Latest news with #GlobalWinnipeg
Global News
6 days ago
- Climate
- Global News
Encroaching wildfires lead to 2nd evacuation for Snow Lake, Man.
Many residents of a northern Manitoba community will make a long drive — almost seven hours — to Winnipeg Thursday as they flee nearby wildfires. Snow Lake is under a mandatory evacuation order for the second time this year, with residents needing to get out of the area by noon. Mayor Ron Scott told Global Winnipeg there are two nearby wildfires, and recent weather hasn't been making things any easier. The latest analysis by the Manitoba Wildfire Service, Scott said, shows that gusty winds are expected to push the flames eight kilometres closer to Snow Lake on Thursday. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy '(The fire) to the west has been developing for some time, we've had very hot and dry conditions, and high winds, particularly yesterday, which were driving the fire to the north,' he said, 'and the winds are now changing.' Story continues below advertisement Although evacuating for the second time is frustrating for the members of his community, Scott said the fact that they've been through it all before means there's been some valuable experience gained. 'Unfortunately, we had to evacuate a month ago, but crews that stayed behind managed to get an awful lot of prep work done, so we're in better shape now to deal with whatever nature throws at us in the coming days,' he said. Evacuees are being urged to stay with friends and family or go to the Leila Soccer Complex in Winnipeg. 'Hopefully, we'll dodge this one as well and everyone can go back home and get on with their lives,' the mayor said.
Global News
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Global News
CFL has momentum, but ‘not sustainable' with only 2 teams turning a profit, commissioner says
Winnipeg is a strong football market, the CFL's commissioner says, but the host of this year's Grey Cup is an outlier when it comes to other cities in the league. Stewart Johnston told Global Winnipeg that while television ratings, game-day revenue and attendance are all up across the board for the league, it's not all rosy for Canadian football. 'There's lots of momentum, but at the same time we need to continue to think about ways to drive revenue. 'Seven of nine teams did not make money last year,' Johnston said. 'That's not a sustainable business model. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'So we've got to focus on the business of the game. To do that, I want to think about entertainment — whether that's game product and presentation itself, or social media, digital content, the platforms that we're using. Story continues below advertisement The two profitable teams, Johnston said, are the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Prairie rivals the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Johnston, who was appointed to the league's top job in April, said a major part of getting more people in the seats is fostering early love for the game among potential new fan and to grow the fandom around the sport. 'I look at what happens here in Manitoba, and it really is a shining example of development of young kids — in flag football and then into contact football. 'I think once you touch a football, once you play it, catch it, throw it, run with it, understand tactics … you will fall in love, because it's that great a sport.'
Global News
19-06-2025
- Automotive
- Global News
Close calls endangering pedestrians, cyclists at intersections, CAA says
Intersections can be dangerous — even deadly — for pedestrians and cyclists, warns a new national study from the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). CAA examined 20 intersections across Canada over a seven-month period, recording a whopping 600,000 near-misses, as well as one potentially fatal incident per intersection each day. CAA's Kristine D'Arbelle told Global Winnipeg the study's results can help to design a future framework to prevent injuries and deaths on the roads. 'In finding those pain points and … issues in intersections, we were also able to identify some key design features that could reduce risk of near misses,' D'Arbelle said. 'In these intersections, when we saw a separate right-turn lane, there were fewer conflicts between a pedestrian/cyclist and a vehicle.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Vehicle making right turns accounted for more than half of near-misses with pedestrians and cyclists, the study found. Story continues below advertisement D'Arbelle said there are things drivers can do to help keep intersections safe. 'We know right turns are where most of those conflicts happen. Vehicles, when you're about to do a right turn, slow down, check that blind spot, and make sure there's no cyclists or pedestrians in that blind spot.' To try and boost safety at intersections, Winnipeg has implemented leading pedestrian intervals at some downtown crosswalks — giving pedestrians a brief head start with the walk signal before cars get the green light. CAA said the data was collected at different types of intersections in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C., Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. The organization partnered with traffic-monitoring company Miovision to detect near misses and assess risk levels with the help of AI-powered video analytics.
Global News
19-06-2025
- Health
- Global News
Unexpected financial costs plague expectant Winnipeg couple
Expecting the birth of a first child is an exciting time for any parents-to-be, but for one Winnipeg couple, what should be a joyous occasion is turning into a bureaucratic headache. Andrew and Nikka Worth are expecting a baby at the end of June, but due to what they say is an overly complicated process related to Nikka's legal status in Canada, they're looking at massive costs associated with her pregnancy, some of which they've already begun paying out of pocket. The couple, who met at a local church, was married last September, and Nikka — originally from the Philippines — is waiting to receive her permanent resident status. Andrew said the process seemed fairly straightforward, until the pregnancy came into play. 'We'd already submitted the documentation with the federal government to get Nikka her PR,' he told Global Winnipeg. 'After that, we found out we were pregnant, so I began the process of trying to get her covered (under) my health card. Looking at the website, it looked like it shouldn't be a problem.' Story continues below advertisement Unfortunately, it turned out to be more complicated than the couple thought. Nikka's legal status in Manitoba is as a visitor record holder, and Andrew said he was surprised to learn that the only way someone with that status can get health coverage is if their spouse is a temporary resident with a work permit. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Andrew, a Canadian citizen, didn't meet that criteria. 'We got a letter in the mail saying that the request had been rejected,' he said. 'We reached out to our MLA, and at the same time, the families minister of Manitoba, the health minister of Manitoba, (premier) Wab Kinew. 'After all that kind of petered out and basically we were told to wait for the PR, we thought maybe we could go through the appeal board and maybe the ombudsman.' That process, he said, led to a lot of contradictory and confusing information, and ultimately another dismissal of their request. While they await approval of Nikka's permanent residency, their baby is still on its way, which means regular doctors' appointments and more — all of which they've had to pay for directly. 'We've actually been paying out of pocket for all of my doctors' appointments, even the ultrasounds… everything that is required — even the lab tests, blood work, and all of that,' Nikka said. Story continues below advertisement 'We've paid $5,000 already out of pocket, and that doesn't include the hospital bills yet, because they haven't delivered the baby, and also the doctor's fee.' Those costs, she said, could come to $6,000 per day, depending on the type of delivery and whether there are any additional complications. If for any reason Nikka has to stay in the ICU because of complications, that would add an additional $16,000 to the hospital bill. Because the child will immediately be a Canadian citizen once he or she is born, Andrew said some of the rules don't make a lot of sense. 'To me, it's strange that they would have the stipulation that any child born on Canadian soil is a Canadian citizen… but for billing purposes, they are not. 'It just seems like a weird kind of misstep or interpretation.'
Global News
09-06-2025
- Climate
- Global News
‘It's tough for all of them': waiting game continues for evacuees as Manitoba fights wildfires
Firefighters in Flin Flon are continuing their efforts to protect the northern Manitoba city from wildfire flames. As of Monday morning, no structures within city limits had been lost, and officials say the cooler temperatures and rain have helped with the efforts. Mayor George Fontaine told 680 CJOB the situation has been a difficult one for the Flin Flon evacuees who have moved to safer locations — including Winnipeg and Steinbach — after fleeing the fire. 'They know they don't belong there (in Flin Flon) right now. It's tough for all of them … but they're still appreciative of everything they're being given,' Fontaine said. 'I went down to Steinbach yesterday to meet some people … they want to be home, but they can't be home under these conditions, so how tough is it? There's no choice.' Story continues below advertisement Fontaine said there have been evacuee meetups in Winnipeg — one of which he attended over the weekend in St. Vital — that have been helping evacuees deal with their temporary new surroundings. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I did go to one last night … and some people met and it was very, very therapeutic for people to get together,' he said. The emergency co-ordinator for the RM of Kelsey says it's been all hands on deck for more than a month now in dealing with wildfires and that communities within the municipality south of Flin Flon didn't get the amount of rain they were hoping for over the weekend. 'I think we do need those three to four days of just steady rain — I think that's going to be the best suppression against these fires,' Lori Forbes told Global Winnipeg. 'Crews are working so hard on the edges and the helicopters and the buckets are just consistently going. I think that rain from the sky for about three days would be the trick that we would all love to see right now.' Despite a dearth of precipitation, Forbes said the cooler temperatures in recent days are helping firefighters in the west-central part of the province get the upper hand. Forbes said the RM, which began dealing with wildfires as early as May 3, with a brief break between the first outbreaks and the current state of emergency, is still playing host to more than 200 evacuees from various communities. Story continues below advertisement According to the Canadian Red Cross, there are now more than 18,300 registered wildfire evacuees in Manitoba. The aid organization is operating two congregate shelter sites in Winnipeg, with space for 1,600 people, while another 1,600 are in hotel rooms. The Red Cross is also giving emergency supplies to 12 shelter sites in other communities that are hosting evacuees. Total fundraising numbers as of Friday had hit more than $3.3 million, without accounting for matching funds pledged by the federal and provincial governments. The province is set to provide the latest wildfire update at 12:45 p.m. Monday. Global News will stream the press conference live on this page.
