamble. It is not a free ride. This is the accountability mechanism the system relies upon. Not instant recall, but electoral judgment at the next vote.

It is also worth remembering something practical. In a minority Parliament, elections are rarely far away. If voters truly feel misrepresented, they do not wait a full four years. Governments fall. Campaigns happen. The public gets its say. Floor crossing can feel like betrayal. But the alternative is a Parliament where members are permanently tethered to party leadership regardless of conscience, principle or evolving circumstance. That would not strengthen democracy. It would narrow it.

We elect individuals. We entrust them for a term. We judge them afterward.

The arrangement was never meant to be emotionally tidy. It is, however, the system we inherited and have repeatedly chosen to maintain.

And in the end, it is voters, not party whips, who decide whether a crossing was courage or calculation.

Why the world must prioritize women’s health innovation

For decades, women’s health has been treated as a niche category — an add on, a specialty, or a subset of “general” medicine. Yet women make up half of the global population, drive the majority of healthcare decisions, and experience biological realities that differ fundamentally from men. Despite this, women’s health remains chronically under researched, under funded, and under innovated. Prioritizing women’s health innovation isn’t simply a matter of fairness; it’s a strategic investment in global well being, economic growth, and scientific progress.

The historical gap in women’s health research

Medical research has long centered male bodies as the default. Until the 1990s, women were routinely excluded from clinical trials due to concerns about hormonal fluctuations or pregnancy. The result is a knowledge gap that still shapes care today. Many medications were developed and dosed based on male physiology, leading to higher rates of adverse drug reactions in women. Conditions that disproportionately affect women — such as autoimmune diseases, chronic pain disorders, and reproductive health issues—remain poorly understood.

economy over the next decade. That’s because untreated or poorly treated health conditions reduce productivity, increase healthcare costs, and limit women’s participation in the workforce.

Despite this enormous potential, only a small fraction of global healthcare R&D funding goes toward conditions that primarily or disproportionately affect women. FemTech — technology designed to support women’s health — has grown rapidly in recent years, but it still receives a tiny slice of venture capital compared to other health sectors. Prioritizing innovation in this space is not only socially responsible; it’s economically smart. Innovation can transform the most neglected areas of women’s health

Andrea

This gap isn’t just academic. It affects diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. Women are more likely to have their symptoms dismissed, misdiagnosed, or attributed to stress. Heart disease, the leading cause of death for women, often presents differently in women than in men, yet diagnostic criteria were built around male symptoms. Innovation in women’s health is essential to correcting these systemic blind spots.

The economic case for investing in women’s health

When women’s health improves, societies thrive. Healthier women mean healthier families, stronger workforces, and more resilient economies. A 2023 McKinsey report estimated that closing the women’s health gap could add trillions of dollars to the global

Some of the most persistent health challenges women face are also the most overlooked. Menstrual health, for example, affects billions of women, yet remains stigmatized and under researched. Innovations in menstrual tracking, pain management, and diagnostic tools could dramatically improve quality of life and help identify underlying conditions like endometriosis — an illness that affects one in ten women but often takes years to diagnose.

Reproductive health is another area ripe for innovation. Fertility treatments remain expensive and inaccessible for many. Contraceptive options have barely evolved in decades. Maternal health outcomes, especially for women of color, lag behind those of other high income nations. New technologies — AI powered diagnostics, remote monitoring tools, personalized medicine — could revolutionize care before, during, and after pregnancy.

Menopause, affecting every woman who lives long enough, is perhaps the most striking example of neglect. Symptoms can last years and significantly impact daily life, yet research and treatment options remain limited. As the global population ages, menopause care represents one of the largest untapped opportunities for innovation.

Equity and representation must drive the next wave of innovation

Innovation in women’s health must be inclusive. Women are not a monolith; race, socioeconomic status, geography, and gender identity all shape health experiences. Black women face higher maternal mortality rates. LGBTQ+ individuals often encounter discrimination in healthcare settings. Low income women may lack access to basic reproductive services.

To create meaningful change, innovators must design solutions with diverse women in mind. That means funding research that includes women of all backgrounds, supporting community driven health initiatives, and ensuring new technologies are accessible—not just available.

A future where women’s health is central, not peripheral

Prioritizing women’s health innovation is not about carving out a special category. It’s about recognizing that women’s health is foundational to public health. When we invest in understanding women’s bodies, experiences, and needs, we unlock better care for everyone. Many breakthroughs in cardiovascular health, mental health, and immunology have emerged from studying conditions that disproportionately affect women.

The momentum is building. Startups are pushing boundaries. Researchers are challenging outdated assumptions. Policymakers are beginning to acknowledge the gap. But progress requires sustained commitment— from governments, investors, healthcare systems, and society at large.

Women’s health innovation is not a luxury. It’s a necessity. And prioritizing it is one of the most powerful steps we can take toward a healthier, more equitable future. Andrea Ladouceur the president and CEO of the Bioscience Associations of Manitoba. She is a visionary, resultsdriven leader shaping strategy and transformation across finance, technology, energy, climate, health, and the economy. She turns bold ideas into measurable impact by building high-value partnerships, navigating risk, and fostering true collaboration. Through her leadership, Andrea has mobilized the BAM team to accelerate innovation, unlock talent, and strengthen the growth and competitiveness of the bioscience industry.

City of Winnipeg – silencing citizens, democracy to autocracy

Many lawyers determined the recent Safe Access to Vulnerable Infrastructure by-law, introduced at Executive Policy Committee (EPC) Feb 17, was a violation of our Charter Rights and a threat to democracy. Over 120 citizens registered to speak and over 1,000 submitted written objections to the by-law that would tangle democratic demonstrations in red tape, including permits, fines, and enforcement requirements. Councillor Duncan pulled back his by-law claiming it was miscommunicated and rushed, and that he did not want to be a hypocrite, by rushing motions after being critical of other councillors for rushing by-laws.

But the by-law itself is not the only problem. The way that it was introduced and advanced is also undemocratic. First It was added to the agenda at the last minute, mere days before the EPC meeting. While this may be not violating rules or be common practice for the City of Winnipeg, it certainly was not a democratic way to introduce such big changes.

rupting not because I violated any rules, but because he didn’t like what I was pointing out about their undemocratic political tactics.

On top of all these autocratic actions, presenters now must be photographed to enter City Hall, creating a permanent digital record of protesters and presenters. It is not clear what happens with this databased of activists, but in our age of digital surveillance it is another concern and possible infringement on citizen rights.

Marianne Cerilli

Second, there was no public engagement or input since the by-law was first introduced months ago. At that time, it was referred to the administration for a scan of similar by-laws in Canada. However, the Winnipeg by-law was more extreme and extensive than other cities that took months of public discussions to craft a by-law.

Other undemocratic changes in Winnipeg like a reduced presenter time from 10 minutes to 5 minutes has been accompanied by disrespectful conduct from council. In many cases that shorter time is interrupted in a disrespectful way. I was interrupted five times, by the mayor, who, rather than listen and ask questions at the end, debated what I said. Inter-

A main point in my presentation about the Chief Peguis Trail (CPT) extension was the lack of adherence to public policy like the Transportation Master Plan. The city spends a lot on tax dollars to develop these strategies, but they are ignored in budget making and in development initiatives, like the CPT. This Trumpian approaches to governance ignores the rule of law and governs by cult of personality and autocracy. I didn’t even get to the part of my presentation about hiding public documents that don’t support the CPT, also undemocratic and unethical.

The diminishment of democratic due process in Winnipeg includes using 311 to screen calls. I called 311 to contact the EPC Clerk’s Office to gather procedural information about the by-laws. I was told I would get a call back in five days, when I explained that would be too late, I was then told one day, but I was never contacted by EPC staff at all. The provisions to regulate public protest would set up the same permit system that could screen and delay democratic demonstrations.

For these reasons, I filed a complaint about the conduct of the mayor at the EPC meeting on February 17. The Integrity Commissioner will get to

decide if his disrespectful interruptions violated the council code of conduct. The mayor as chair of EPC cannot abuse this power, he can interrupt presenters to enforce the rules, but he cannot interrupt to debate, because he disagrees with or doesn’t like the presenter or her comments.

Now EPC councillors claim they are counting on the Federal Bill C-9: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime, and access to religious or cultural places). It will create four new offences related to intimidation and hate, applied to public protest. These changes are being inspired, not only by the COVID convoy, but protest related to the occupation and war in Gaza. And according to councillor Duncan, the resistance by US citizens to the armed raids of ICE agents in cities like Minneapolis. While some of us have been inspired by this organizing of mutual aid and non-violent protests, it seems our city councillors see a threat. Rather than nuisance protests, consuming police time for no reason, they are citizens acting to protect democracy.

I sure hope Winnipeg councillors don’t support the actions of ICE agents to target, and deport people of colour, even killing citizens who protest. But it certainly seems like they see people who exercise our Charter Rights as a problem, even enemies. At the end of the EPC meeting, after the presentation’s councillors, said it was not their intention to infringe on the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, that they want to make protests safe and to prevent intimidation.

Concerns about safety and intimidation certainly didn’t apply to those of us who are presenting on February 17. But we know authoritarianism is often initially shrouded in propaganda of keeping people safe with policing, and surveillance.

Marianne Cerilli is an educator and former MLA who works at the intersection of learning, community development and politics.

Bike lanes, consultants, lawsuits: how City Council keeps missing the point

Winnipeg has never lacked potential. We’ve lacked focus.

We are a city with smart people, hard workers, major trade routes, a growing Indigenous economy, a proud immigrant base, and a quality of life that should be the envy of Canada. And yet we keep making the same mistake: we spend public money like it’s monopoly cash, then act shocked when the basics fall apart.

If Winnipeg wants to be the best place to live in Canada, we need to start acting like it. That means making choices that improve life for everyone, not just the loudest interest groups or the consultants who bill by the hour.

Let’s start with an uncomfortable question.

How is this the best use of your money?

And while that happens, residents are left with potholes, rising crime, aging community centres, and families wondering why the city can’t keep basic amenities open. Lawsuits and legal battles that drain the city

Because here’s what residents need to understand: you are paying more under this city council and Mayor Scott Gillingham than you have ever paid before in Winnipeg’s history. Think about that. More money going in, and the basics still feel like they’re sliding backward.

So I’ll ask the questions that should be asked at every budget meeting:

Is your quality of life better?

Is your community centre the hub of positive activity for families and kids?

Are the boulevards well-kept and weed-free?

Do you feel safe walking in your neighbourhood at night?

If the answer to those questions is “no” or even “not really,” then the spending priorities are wrong. It’s that simple.

A city hall addicted to consultants

Winnipeg’s default setting has become “hire a consultant.”

Need a plan? Consultant.

Need a review? Consultant.

Need to justify a decision already made? Consultant. Consultants aren’t always bad. Sometimes outside expertise is necessary. But Winnipeg has turned consulting into a substitute for leadership. It’s a way to avoid responsibility. It also creates a convenient buffer between elected officials and the consequences of their decisions.

Then there are the lawsuits and legal fights.

Take the Parker Lands development. The City of Winnipeg spent over a decade fighting it. Years of legal battles. Years of delay. Years of money burned.

And now, after all that, city leaders are practically bragging that the project is moving forward.

Think about that.

We spent millions fighting a development that Winnipeg now desperately needs, and now council wants credit for it. That’s not leadership. That’s dysfunction with a press release.

Imagine what those millions could have done if they were spent on things people can actually use.

How many pools could we have kept open?

How many splash pads could we have repaired?

How many parks could we have upgraded?

How many firefighters, paramedics, or police officers could we have added to improve response times and public safety?

The bike lane spending question nobody wants to answer

And then there’s bike lanes.

We have spent millions on bike lane infrastructure. The question is not whether cycling is good. It is. The question is whether this was the best use of public money in a city where roads are collapsing, crime is rising, and families are being priced out of recreation.

Winnipeg has areas where people are struggling to get their kids into swimming lessons, where community pools are shutting down, where seniors are afraid to walk after dark, and where businesses are spending thousands on security because break-ins have become routine.

So here’s the question: was it responsible to pour millions into infrastructure designed to slow traffic down to 30 or 40 kilometres an hour in key corridors, while our core services are strained?

That money could have helped build a new arena. It could have upgraded four, five, even six major parks. It

could have saved facilities like Happyland Pool. It could have funded more recreation programming for kids who need it most.

Instead, we got ideology dressed up as “urban planning.”

What we could do instead

Winnipeg doesn’t need another slogan. We need a reset in how we allocate money.

Start with a simple principle: public spending should produce measurable public benefit.

Here are a few practical steps.

First, cap consultant spending and require a public vote for major contracts. If council believes a consultant is necessary, they should be willing to defend it in public.

Second, publish a clear annual accounting of legal costs and litigation strategy. Residents deserve to know what the city is fighting, why, and what it’s costing them.

Third, pause discretionary spending and redirect funds into safety, roads, and recreation. If we can’t keep pools open and streets safe, we have no business spending millions on vanity projects.

Fourth, focus economic development on real business growth. Winnipeg should be attracting advanced manufacturing, logistics, technology, and head offices. We should not be measuring success by how many fast food restaurants open on the edge of town.

A better Winnipeg is possible, but not by accident

Winnipeg can be the best place to live in Canada. Not because we say it, but because we build it.

We can be a city where young families stay instead of leaving. A city where businesses invest without worrying about crime and disorder. A city where parks, pools, and community centres are assets, not afterthoughts. A city where the basics are handled before we chase trends.

But that future requires discipline.

It requires leaders who treat public money like it matters, because it does. It requires council members who stop performing for special interest groups and start working for the whole city.

And it requires voters to demand something better than excuses.

Winnipeg doesn’t need more studies, more spin, or more symbolic politics.

It needs a city hall that finally understands a simple truth: if you waste the money, you waste the city.

Kevin Klein is the publisher of the Winnipeg Sun.

Why Chief Peguis Trail Extension must not go ahead

Snapshot of Marianne Cerilli’s presentation at EPC on Feb. 17, 2026

Background: Winnipeg is actively planning a 10-kilometer western extension of the Chief Peguis Trail from Main Street to Brookside Boulevard (Route 90) to create a major industrial, commuter, and active transportation corridor connecting to CentrePort Canada Way. The project is projected to cost approximately $755 million to $900 million, with debates over its economic benefits, potential for reducing residential traffic, and environmental impact.

Misinformation: The cost–benefit projections for the development of new subdivisions around CPTE include the benefits of new tax revenue for homes without adding the costs of new city services for those homes and people. Misleading misinformation. “The development of these subdivisions will generate more cost than revenue on a cumulative basis up until 2067, which is 43 years from now and 36 years after development begins.”

We can’t afford it: The tax implications of a $900 million project are enormous, meaning an above average tax increase forever, 3.5% more tax for this project on top of other costs. The City would need to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to construct and maintain CPTE, which will have an operating budget impact of somewhere around $22 million per year. Given the City is facing a $150m projected shortfall in the operating budget for 2028 (an 18% tax increase), according to projections in the 2026 budget.

Winnipeg can’t pay alone: CPT expansion will not be prioritized for transfer payments form other levels of government. Federal funds are going to light-rail, bus rapid transit, and electric buses. $6.2 billion for Calgary Greenline. Winnipeg will miss our fair share. Even if other levels of government paid 100% of CPTE, the initial construction cost of an infrastructure asset is only about 20-25% of the total lifetime cost of owning and operating this kind of highway (as per industry standards). Meaning the City is still on the hook for 7580% of the total costs for CPTE.

1950s Approach: CPTW makes transportation and

land use car reliant with high GHG emissions. CPTE was earmarked decades ago and it does not include public transit. Why we are missing the funding transfers with poor planning for a city left behind.

Violates policy: Winnipeg’s Transportation Master Plan requires investment in mode shift, from cars to transit, ride sharing and active transportation. This political hypocrisy of putting one thing in policy but doing the opposite can’t continue, it is too costly. There must be a budget process to align public policy with the budget, including mode shift goals and indicators. The Transportation and Land Use Coalition has been advocating for a budget checklist like this since 2019. Edmonton has a budget procedure that Winnipeg needs.

Sneaky political tactics: CPTE motion on Feb. 17, 2026 was moved through under the radar during a meeting where the attention was on the by-law to regulate democratic protest Plus there are cost benefit studies and other information being hidden from the public, our Transportation and Land Use Coalition members put these reports on the public record.

Net-Zero impossible: We can’t afford CPTE in the carbon budget as the emissions from construction and use do not align with net-zero goals, plus the environmental impact assessment is sloppy and incongruous. There are a number of deep flaws in how the estimated environmental costs were calculated, these errors have not been corrected since the original report.

Canada is taxing the life out of its own economy

Investors follow returns – when productivity lags and taxes bite, money finds a better home

Canada is sliding into economic decline, and the warning signs are no longer subtle.

Productivity growth lags other G7 countries. Business investment and research spending trail other major economies. Entrepreneurs and startups are increasingly looking to jurisdictions outside of Canada for growth. The effects are visible in weaker income gains, widening investment gaps and mounting deficits.

When countries fall behind in productivity, they lose economic strength, fiscal flexibility and national influence. Productivity does not weaken by accident. It is reflected in the incentives governments create, particularly around work, investment and reinvestment.

tractive elsewhere.

At the core of it is a tax system that has become overly complex and less competitive.

The tax system is not the only cause of the decline in productivity, but how Canada taxes income and investment is central to it because it shapes incentives across every sector of the economy.

According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s labour productivity growth has trailed the United States and many other advanced economies for much of the past decade. That gap shows up in weaker income gains over time. For Canadian families, that means slower wage growth, fewer high-paying job opportunities and less room for governments to improve the services people rely on. It also reduces the government’s ability to fund services such as health care, defence and infrastructure.

Research from the OECD and other international bodies consistently finds that corporate income taxes and high marginal personal income taxes are among the most economically distortive forms of taxation because they directly affect decisions to invest, hire and expand. When after-tax returns fall, fewer projects meet the threshold for investment. Companies delay upgrading equipment, technology and facilities. When businesses invest less in better tools and automation, workers produce less over time.

Our system no longer rewards expansion, reinvestment and risk the way it once did. Countries with fewer structural advantages are growing faster because they have made deliberate choices to encourage growth. Canada has not.

Investors have noticed the shift. Canada’s large pension funds now allocate a majority of their assets outside the country, and foreign direct investment into Canada has weakened relative to other economies in recent years. While global diversification is prudent, sustained net capital outflows combined with weak domestic business investment signal that returns are more at-

Canada’s income tax framework was last comprehensively reviewed in the 1960s. Since then, successive governments have layered credits, carve-outs and exemptions on top of one another. The result is a system that absorbs time and capital in preparing and filing taxes rather than building businesses. Compliance costs are not trivial. Small and medium-sized firms devote significant managerial time and professional fees to navigating the system, resources that could otherwise be directed toward expansion and innovation.

High marginal tax rates reinforce the message that additional effort isn’t worth it because it is heavily taxed. In most provinces, combined federal and provincial top personal rates exceed 50 per cent. Empirical studies show that high marginal rates influence labour supply decisions among high-skilled workers and affect where mobile professionals choose to live and work. Over time, that shapes behaviour. Skilled professionals compare jurisdictions. Entrepreneurs weigh where to scale. Ambition cools when the reward for additional effort narrows.

Corporate taxation compounds the problem. While Canada’s statutory corporate tax rate appears competitive on paper, the effective tax burden on new investment depends on depreciation rules, treatment of retained earnings and integration with personal taxation. Companies that reinvest profits often face tax treatment that reduces the benefit of expansion, while distributed profits face further layers of taxation. When capital is taxed at multiple stages, fewer expansion projects clear the required rate of return.

Other countries have moved in a different direction. Estonia, for example, taxes corporate profits only when they are paid out not when they are reinvested, creating a clear incentive to grow. In 2025, the U.S. restored full expensing for qualifying capital investments placed in service after Jan. 19, 2025, allowing immediate deduction of eligible equipment. That lowers the after-tax cost of expansion and strengthens cash flow. These policy changes send clear signals about where investment is welcome.

Canada has responded largely with temporary measures such as GST credit top-ups and targeted deductions aimed at specific sectors. Those may ease

short-term pressure, but they do not alter the long-term incentive structure that drives productivity.

Fiscal policy adds another constraint. The 2025 federal budget reported a deficit of roughly $78 billion before adjustments for capital accounting, continuing a pattern of significant federal deficits in recent years. Borrowing can be justified when it finances productive capacity. Borrowing to fund consumption without improving growth prospects increases future obligations while leaving the core economic problem unresolved.

Taken together, slower productivity growth, weaker business investment, sustained capital outflows and structural deficits point toward reduced competitiveness.

Middle powers either adapt or accept diminished influence. A country that tolerates persistent productivity gaps and capital outflows will find its options narrowing over time.

A major tax reset is necessary if Canada intends to compete in a harder, more disciplined global economy.

That means simplifying personal tax brackets and reducing punitive marginal rates so additional effort is rewarded. It means reworking corporate taxation to favour reinvestment and expansion by lowering the effective tax burden on new capital formation. It means reducing administrative friction through automation for straightforward filings and removing carve-outs that distort behaviour.

The objective is simple: make it easier to work, invest and build in Canada. None of this guarantees success. Productivity depends on multiple factors, including skills, regulation, infrastructure and global conditions. But tax policy is one of the few structural levers governments directly control across the entire economy. Continuing on the present path risks entrenching stagnation.

Canada cannot tax its way to prosperity, regulate its way to innovation or subsidize its way to competitiveness. Prosperity grows when people are encouraged to work, invest and build here rather than elsewhere.

If Canada intends to remain a serious economic actor rather than a reactive one, it must fix the economic incentives embedded in its tax system.

David Leis is President and CEO of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and host of the Leaders on the Frontier podcast.

IF YOU ARE A SENIOR. . . . . .

You should consider having the following in place

Will

The preparation of a will may seem like a daunting task, however, it is essential to ensure that your property is disposed of according to your wishes upon your death. If you pass away without a valid will, the law states what is to happen to your estate.

Power of Attorney

A power of attorney is a document which appoints an individual to handle your affairs in the event you become mentally incapable of making your own decisions. Nothing prevents you from continuing to make your own decisions while you are still competent.

A power of attorney is an extremely valuable document to have in place in case anything happens to you which affects your mental ability, such as a stroke, coma or dementia.

Health Care Directive (Living Will)

A health care directive, commonly called a living will, is a document which appoints an individual to make decisions with regard to your health care only, while you are alive but unable to express your decisions yourself. This document is distinct from a power of attorney and deals only with health care decisions such as whether life sustaining treatments, such as CPR or blood transfusion, should be continued or withdrawn.

www.taciumvincent.com

Tips for seniors who are first time home buyers

Continued from page 1

a FHSA, contributions are only deductible in the year they are made, not in the previous year. So this year’s March 2, 2026 RRSP deadline was irrelevant for FHSA purposes.

It’s important to know that there is no “spousal plan” for a FHSA. One spouse can’t make a contribution to the other spouse’s FHSA and then take the deduction on the contributor’s return. However, an individual may provide funds to their spouse to contribute to a FHSA.

FHSA closing. The account must be closed when any one of three issues arise: if the funds are withdrawn to purchase a home, if the plan has been in existence for 15 years or, by the end of the year in which you turn 71.

In short, there is an age limit seniors need to be mindful of to qualify for a FHSA opening.

Use the FHSA contribution room.

Overcontributions. Contributions exceeding the $8,000 annual limit or the $40,000 lifetime limit will be subject to penalties. The penalty tax, like those for overcontributions to RRSPs and TFSAs, is 1% for each month that the overcontribution remains in the plan based on the highest amount of such excess that exists in that month.

It’s important to use your FHSA contribution room. Unused contribution room can be carried forward to the next year, but only up to a maximum of $8,000. Therefore, in any given tax year the most you can deduct is $16,000. A carry forward of this year’s contribution to next year could be important if your income is higher then.

In contrast, unused TFSA room carries forward indefinitely, so if you win a lottery or receive an inheritance or severance package, this is a good place to “top-up” for future tax-free earnings. The current cumulative lifetime unused TFSA room is $109,000 per individual.

New contribution room ($8,000 per year) opens on January 1 of the following year, which could convert an overcontribution to an allowable contribution. Overcontributions cannot be deducted in the year of contribution, but the amounts can be deducted in a following year as new annual contribution room becomes available.

Effect on RRSP Home Buyers Plan (HBP). Under the RRSP HBP, you can withdraw up to $60,000 to purchase or build a home without paying tax on the withdrawal, but the amounts must be repaid over 15 years. Repayments start in the second year following the withdrawal year.

One good thing about the RRSP HBP is that the four-year rule does not need to be met when a new more accessible home is acquired when the new home buyer is moving due to a disability. This is not the case for the purposes of the FHSA: you can’t contribute if your last home was owned in the current or previous four calendar years.

Can you use both the THSA and the RRSP HBP to help fund a new home purchase? The short answer is yes. Potentially, should a taxpayer maximize contributions under both plans, a tax-free withdrawal from

the FHSA of $40,000 (plus accrued earnings) can be made in addition to a maximum $60,000 from the RRSP HBP. For a couple that has enough money in each plan, that allows for a $200,000 down payment.

Can RRSP funds be used for the FHSA contribution? Yes, RRSP balances may be rolled over to the FHSA subject to the annual and lifetime limits; however, a rollover of RRSP assets will not result in a tax deduction for the contribution (the deduction was received when the money was contributed to the RRSP). But this may not be a good idea. That’s because both FHSA and RRSP HBP withdrawals may be made in respect of the same home purchase for a better tax-advantaged result at time of purchase.

Down the line, however, if you don’t purchase a home, FHSA plans may be transferred to an RRSP or RRIF if the funds are not used to purchase a home.

Seniors and the FHSA. While it’s customary for parents or grandparents to help children or grandchildren buy their first home, it’s important not to rule out the tax advantages of a FHSA for older folks. If you (or your parents and/or grandparents) are coming to home ownership late in life or took a pause from home ownership over the past several years and now wish save on a tax advantaged basis to buy a new home or condo in the future, consider opening a FHSA.

Evelyn Jacks is an award-winning business leader, a tax literacy advocate, and best-selling author of 55 books on the subject of tax planning and family wealth management. Connect with the Knowledge Bureau News Network to hear her podcast, Real Tax News You Can Use.

How to help elderly parents decide it’s time to give up the keys

Few conversations are harder than telling someone you love that it may be time to stop driving.

For many people, a driver’s license represents independence, competence and identity. Losing it can feel like losing a part of oneself.

Yet driving is a complex task that depends on vision, reaction time, cognition and physical mobility. When those abilities decline, the risks rise not just for the driver but for passengers, pedestrians and other drivers. The goal of the conversation is not to take something away but to protect safety while preserving dignity and as much independence as possible.

Know the warning signs

Make sure you have valid reasons for the discussion. Are there new dents or scrapes on the car? Have they got lost on familiar routes, had difficulty judging gaps in traffic, or confusing the pedals? Is the driver missing stop signs or feeling increased anxiety while driving? Family members may notice a reluctance to drive at night or in heavy traffic. Research consistently shows that changes in vision, slowed reaction time and mild cognitive impairment can all affect driving performance, sometimes before the person recognizes it themselves.

In Manitoba, after you get your license at 16, there is no requirement to be retested unless a medical doctor specifically advises MPI that there is a health concern related to safe operation of a vehicle. Physicians are legally required to report medical conditions that may make a person unsafe to drive. A diagnosis alone is

not automatically reportable. For example, mild cataracts that do not impair vision to below legal standards would not typically require reporting, but visually significant impairment would. Unless a significant medical event triggers a formal review, the responsibility for raising safety concerns often falls to family members. Prepare before you speak

Be clear about your goal. It is rarely helpful to open with “You have to stop driving.” A more productive starting point is concern. For example, “I’ve noticed you seem more stressed when driving lately and I’m worried about your safety.”

The loss of driving often precedes other losses. It may signal declining health or the need for more support. Anger, denial and grief are common. Recognizing that underlying fear helps you respond with empathy rather than argument.

Lead with safety and respect

Keep the focus on safety rather than age. Many people drive safely well into their 80s and beyond. The issue is not a birthday. It is function.

Suggest an official driving assessment rather than immediate license surrender. An MPI review may confirm that the driver’s abilities remain adequate. You can ask your loved one’s doctor whether a referral for DRIVEable would be appropriate. MPI’s in-office cognitive screening costs approximately $50, and if an on road test is required, it is approximately $75.

Plan alternatives before removing the keys

In Winnipeg, public transit includes conventional

bus service and specialized options such as Winnipeg Transit Plus for people who cannot use regular buses due to disability. Brandon and Thompson have smaller transit systems and many communities throughout the province have handi transit, community shuttles and volunteer driver programs.

Talk to family and friends about offering rides. Maybe you can map out a regular weekly transportation plan for medical appointments and social groups, figuring out who can drive, bus routes and times, shuttles or ride sharing with friends.

Some families choose a gradual transition. The person may agree to stop night driving first, then highway driving, before giving up the license entirely. This staged approach can feel less abrupt.

Acknowledge the grief

Encourage new routines that maintain social connection. Regular outings with family, scheduled coffee dates or community programs can replace the spontaneous trip in the car. Social isolation is associated with increased risk of depression and cognitive decline, so maintaining engagement is essential.

Keep the relationship intact

Make the conversation about care, not control. Speak as a partner, not an authority. Emphasize shared goals: safety, independence within limits and quality of life.

In the end, giving up a driver’s license is not the end of independence. It is a transition. With planning, support and compassion, families can protect their loved ones while preserving dignity and connection.

Learn how to spot and stop scams at

Mediterranean lamb shanks with lemon and oregano

T“Because some things should fall apart when touched just right.”

his dish doesn’t shout. It whispers. Slowly. In Greek.

Mediterranean Lamb Shanks are not for the impatient, the half-committed, or the timid. This is a long game, a low and slow surrender – meat so tender it falls from the bone with a sigh. The scent alone will wrap around your senses like a lover pulling you into sun-warmed sheets.

The lamb is seared hard first, just enough to lock in heat and tease out its primal side. Then it gets tucked in for a long, languid braise with garlic, lemon, smoked paprika, oregano, and a touch of white wine. The citrus lifts, the oregano grounds, and the meat? Oh, darling It submits. Hours pass. Tension melts. You lift the lid, and the steam hits you like a fantasy: herbal, earthy, intimate. This is not the kind of meal you rush. It’s a hands-on, barefoot-in-thekitchen, low-music kind of seduction. The kind that has you licking olive oil off your fingers and pausing mid-bite because you just need a moment. Serve it with crushed roasted potatoes, or hunks of torn bread that soak up the sauce like it’s heard every dirty secret you’ve ever told.

The lemon brightens everything – cutting through the richness like a well-timed wink. The oregano, wild and fragrant, clings to the meat like a memory that lingers. And when you plate it, that glossy reduction pooling around the shanks, it’s not food – It’s a scene.

Light candles. Pour something bold and red. Eat slowly, with your hands if necessary.

Because this is the kind of dish that tastes like it should come with a safe word.

Chef’s Tip: Use bone-in lamb shanks. The marrow adds depth, and the presentation is pure primal glory. Brown the meat hard and don’t crowd the pot. For an even silkier sauce, strain and finish it with a swirl of cold butter before serving.

Wicked Twist: Slip a strip of preserved lemon into the braising liquid along with a splash of ouzo or arak. It brings an anise-kissed, exotic mystery to the dish—like someone who disappears before breakfast but leaves their scent on your pillow.

Here is what you will need:

4 lamb shanks

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 lemons (juice and zest)

1 cup chicken or beef broth

½ cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Fresh parsley, for garnish

The all important how to:

Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C). Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large oven-safe pot over medium-high heat. Season the lamb shanks with salt, pepper, and paprika. Sear them on all sides until browned, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

In the same pot, add the remaining olive oil and cook the chopped onions until soft and translucent (5 minutes). Add the minced garlic and cook for an-

other 1-2 minutes.

Pour in the white wine and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Let the wine reduce for two minutes.

Add the chicken or beef broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, oregano, smoked paprika and cumin to the pot. Stir to combine.

Return the lamb shanks to the pot, making sure they are partially submerged in the liquid. Cover the pot with a lid and transfer to the preheated oven. Bake the lamb shanks in the oven for 2.5 to 3 hours, until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. Check periodically and add more broth if necessary.

Remove the pot from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Garnish the lamb with freshly chopped parsley and serve with mashed potatoes. Maybe treat yourself to some fresh crusty bread to soak up all those wonderful juices.

Ian Leatt is a trained chef from across the pond.

Sri Lankan Association of Manitoba

Paduru Party

Paduru Party is a traditional, rich and oriental music and song evening party. Singers sit on straw mats stretched on the floor, accompanying their voices with two main musical instruments, the dolack and serpina. Everyone then enjoys an authentic area-based dinner.

The Sri Lankan Association of Manitoba (SLAM) annually conducts this event with the this year held on Feb. 14, 2026 from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm at Fort Garry Evangelical Church, 602, Pasadena Avenue.

They scheduled three musical seasons: (1) Karaoke Session, (2) Live Music, and Non-Stop Music and Open Dance Floor.

Therapeutic Recreation:

Conducted by Kumari Ranasinghe

Nearly ten years ago, Kumari Ranasinghe was the teacher at the Dancing School conducted by the Sri Lankan Association of Manitoba. Recently, Chandani and I met Kumari, and she happily expressed her newly achieved experience in therapeutic recreation. As this is useful for Sri Lankan Seniors, we informed Doreen, the President of Sri Lankan Seniors Manitoba, and she obtained her services on Jan. 30, 2026.

I requested three songs, and they included them as well: (1) Me Sawumay Rathiya - Dharmadasa Walpola, (2) Lo Ada Ninde - C. T. Fernando, (3) Oba Dan Keewah - Milton Mallawaarachchi. Among other songs, I also sang these three songs.\

It was another successful event. I wish to extend my congratulations to Lanka Abeyweera and her Board of Directors for allowing all of us to enjoy a Sri Lankan social event this fantastic evening.

With a smile on her face, she conducted the therapeutic recreation session to a background of music. She sang Sinhala and English songs along with the participants.

SLSM planned the Seniors Talent Show to be held on Feb. 21, 2026. After the Yoga session, rehearsals were conducted for the proposed events of this show.

Discuss the Bus Program for South End Seniors participants

Renee - Pembina Active Living

Songyan - Winnipeg Chinese Senior Association

Senaka & Chandani - Sri Lankan Seniors Manitoba

Sorace & Kavita Mulchand - Guyanese Association of Manitoba Inc-55 Plus Group No. 134, Plaza Drive on Feb. 5th (THU) 2026 from 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm.

Conducted by: Acting Deputy Mayor, City of Winnipeg, Councillor Janice Lukes, Waverley West Ward, and Nafiya Naso, Senior Advisor - Community and Public Relations

During the meeting, they discussed the possibility of a monthly transportation program for seniors, including renting a bus to take seniors grocery shopping from a central location. Based on your feedback, this service is not currently needed.

However, there was a strong interest in organizing monthly social outings for seniors. These outings were identified as a great opportunity to connect, stay active, and enjoy time together. The contact information noted for both transportation companies, Transit Plus and Horizon Grant, was discussed during the meeting.

Contact Information:

(1) Tony’s Team Transport: 204-489-3200

(2) EZ Transit Services: 204-800-5430

(3) Transit Plus: https://info.winnipegtransit. com/.../winnipeg-transit-plus/

(4) New Horizons for Seniors: https://www. canada.ca/.../new-horizons-seniors-community...

Lose yourself in the music of the 2026 Winnipeg Baroque Festival

Continued from page 1

hours of live music performances. Concerts range from Baroque Brass masterworks to a singalong Messiah to be held in a pub with singers encouraged to enjoy the experience with beer or a beverage of their choice to make the music making extra joyful. Among the real pleasures of this homegrown festival is the camaraderie that develops between audience members who take in this music and travel from concert to concert gaining enthusiasm and bragging rights for the number of concerts that they have been able to take in. We know that Winnipeg is the home of many fine musicians and ensembles, and it is in this type of format that we can simply appreciate and celebrate the talents and expertise of the glorious talents of the people who live among us.

This festival also encourages the enjoyment of concerts in a range of concert venues that are found throughout the city. Concerts can be found close to your part of town in locations from the new Desautels Concert Hall and the lovely College Chapel of St. John the Evangelist at University of Manitoba to downtown venues and Laudamus Auditorium near Assiniboine Park. There is so much remarkable music from this rich period of musical inventiveness, and this festival gives us a cost-effective and time effective way of immersing ourselves in this wonderful era of composition.

More information and tickets are available at the Winnipeg Baroque Festival website, winnipegba-

Looking for a place to call home that’s affordable, safe and accessible?

Winnipeg Baroque Festival lineup at-a-glance!

From March 29th to April 18, 2026

March 29th, 2 p.m.

Winnipeg Baroque Brass Choir, Desautels Concert Hall (presented in association with the Desautels Concert Series)

March 29th, 4 p.m.

Evensong: A Buxtehude Abendmusiken, All Saints Anglican Church Choir, All Saints Anglican Church

March 31st, 7 p.m.

Saul, University of Manitoba Oratorio Ensemble, Desautels Concert Hall

April 1st, 8 p.m.

Commentaries, Lara Secord-Haid & Nolan Kehler, Location TBA

April 5th, 7 p.m.

Refractions on Bach, Karl Stobbe, Laudamus Auditorium (Canadian Mennonite University)

April 7th, 9 p.m.

Ves-Byrd, Members of Proximus 5, St. Margaret’s Anglican Church

April 8th, 7 p.m.

hal-ALE-lujah, X-Cues Restaurant & Lounge

roquefestival.com

I am always particularly happy when local musical groups and individual musicians work together to create something that amplifies the impact and benefit to the community. This is one of those

Look no further than Fred Douglas Chateau (formerly Kiwanis Chateau)!

• LIFE LEASE independent living for 55+ in a close-knit community.

• Prime location with indoor access to shopping, dining, medical services, Arena, the Y and Millennium Library.

• Security and emergency response services for added peace of mind.

• Spacious one-bedroom and two-bedroom options available.

• Features include in-suite washer and dryer, and heated parking.

• Suites can be customized according to your preference.

April 10th, 7 p.m.

L’Art des Sons, Nonsuch Ensemble, Laudamus Auditorium (Canadian Mennonite University)

April 11th, 7 p.m.

Time Refracted, Tacamis Trio, St. Andrews River Heights United Church

April 12th, 2 p.m.

Monteverdi: Prime parole, seconda musica, Dead of Winter, St. Margaret’s Anglican Church

April 12th, 7:30 p.m.

Choral Evensong, All the King’s Men, College Chapel of St. John the Evangelist (University of Manitoba)

April 15th, 7 p.m.

The Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg presents Rachel Fenlon, Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall (University of Winnipeg)

April 18th, 1 p.m.

Bach Marathon, Royal Canadian College of Organists, Winnipeg Centre, Young United Church

projects that I hope will have a long and productive life in our community.

Trudy Schroeder provides project planning and management services to the community through Arts and Heritage Solutions.

• Cat-friendly. 430 Webb Place, Wpg, R3B 3J7 204-306-4617 • Email: sisaac@freddouglas.ca www.facebook.com/freddouglaschateau freddouglaschateau.ca

PUZZLES

CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1. Distant

6. Apex

9. Jobs

14. “ER” actress –- Tierney

15. “–- Believer”, Monkees hit

16. Start playing!

17. Tap

19. “Fear of Flying” author –- Jong

20. Snow runner

21. Less common

22. Buoyant

23. Old-fashioned cab

25. Lightweight tropical hats

27. Elite group

28. Gene Pitney was only 24hrs from here

29. Downloadable program

32. Small lake

34. Natter

35. Tenor –- Bocelli

37. Sidestepped

39. Splendors

40. Demeanor

41. Total

42. Capital of Norway

43. Source of formic acid

44. Jambalaya ingredient

46. Little one

47. “Band of Gold” singer Freda –-

48. Miscreants

51. Economizer

54. Succeed

56. One of New York’s finest, perhaps 57. Nautical fastener

58. To

60. Carroll’s rabbit-hole explorer

61. Wyo. neighbor

62. Extended area of land

63. Waterproofed as many showers are

64. Affirmative vote

65. Solemn promises

DOWN

1. Pennsylvania Mennonites

2. Sri –-, formerly Ceylon

3. Ahead of the field

4. Mineral source

5. Litter of pigs

6. Bracket 7. Stimulus

8. Security detachment

9. Anna Paquin won an Oscar for this film, aged 11

Spanish winds

11. The pen

12. Recoil

13. Remain

18. Rotating engine part

24. Welcome

26. Old Testament song

28. Sliver

29. Nobleman

30. Rind

31. –- doble (dance)

32. One of the Three Bears

33. “–- Almighty”, in which Morgan Freeman played God

34. Nixon’s successor, informally

36. Drivel

38. At peace

39. Rev up

41. –- Todd, barber

45. Chest pain

46. Am disposed

47. Serenity

48. Pro

49. Gun handle nick

50. Notices

51. Get outta here!

52. “–- want is a room somewhere...” (“My Fair Lady”)

53. Bridal wear

55. Start of a Hamlet soliloquy

59. Geological time composed of periods

Answers page 19

SUDUKO

The early years of St. James Collegiate from 1917 to June 1951

The Manitoba Historical Society states that the St. James Collegiate has existed since 1917, and that the school operated out of Britannia School and Linwood School. I found 998 Winnipeg Free Press archives predating 1951 that verify its existence earlier as the St. James Collegiate. 1920s and 1930s

Amy Smith 1924, Donald S. Hamilton 1926, Elda Turner 1927, Mollie Ritchie 1936, and Frederick Lane 1938, all won Governor General awards. Jean McFarlane won the 1944 Governor General’s medal. Jean became an obstetrician and genecologist. She had a rogue’s gallery in her office with pictures of every baby that she had delivered.

During an eight-decade public service career, Mitchell Sharp held many federal positions as both a civil servant and an elected politician. Mitchell served as Finance Minister under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and as the Foreign Affairs Minister under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Mitchell received the Order of Canada.

Hydro. Teacher Blanche Megaffin was the Honorary Editor. In 1969, Blanche was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasurer of Japan for helping Japanese Canadians displaced from BC during World War 2 find housing and employment. Allan Ireland was the Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook. Dorothy Broughton the yearbook's assistant editor was the Valedictorian. Dorothy became a nurse. Donna Randle wrote about the Girls’ Glee Club. Donna became a doctor. Lorne Wallace contributed to the Yearbook. During a 30-year CBC career. Lorne cohosted Spotlight, and cofounded 24 Hours.

Fred Morris

From the desk of a gadfly

Other Alumni not Previously mentioned Henry Duckworth served as the President of the University of Winnipeg. The Spence Street Sports Facility is named after him. Henry received many hours including the Order of Canada and the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt.

lets. Gilbert created both the 1955 and 1979 portraits of Queen Elizabeth II that hung in the Winnipeg Arena. Mike Schioler became an engineer. Michael had a 43year career with Dominion Bridge.

The 1950-51 school year the end of the beginning

The 1951 St. James Track Meet took place at Sargent Park. Bruce Kidd was the star. Gary Holland was the editor of the SJCI newspaper called the Blast. The 1951 Grad Dance was held at the Marlborough Hotel. Lawrence Argue of Garden Road won the St. James Legion's $100 Scholarship.

During the 1930s, David McHardy directed many SJCI musical concerts.

In June 1936, the long education careers of Duncan McDougall and Theophilus Watt were remembered. Both had been principals of SJCI.

The first SJCI yearbook was published at the end of the 1935-36 school year. The Editor of the 80-page yearbook was John Aveson. Other students who helped produce the yearbook were James Alexander, Aileen Emmett, Janet Lowe, Peggy Wilson, Geraldine O. Meara, Les Cavanagh, Irene Cartwright, and Hugh Gainsford (Sir John A. MacDonald's great grandson). In 1937, Norma McIntosh represented SJCI at the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (who later became known as the Queen Mother).

Sports I discovered a few star athletes. Daisy Boyd excelled in tennis and hockey. In 1924, Daisy won the Ladies Singles at the Deer Lodge Tennis Club. On February 12, 1927, Daisy scored three goals as the U of M hockey team won an 8-1 hockey victory over Saskatchewan at the Winnipeg Amphitheatre.

Vera Saul was the 1938 SJCI Athlete of the Year. May King was an all-around athlete who excelled in track and field, basketball, and speed skating. May was named SJCI 1942 Athlete of the Year.

In March 1942, St. James won the Suburban Hockey Championship. The team was led by goalie Harry Barefoot, brothers Gord and Neil McLean, and Harry Taylor. Taylor went on to win a Memorial Cup, and two Stanley Cups on his way to the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. Les Russell coached the team. The team was managed by teacher Erv Houck.

Mo Renaud is a member of the Manitoba Sports, Manitoba Lacrosse and Manitoba Football Halls of Fame. Mo is best remembered for being the 1962-1997 PA announcer for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the general manager of Red River Exhibition for over 30 years.

George Chapman was the star of the 1945 Track and Field Meet at Sargent Park. George eventually became a lawyer and race car driver. George is currently a member of the Rotary Club.

In 1950, SJCI Collegiate Girls Basketball team won their third straight Suburban Championship. The team consisted of Barb McIntosh, Marg Wade, Pat Moore, Betty Forth, Barbara Taylor, Alice Harding, Irma Harder, Dorothy Latam, Diane McIver, Ann Smith, Joyce Overton, and Doreen West.

WW2 and the 1945-46 Yearbook

(One of my most prized possessions!)

On November 14, 1941, Mimi Dubienski organized a Patriotic SJCI Tea at St. James Collegiate. Harry Monk took care of the decorations. The Proceeds went to the Red Cross, Navy League, and IODE. In 1945, SJCI's Don Abel cut the stencil for Winnipeg's High School Junior Red Cross News.

The 1945-46 SJCI Yearbook begins with a list of 54 SJCI alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War 2. Pat Morgan wrote a very touching article called PEACE:

"We are indeed thankful to be living in Canada."

John Hall, the principal, thanked the students who created the yearbook. Mr. Hall served as principal from 1933 to 1947. Mr. Hall was also a St. James Alderman between 1947 and his 1950 death.

Don Comstock was the President of the Student Council. Don went on to become a journalist with the Winnipeg Tribune and the PR Officer with Manitoba

Gilbert Burch was one of the Inglewood Street trip-

The rest of the story

In February 1951, construction started on the site of the former Bourke Estate. The unfinished school held its first classes in September 1951.

A Reunion Committee is hard at work planning a 75th Reunion to remember SJCI 1951-now. The Reunion will take place on October 23-25, 2026. More information is available at sjci75.com or my e mail SJCI 75th reunion@gmail.com. Please contact the Committee to share your memories of the last 75 years.

Fred Morris is a Grandfather, Sports Fan and Political Activist.

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It's not what we do that matters, it’s….

It has been almost eight months since I broke my leg! I’m learning how to walk again!

It happened during a relatively silly accident. I tried paddleboarding. If I had been in deep water, I would not have gotten hurt. Silly me, I thought being in shallow water would assure my safety, but in reality, after losing balance, I ended up falling down and one of my feet broke the fall by hitting the bottom of the lake. My whole body weight fell on that leg. I ended up breaking my tibia, the bigger bone, and part of my knee. It was such a complicated breakage that originally the surgeon was thinking that in order to put the bones together, it would require two surgeries. Luckily, the swelling went down just in time, and as a result, everything was repaired during one operation.

linked to the type of service provided by representatives of various agencies on which my survival, as a disabled person, depended.

During interactions with service providers, both in person and via phone calls, I, the patient-client, the recipient of help, could clearly tell what type of approach I was facing.

By nature, I’m an observant and curious person, but I must say this challenging experience provided a wealth of information about the professionals I came in contact with. I learned that the best care and service is directly linked not only to the level of knowledge, expertise, and tools used by service providers but also to the approach, awareness and attitude of those who serve.

As a professional, I have served in healthcare systems internationally for a few decades. As a professional speaker, I share what I learn from my patients about what constitutes great service and care.

This time being a patient not only allowed me to confirm what my patients had already taught me; it also gave me very valuable firsthand experience. Being disempowered and in a position of total dependency on others brought many valuable insights.

The lessons related not only to the type of care I received while staying in the hospital or during my medical appointments, but they are also directly

Indifference, coldness and rudeness hurt, and they hurt deeply! This approach condescends, humiliates, and disempowers!

On the contrary, kindness, respect and true caring uplift, empower, energize, and contribute to the healing process!

It turns out the latter qualities have nothing to do with technical abilities, skills or specialized knowledge. They are foundational human attributes and essential soft skills. As a person in need, I can now attest to the truthfulness of this statement and the impact of such a humanistic approach.

Humanistic skills reveal an individual’s attitudes and personality. They define who a person is rather than just

what their professional rank is, what they are responsible for, or what they do. The above qualities are key components of emotional intelligence, involving the ability to empathize, self-regulate, and understand others’ feelings. They are people skills which facilitate effective communication and trust building. They are linked to leadership superpowers. Unlike “job specific” hard skills, these skills are widely recognized and universally applicable across all industries and personal life.

Those who treated me with respect, who truly listened, who patiently addressed my concerns and needs – perhaps unknowingly to them – reduced my stress and feeling of isolation and fostered my emotional strength. The empathetic approach of those who truly cared acted as a beacon of hope, creating a psychologically safe environment where I felt valued and empowered to tackle the challenges of my situation.

And the most interesting part is, it

took these people no extra time!

Over decades the patients I served told me all of this. I thought I knew, I thought I understood what they were telling me as I trusted in truthfulness of my patients’ feedback.

I believed that I knew.

In reality, the day I became the person in need, the patient, the client, the day I was disempowered, on the receiving end of the care and the service, that was the day I truly experienced and knew this truth!

Every moment of patience, expressed concern and kind gesture, makes a big difference in someone’s life!

It is not what we do but how we do it that matters!

In fact, it not only transforms lives, it builds communities and fosters a more compassionate world!

Zofia Dove is professional keynote speaker, author of “Unexpected Gifts”, producer, director, and host of the series “ReDiscovering the Beauty of Manitoba.”

A new crown corporation for Manitoba? First nations beware!

Recently we have heard Premier Wab Kinew actively ruminate about the establishment of a new crow corporation. He thinks it is sellable because it would be an Indigenous Crown Corporation, which he claims, would give Indigenous communities a stake in the development of minerals in their communities. He has been trying to convince northern Fist Nations to buy into this.

His appeal is being met with healthy skepticism, not the least of which stems from their experience with Manitoba Hydro. They know the futility of trying to deal with bureaucrats and that even though, as in the case of Fox Lake Cree Nation, you supposedly have a share of the crown, it gives you no power and no reward.

I was recently at a conference dealing with northern issues and discussed very briefly this idea with a couple of FN attendees. They said that they saw through the “deal” and made abundantly clear that they wanted to no part in it.

Aside from all the obvious reason. The number one objection is that this is a CROWN corporation, meaning that its assets belong, not to the First Nations, but to the CROWN. In addition, this deal would share the board participation one third each between the government, the Metis and the First Nations. They can see right away that as minority members, they would have no chance of ever prevailing in a split vote.

How did Canadian crown corporations get started?

Throughout Canada’s history, government has often turned over part of its responsibility to quasi enterprises called crown corporations or crown agencies. This is done for a number of reasons, often to find short term efficiencies, sometimes for political reasons. Other times to do something that industry is not prepared to tackle alone.

At Confederation, Canada inherited some stateowned rail lines, but it wasn’t until 1918, that the Canadian National Railway was formed to marry these Eastern enterprises with a rag tag of privately owned, but failing, companies in the sparsely popu-

lated West. Canadian National Railways became our first federal crown corporation. At the provincial level, a number of crowns had already been established, including Ontario Hydro and Alberta Telephones in 1906 and Saskatchewan Hydro in 1908, followed by a number of provincial liquor distribution crowns created at the end of Prohibition.

There was another wave of crown development in the 40’s: the federal Business Development Bank, Hydro Quebec and Saskatchewan Power all in 1944, followed by Saskatchewan Government Insurance in 1945. Manitoba Hydro and B.C. Hydro were created in 1961, among the first in a decade of increased crown operation activity.

In the 1980s and 90s, a number of crown corporations were privatized, including Air Canada, Petro Canada and at the local level, Manitoba Telephones. This trend has continued into the 2000s as publicly owned enterprises collapsed under their own weight. Literally hundreds of crowns have been privatized worldwide.

What goes wrong with these crowns?

Due to a lack of ownership motivation, these taxpayer-supported enterprises tend to swell, year over year. They also tend to compound mistakes rather than admitting them and changing course when necessary or – as in the case of Manitoba Hydro in the face of the U.S. energy market collapse – when circumstances dictate.

As William Niskanen in his book, Bureaucracy –servant or master? Lessons from America, pointed out, “Public choice theory suggests that managers of government-owned enterprises (and bureaucracies more generally) endeavour to maximize budgets, rather than efficiency, in order to promote their own income, power and prestige.”

“Income, power and prestige” are by no means minor motivators. Indeed, these three causes have undoubtedly contributed to such failure of enterprise as the electrical utility disasters across Canada (including Manitoba Hydro, Ontario Hydro, and Newfoundland Hydro), the current Canada Revenue Agency harassment of small business to cover its in-

ability to tax the mobile assets of the very rich, and the inefficiencies, high cost of service and lack of customer care at crowns such as Canada Post, another failure.

Do you own it?

Crown enterprises have a momentum that seems unstoppable. Citizens have the perception that they “own” the enterprise and that this is a matter for pride. Provincial crowns pay no taxes so the business may appear to have an advantage in profitability. (Looked at another way, however, government is actually losing tax revenue that could be gained through privatization.) Support for the agencies is further bolstered by the perception that taxpayers have already invested a great deal and that these assets would be lost should they be sold or shut down. Why does all this matter to you?

• Because we are currently faced with massive debt and unending losses at Manitoba Hydro.

• Because the three health authorities are in a state of total disarray and cannot reorganize effectively to reduce the high cost of operation without reducing services.

• Because our crown corporations have bloated administrations, inefficient operations and no effective oversight.

• Because crowns are often in unfair competition with the private sector.

Rather than proposing new crown corporations nightmares entangling the First Nations in pointless red tape and tying their hands from making local decisions of benefit to their own communities, perhaps it is time for our provincial government to appoint a body to examine the utility and necessity of each old provincial crown and its subsidiaries with a view to selling or otherwise disposing of them.

Once the direct scrutiny of the legislature is removed, crowns tend to empire build, spending money on themselves rather than on the purpose for which they are formed. That cannot benefit First Nations who deserve a chance to make their own decisions without the heavy hand of government holding back their autonomy.

Mercury Publications is Western Canada’s largest independent publishing company

These last many years have been tough on the newspaper and magazine trade. The rise of the internet has put a great many out of business. One glaring exception is Mercury Publications.

The nearly 80-year-old Winnipegbased company has not only survived but continues to thrive as the largest independent publishing company in Western Canada.

“One of the reasons for our success is we specialize in trade publications geared to the food and hospitality sectors,” notes Frank Yeo, Mercury Publication’s president.

The firm currently numbers nine magazines in its stable of publications – in addition to numerous annual directories for various trade organizations. The oldest is Western Grocer – which predates Mercury by over 35 years. Other publications include Western Restaurant News, Western Hotelier and Eastern Hotelier, Western Food Processor, Bar and Beverage, C Store Canada for convenience store operators and, the most recent addition, The Cottager – Lake Country Living and Lifestyle – for cottage owners in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.

nipeg hotels. The publication will highlight dining destinations for visitors to our city.

“We continue to work closely with numerous associations in Canada,” he reports.

Yeo reports that this year, Mercury is launching a new publication – Winnipeg Visitor – a quarterly magazine which will be distributed through Win-

It was Frank Yeo’s father, Gren, who founded Mercury in 1947. “Dad came from a socialist background,” Frank relates. “After university, he moved to Saskatchewan to work for the new Tommy Douglas government. That was where dad gained his first experience in communications.”

After four years working for Douglas, Gren Yeo returned to Winnipeg – in 1947 – and – with two partners – founded Mercury Publications. The group purchased Western Grocer and over the years several other titles in the transportation, construction and manufacturing sectors. But it was public relations that really drew Gren’s keen interest and in the 1960s he launched Business Communications to serve the local Winnipeg business community, especially large farm.

My own working relationship with Mercury Publications started in the late 1970s – and I will always appreciate that Gren was willing to give a young aspiring journalist with little experience an opportunity to show what I could do.

For the most part, Mercury Publications has truly

been a family business. Gren’s wife, Marian, contributed many articles over the years and their daughter, Maggie, worked in sales for 12 years. Frank joined the business while attending university – and has been publisher and editor for the past 35 years.

Now, despite the negative effects of the internet on many publications, Frank Yeo observes that technological change has also been beneficial. He reports that due to the changes in technology, Mercury has been able to reduce its work force from 30 at one time to 16 currently along with greater productivity.

And he further points out that while Mercury does sell a lot of digital ads, the company’s metrics indicate that print ads are more effective in reaching a larger audience.

As well, he continues, because Mercury’s publications are trade specific, there is a lot of information in the print magazines that readers won’t be able to find online.

“Newspapers have been hard hit by online competition,” he notes, “but trade publishers such as Mercury continue to prosper.”

While nearing 70 himself, Frank Yeo is far from ready to throw in the towel. He reports that Mercury Publications remains open to adding new products.

He is also hopeful that his children –some currently working in the business -– will want to eventually take charge and continue running the family owned company into the third generation and beyond.

Manitoba-India trade opportunities in April 2026

The global trading system is undergoing a structural recalibration. Supply chains that once flowed predictably along North American corridors are now subject to geopolitical strain, tariff volatility, and rising costs.

For Manitoba, a province whose economy is deeply integrated with the United States, this moment presents both risk and opportunity. The forthcoming visit of India’s High Commissioner to Canada, His Excellency Shri Dinesh K. Patnaik, to Winnipeg at the end of April 2026 comes at precisely such an inflection point.

This visit signals an opportunity for Manitoba to reposition itself within the emerging Indo-Pacific economic order and to diversify both its import architecture and export ambitions in ways that could materially strengthen the province’s long-term resilience.

vincial economy.

India’s emergence as a large-scale manufacturing platform offers a credible alternative in several sectors critical to Manitoba.

India today is one of the fastest growing major economies in the world and the most populous nation on earth. Its manufacturing exports have accelerated sharply in recent years, supported by state led industrial policies, infrastructure investment, and tax reform. For a province like Manitoba, whose growth is anchored in agriculture, advanced manufacturing, natural resources, and increasingly digital services, India represents more than a large market. It represents a parallel economic ecosystem with scale, demographic momentum, and industrial capacity.

The context for this visit matters. Canada and India experienced a period of acute diplomatic strain in 2024 that led to the recall of envoys and a temporary chill in federal level engagement. Since then, both governments have moved toward what officials have described as a constructive recalibration, restoring high level diplomatic representation and reopening channels of economic dialogue. The reappointment of High Commissioners on both sides has laid the groundwork for renewed commercial confidence.

Sub national diplomacy now carries increasing weight. Provinces and states are no longer passive observers in global trade. They are active participants. Manitoba, with its concentrated strengths in agriculture, aerospace, transportation equipment, food processing, and critical minerals, stands to benefit from direct engagement with India’s diplomatic and commercial apparatus.

The first opportunity lies in supply chain diversification. Manitoba imported 17.54 billion dollars in goods in the first half of 2025, with more than three quarters of that total originating in the United States. While geographic proximity has long been an advantage, such concentration carries vulnerability. Tariff threats, localized bottlenecks, currency swings, and regulatory disputes can quickly ripple through the pro-

Fertilizers and agrochemicals represent one area of exposure, for example. Manitoba imported more than 900 million dollars in mixed mineral and chemical fertilizers in 2024. Global fertilizer markets have been destabilized by geopolitical tensions and export restrictions. India has responded by scaling domestic production capacity and investing heavily in chemical manufacturing infrastructure. Establishing procurement channels with Indian producers could provide price stability and mitigate exposure to North American volatility.

Pharmaceuticals are equally strategic. Manitoba’s healthcare supply chain has shown sensitivity to disruptions, with exports of packaged medicines declining sharply in early 2025 due to cross border bottlenecks. India is widely regarded as the pharmacy of the world, supplying a large share of global generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Deepening procurement ties with Indian firms could support healthcare cost containment and supply security within the province.

Yet the dialogue should not be limited to simply import substitution but also include transforming Manitoba’s export capabilities.

India is actively positioning itself as a global manufacturing hub under what has become known as the China plus one strategy. As multinational corporations diversify production away from exclusive reliance on China, India has attracted investment through tax incentives, regulatory reform, and large-scale infrastructure commitments. Manufacturing exports have risen rapidly and are projected to expand substantially in the coming years.

For Manitoba firms seeking access to Eurasian and East Asian markets, geography is a structural constraint. Shipping heavy industrial goods from a landlocked prairie province across the Pacific is costly and slow. By contrast, manufacturing or assembling in India provides proximity to high growth markets, access to major ports, and integration into regional trade networks.

India’s labour economics reinforce the case. Average hourly manufacturing wages remain far below those in North America. At the same time, India produces millions of engineering and technology graduates annually and is home to the world’s largest working age population. For Manitoba companies, this represents scalable human capital capable of supporting complex production.

Perhaps the most interesting frontier lies in Indigenous trade. Manitoba’s First Nations and Métis

governments are increasingly asserting economic sovereignty and pursuing nation to nation trade relationships. Manoomin, or wild rice, holds deep cultural significance and is harvested sustainably in Manitoba’s northern lakes. The province already accounts for a substantial share of Canada’s wild rice exports. India’s expanding middle class and high-end hospitality sector are showing growing demand for premium, health focused grains. Direct trade links between Indigenous producers and Indian distributors could capture higher margins and reinforce sustainable harvesting practices. This is but one example.

The High Commissioner’s visit provides a platform to initiate such dialogues at a provincial level. Meetings with business leaders, Indigenous governments, and sector associations can translate macro strategy into concrete partnerships. Trade missions, memoranda of understanding, and pilot procurement agreements often begin with precisely these diplomatic encounters. It is highly probable that Canada will dispatch a trade mission to India later this year.

For Manitoba, it is a matter of reducing trade concentration with the US and diversification of our international trade relationships. The province will always remain deeply integrated with the United States. That is a structural reality. But, given the uncertainty of our US partnership, Manitoba must begin building new trade routes.

India offers scale, demographic momentum, industrial capacity, and a strategic location within the Indo-Pacific. Manitoba offers agricultural excellence, advanced manufacturing, resource wealth, and stable governance. The alignment is evident.

The economic potential unlocked by this visit will not be realized automatically. It will require disciplined follow through by provincial policymakers, corporate executives, Indigenous leaders, and federal trade officials. The moment is real as the global economy is reordering itself. Manitoba must act and not dither as I have seen it do in the past.

When the High Commissioner arrives in Winnipeg this April, he will bring with him not just diplomatic credentials but an opening. Manitoba must treat the visit as a strategic opportunity, and seize it. The economic stakes for our Province, its companies, and most importantly, its people are too high not to.

Romel Dhalla, is President of Dhalla Advisory Corp., provides strategic corporate finance advice to companies and high net worth individuals. He was a portfolio manager and investment advisor with two major Canadian banks for 17 years. Contact him at romel@dacorp.ca. Any views or opinions represented in this article are personal and belong solely to the author and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the author may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual.

10 Neat Things about red squirrels

Dorothy Dobbie

1. Small but mighty. If you dislike grey squirrels, then welcome a red squirrel to your yard. Although the much smaller of the two, the little red squirrel will chase the greys away as it fiercely defends its territory. Little red weighs only about half a pound – anywhere from 5.5 to eight ounces. It’s only about 13 inches long from nose tip to tail tip, but it’s a gutsy little guy. If you encounter one on the road, notice the erratic behaviour: instead of running away, he’s trying to confuse you by getting you to change direction! Red squirrels live as long as eight to nine years under ideal circumstances but most don’t make it much past three years; no wonder.

2. Tamiasciurus hudsonicus. First catalogued in 1771 by a guy named Erxleben (he was a German veterinarian and physicist), the American red squirrel is named for Hudson’s Bay. They have a large range on this continent, so learn to live with them. If you trap and remove one or kill one, another will just move in to take over the territory.

3. No feathering this nest. Red squirrels build their nests out of grass held together by twigs and bark. If you see a scruffy squirrel with no hair on its back, it’s probably a female who will line her nest with hair from her own body. Sometimes they build in the branches of spruce trees, high above the dangerous earth. They will also nest in the hollow trunk cavities of spruce and some deciduous trees such as poplar.

4. Promiscuous females. Although females are in estrus only for one day, they make the most of it, mating with an average of ten males during that short period. They leave their own territory and begin advertising their readiness to mate several days in advance. This attracts males and whoever shows up gets chosen. No-

body has yet explained this behaviour.

5. Is it a kitten or a pup or just an infant? In North America, we tend to call the young pups, infants or babies, but the Brits call them kittens. They are born blind, hairless and with no teeth about 31 to 35 days after the mating. They are tiny: about one inch long, and they weigh about one ounce. In this part of the world, females tend to have only one litter a year and generally birth three to four babies. The babies nurse for about 70 days, leave the nest after about 98 days and reach their full size by about 125 days.

6. It’s a tough world for squirrels. Only about 22 per cent of squirrels born live to adulthood. They are one of the target foods for a host of predators: owls, lynx, crows, goshawks, martens, foxes, wolves, weasels, and coyotes. In town, cats get their share of the young. So does man. It is reported that in the U.S., 30 to 40 million squirrels a year are hunted for their meat. While these are likely grey squirrels, which produce about onepound of low cholesterol meat, in some states, it is their brain, fried up with scrambled eggs, that is considered a

The truth about air fresheners!

Can’t stand the odour of artificial air fresheners? You are not alone. Nor are you crazy. The toxic chemicals they contain can cause all sorts of allergic reactions in sensitive people. Lengthy exposure can even lead to cancer, early puberty, autism, birth defects, reduced lung function and increased asthma rates. At the very least they are linked to headache, asthma attacks, irritated throats and more.

Recently several friends and my daughter and I attended a large conference in Calgary. We were overpowered by the scent they used in the convention hall, the residue of which had clearly been building up for years. First, the scent itself was not pleasant and secondly, we immediately felt the impact of the chemicals. It affected our breathing, irritated our lungs and throats and made the whole experience less than welcoming.

Artificial air fresheners build up in the

delicacy. Unfortunately, squirrel brains appear to be able to transmit mad cow disease. Lest you are congratulating yourself on being Canadian, you should know that squirrel hunting is “fare” game in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Ontario!

7. Loners with a social conscience. Squirrels live solitary lives except for their brief mating period. However, when the temperature drops very low, they may nest together to conserve heat. Three Montreal scientists from McGill University have also observed squirrels adopting orphans. Granted, this act of altruism doesn’t occur very often. Over 20 years of observing 2,200 litters, they only saw this happen five times.

8. Dratted squirrels ate my bird feed. That’s not all they eat. While over 50 per cent of their diet is related to the fruits of the spruce tree, they round this out with berries, mushrooms, willow leaves and birds’ eggs. Red squirrels, as most gardeners know, will also eat tulip bulbs. Some will eat certain flowers and herbs. Others have been observed helping themselves to tomatoes. They eat about one pound of food a week, and they have very good manners, cleaning their food by licking it or by rubbing it against their cheek to clean it before ingesting it. They have good teeth; the incisors can grow six inches a year, but they need to do this as they are continually ground down by the squirrel’s nutty diet.

9. Where’d I leave that nest? Red squirrels habitually have more than one nest inside their two- to fiveacre city territory, moving their babies with them to new quarters when the old one gets too lice infected or if the nest is threatened. They move the infants one-byone in their mouths.

10. Sweaty feet. Squirrels have sweat gland between their toes. When stressed or overheated, they will leave damp paw marks on a dry surface.

air and on surfaces, often leading to significantly higher concentrations of pollutants indoors than outdoors. The release of the fresheners can interact with ozone in the air and start a chemical reaction that create nanoparticles. These can reach high concentrations that can equal that of car exhaust – and the particles remain in the air for hours before settling.

Artificial air fresheners contain phthalates, the agent that makes the scent linger, and which are being phased out in the manufacture of children’s toys in the U.S. due to concerns about their impact on hormone disruption, potential birth defects, reduced sperm count and the breathing issues.

There are over 350 different chemicals and allergens in these products including benzene, formaldehyde and toluene. These chemicals cling to walls, furniture and other surfaces that don’t get cleaned.

Artificial scents are used in candles and laundry products, too. We are seeing these scents being sprayed in hotel rooms and on public transport. I refuse to get into cars that hang the cardboard “fresheners” from their rear-view mirrors, and I have also refused to visit homes that use air fresheners or indeed those pernicious laundry products that promise to “stay fresh” for months.

If you love scent, there is hope. Natural essential oils are not only harmless; they can be helpful in inducing sleep or calming nervousness. They come from a wide range or naturally occurring product such as flowers, bark, stems, seeds and even the roots of plants. A few drops can perfume a large area, or you can use them in a diffuser.

To truly freshen air, however, you need to absorb odour rather than mask it. There are several products that will do this for you, including charcoal, zeolite, baking soda (use it in your fridge, sprinkle it on carpets or upholstery before vacuuming – even use it in shoes). White vinegar will also neutralize odours, but one of my favourite products is borax. It’s available in supermarkets in the laundry detergent section although it is not a detergent but rather a water softener and detergent booster. It helps brighten laundry and remove stains and it makes clothes smell fresh and clean.

Borax is also a natural fungicide that will help get rid of that damp smell due to mould in the home. I sprinkle borax in the garbage bin – it works wonders to keep it odour free. It will also neutralize drain odours. A cup of borax in the toilet bowl overnight will banish odours and eliminate stains.

You could use baking soda, too, but Borax is cheaper. Sold as 10 Mule Team Borax since 1891, it is still an invaluable product in the home. Do keep it away from pets and kids and wear gloves when using it to clean surfaces.

Sheds Manitoba – what’s

That is where Men’s Shed comes in.

Although Men’s Shed is not a support group, we are very much about supporting each other and sharing common interests and experiences.

We are a relaxed group who meet regularly, to share a friendly game of cards, crafts or even just a cup of coffee and conversation Activities

• Coffee, Conversation, Socialization

• Wood Carving

• Music

• Tabletop games, cribbage, dominoes

• Educational speakers

• Projects giving back to the community

• Shared senior lifestyle and health

For more information on joining, start-

Iing or running a Men’s Shed in your local area, contact menshedmanitoba@gmail. com or call 204-396-2123. Canadian website: mensshedscanada.ca; Manitoba website: mensshedsmanitoba.ca

f you have lived in the same house for decades, it can hold an entire lifetime of routines, milestones, and memories. That is exactly why downsizing can feel both sensible and surprisingly emotional. In Manitoba, the decision often starts with a practical question. Do you want less work, more safety, more community, or simply a home that fits how you live now? Once you are clear on that, the rest becomes a set of manageable steps.

Start with the real reason you are downsizing

Downsizing is not only about square footage. It is usually about reducing effort, risk, and uncertainty. Many Manitobans start thinking about it after a winter of shovelling, a surprise repair bill, a fall on icy steps, or the realisation that rooms are sitting unused. Others want to be closer to family, health care, or transit. Some want to travel more and stop worrying about the roof, the furnace, and the yard.

Write down your top three reasons and rank them. Less maintenance, better accessibility, and predictable costs are common priorities. So are being near friends, being near services, and staying in a familiar neighbourhood. This short list will guide every choice that follows and will help you ignore options that look good on paper but do not actually match what you want.

Know your housing options in Winnipeg and across Manitoba

There are a wide range of housing styles for older adults in Manitoba and the right one depends on how independent you want to be now and what you might need later.

Independent living in a smaller home can mean a bungalow, townhouse or duplex, but we’re going to look at just condos and apartments for people 55 and over. In Winnipeg, you might want to check out neighbourhoods with good walkability and easy access to groceries, pharmacies and clinics.

Senior-oriented condos and apartments can be attractive because building maintenance, snow removal, and exterior repairs are taken care of. They are essentially independent living with a peer community and design features that may be more age friendly, such as elevators, secure entry, wider halls for walking assistance, and common areas. Even if you don’t need these things now, you

Winnipeg Men’s Sheds

Woodhaven Men’s Shed; 204-804-5165

Park City Men’s Shed; 204-223-5055

Riverview Men’s Shed; 204-451-2709

Wildwood Men’s Shed; 204-781-3679

Robert A. Steen Men’s Shed; 204-832-0629

Manitoba Men’s

Sheds

(Beyond Winnipeg)

EastMan Men’s Shed – Beausejour; 204-791-9355

Howden Woodturners Men’s Shed – Howden; 204-488-2921

Parkland Men’s Shed – Dauphin; 204-402-0488

Neepawa Men’s Shed – Neepawa; 204-841-1629

Minnedosa Men’s Shed – Minnedosa; 204-867-3532

may within 10 or 20 years. Some include optional services, such as housekeeping, meals, or scheduled activities, for an extra fee. This can be a comfortable middle step between a private home and a more supportive setting.

Retirement residences are private pay communities that typically offer meals, activities, housekeeping, and varying degrees of support. In Winnipeg and other Manitoba communities, these residences range from “mostly independent with some meals included” to environments with more hands-on care available. The key is to find out what is included in the monthly rate and what costs extra. Ask how fees change over time, how medication support works and what happens if your care needs increase.

Assisted living is for people who are mostly independent but need help with daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, or medication management. In Manitoba, you will see both private options and supportive housing models connected to the health system. A practical approach is to think of assisted living as a safety net that preserves independence while reducing stress for you and your family. When comparing places, ask about staff availability overnight, how emergencies are handled, and how care plans are reviewed.

Rural and small town downsizing has the same considerations. For some, it means moving from an acreage or farm to a smaller place in town so that services are close and winter driving is reduced. The questions are the same, though. How close are you to health care, groceries and social connection? How will you get around if you stop driving?

Plan the money side early

Downsizing can free up equity, but it can also create new monthly costs. Start with a simple comparison: what your home costs you now versus what your next option will cost.

With a house, you pay property tax, insurance, utilities, repairs, and maintenance, plus the unpredictable big items like roofs and furnaces. With a condo or apartment, you trade some of that unpredictability for monthly fees or rent. With a retirement residence, you often trade it for a larger monthly payment that includes

meals and services.

Think carefully about costs that change with age. Transportation can shift from car ownership to transit, taxis or ride shares. Health expenses can rise. If you are moving into a building with more services, ask for a full fee schedule and a clear list of what is included.

Use safety and accessibility as a decision tool

Focus on features that make life easier now and safer later. Step-free entry, elevators, good lighting, non-slip flooring, a walk-in shower, and space for mobility aids matter more over time than stylish finishes. Think about winter realities. Covered parking, heated garages, indoor mail delivery and good snow clearing become more indispensable with every passing year.

Also consider daily convenience. How far is the garbage chute or bin? How long is the walk from parking to your door? Are there stairs anywhere between you and essential services? These details are what determine whether a place supports independence.

Making the move

Have a team at your disposal. That might include a realtor who understands your timeline, a lawyer for the sale and purchase and a moving company experienced with condo moves and building booking rules. If family is involved, set clear roles so you do not end up doing everything yourself.

Aim for a calm timeline. If possible, avoid moving in the worst part of winter. Build in extra time for paperwork, elevator bookings, utility transfers, and address changes. Keep a “first week” box with medications, chargers, toiletries, a kettle, a few dishes, warm clothes, and important documents so you can function right away. Downsizing can be an upgrade

Downsizing could be a real upgrade in quality of life. Less maintenance can mean more energy for friends, hobbies, volunteering, and family. A better layout can mean fewer falls and less strain. A good location can mean more independence, not less.

The most successful downsizing moves in tend to share one thing: the decision is made before a crisis forces it. If you start planning now, you keep control, you get to choose, and you can move into the next stage of life with confidence rather than urgency.

Creative Retirement Manitoba Inc.

204-481-5030, hello@crcentre.ca www.crcentre.ca

WINNIPEG

20 Fort Street Seniors Club

2200-20 Fort Street / FortStSeniors@Shaw.ca

A&O Support Services for Older Adults Inc.

200 - 207 Donald Street 204-956-6440 / Toll Free: 1-888-333-3121 info@aosupportservices.ca www.aosupportservices.ca

Archwood 55 Plus

565 Guilbault Avenue / 204-416-1067 archwood55@shaw.ca archwood55plus.wildapricot.org/ Bleak House Centre 1637 Main Street / 204-338-4723 bleakhousecentre@gmail.com www.bleakhousecentre.com

Brooklands Active Living Centre 1960 William Avenue W 204-632-8367 / bpscc@mymts.net

Centro Caboto Centre 1055 Wilkes Avenue / 204-487-4597 ext. 1 executivedirector@cabotocentre.com www.cabotocentre.com

Charleswood Active Living Centre A 357 Oakdale Drive / 204-897-5263 info@charleswoodseniorcentre.org www.charleswoodseniorcentre.org

Dakota Community Centre 1188 Dakota Street / 204-254-1010 ext. 217 seniorresources@dakotacc.com www.dakotacc.com

Delmar Seniors 110 Adamar Road / 204-421-2592

Dufferin Senior Citizens Inc.

377 Dufferin Avenue / 204-986-2608

Elmwood East Kildonan Active Living Centre 180 Poplar Avenue / 204-669-0750 healthrelations@chalmersrenewal.org chalmersrenewal.org

Garden City Community Centre Seniors 55+ 725 Kingsbury Avenue / 204-940-6111 facilities@gardencitycc.com www.gardencitycc.com/seniors

Golden Rule Seniors Resource Centre 625 Osborne Street / 204-306-1114 goldenrule@swsrc.ca facebook.com/goldenruleseniors

Good Neighbours Active Living Centre 720 Henderson Hwy / 204-669-1710 admin@gnalc.ca / www.gnalc.ca

Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre 1588 Main Street / 204-339-1701 becky@gwensecter.com / www.gwensecter.com

Headingley Seniors’ Services 5353 Portage Avenue / 204-889-3132 ext. 3 seniors@rmofheadingley.ca www.headingleyseniorsservices.ca

Indigenous Senior Resource Centre Inc. A1- 100 Robinson Avenue / 204-586-4595 executivedirector@isrcwpg.ca www.asrcwpg.ca

Keewatin Inkster Neighbourhood Resource 1625 Logan Avenue / 204-774-3085 kinrc@mymts.net

La Fédération des aînés de la francophonie manitobaine inc.

123-400, rue Des Meurons 204-235-0670 / direction@fafm.mb.ca

Manitoba Korean 55+ Centre 900-150 River Avenue 204-996-7003 / www.ksam.ca

North Centennial Seniors Association of Winnipeg Inc. 86 Sinclair Street / 204-582-0066 ncsc@shaw.ca / www.ncseniors.ca

North Point Douglas Senior Centre 117 Euclid Avenue / dzedzora107@gmail.com bkuluk751@gmail.com

Old Grace Housing Co-op 100-200 Arlington Street wellness.oghc@gmail.com

Manitoba Association of Senior Communities

Pembina Active Living (55+) 933 Summerside Avenue / 204-946-0839 office@pal55plus.ca / www.pal55plus.ca

Rady Jewish Community Centre 123 Doncaster Street / 204-477-7539 lmarjovsky@radyjcc.com / www.radyjcc.com

Rainbow Resource Centre 514 St. Mary Avenue / 204-474-0212 ext 255 OTR@rainbowresourcecentre.org www.rainbowresourcecentre.org

The Salvation Army Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre 51 Morrow Avenue / 204-946-9153 sheila.keys@salvationarmy.ca

Somali Help Age Association 519 Beverley Street / 204-881-6364 somalihelpage@gmail.com

South Winnipeg Seniors Resource Council 117-1 Morley Ave / 204-478-6169 resources@swsrc.ca / www.swsrc.ca

Southdale Seniors 254 Lakewood Boulevard / 204-257-6171 gm@southdale.ca / www.southdale.ca

Sri Lankan Seniors Manitoba 113 Stan Bailie Drive / 204-261-9647 www.srilankanseniorsmb.ca

St. James-Assiniboia 55+ Centre 3-203 Duffield Street / 204-987-8850 info@stjamescentre.com / www.stjamescentre.com

Transcona Council for Seniors 845 Regent Ave / 204-222-9879 tcs@mymts.net / www.transconaseniors.ca

Transcona Retired Citizens Org. 328 Whittier Ave. West 204-222-8473 / trco328@shaw.ca

Vital Seniors 3 St Vital Road / 204-253-0555 stmary@mymts.net www.stmarymagdelenewpg.org

Winnipeg Chinese Senior Association 204-291-7798 / wcsa.wpg@hotmail.com www.winnipegchineseseniors.ca

BEYOND WINNIPEG

ALTONA

Rhineland C.A.R.E. Inc. 240 5th St NE / 204-324-1528 carealtona.com

ASHERN

Living Independence for Elders Inc. #4-61 Main Street / 204-768-2187 lifeashern@gmail.com

BEAUSEJOUR

Beau-Head Senior Centre 645 Park Avenue / 204-268-2444 beauhead@mymts.net

BINSCARTH / RUSSELL

Senior Services of Banner County 204-532-2391 seniorservicesofbannercounty@gmail.com

BIRTLE

Valley Senior Services 663 Main Street / 204-842-3296 valleyserviceforseniors@gmail.com

BOISSEVAIN

Seniors’ Services of the Turtle Mountain Area 204-534-6816 / seniorservicetm@gmail.com

BRANDON

Brandon Seniors for Seniors Co-op Inc. 311 Park Avenue E / 204-571-2050 reception@brandons4s.ca / www.brandons4s.ca Health Checks brandonmbhealthchecks.ca healthchecksbrandon@gmail.com

CARMAN

Carman Active Living Centre 47 Ed Belfour Drive / 204-745-2356 www.activelivingcentrecarman.ca

CRANBERRY PORTAGE

Jubilee Recreation of Cranberry Portage Legion Hall 217 2nd Ave. SE / 204-271-3081

CRYSTAL CITY

Crystal City & District Friendship Club Inc. 117 Broadway St. / 431-867-0122 crystalcityfriendship@gmail.com

DAUPHIN

Dauphin Active Living Centre Inc. 55 1st Avenue SE / 204-638-6485 www.dauphinseniors.com

DELORAINE

Deloraine Community Club Inc. 111 South Railway Ave E / 204-747-2846

Seniors’ Outreach Services of BrenWin Inc. 204-747-3283 / sosbrenwin@gmail.com sosbrenwin.com

ELIE

Cartier Senior Citizens Support Committee Inc. 11 Magloire Street, Suite #1 / 204-353-2470 cartierseniors55@outlook.com

ERICKSON

Comfort Drop In Centre 31 Main Street / 204-636-2047 areas@mymts.net

FLIN FLON

Flin Flon Seniors 2 North Avenue / 204-687-7308

GILBERT PLAINS

Gilbert Plains and District Community Resource Council Inc. 204-548-4131 / gpdcrc@mymts.net gpseniors.ca

Gilbert Plains Drop In Centre 22 Main Street North / 204-548-2210

GIMLI

Gimli New Horizons 55+ Centre 17 Loni Beach Road / 204-642-7909 gimli55@mts.net / www.gimlinewhorizons.com

GRAND MARAIS

Grand Marais & District Seniors 36058 PTH 12 / gmdseniors@gmail.com www.gmdseniors.ca

GRANDVIEW

Grandview Seniors Drop In 432 Main Street / 204-546-2272

HAMIOTA

Hamiota 55+ Centre & Restore Community Co-op Inc. 44 Maple Avenue / 204-764-2658

KILLARNEY

Killarney New Horizons Centre 520 Mountain Avenue / www.killarneymbseniors.ca

Killarney Service for Seniors 415 Broadway / 204-523-7115 seniorservice@killarney.ca

LA BROQUERIE and STE. ANNE

Seine River Services for Seniors Inc./ Services Rivière Seine pour aînés Inc. 93 Principale Street / 204-424-5285 src@seineriverservicesforseniors.ca seineriverservicesforseniors.ca

LUNDAR

Lundar Community Resources 35 Main Street / 204-762-5378 lcrc@mymts.net

MANITOU

Pembina Community Resource Council 315 Main Street / 204-242-2241 pembinacrc@gmail.com

MINNEDOSA

Minnedosa Senior Citizens Assoc. 31 Main Street S / 204-867-1956 mdsasca@gmail.com

MORDEN

Morden Activity Centre 306 N Railway Street / 204-822-3555 mordenactivitycentre@gmail.com www.mordenseniors.ca

NEEPAWA

Neepawa Drop In Centre 310 Davidson Street / 204-476-5103 Neepawa-dropin@outlook.com www.neepawa.ca/district-drop-in-center

NOTRE DAME DE LOURDES Club D’age Dor Notre Dame 204-248-7291 / ndslchezsoi@gmail.com

PILOT MOUND

Pilot Mound Fellowship Centre 203 Broadway Avenue / 204-825-2873

PLUMAS Plumas Seniors Citizens Club Inc. 102 White Street / 204-386-2029

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE

Herman Prior Senior Services Centre

40 Royal Road N. / 204-857-6951 hermanpriorcentre@gmail.com www.hermanprior.com

Portage Service for Seniors 40A Royal Road N. / 204-239-6312 psfsmeals@shaw.ca portageservicefors.wixsite.com/psfs

RIVERTON

Riverton Seniors Activity Centre 12 Main Street / 204-378-5155 rdfc@mymts.net / www.rivertonfc.com

ROSSBURN

Rossburn Community Resource Council 71 Main Street / 204-859-3386 rosscomm@outlook.com

SANDY LAKE

Sandy Lake Drop In Centre 100 Main St. / 204-585-2411

Municipality of Harrison Park - Age Friendly Initiative Committee 204-585-5310

SELKIRK

Gordon Howard Centre 384 Eveline Street / 204-785-2092 executivedirector@gordonhoward.ca www.gordonhoward.ca

SNOW LAKE

Snow Lake Senior Centre 71 Balsam Street / 204-358-2151 snowsrs@mymts.net

SOUTH JUNCTION

Piney Regional Senior Services 204-437-2604 / lgdseniors@gmail.com

ST. LAURENT Age Friendly Committee of St. Laurent 204-906-9607

STARBUCK MacDonald Services to Seniors 204-735-3052 / info@mcdonaldseniors.ca www.macdonaldseniors.ca

STEINBACH

Pat Porter Active Living Centre 10 Chrysler Gate / 204-320-4600 ed@patporteralc.com / www.patporteralc.com

STONEWALL

South Interlake 55 Plus 374 1st Street West - Oddfellows Hall 204-467-2582 / si55plus@mymts.net www.si55plus.org

SWAN RIVER

Swan River & District Community Resource Council 126 6th Ave N / 204-734-5707 resourcecouncil@srseniorservices.com

Swan River Senior Citizens Centre 702 1st Street North / 204-734-2212 THE PAS The Pas Golden Agers 324 Ross Avenue / 204-623-3663 seniorsthepas@gmail.com

THOMPSON Thompson Seniors Community Resource Council Inc. 4 Nelson Rd. / 204-677-0987 thompsonseniors55@gmail.com thompsonseniors.ca

TREHERNE Treherne Friendship Centre 190 Broadway Street 204-723-2559 / jstate1066@gmail.com

VICTORIA BEACH East Beaches Social Sc ene 3 Ateah Road / 204-756-6468 ebssinc1@gmail.com / www.ebseniorscene.ca East Beaches Resource Centre 3 Ateah Road / 204-756-6471 ebresourcec@gmail.com / ebresourcec.weebly.com

VIRDEN

Seniors Access to Independent Living 204-851-2761 / sail.cao.2023@gmail.com

WINKLER Winkler & District MP Senior Centre 102-650 South Railway Avenue / 204-325-8964 director@winklerseniorcentre.com www.winklerseniorcentre.com

Register by April 7th for Spring

Helping kids in hospital cope through play

When children are in hospital, especially for long stretches of time, it affects the whole family. Caregivers and kids can all feel stressed, overwhelmed and scared. That’s why at Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba, we’re so grateful there are experts and donor-supported programs to help families cope.

I want to tell you about a young boy named Calvin, who spent three months in pain, going back and forth to HSC Children’s Hospital –Manitoba’s only children’s hospital.

for nutrition.

Hannah remembers many long days where Calvin couldn’t move and the hope she felt when he started to improve.

In January of 2025 Calvin started to get very sick. At first parents Hannah and Scott thought he had the flu, but his symptoms escalated quickly. He began vomiting, complained of a severe headache, and became unusually sleepy. When he struggled to stay awake, they knew the situation was serious and he needed HSC Children’s Hospital Emergency.

In emergency, testing confirmed Calvin had meningitis and he was admitted to HSC Children’s where he stayed for about a week. Emergency was the first stop for Calvin, but to this day he still relies on the care at HSC Children’s.

Calvin lives with an autoimmune disorder called myasthenia gravis, which was well managed until his bout with meningitis and after his first stay Calvin had more flare ups of pain. Between January to March, he ended up at Children’s Hospital Emergency six more times overnight before a final 16-day stretch as an inpatient where he needed imaging, testing, medication, pain management and a nasogastric (NG) tube

“We started to see progress in Calvin for the first time when he was in the playroom,” says Hannah. “It was the first time he wanted to move.”

The playroom at HSC Children’s is run by Child Life specialists who are experts in child development and helping kids cope during difficult times.

“They consistently went out of their way to make him feel special and safe,” says Hannah. “On one visit, they even created a small teddy bear clinic for him. He still has the bear and talks about it often.”

Child Life programming includes the playroom, Music Therapy, the Library Program, Children’s Hospital TV and special celebrations.

“Opportunities to play and create gave him moments of normalcy during a very scary time,” says Hannah. “Those moments mattered more than we realized at the time—they reduced his fear and gave him something to look forward to each day. At the same time, they gave us as parents a chance to breathe. Knowing he could laugh, play, and feel safe—even briefly—made an overwhelming situation more manageable.”

Now Calvin is back at home, full of energy, playing with his siblings Lucas and Heidi and enjoying life as a happy, active child. He loves the Winnipeg Jets, skating, hockey, puzzles, monster trucks and biking; he learned to ride a twowheel bike shortly before he turned four in summer of 2025.

Calvin and his family still visit HSC Children’s often for follow-up care.

“It is now a very familiar place, and we take comfort in the fact that Calvin now walks the halls looking for the fun things he remembers (the playroom, books, toys) rather than all the scary parts,” says Hannah.

Child Life programming is 100 per cent funded by donors. Hannah says she is deeply grateful for the kindness of our community and the role they play in helping families like hers through some

of their hardest days.

“Your generosity helped our son feel safe and still experience joy during a very stressful hospital stay. It supported not only his emotional wellbeing, but our family’s ability to cope. That difference is something we will never forget.”

You can help kids like Calvin with a donation to Child Life programming at goodbear.ca.

Stefano Grande is the president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.