School bus converted to electric ready to ride
The conversion kit — the result of a collaborative project involving RRC Polytech's vehicle technology and energy centre, Noble Northern and Seven Oaks School Division — was funded by the province and the Canadian Shield Foundation. The project began in August 2023, when Seven Oaks provided a bus for conversion.
RRC Polytech said in a news release that retrofitting an already-owned diesel bus is more than $100,000 cheaper than buying a new Type C electric school bus, even when including labour costs.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
A view under the hood of Manitoba's first low-carbon school bus converted from diesel to electric power.
'The benefits of converting just one bus also include saving up to $11,000 in fuel costs and reducing 21.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions per school year,' the release said.
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A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future.
Other advantages include lower maintenance costs and less air and noise pollution.
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
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Winnipeg Free Press
11-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
RRC getting real with artificial intelligence
Red River College Polytechnic is offering crash courses in generative artificial intelligence to help classroom teachers get more comfortable with the technology. Foundations of Generative AI in Education, a microcredential that takes 15 hours to complete, gives participants guidance to explore AI tools and encourage ethical and effective use of them in schools. Tyler Steiner was tasked with creating the program in 2023, shortly after the release of ChatGPT — a chatbot that generates human-like replies to prompts within seconds — and numerous copycat programs that have come online since. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Lauren Phillips, a RRC Polytech associate dean, said it's important students know when they can use AI. 'There's no putting that genie back in the bottle,' said Steiner, a curriculum developer at the post-secondary institute in Winnipeg. While noting teachers can 'lock and block' via pen-and-paper tests and essays, the reality is students are using GenAI outside school and authentic experiential learning should reflect the real world, he said. Steiner's advice? Introduce it with the caveat students should withhold personal information from prompts to protect their privacy, analyze answers for bias and 'hallucinations' (false or misleading information) and be wary of over-reliance on technology. RRC Polytech piloted its first GenAI microcredential little more than a year ago. A total of 109 completion badges have been issued to date. The majority of early participants in the training program are faculty members at RRC Polytech. The Winnipeg School Division has also covered the tab for about 20 teachers who've expressed interest in upskilling. 'There was a lot of fear when GenAI first launched, but we also saw that it had a ton of power and possibility in education,' said Lauren Phillips, associate dean of RRC Polytech's school of education, arts and sciences. Phillips called a microcredential 'the perfect tool' to familiarize teachers with GenAI in short order, as it is already rapidly changing the kindergarten to Grade 12 and post-secondary education sectors. Manitoba teachers have told the Free Press they are using chatbots to plan lessons and brainstorm report card comments, among other tasks. Students are using them to help with everything from breaking down a complex math equation to creating schedules to manage their time. Others have been caught cutting corners. Submitted assignments should always disclose when an author has used ChatGPT, Copilot or another tool 'as a partner,' Phillips said. She and Steiner said in separate interviews the key to success is providing students with clear instructions about when they can and cannot use this type of technology. Business administration instructor Nora Sobel plans to spend much of the summer refreshing course content to incorporate their tips; Sobel recently completed all three GenAI microcredentials available on her campus. Two new ones — Application of Generative AI in Education and Integration of Generative AI in Education — were added to the roster this spring. Sobel said it is 'overwhelming' to navigate this transformative technology, but it's important to do so because employers will expect graduates to have the know-how to use them properly. It's often obvious when a student has used GenAI because their answers are abstract and generic, she said, adding her goal is to release rubrics in 2025-26 with explicit direction surrounding the active rather than passive use of these tools. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. 'The main idea is not to use the AI tool alone, standalone. You want to complement it with AI literacy training,' the instructor said. She noted her favourite programs are conversational AI assistant Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity AI (an AI-powered search engine that generates answers with links to references) and Google NotebookLM. Whereas Copilot and Perplexity AI primarily draw from external sources, Google NotebookLM can analyze trends in original items uploaded by a user. Registration for RRC Polytech's next introductory microcredential, running Oct. 6 through Nov. 2, is open. Tuition is $313 per student. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
27-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
People, profit intersect at Portage and Main
Opinion Since 1862, the intersection of Main Street and Portage Avenue in Winnipeg has been a space split between the competing forces of people and profit. During the early years, there were fights about how to build roads large enough so people could travel through the area while accommodating the competitive interests of businesses moving in and blocking the thoroughfares. In the end, the then-governor and council of Assiniboia chose a balance between the two, declaring the intersecting roads would follow the original oxcart paths, parallel to the rivers, and be 'a full two chain (132 foot)' across. The decree also stated that any business blocking the paths in and out of the intersection would have to make way by 1882. This idea though, was not new; a balance between multiple interests has always been how Portage and Main works. For centuries, the area was a stopping place along a north-south trading route traveled by Cree and Anishinaabe peoples and a west-east route journeyed by Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples — all of whom joined together to reside in a vast city the Cree called Nestawaya, or 'Three Points.' MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Portage Avenue and Main Street has witnessed bustling crowds, paths of streetcars and exponential economic growth — all of which inspired infrastructure and jobs that helped build a city. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Portage Avenue and Main Street has witnessed bustling crowds, paths of streetcars and exponential economic growth — all of which inspired infrastructure and jobs that helped build a city. Here, Indigenous peoples lived, traded, and forged treaty — conducting business with one another for centuries. Life in Nestawaya wasn't perfect (Anishinaabe and Dakota peoples were well known for their wars, for example) but, at the best of times, the nations in what is now Portage and Main found ways to forge peace. It's no surprise, then, that balancing competing interests solved Portage and Main's first conflict. Over a century, compromise, commitment, and inclusivity has been how Portage and Main has functioned the best. The corner has witnessed bustling crowds, paths of streetcars and exponential economic growth — all of which inspired infrastructure and jobs that helped build a city. In the decades after Winnipeg was founded in 1873, the area saw the building of nearby Union Station in 1911, Eaton's department store in 1905, and the Hudson Bay building in 1926. At Portage and Main, there came the Bank of Montreal building on the southeast corner (built in 1913), the 34-storey Richardson building on the northeast corner (1969), the Commodity Exchange Tower on the northwest corner (1979) and the five-storey Scotiabank building on the southwest corner (1979). KEN GIGLIOTTI / FREE PRESS FILES The Bank of Montreal building on the southeast corner of Portage and Main was built in 1913. KEN GIGLIOTTI / FREE PRESS FILES The Bank of Montreal building on the southeast corner of Portage and Main was built in 1913. At the same time, the area was the meeting place where citizens celebrated the end of wars, met kings and princesses, and the Winnipeg Jets signed superstar hockey players. Finding the balance between people and profit was always the way of Portage and Main — until one side was chosen over the other. Starting in the 1960s, city planners sought to create a downtown economic hub, based on the idea that forcing foot traffic to travel underground into a warm, enclosed, commercial concourse would increase vehicle flow and support economic development. That idea became real with the Circus, an underground circular facility that connected all four corners of Portage and Main. After the vision was passed in 1979, all overground movement in the intersection was closed, with barriers built to force citizens below. Well, some of them. There was no longer any place for the poor or racialized at Portage and Main. Profit became the only language of the primary intersection of the city. For decades, downtown became a transactional place. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. For the wealthy, it was a place for business, not a place to live, love, and foster relationships. Those who did live there were met with a lifeless set of barriers, concrete, and freezing cold wind. This was especially true of Portage and Main's first inhabitants. In the 1960s, Indigenous peoples began to return to the space after suffering for decades under brutal policies that controlled movement and commerce — instilling poverty and marginalization in their lives. Unwelcome in the Circus, Indigenous peoples became the primary inhabitants of the overground, creating a stark divide between societies below and above. This separation caused division and a deep sense of difference and denial — until the decay caused by both became too much. Portage and Main became a symbol of what it means to choose one interest over another, money over relationships, and profit over people. That is, until this unsustainable vision ended. Now, the intersection has reopened, and, with it, new questions on how to balance people and profit. A new path for an intersection in a very old centre; a place that has thrived by finding balance, not choosing one path over another. Niigaan SinclairColumnist Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe and is a columnist at the Winnipeg Free Press. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
27-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Future of the underground concourse weighs on biz owners' minds
Amid the fanfare surrounding the reopening of Portage Avenue and Main Street to pedestrians, questions remain about the future of the underground concourse and the businesses in it. The Portage and Main Circus has many shops and restaurants and is connected to a larger underground network downtown. The concourse has a leaky membrane that no longer protects it from above ground moisture. The cost of repairing it is estimated at $73 million, said Mayor Scott Gillingham. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Haley Yurman, brand and marketing leader for Empty Cup, holds up a sign reminding people that the business still exists in the Circus. Speaking to reporters after opening the street-level crossing, he stressed a decision has not yet been made over whether the circus will remain open or be fully or partially closed. City officials are awaiting for engineering reports and consultations with business owners, he said. 'The underground concourse will not close anytime soon. We are still doing some work related to that,' Gillingham said. The mayor said reintroducing pedestrian traffic to the intersection will not have a negative impact on the businesses below ground. 'There's still winter months coming… I believe that people will still frequent businesses below grade.' Kate Fenske, CEO of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, echoed that sentiment. 'They have their long-term customers, and (the underground) is still a critical piece of infrastructure that allows connectivity,' She said. 'We've actually heard from workers and property owners, the businesses there, that it is so important it stays open… and I think there are going to be options to look at that.' Haley Yurman, brand and marketing leader at Empty Cup, said she's not concerned. The Winnipeg-based coffee shop has a location in the underground concourse. 'It's good for business to have more people out and about downtown,' she said. Yurman and her colleagues joined a crowd celebrating the reopening of the intersection. They carried signs that read 'Still brewing one level down' in large, capital letters. Harveer Chahal and Murtaza Mehdi were among the customers who stopped by the coffee shop as the crowd gathered above. Both men work in a high-rise linked to the underground circus and shop at the stores multiple times a week. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Business owner Eric Chi said he expects little impact to his business because most of his customers come from the buildings and companies attached to the underground mall. 'We don't really go outside,' Chahal said. 'We get our food, coffee, A&W sometimes, or sushi. It's much safer here, I'd say, compared to outside.' Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Business owner Eric Chi said he expects little impact to his business because most of his customers come from the buildings and companies attached to the underground mall. Chi has sold sushi and snacks from his store, Eshel Tree, in the underground for more than one year. He signed a five-year contract with the city, and was told at the time there was no immediate plan to close the concourse. Since then, rumours and speculation have been swirling among business owners in the underground concourse, as they await news on whether the city plans to keep it open or shut it for good, he said. 'Of course it's concerning, but I just want to know as soon as possible so that I can take my next step,' he said. 'Whichever decision (the city) makes, I support it. I'm not against the decision, my only hope is they decide something for the better, for the community,' he said. Tyler SearleReporter Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler. Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
