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CBC
18-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfire evacuees staying in Winnipeg all now moved to hotels, province says
Wildfire evacuees in need of accommodations in Winnipeg have all been placed in hotels as of Wednesday morning, the province says. Congregate shelter sites at the Century and Eric Coy arenas and RRC Polytech in Winnipeg, and the site in Portage la Prairie, will now no longer be used for evacuees. But the site at the soccer complex on Leila Avenue will keep capacity in case any evacuees need emergency shelter, and Billy Mosienko Arena will remain a 24-hour reception centre, Manitoba's latest wildfire update on Wednesday said. Earlier Wednesday, a provincial spokesperson said the government is aware of about 130 structures lost to wildfires across Manitoba. However, the province will not provide further details or descriptions of those structures "until we can be sure that the affected individuals have been notified," the spokesperson said in an email. The south part of Nopiming Provincial Park has also reopened for permanent residents, cottagers and commercial operators, which includes Provincial Road 315, Bird Lake, Booster Lake, Flanders Lake and Davidson Lake. A closure and mandatory evacuation order continues for the rest of the park, and the entire areas of Wallace Lake, South Atikaki and Manigotagan River provincial parks. There are 21 active wildfires burning across the province — six of which are out of control — and have been 124 to date this year, above the average for this time of year of 118 total fires, the province said. Since May 1, the Manitoba Conservation Officer Service has issued 93 charges and 31 warnings related to wildfires. The out-of-control fires include one near the northwestern city of Flin Flon, which is about 370,780 hectares, and one in the eastern area of Nopiming Provincial Park, which is about 218,700 hectares, the province said Wednesday. The Manitoba Wildfire Service is also updating fire and travel restrictions for many parts of the province to Level 2, starting 8 a.m. Thursday. Fire and travel restrictions have also been lifted for a number of provincial parks. Recent rainfall and a full green-up — green grass with less dead, cured leaves and full leaves on trees — have helped reduce the fire risk in some parts of Manitoba, though other areas are still at high risk, and significant fire suppression operations continue and restrictions remain in place there, the province said. The wildfires forced roughly 22,000 from their homes, officials said earlier this week, mainly in the north and north-central regions. Pimicikamak Cree Nation saw 7,000 forced out, but they are now allowed to go back. Flights have brought people back from Winnipeg, while buses have been chartered for those who were taken to Thompson. There was still no word on when the 5,000 residents of Flin Flon might be allowed to return. A fire nearby remained out of control and officials said there were hot spots not far from the community. Anyone going back to a reopened area should be prepared to evacuate again with little notice and should prepare an emergency go kit, as well as remain alert for evacuation notices, the province said.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba cabinet minister breaks silence about 2019 workplace harassment probe
Manitoba's sole cabinet minister has defended her work at a Winnipeg college and said she's being unjustly targeted more than five years after an investigation concluded she had harassed an employee. At least three employees of Red River College Polytechnic filed separate complaints about the behaviour of their boss, Rebecca Chartrand, in 2019. Chartrand, who won the riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski for the Liberals in April, was chosen by Prime Minister Mark Carney to be part of his inner circle. Between her failed 2015 run for office and her successful second try, the new MP and minister of Northern and Arctic affairs spent about 2-½ years in a senior management role at RRC Polytech's Indigenous education unit. On Tuesday, Chartrand provided a lengthy statement in which she touted her commitment to positive change and the progress she made on 'enhancing programs and fostering a student-centered environment' at RRC Polytech. She said her work is a 'source of great pride.' 'Let us concentrate on building up the community and supporting positive developments within the Indigenous community, instead of focusing on negativity that fans lateral violence within the Indigenous community,' the cabinet minister said via email Tuesday. The findings of the 2019 probe into her treatment of one particular employee on campus was leaked against the backdrop of the rookie politician's sudden rise up the ranks on Parliament Hill. Investigators from Rachlis Neville LLP concluded Chartrand had repeatedly harassed and humiliated a subordinate, who is also an Indigenous woman, over an extended period in 2019. RRC Polytech hired the firm that fall, after undertaking an internal investigation sparked by the same complainant. That one concluded Chartrand had breached school policy when she pushed through a controversial student survey — a project that several of her colleagues had raised concerns about — and taken retaliatory action against the employee who flagged the suspected breach. That individual, who left the college in 2020, repeatedly flagged the gist of those conclusions with her federal Liberal contacts before the April 28 election. 'As an Indigenous Liberal member who supports Mark Carney, I have been trying to warn the Winnipeg Liberal head office about (Chartrand). She will be a liability if elected and a scandal waiting to happen,' she wrote in an April 6 email to a fellow Liberal who was heavily involved in Carney's campaign. 'Let us concentrate on building up the community and supporting positive developments within the Indigenous community, instead of focusing on negativity that fans lateral violence within the Indigenous community.'–Rebecca Chartrand The Free Press has interviewed that employee and four others who worked closely with Chartrand when she oversaw Indigenous strategy at RRC Polytech from June 2017 to December 2019. Each of them expressed serious concerns about her treatment of employees — either themselves, former colleagues or both — who had voiced differing views to ones she held. Three said they made written complaints about her, but the report of only one of them was escalated and substantiated. They all agreed to share their experiences on the condition of anonymity. 'She's very authoritarian and she surrounds herself with 'yes' people and if you're not a 'yes' person, you're not going to be there — or she's going to make it really tough for you,' one source said. She said she frequently witnessed what she called 'lateral violence' — undermining and bullying of the whistleblower whose complaint was escalated. Chartrand's hostile behaviour made others 'cower,' the source said. Another ex-staffer recalled being fired on the basis of 'insubordination' after questioning the appropriateness and legalities of collecting deeply personal information from prospective students, via the survey. Chartrand faced criticism during the 2018-19 school year for creating 'an assessment readiness tool,' exclusively prepared for applicants of an Indigenous studies program, that requested details about their alcohol and recreational drug use. Multiple sources described Chartrand as a vindictive ladder-climber, citing one instance when she uninvited a staff member from an international trip to a conference he had pitched they go to because they'd had a disagreement. The employee in question had expressed problems with the survey, sources said. The decision to push forward the initiative and write off workers' concerns showed her 'bad judgment,' said a fourth ex-employee who indicated he contacted the federal NDP after learning Chartrand was nominated as the Liberal candidate for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski. That employee said he left RRC Polytech when his complaints involving Chartrand were unresolved. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. The Liberal party has declined to comment on the vetting of specific candidate applications, citing confidentiality. RRC Polytech has released limited information about Chartrand's tenure over the same rationale. 'I'm really disappointed at (the Liberals') lack of integrity or their lack of an answer to the people,' said the whistleblower whose complaints were substantiated by Rachlis Neville LLP. 'To be honest, it makes me question if the prime minister has been given the correct information to make the best decisions for who is in key positions.' She noted it was the party that had first brought her and Chartrand together, as they both worked on her 2015 bid under the leadership of then-Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. 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
10-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cutting edge tips: Learn kitchen knife skills in the Winnipeg Free Press's new monthly cooking feature
Welcome to the first class of Homemade: Cooking School, a new Free Press series featuring in-depth cooking tutorials from professional local chefs. These monthly guides were created with instructors from Red River College Polytechnic's culinary arts program and will provide useful tips for newbies and confident cooks alike. We're kicking things off with a lesson on knife skills led by chef Terry Gereta. Gereta and his wife owned the former Mise Bistro & Lounge on Corydon Avenue for more than a decade until he made the move to teaching full time in 2015. At Red River, he teaches students how to work in a full-service, public-facing kitchen at Jane's, a fine-dining restaurant on the main floor of the Paterson Global Foods Institute. A culinary career wasn't what he had in mind when he landed his first kitchen job in 1984. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Terry Gereta demonstrates knife skills at RRC Polytech on Monday. He says a sharp knife is a safe knife, as a dull knife may move while cutting. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Terry Gereta demonstrates knife skills at RRC Polytech on Monday. He says a sharp knife is a safe knife, as a dull knife may move while cutting. 'I fell into it and was really good at it,' Gereta says, adding his favourite thing about cooking is 'the speed of it, the variety of the job, the multiple chances to get it right. You're always going for the same thing and trying to perfect it every time.' That's a perfect segue into knife skills. There are knives for cutting tomatoes, knives for deboning meat and knives for slicing sashimi. While it's nice to have the right tool for the job, you'll find more value in multipurpose utensils. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS From top: A honing steel is used to maintain the edge of a knife between sharpenings. A paring knife is used for trimming and precision tasks. A petty or utility knife is used for in-between jobs. And a chef's knife is used for all manner of chopping. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS From top: A honing steel is used to maintain the edge of a knife between sharpenings. A paring knife is used for trimming and precision tasks. A petty or utility knife is used for in-between jobs. And a chef's knife is used for all manner of chopping. Gereta recommends owning three basic knives: ● Paring knife: A small knife with a 3- to 4-inch blade used for peeling, trimming and precision cuts. ● Petty or utility knife: A versatile knife with a 4- to 6-inch blade used for medium-sized ingredients and in-between tasks. ● Chef's knife: A long 6- to 12-inch knife used for virtually any kitchen job, from cutting meat to dicing vegetables to slicing herbs. Knives can be an expensive investment. Keep an eye out for good-quality second-hand knives that can be sharpened back into commission. A sharp knife is a safe knife, says Gereta. 'If you have a dull knife and you try and cut something, it will probably move and, more often than not, you'll cut yourself.' A dull knife will also tear food instead of slicing it cleanly. He recommends getting knives professionally sharpened once per year and using a honing or sharpening steel — a handled metal rod with an abrasive surface — regularly to keep the cutting edge straight and sharp. Hold the steel in your non-dominant hand and keep it steady while running the edge of the knife along the rod from the heel (the area closest to the handle) to the tip at a slight angle. Work slowly and repeat several times on both sides of the cutting edge. Hand wash your knife with soap and water as soon as you've finished using it to avoid the need for scrubbing, which can be dangerous with a sharp tool. Never put knives in the dishwasher. Keep your tools in tip-top shape by storing them properly. 'The bad way is in a drawer, the good way is somewhere they won't bump into other things,' he says. Knife blocks and wall-mounted magnetic strips both fall into the 'good' category. Learning how to handle your knives correctly will make kitchen prep safer and more efficient. Hold your knife as if going in for a handshake. Wrap your fingers around the handle firmly but comfortably and choke up on the blade slightly with your thumb and a curved index finger. This grip allows for more control while chopping. Guide the ingredients with your other hand using a claw-like grip to protect your fingers from the sharp cutting edge. Pinch the item with your thumb and pinky and curl your remaining fingers away from the blade. The flat side of the knife should butt up your knuckles, removing the risk of nicking an outstretched fingertip. Keep the tip of your knife in contact with the cutting board and move the tool in a wave-like motion that begins in the shoulder. Keep your elbow tucked into your side for stability and control. Steady your cutting surface by placing a damp towel or a non-slip mat underneath your cutting board. Repetition and focus are key to improving knife skills. 'Make sure you respect your knife. I've chopped a fair amount of carrots in 40 years, but I still have to pay attention,' Gereta says. Watchers of The Bear might be familiar with the concept of mise en place. It sounds fancy, but mise en place simply refers to the process of gathering ingredients and organizing your workstation prior to cooking. Good mise en place means having all the ingredients in a recipe chopped, prepped and portioned before moving on to the cooking directions. That way you won't be stuck cutting something while another ingredient is left frying on the stove — a form of multitasking that can lead to burned or overcooked food. Solid organization can also make cleanup easier. 'For a home cook, having good mise en place is important because the dishes can pile up pretty quick,' says Gereta, who abides by the 'if you can lean, you can clean' school of thought and usually tidies up while things are simmering safely. Recipes often call for ingredients to cut a certain way. This is because food cooks more evenly when everything is the same size and shape. Flavour distribution, texture and appearance of a final dish can also be improved with cut consistency. Students at Red River learn the textbook dimensions of different cuts down to the millimetre, but there's more wiggle room for home cooks. 'It's all personal preference, as long as everything is the same size,' Gereta says. The first cuts are the deepest, or rather, the most important. When dicing a carrot, for example, square off the ends and ensure the remaining sections are the same length to create a common baseline before breaking down the vegetable further. ● Julienne: Long, thin strips MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Julienne cuts create long, thin strips. ● Batonnet: Small sticks; think carrot sticks and French fries MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Batonnet is a small, square stick. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Batonnet is a small, square stick. ● Dice: Small- or medium-sized uniform cubes MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Dice is a uniform cube, made from a batonnet. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Dice is a uniform cube, made from a batonnet. ● Bruinose: A very small dice or mince MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Brunoise is a very small dice, made from a julienne. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Brunoise is a very small dice, made from a julienne. ● Chiffonade: Leafy greens or herbs rolled into a cigar-like shape and finely sliced MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Chiffonade is used to finely slice herbs or leafy greens. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Chiffonade is used to finely slice herbs or leafy greens. Consider composting or saving your vegetable scraps to use in soup stocks — a topic we'll discuss further in next month's Cooking School on stocks and sauces. Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Eva WasneyReporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva 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
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cabinet minister harassed employee during stint at RRC Polytech: 2019 probe
Manitoba's only federal cabinet minister was found to have repeatedly harassed an employee she managed in a role she held at Red River College Polytechnic five years ago. A whistleblower has leaked the findings of a 2019 workplace investigation into newly elected Liberal MP Rebecca Chartrand's conduct when she was employed by the post-secondary institute in Winnipeg. Chartrand was elected to represent the riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski in the April 28 election. JUSTIN TANG / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs Rebecca Chartrand Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed the rookie politician to his inner circle just over three weeks ago. Chartrand, minister of northern and arctic affairs, was tasked with overseeing the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. Documents obtained by the Free Press show RRC Polytech hired a local law firm to probe a complaint made about Chartrand, the school's then-executive director of Indigenous strategy, on Sept. 16, 2019. The complainant was informed three months later that the grievance had been substantiated by third-party investigators from Rachlis Neville LLP. 'Specifically, they found that Ms. Chartrand's conduct amounted to personal harassment,' Curtis Craven, director of human resources for RRC Polytech, wrote in a Dec. 19, 2019 letter to the employee. Craven indicated the investigators found 'severe' issues related to Chartrand's approach to engaging with, assigning work to and managing the performance of the complainant between June and September of that year. '(Chartrand's) conduct could reasonably cause an individual to be humiliated or intimidated and was repeated, and had a lasting, harmful effect on you,' he wrote. The employer had no plans to take 'any further corrective actions,' given Chartrand's departure — the circumstances of which were not made clear in the letter — from the campus, the HR director added. Chartrand's LinkedIn page indicates she began her position at the school in August 2017 and left in January 2020. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. She moved on to various other jobs, including for the Seven Oaks School Division and Indspire, over the last five years. The experienced Anishinaabe leader from Pine Creek First Nation in Treaty 4 remains listed as the founding president and chief executive officer of Indigenous Strategy Alliance. Winnipeg South Centre MP Ben Carr worked alongside Chartrand at her consulting firm before he first secured his seat for the Liberals in a 2023 byelection. Neither Chartrand nor the Liberal Party of Canada immediately responded to requests for comment Thursday. 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.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Manitoba cabinet minister harassed college employee in past job, external investigation concluded
Recently appointed federal cabinet minister Rebecca Chartrand harassed a former employee at Winnipeg's Red River College Polytechnic over a period of several months in 2019, according to an external investigation commissioned by the college and conducted by a Winnipeg law firm. Chartrand, elected in April as the Liberal member of Parliament for the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, was appointed by Prime Minister Mark Carney in May as the minister of northern and Arctic affairs and the minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. According to documentation provided to CBC News in April — but first reported this week by Canadaland — Chartrand was the subject of a harassment investigation during the final months of her two-year stint as executive director of Indigenous strategy for RRC Polytech, a Winnipeg post-secondary institution with annual enrolment of approximately 21,000 students. In a complaint filed with RRC Polytech under its discrimination and harassment policy in September 2019, a former college employee claimed she was "targeted, undermined, bullied and harassed" by Chartrand over a period of eight months. The harassment took the form of threatening the employee's position, undermining her work and her management of other staff, interfering with her career, negatively impacting her reputation, increasing her workload and imposing unreasonable deadlines, according to the complaint. In a letter dated Dec. 19, 2019, RRC Polytech human resources director Curtis Craven informed the former employee that investigators with the Winnipeg law firm Rachlis Neville LLP substantiated the harassment complaint. The law firm found Chartrand's conduct "amounted to personal harassment in that over a period of time, the manner in which she engaged with you and the approach used to assign work and manage your performance constituted conduct which was severe," Craven said in the letter. "Such conduct could reasonably cause an individual to be humiliated or intimidated and was repeated, and had a lasting, harmful effect on you," he wrote. However, "given that Ms. Chartrand is no longer with the college, the college will not be taking any further corrective actions arising from this investigation," Craven's letter said. Chartrand was employed by RRC Polytech from June 2017 until December 2019, when she resigned, college spokesperson Emily Doer said in a statement. Chartrand was not available to speak about her time at the college, spokesperson Kyle Allen said this week. "Minister Chartrand is committed to fostering a healthy work environment for all persons in the workplace, characterized by collegiality and mutual respect," Allen said in a statement. RRC Polytech also declined to address Chartrand's time at the post-secondary institution. "In keeping with privacy legislation and college policy, we do not discuss personnel matters regarding current or former employees," Doer said in a statement. 'Months of psychological warfare': former employee The former college employee who filed the harassment complaint left RRC Polytech in 2020. In an interview, she said she had no intention of disclosing the investigation until Chartrand was nominated by the Liberal Party as its candidate for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski. The employee, whom CBC News is not identifying out of concerns about the potential impact on her employment, said she first attempted to contact Liberal Party officials about her experience but was unsuccessful. "I really did just want to forget about this and move on," said the former employee, who describes herself as a Liberal supporter. "I was voting for Mark Carney. I did not want what happened to me to happen to anybody in Ottawa. I didn't want Mark Carney to be hurt by any further actions, whether something of this nature ever happened again." Liberal Party spokesperson Jenna Ghassabeh said the party does not comment on the specifics of the candidate vetting process. "Canadians expect all political parties to do their due diligence on all prospective candidates, and the Liberal Party of Canada has a rigorous process to appropriately conduct such reviews," Ghassabeh said in a statement. The former RRC Polytech employee said she ultimately contacted several media outlets about her experience after Chartrand made social media comments relating to her own time at the college. The former employee said she came to know Chartrand in 2015, when the now-MP made an earlier run for office in Churchill-Keewatinook Aski. She came in second in that race to the NDP's Niki Ashton, who Chartrand then defeated in April's federal election. The former employee said she left another job to work under Chartrand at the college and had a good working relationship until 2019, when a nine-page survey was prepared to determine the needs of incoming students in the Indigenous studies program. The former employee said the survey was amended to include questions about drug and alcohol use, against the recommendations of an external consultant. The college did not disclose that the responses to these questions might determine whether respondents would receive financial assistance, the former employee said. The survey was withdrawn following complaints from prospective students and prompted an apology from Chartrand, according to a Global News story in 2019. The former employee said after she advised against including the questions in the survey, what had been a positive working relationship with Chartrand deteriorated into harassment. "It was like months of psychological warfare," the former employee said. "I've just tried to move on from all of my own personal grief and trauma around this because it has impacted me personally and professionally, and I wanted to just forget about it and move on. But it hasn't gone away." In a Facebook post on election night, a former resident of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski named Kyle Ross drew attention to the RRC Polytech survey issued during Chartrand's time at the college. In a since-deleted post of her own, Chartrand accused Ross of engaging in "lateral violence" and sought information about his whereabouts. "If anyone has any information on where this individual works or resides, please reach out publicly," she wrote. Chartrand spokesperson Allen said the minister regrets the post. "Regarding the social media post referenced, Minister Chartrand deeply regrets the language and tone she expressed. She unreservedly offers her apologies for the language of the post," Allen said in a statement. Ross said in an interview he would have preferred a direct apology for trying to discern where he lives and works. "I feel like a direct message would be nice," he said.
