A woman who formerly helmed the Kataujaq Society women's shelter in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, has been charged with fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust.

A school bus carrying 19 students ranging from kindergarten to Grade 12 has crashed, RCMP say.

Libby MacTavish was used to working seven-days a week and had over two-dozen clients who relied on her as a special education teacher, but when the pandemic hit, her client list was reduced drastically; down to only one.

The gravity of the situation hit when she came home from a trip to Mexico in March of 2020 on a rescue plane. She was rushed through customs as people tried to get home in the early days of COVID-19 and Manitoba declared a state of emergency on March 20, 2020 almost five years ago to the date.

Love of Yoga and teaching combined

“Then at the end of the month, everything went crazy,” she recalls.

The special educator had seen her schedule cleared due to the pandemic and it didn’t take long for the novelty of free time to wear off. So when an opportunity came up to teach Yoga professionally at 22 Wellness in Winnipeg, she took it.

“I never thought of teaching it, but I have the training,” she said, Yoga a part of her life for 25 years.

She says if it wasn’t for the pandemic, the change in her career path never would have occurred, and she’s been able to reflect on the positives it brought to her life, with her practice focused on Yin Yoga.

“It’s all about going in and really shutting out what’s going on around you and really tuning in to your body and learning to really connect,” she said.

“So for me, I’m pretty wired for sound and I’m used to working a lot, so in teaching that, you can’t give away what you don’t have. So I really needed to practice, and really connect with myself, and connect with how I was feeling.”

Five years later, she says there are still people she teaches via Zoom who she met during the pandemic as she continues to teach yoga today, but she’s also been able to return to her special education roots,  providing clients both Yoga and literacy classes.

“Now I’ve incorporated both of my loves,” she said. 

Student happy pandemic put her in province

Millions of peoples’ lives were affected and changed forever as a result of COVID-19 and for some like Dhruvi Shah, while the pandemic derailed her class’ prom, if it wasn’t for the global crisis, she would have never ended up in Manitoba. 

“I feel like whatever happens, happens for a reason,” she said, saying the fact she regularly gets to see the Northern Lights is a perk.

Originally from Mobasa in Kenya, Shah says she was originally destined for Brazil in South America when COVID-19 hit, and it was only after a student exchange was postponed indefinitely she decided on the University of Manitoba.

Five years after her cancelled trip to Brazil, she says she’s happy she ended up in Winnipeg.

“Just being here in the U of M, I’ve met so many people that I’m glad. They’re also from Kenya – so many people from back home, that I am so glad that I met, because they are so inspiring,” she said. “I’m really happy that I ended up here, because of the people I’m around.” 

Actor made permanent adjustment

The pandemic also changed the way people worked, as for many professionals, like actor Adam Orbanski COVID-19 brought with it challenges around things like required masks, social distancing practices and rules around contact. 

At the time, Orbanski required glasses to see and he felt like constantly, they were fogging up, getting lost and in ways, putting him in danger. 

“I was always scared when I was on set without my glasses, that I was going to trip on the cords. I never did, but I’d always have to be extra careful,” he said, saying at times it was frustrating.

“One day I was like: ‘Oh, how can I deal with this if we have to wear masks for a long time?”

It was this realization that resulted in him getting Laser surgery for his eyes and says in a big way, it was COVID-19 that caused him to seek out the surgery. 

“It really pushed me to get it done, because I wanted it for a long time, but I was like: ‘ah, whatever. I didn’t think I could afford it.’ And then, I just sort of prayed for a sign … if I’m meant to get it done, then it will happen, sort of trusting the universe.” 

And once he was actually approved for the procedure, he says it changed his outlook, both literally and figuratively, saying even with the pandemic, there was a silver lining. 

“At first, I cried because it was exciting to be able to see,” he said.  “It changed my life a lot.”

The post Manitobans share positive life changes since COVID pandemic appeared first on CityNews Winnipeg.

A former executive director of the Kataujaq Society in Rankin Inlet has been arrested in connection with an allegation over missing funds, Nunavut RCMP announced Friday afternoon.

Joyce Kent, 54, was arrested at her home in Winnipeg on Tuesday and charged with breach of trust and fraud over $5,000.

“Ms. Kent used her position of trust to misappropriate funds that were otherwise destined for the work of the women’s shelter and the daycare in Rankin Inlet,” Cpl. Rodney MacIntyre of the Iqaluit RCMP’s general investigations section said in a news release.

Last August, Kataujaq Society filed a complaint to the RCMP alleging missing money. Police opened an investigation which ultimately led to Kent’s arrest.

She was released and is scheduled to appear in court in Rankin Inlet on June 3.

When the crew aboard an ocean science expedition learned that an iceberg the size of Chicago had broken off from an Antarctic ice shelf, they knew they had to stop what they were doing and go check it out. But they didn't expect to find a rich and flourishing ecosystem.

The families of two young men who died outside Halifax bars after altercations with bouncers implored lawmakers at a legislative committee hearing this week not to scrap a potentially life-saving law that has never been enacted and is at risk of being wiped off the books with newly proposed legislation.

Lee Sawyer, whose son Ryan Sawyer died by homicide in 2022, pleaded with legislators to not let the bar bouncer law “fall victim to repeal,” to ensure no one else in the province dies under similar circumstances.

It’s one act designed to swindle somebody out of their money that just won’t go away.

The “grandparents scam” surfaced again yesterday with the caller informing the target that he was their oldest grandson and in need of help. Another man then came on the line, identifying himself as the detective, and that before they could proceed to help, he would need money from them.

Constable James Cadigan of the RNC says no legal official would demand money through a phone call. Luckily, in the latest case, no money exchanged hands.

“We want the community to remain aware of this particular scam, and stress the importance of people speaking with family members so that they are aware that fraudsters are among us,” says Cadigan.

Cross-country skier Cory Beardy, 15, who lives in Thompson, Man., won a gold medal in the 4x1K relay at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy, last week.

Halifax Regional Police have said the vehicle could pull civilians or officers from dangerous situations like shootings, but will be mostly used by the city's emergency response team for high-risk calls involving weapons.

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Manitoba's Kadriana and Colton Lott repeated as Canadian mixed doubles curling champions Friday with a 9-8 extra-end victory over Nova Scotia's Marlee Powers and Luke Saunders in Summerside, P.E.I.

The Calgary Region Hydrogen Hub aims to create 100 jobs and generate $75 million in private sector development.

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he is considering taking a leave of absence as mayor to run in the upcoming federal election because Canada needs "serious, mature, determined, focused leadership" to face the political turbulence caused in part by United States President Donald Trump.

"I see this as an opportunity that I can play a role at the national stage, at a time when our country is going through some of the most unpredictable, unexpected, unprecedented times — the threat to our sovereignty, the threat to our jobs, to our economy, our way of life, from Trump and the impact that will have on the Edmonton region — (and) we need voices at the table," Sohi said during an interview for Speaking Municipally, Taproot's civic affairs podcast, on March 21. "What Trump is doing to our country is basically a wake-up call … that we need to reduce our dependency on a single customer who has become so volatile now and so unpredictable."

Sohi confirmed that Prime Minister Mark Carney asked him during his visit to Edmonton on March 20 if he would consider running for the Liberal party in the next federal election. Sohi said that, if he runs, he will do so in the new Edmonton Southeast riding. Carney is expected to call an election on March 23, sending voters to the polls on either April 28 or May 5.

Several news media, citing sources close to the mayor, have reported Sohi has already decided he will not run for re-election as mayor in the October 2025 municipal election and that he will instead seek a federal seat. Sohi told Taproot he is still thinking about his options but will make a decision in the next few days.

Sohi said he would take an unpaid leave of absence as Edmonton's mayor if he decides to run for a federal seat. If elected as a member of Parliament, Sohi would be forced to resign as mayor. If unsuccessful, however, Sohi told Taproot he would return to city hall, serve out the remainder of his mayoral term, and not run for mayor in the municipal election in October.

"If I do run federally, I will not be running for mayor at all. I think it's important to provide that clarity to Edmontonians."

This would not be the first time Sohi has switched between municipal and federal politics. He was first elected to city council in 2007 in Ward 6. In 2015, he left his Ward 12 city council seat (won in the 2013 election) when Justin Trudeau, then leader of the federal Liberal party, asked him to run in the Edmonton Mill Woods riding. Sohi won that race by fewer than 100 votes. Sohi served as a cabinet minister during Trudeau's first government. He lost his federal seat to Conservative Tim Uppal in the 2019 federal election. Sohi was elected mayor of Edmonton in 2021.

Asked if he was abandoning Edmontonians for a more prestigious position in Ottawa, Sohi said that isn't part of his decision.

"I can tell you, I've been a cabinet minister before, and I've been in this role for three and a half years — being mayor is more fun than being a cabinet minister," he said.

Sohi is considering re-entering federal politics because "we would be lacking strong voices from the region if the Liberals formed government," he said. "I also feel that my experience, my style of leadership, where I can remain calm, steadiness, and the temperament I have to deal with crises and the difficult situations could be helpful at a national level, when we are dealing with the most unpredictable times that we have never imagined before."

Sohi said he would not run in the federal election if Carney was not leading the Liberal party.

"I was watching the (Liberal leadership race) very closely, as much as I could, because I was feeling that who gets elected will be instrumental in what kind of leadership is required for us to navigate through these challenges," he said.

"I feel that the kind of maturity, temperament, and international experience that Mr. Carney has is required," he said, adding that "in normal circumstances, I would have said 'No' right away, because it's hard on the family."

The Liberals have made an astounding rebound in the polls since Trudeau resigned on Jan. 6, Trump launched attacks on Canada's sovereignty and economy, and Carney became prime minister.

Who will be mayor if Sohi becomes an MP?

If Sohi runs federally, he said he will take an unpaid leave of absence. Council would be required to actively fill the position both during this leave of absence and in the event Sohi was elected federally, city clerk Aileen Giesbrecht told Taproot. Edmonton councillors could adopt the deputy mayor list, which designates one councillor per month as deputy mayor in the event the mayor is unable to fulfill their duties. Council could also choose to appoint one or more councillors to the mayor's seat for the remainder of the term.