Trial begins for Winnipeg serial killer who claims he was mentally ill

WINNIPEG - A Crown prosecutor has told court the man who killed four women in Winnipeg staked out homeless shelters and targeted vulnerable, Indigenous victims.

The trial of Jeremy Skibicki, who is 37, started this morning in front of Manitoba Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal.

The Crown alleges Skibicki acted out of hatred when he killed Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and a fourth unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Buffalo Woman.

Defence lawyers say Skibicki admits to the slayings but should be found not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.

International grads in Manitoba get reprieve; work permits extended

About 6,700 international graduates who are working in Manitoba — and feared they’d be uprooted and forced to leave this year — got a special reprieve Tuesday from Canada’s immigration minister.

Marc Miller announced a plan to give open work permits to eligible temporary workers who have expressions of interest in the provincial nominee program.

“Within two years, we expect eligible candidates to receive an official nomination from Manitoba and become permanent residents,” Miller said in a social media post that included a letter he had sent to Malaya Marcelino, Manitoba’s immigration minister.

In February, Marcelino asked the federal immigration department to extend the work status of 6,700 temporary residents employed in Manitoba whose permits are set to expire this year. The extension was to give Manitoba time to work through a backlog of provincial nominee program applications.

First Nation chief stunned after two young girls charged in woman’s slaying

The leader of a central Manitoba First Nation is at a loss to explain, let alone address, a shocking crime problem in his community that has two girls, 13 and 14, charged with second-degree murder in the death of a 32-year-old woman.

The victim’s cousin — a 35-year-old woman — was also seriously injured in the violence early Saturday and is recovering in a Winnipeg hospital.

Chemawawin Cree Nation Chief Clarence Easter — who knows both women and the accused girls, said the bloodshed has rocked his community, located about 460 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

“They’re getting younger and younger, they’re smoking… they’re getting into alcohol and everything. It’s very concerning, as a chief, and I don’t know how to deal with it right now,” he told the Free Press Tuesday.

Pro-Palestinian protest at U of M starts on peaceful note

Protesters promised a peaceful demonstration as Winnipeg police kept an eye on an encampment set up at the University of Manitoba campus Tuesday to “highlight the Palestinian struggle.”

The student protest — which organizers have said will be at least three days long and could be extended — joins a wave of similar demonstrations on Canadian and American campuses in solidarity with Palestinian people during the Hamas war with Israel in Gaza.

Throughout the morning, a handful of security officers stood watch as a few dozen protesters wearing keffiyehs (checkered scarves that symbolize solidarity with Palestinians) drove tent poles into the ground and unloaded supplies.

By early evening, nearly 100 people had gathered in the quad at the Fort Garry campus, which had been cordoned off by a large circle of metal fencing. Ten tents had been set up.

Those seeking to redeem gift cards from shuttered companies often face ‘unfair’ result: experts

When a business shutters, customers may be left scrambling for gift card repayment — something that may not come, experts say.

“If the company goes under, you probably won’t be able to get your money back practically,” said Dan Wootton, a partner with Grant Thornton LLP’s restructuring team. “We tell our people: ‘Hey, if you have gift cards, go use them.’”

The advice comes amid a rise in bankruptcies and insolvencies across the province. The federal government counted 3,681 Manitoba insolvencies under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act for the year ending Jan. 31.

The number is a 26 per cent jump from the previous year.

Most FTX customers to get all their money back less than 2 years after catastrophic crypto collapse

FTX says that nearly all of its customers will receive the money back that they are owed, two years after the cryptocurrency exchange imploded, and some will get more than that.

FTX said in a court filing late Tuesday that it owes about $11.2 billion to its creditors. The exchange estimates that it has between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion to distribute to them.

The filing said that after paying claims in full, the plan provides for supplemental interest payments to creditors, to the extent that funds still remain. The interest rate for most creditors is 9%.

That may be a diminished consolation for investors who were trading cryptocurrency on the exchange when it collapsed. When FTX sought bankruptcy protection in November 2022, bitcoin was going for $16,080. But crypto prices have soared as the economy recovered while the assets at FTX were sorted out over the past two years. A single bitcoin on Tuesday was selling for close to $62,675. That comes out to a 290% loss, a bit less than that if accrued interest is counted, if those investors had held onto those coins.

MTYP’s $9M covers second stage, new shows, upgrades

Flanked by Winnie the Pooh, rocking horses and alphabet blocks, Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s brass launched a $9-million capital campaign Tuesday.

The largest campaign in the company’s history will funnel $6.5 million — about 72 per cent of funds raised — toward improvements to the 25-year-old facility at The Forks, with the remainder divided between debt-elimination projects and an endowment fund earmarked for new productions.

Chaired by Matt and Jane Johnston, the campaign has already garnered $7.5 million in support from a mix of private, corporate and government donors.

In February, MTYP was granted $1.3 million in federal funding toward green and sustainable building initiatives. The provincial government, represented Tuesday by Culture Minister Glen Simard, is now kicking in $1.275 million from its arts, culture and sport community fund.

Premier delivers ‘message of gratitude’ to nurses in wake of tentative contract

The premier had a private chat with nurses attending their union’s annual general meeting Tuesday, a week after they avoided labour strife by signing a tentative contract.