Living in the shadow of a giant

A group of south Tuxedo residents is calling on city council to give them more time to consider the implications of building a large-scale Ikea complex in their neighbourhood.

The multi-million dollar contract could give the city a much-needed boom in tough times, but residents worry that traffic could become a serious concern in the area.

Ken Klassen, a spokesperson for the residents’ group, told CBC News that city council should take some time and allow everyone to digest exactly what consequences the development could have.

But is it a sport?

Winnipeggers may lose their chance to witness one form of orchestrated public violence if a member of the Winnipeg Convention Centre’s board gets his way.

City Councillor Grant Nordman questioned whether mixed martial arts should be allowed to be practiced and exhibited in Winnipeg.

Nordman told CBC News that he doesn’t consider mixed martial arts to be a sport and suggested the city should ban it, at least in publicly owned facilities.

The debate follows a month after Dean Lewis was hospitalized with a concussion and bleeding on the brain after participating in a fight.

The issue should be decided by April, when the city’s protection and community service committee, chaired by Nordman, receives a public service report on the activity.

Reservation leadership enters uncertainty

A court order has partially returned power to the chief of Cross Lake First Nation after a judge issued orders that would force a mutinying band council to recognize the chief’s authority, reported the Winnipeg Free Press.

The leadership of chief Alex James Robertson is still up in the air, however, due to a standing order from the reserve’s women’s council.

The women’s council demands Robertson be removed from office due to criminal charges laid against him last November.

The charges were dropped in early March, but as the women’s order still hasn’t been fully heard it remains standing.

No neighbour to turn to

A young immigrant family is being evicted from their home after numerous complaints made by a downstairs neighbour regarding noise levels reached the attention of the building’s rental agency.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the Kachan family moved to Winnipeg hoping to find peace and comfort after fleeing from Russia and then Israel, and are now looking again for a home.

Globe General Agencies also fired the building’s resident manager of six years, Mel Bennett, after he stepped in to try to mediate the problem.

In an e-mail to the Free Press, Globe wrote that they are working on a solution to accommodate everyone — but the Kachans denied hearing of this.

Reserves not receiving a fair share

Manitoba’s aboriginal child welfare services could soon look a lot different — if Ottawa forks over $21 million for the plan.

Plans for federal-provincial programs for child welfare services on reserves have been in the making for years, reported the Winnipeg Free Press.

The federal government is responsible for funding the much-needed programs, but provincial officials are concerned the government may not provide all the funds needed.

Critics say that there is a huge discrepancy between funding given to off-reserve programs and those that are on reserves – a ratio of $1 provincial dollar to 78 federal cents.

Published in Volume 63, Number 24 of The Uniter (March 19, 2009)