The AMM has been actively working for months to ensure Manitoba’s municipal priorities are front and center in the national conversation as Canadians head to the polls on April 28.

Media Release - March 27, 2025

The AMM has launched a Federal Election Priorities Hub, a dedicated webpage that outlines our three key pillars and targeted recommendations to political parties and federal government. This hub serves as a resource for all of Manitoba's 137 municipalities, highlighting our calls to action leading up to and beyond Election Day.

Our key pillars and recommendations focus on:

Responsive Development

• Work with municipalities to set homebuilding targets, responsively to local needs and pressures
• Avoid one-size-fits-all policy that penalizes rural, smaller urban, or northern communities
• Reward municipal innovation that builds homes quickly and efficiently

Modernized Funding Model & Core Infrastructure Investments

• 21st century municipalities need 21st century funding
• Enhance the Canada Community-Building Fund to support municipal strategic investments for growth
• A new dedicated core infrastructure fund for water and wastewater
• Less red tape, and more flexibility for getting infrastructure projects off the ground

Public Safety & Sustainable Policing

• Reform the bail and parole systems to keep repeat offenders off the streets
• No more offloading of higher policing costs
• Consult with municipalities before policing changes that cost communities more
• Enhance social and mental health support to keep police focused on policing

As the election approaches, we encourage media outlets to download our Federal Priorities Postcard.

One of the most important lessons taught to me early in my psychotherapy training was to “strike when the iron is cold.” 

The idea is to give challenging feedback when a client is in a relaxed and open frame of mind, as this is when someone is much more likely to hear the feedback and be open to change. If you try to provide blunt counsel to anyone when they are in an emotionally hot state, the feedback will inevitably bounce off their skull, just like a stone skipping across a pond.

I use this concept all the time in my work coaching CEOs. If I know that a client will be facing a difficult decision sometime down the road, I will take time in our coaching meetings to debate goals and preferred outcomes around this decision, long before the time is at hand. We might even discuss the kinds of distractions that could nudge them away from their preferred outcomes. 

As we head into this critical federal election, I encourage you to adopt a similar technique. I probably should have written this column a couple of weeks ago. But I think we are early enough in this election cycle that we can each still objectively develop our own list of what matters most to us in our vision for Canada. Even better, it would be really great if we shared our priorities with a few trusted friends, who can help us stay accountable and honest with ourselves.

If this sounds naïve and unrealistic, I could point you to studies that show Canadians — in contrast to Americans — are more likely to make their electoral choices on the basis of issues, rather than on party. We are less slavishly devoted to symbols that can separate us. 

I would also encourage you to read one of my previous Canadian Affairs columns on the psychological truth about political extremes. In that article, I point to research showing that about 30 per cent of voters sit on the extremes — either left or right — but the majority reside in the reasonable middle. 

These Canadians may be life-long Conservatives, Liberals or NDPers, but are not reflexively committed to staying in their lane. I would encourage these Canadians to do the hard work of understanding the issues and having the intellectual honesty to adapt their votes as circumstances require.

In the spirit of this approach, I am happy to offer up my own list for this election.

First of all, I will evaluate the leader who has the best disposition, skill, bravery, resilience and cunning to deal with the constant threats and insults coming from the U.S. These threats are designed to keep us off balance. We need a leader who can stay on task and be a unifying force in the country.

My second priority naturally flows from the first. I will evaluate which leader can best unite the country. I am particularly concerned about resentment and mistrust that is simmering in Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

My third priority is economic and military security. I want to see a credible plan for an east-west energy corridor. I also want to see a plan for exponentially building up our defence capabilities, and in doing so, leveraging our domestic manufacturing and technology base. We will need to keep the Russians and Chinese at bay in the Arctic, and to keep the U.S. from ever again thinking about challenging our southern border. We should also be instituting some kind of civil defence force, as is the practice in countries like Singapore and Switzerland.

And finally, I would like Canada to make a truly bold move on trade away from the U.S. Having 70 per cent of our exports going to the U.S. is irresponsible and cannot continue — regardless of who occupies the Oval Office. I do think the world is moving into multipolar trade and security blocks, and we are too vulnerable on our own. It is not a stretch to imagine Canada joining the EU, and I would be very impressed with a leader who is ready to take this on as a serious possibility.

So there you have it. That’s my list, and I wish you the best as you develop yours!

The post James Fleck: How will you be voting? appeared first on CANADIAN AFFAIRS.

Musicians in Newfoundland and Labrador have grown tired of swirling controversy ahead of the East Coast Music Awards, and say they're feeling like they’re taking the hit as calls for boycotts continue.

A man charged with harassing women in Saskatoon's Mayfair neighbourhood last summer has pleaded guilty. Jithin Jose was given a conditional discharge and six months probation in provincial court.

Even with the extension of Inuit Child First Initiative funding, there is still uncertainty around the future of programs that depend on it.

“There were tears amongst health-care providers when they heard about the end of this program,” said Dr. Sindu Govindapillai, director of Qupanuaq, which uses the Inuit Child First Initiative money to fund local programs in Nunavut’s Qikiqtaaluk Region.

She indicated that its food voucher program, which provides a $500 food voucher per child under 18 to Inuit families and an additional $250 for any child under age four, has been especially impactful.

“We heard from some child protection workers that up to 90 per cent of their calls before the hamlet food voucher program were for food,” Govindapillai said.

The Inuit Child First Initiative is a funding program that runs in parallel to the Jordan’s Principle program. It funds health, education and social programs for Inuit children and youth. All funding related to Inuit Child First expires March 31.

The future of Inuit Child First Initiative was in limbo until earlier this month when Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced a one-year extension of the program.

Anandasangaree stressed during his announcement that the extension still needs parliamentary approval, however.

With a snap federal election called, that approval, if it happens at all, will come sometime after the election slated for April 28.

Over the past five years, the federal government has spent $367.5 million on the Inuit Child First Initiative. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said on March 21 that $121.7 million would be allocated for a 2025-26 one time extension, pending approval.

With an extension will come new guidelines and restrictions. Previously, a hamlet could register all of its children and youths as a group to be eligible. New restrictions require each child to be individually registered.

For Igloolik, that means staff are scrambling to register 1,008 children, said Carolyn Tapardjuk, food security co-ordinator with the Hamlet of Igloolik.

Even if the new requirements are met, the future of the food voucher program specifically is not certain.

Funding to continue the program has not been announced, even though Govindapillai said she has asked several times for clarification.

“The best-case scenario we’re looking at [is] there’s a delay. So the program stops for however long, until the government makes a decision to look at these and to approve them, and then the worst-case scenario is that they’re all ending,” Govindapillai said.

“But there’s no scenario I can see where on April 1 all the hamlet food voucher programs continue seamlessly.”

Nunatsiaq News requested an interview with a representative for Indigenous Services Canada, but that request was declined.

“We are not able to confirm when parliamentary approval will be obtained for the renewed funding for the Inuit Child First Initiative,” Carolane Gratton, spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada, said in email on Wednesday.

The flag of Manitoba flies on Monday, Nov. 1, 2021 in Ottawa. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

The Manitoba government is launching a $1.5 million program to support local manufacturers facing potential U.S. tariffs.

The funding, announced Thursday in Selkirk, will go to the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) to develop a made-in-Manitoba tariff response program aimed at helping businesses mitigate economic impacts, diversify markets, and strengthen supply chains.

“While President Trump threatens our economy with tariffs, we’re standing up for Manitoba workers and the businesses that power our economy,” said Premier Wab Kinew. “By partnering with CME, we’re ensuring that Manitoba manufacturers are equipped to respond to the impacts of U.S. tariffs.”

The program will include business and workforce training on tariffs, market diversification strategies, financial support for tariff planning consultations, and a made-in-Manitoba summit to foster business connections.

Terry Shaw, regional vice-president of CME, welcomed the investment, saying it would help manufacturers adapt to economic challenges and protect jobs.

“This tariff response programming will provide our manufacturers with the tools they need to diversify their markets, protect Manitoba jobs and mitigate the impact of tariffs,” said Shaw.

The province has also launched the Support Manitoba. Buy Local. campaign to encourage consumers to support local businesses.

Watch Thursday’s announcement:

Hamilton Public Works staff say they have completed 9 of 36 items recommended by the Red Hill Inquiry and expect to have all items addressed by next year. Many of the actions staff are working on relate to co-operation and information sharing between the various Public Works department. The scathing Red Hill Inquiry report documented a serious management failure that included a culture of withholding information between departments responsible for the highway, manipulation of consultant’s reports, and misleading council and the media.

The staff report says some of the completed items include:

• Design analysis of the winding stretch of Red Hill between Greenhill Avenue and Queenston road where the bulk of the fatalities occurred
• Creating and updating Standard Operating Procedures related to Traffic Safety including Friction, Fatal Injury Investigations and Red Hill Valley Parkway/Lincoln M Alexander Parkway Operation and Maintenance Plan.
• Roadway safety training module for staff involved in planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance.
• Appointment of a Chief Roads official. This would address the finding that the Road construction division and the road operation division were frequently at odds with each other to the extent that each department hired consultants to do the same work unbeknownst to each other.

Many of the other items where progress has been reported involve improving the culture of the sprawling Public Works Department. This has involved code of conduct training, competency training, and surveys to allow rank and file employees to rate their managers  on collaboration, transparency and accountability.

In the area of staff communication with the media and the public there will be an emphasis on truthful and accurate communication with the media. Staff will be given media training in crisis situations. This item refers to some misleading statements made to the media during the period when accidents and safety were the focus of community attention.

Staff have also set up a system where all consulting reports will be fully shared across departments. A report on friction on the pavement that was not shared was the event that triggered the inquiry in the first place. As the inquiry unfolded, the findings of the friction report became somewhat inconclusive; but it led to the uncovering of a whole can of worms regarding the way the department was operating.

In the end, repaving the highway and lowering the speed limit appear to have resulted in significant improvement in traffic safety on the Red Hill.

Starting April 5, new routes will be added to increase connectivity across the region, Metrolinx says, and GO Explore bus service will return to service popular attractions.

New Brunswick’s Chief Medical Officer says the government will begin analyzing data into a mystery brain disease that has affected hundreds of people in the past several years.

Dr. Yves Léger told reporters today that his office will review 222 files with the Public Health Agency of Canada into what the province calls an “undiagnosed neurological illness.”

In 2021, the provincial government under the Progressive Conservatives started investigating 48 patients with neurological symptoms of unknown origin, and since then more than 400 people have reported symptoms such as intense pain and muscle spasms.

The post ‘The Conservatives could lose an election and get 40 percent of the vote’: David Coletto on the threat of Donald Trump versus the desire for change appeared first on The Hub.

TORONTO — Measles cases keep climbing in Ontario, as the province counts more than 100 new cases in the past week. Public Health Ontario is now reporting 572 confirmed and suspected cases since the outbreak began in October.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

TORONTO — Measles cases keep climbing in Ontario, as the province counts more than 100 new cases in the past week. Public Health Ontario is now reporting 572 confirmed and suspected cases since the outbreak began in October.

More coming.

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press

Eddy St. Coeur wants the next prime minister to make a commitment to the 2SLGBTQ+ community, at a time when it's seeing a rise in hatred. Ahead of the federal election, CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is asking individuals and organizations what they’re looking for in Canada’s next leader.

Conservative and NDP leaders Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh were both in Hamilton on the third day of the federal election campaign.

Provincial Liberal leadership candidate John Abbott has announced a plan to introduce a targeted basic income for seniors aged 65 and older.

Abbott says seniors are especially vulnerable to the high cost of living, and he says introducing a basic income for senior Newfoundlanders and Labradorians is one way to ensure that poverty among the older population is addressed.

He intends to ensure that low income seniors will have a targeted income to cover basic, food, light and heat. “We’ve got to make sure it doesn’t have an adverse impact on any other benefits, so we’ve just got to work out those mechanics after May 3rd.”

Abbott is one of two people vying for the leadership of the party. The other candidate is John Hogan.

One of Hudson's Bay's lenders says it's willing to back changes to a restructuring agreement that would give the retailer more time to find a way to save six stores it has so far spared from liquidation.

It’s hard not to categorize our present global moment as a crisis. And just when we think things can’t get worse — they do.

Across the globe, we’re witnessing a rise in far-right movements and governments.

Just a few weeks ago, the AfD party in Germany secured second place. This marks the first time a far-right party has gained this level of power in the country since the Second World War. Germany is not alone in this trend: Italy, Hungary, Finland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Croatia are now led by far-right governments.

And it may come as no surprise that many of these new leaders are increasingly hostile towards universities.

In India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, universities have the lowest academic freedom since the 1940s. In Brazil, former president Jair Bolsonaro claimed that public universities transform students into leftists, gays, drug addicts and perverts.

Meanwhile in the United States, Vice President JD Vance has called universities the enemy for allegedly teaching that America is “an evil, racist nation.” (Vance was echoing President Richard Nixon who called professors and the press the enemy. President Donald Trump even signed an executive order demanding higher education institutions dismantle their DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) programs. He’s also pulled federal funding from universities that allow “illegal protests”, and he’s demanded that Columbia University’s Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Departments be independently reviewed.

But, despite this hostility, universities — and students — have historically been springboards for progressive change. It was student protests 25 years ago that helped lead to the downfall of apartheid in South Africa. More recently, in Bangladesh, student protests helped topple the country’s authoritarian leader. This past year, students across the world have worked to raise public awareness of acts of genocide in Gaza.

Meanwhile, here in Canada, universities are facing financial pressure because of reductions in international student permits. This drop in revenue has caused alarming budget constraints at universities, revealing a deep reliance on international students as a revenue source.

This has led to existential questions about our universities. With today’s world in crisis, what should the role of the university be? And why are our public universities so underfunded? And how can they continue to serve their communities?

Theses are big questions, ones that seemed fitting to tackle on our final episode of Don’t Call Me Resilient recorded live in front of an audience at the University of British Columbia. Joining us to tackle them was Annette Henry, a professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at UBC who is cross-appointed to the Institute for Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice. Her work examines race, class, language, gender and culture in education for Black students and educators in Canada.

We also spoke with Michelle Stack, an associate professor in UBC’s Department of Educational Studies whose work looks at educational policy, university rankings and equity and education.

At a time when critical conversations in higher education are under attack worldwide, can Canadian universities rise to the challenge and be a force for good?

Read more:

Universities should stand up for integrity and public trust in university teaching

How Commonwealth universities profited from Indigenous dispossession through land grants

Universities should respond to cuts and corporate influence with co-operative governance

Cops on campus: Why police crackdowns on student protesters are so dangerous

Student protests: How the university perpetuates colonial violence on campus

This episode was coproduced by Ateqah Khaki (associate producer), Marisa Sittheeamorn (student journalist) and Jennifer Moroz (consulting producer). Our sound engineer was Alain Derbez, with onsite assistance from Josh Mattson. Thank you to UBC’s Global Journalism Innovation Lab and its crew, The UBC School of Journalism and the Social Science Research Council of Canada for their generous support.

Toronto council has voted to ratify a new four-year contract with the union representing 27,000 of the city's workers. The city says the deal with CUPE 79 includes annual wage increases between three and almost four per cent through 2028.

The Registered Nurses Union and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions want to see greater nurse-to-patient ratios in response to what they say are rising rates of violence in hospitals.

There has been a notable security presence in metro area emergency rooms in recent months, and similar security measures have been added in the Labrador-Grenfell zone.

Even with the added security measures, RNU President Yvette Coffey says violent incidents persist, despite the fact that the concern has been in the fore for more than a decade.

(RNU President Yvette Coffey)

“In 2019, we brought together everyone for a forum on violence, (and) that report still sits on the desk of someone in government collecting dust,” Coffey told the Tim Powers Show.

Coffey says violence and staffing are affecting recruitment and retention.

“Retention is the biggest aspect, even we’re hearing recruitment because we’re hearing student nurses. They’re going in to do their clinicals, and we’ve had some quit after being exposed, or (having) seen the violence and the disrespect shown towards staff, and overall, the working conditions.” -Yvette Coffey

PC Health Critic Barry Petten (VOCM News)

Meanwhile, Opposition health critic Barry Petten is accusing the provincial government of not listening to the RNU on the state of nursing in the province.

Petten says anyone who has visited an emergency room knows how nurses are stretched thin, and how they’re facing violence and burnout.

Petten references a recent CBC report which indicates that eleven registered nurses recently left a surgical unit at St. Clare’s because of working conditions, only to be replaced by private agency nurses.

Petten wants to know how many more nurses will retire or resign before the provincial government takes action.